Introduction
Hey everyone! Today we’ll have a little discussion about dropped anime series. I have stopped watching numerous anime series without finishing them. Most of these I plan to go back and complete when I have a better attention span and more time. However, when I say dropped anime, I mean the ones that I will likely never finish because they’re not worth it to me. Some people drop anime series frequently, while others wish to watch from start to finish even if they aren’t enjoying the anime. What do you think? Do you drop anime series? Do you plan to get back to them later?
Since I’m a bit curious about this topic, I started wondering what kind of things lead me to dropping an anime. So today, I’ll go over some of my reasons and give examples. I would love to hear from other anime fans about what your reasons are for giving up an anime. Leave a comment if you have time or interest. Now then, let’s get started.
Lack of Interest and Irrational Annoyance
Sometimes, I drop an anime out of a neutral lack of interest. The chief examples of this are popular and classic shounen series. I dropped Naruto and Bleach, with no plans to continue. (I’ll probably never finish Detective Conan or One Piece, but at least for those, it’s likely I’ll watch a few episodes here and there.) I respect those famous series; I certainly don’t call them bad, or feel annoyed with them. But since they don’t capture my attention for whatever reason, there seems to be no reason to spend further time on them.
There are some anime series that make me wildly infuriated, sometimes for no apparent reason. It’s an irrational inability to tolerate certain shows. I don’t know exactly why it happens, though I can usually think of some small, vague things that are annoying. But that’s no reason to actually get angry. I suppose it’s part of having Borderline Personality. My likes and hates are both more extreme than what you normally find. Highschool of The Dead, Gate, Working, and Konosuba are examples of shows I loathe without a clear reason.
Fanservice and Ethical Concerns
Sometimes I stop watching an anime due to ethical issues. After all, I believe in the general rule: “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.” There are two good examples I can think of: Flip Flappers and Dakaretai Otoko. The issue with Flip Flappers was the excessive sexualization of the main characters, who are children. It’s lolicon fanservice. Watching even a few episodes of this anime made me feel outraged and disgusted, so I dropped it.
Dakaretai Otoko is a popular yaoi anime. Yaoi in itself is fine, but all to often, it contains sexual scenes where one of the men clearly did not consent. In Dakaretai Otoko, one man is constantly sexually harassed by the other. The worst part was, his discomfort was treated as comical. So I quickly dropped this gross anime as well.
Occasionally, too much fanservice will also make me give up on anime. This is not one of the more common reasons, though. A recent example is Fire Force. The fanservice character Tamaki got on my last nerve. Even besides her, the sexualization of other characters was also over the top. If there had been a better plot, I probably could have put up with it. I generally dislike the combination of shounen and ecchi fanservice.
Lack of Character Connection and Weak Story
The next example I want to use is The Rising of The Shield Hero. From what I saw, it seems like a decent enough anime. But I couldn’t feel any sense of connection to the central characters, nor was I very interested in the fantasy world the show sets up. This is another case of dropping an anime due to disinterest; however, it’s a distinct type. It is the failure to connect to the story’s characters on any level (emotional connection, trait admiration, love of the character design, similar personality, etc.). This is a pretty big issue for me. A similar case is Overlord. I watched even less of this than Shield Hero, due to the characters not “clicking” with me at all.
Failure to connect to characters isn’t necessarily a sign of a bad anime. However, there are also a cases where I drop an anime due to poor story quality. Usually, even if the story quality is bad, I will still try to finish an anime. That’s how I got through watching some shows that I detest such as Seven Deadly Sins or Big Order. As for the ones I’ve dropped, they are mostly little-known anime series that I rare see anyone discussing. Examples include Tsubasa Chronicle, Coppelion, 11Eyes, and more recently, anime with overused concepts like Sword Gai and Sirius. It’s not that I particularly hated these series; they were below the point of me caring either way.
Why Do You Drop Anime Series?
What I’m curious about is why others like me drop anime series. I can think of some reasons that might apply to a lot of people. If any of the following is your reason for dropping an anime, let me know! I’d love some discussion.
Initial Reactions. Dropping an anime after one episode or less because your first impression is negative.
Visuals. Dropping an anime due to not liking the art/animation/character designs, etc. (Example: some people hate CLAMP’s art style, and will actually let that deter them from enjoying an anime. Or for another instance, dropping a mecha anime because the mechas are partly or fully CG.)
Fandom. Dropping an anime after becoming disgusted with the vocal fandom in comment sections and discussion threads. (I nearly did this. The series was hell to get through with that toxic fandom. Moral of the story: don’t bother with reading comment sections.)
Casting. Dropping an anime because, particularly with dubs, the casting doesn’t fit and/or the voice-acting is poor overall. (A great example is Rikka’s voice in the English dub for Chunibyo. She sounds awful and not remotely like the character she is playing.)
That’s it for today. Drop a comment if you have any time! Thanks for reading. 🙂
Anime Rants 
For me, the number one reason is boredom. I can watch strange things that don’t initially make sense (Baccano was like that the first time lol), but I can’t stand being bored. It’s a terrible trigger for my ADHD. A second reason to drop would be no narrative/character direction. I like to feel like the show is going somewhere, even if it’s just to show how to get over a break-up or how to figure out adulting–just something that can give me a chance to engage with it. If it’s just mindless nonsense, then I won’t watch it or I’ll drop it. One of the reasons why I don’t like much stupid or obvious humour type shows (Sakamoto Desuka is one that comes to mind here).
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Thanks for the comment! Yeah, boredom/lack of interest seems like a big reason. Love Baccano, need to rewatch. And hey although we may be bored by different things, I have ADHD too so I get it. 🙂 Humor is very hit or miss for me, but I generally like absurdity in comedy.
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I am with Biblionyan in that something that bores me is very likely to be dropped even over something that offends me.
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I suspect it is pretty well known by now that I will drop an anime in the first five minutes if I do not like the art. Art is a big thing with me and anime. I have dropped more than one because I couldn’t stand a voice, or a character that screams all the time (ahem*black clover*ahem). It’s part of my PTSD. Loud noises at certain tones just …nails on a chalkboard. If I am bored, oh yeah, that’s gone. If it is just too stupid IMHO which covers a lot of the other things mentioned such as fan service. I’m rarely totally offended – more chalk that kind of thing up to not my cup of tea – but I’ll drop it if it isn’t my cup of tea. So much anime, so little time, eh? Here is a weird one maybe – I find fight scenes BORING unless I actually CARE about who wins. Great animation is nice, but it won’t make me stay if there isn’t a good story to animate.
Do you ever go back to an anime you dropped and give it a second chance? Maybe because you read a bunch of rave reviews? Or just thought – maybe I was in a bad mood that day…
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Thanks for the feedback! Yeah I have gone back and watched some dropped anime before. On occasion I find a good one.
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Same here. And sometimes I decide I was right the first time LOL
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Really good points. The number one reason I’ll drop an anime is a combination of the lack of connection to characters you mentioned (though I will admit it takes some time often to get that connection) and a general “ordinariness” of a show. That is a broad term, but it’s meant to be so. Some things are very “anime” normal and I like them, then others are “normal” and I can’t stand them. As with most art, I suppose it’s more of a feeling than anything!
You’re right on about Shield Hero. “Naofumi-sama!!!” ‘Nuff said.
I love that you hate KonoSuba! But not for the reason you’d think. I love that series! I love that I can love that you hate it! 🙂
Also spot on about VAs. This is why I don’t do dubs ever. The best Japanese VAs will keep you engaged just on their own. The English versions kill them for me.
Sensing you dropped Future Diary too. Hihi
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thanks for the detailed comment! I love that you love that you can love that I hate it! lmao!
I actually did drop Future diary for a while, but went back and watched it later. I ended up liking it overall because of Yuno’s interesting and abnormal psychology. But the show has many point against it, to be sure.
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Yeah it’s weird and horrifying lolz. Yuno is just the poster child for yandere girls, so anime fans kinda have to know who she is. 😀
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My biggest problem with anime is when it has fanservice, so yeah, that’s a huge NO THANK YOU for me…
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Boredom, too much filler and not liking the visual style would be my main reasons
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Ah, I forgot to say anything about the filler issue. Good thought. That bothers me, too. That’s part of why I can’t get into Naruto.
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Well for me I tend to not drop anime series because I’m always curious as to where it’ll go, like I’m already here so let’s see how far this rabbit hole goes… sometimes being a critic is terrible with so many terrible anime series
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well i do drop anime series like food fight its just the kind i would like to watch it was sexaul things and im more into lik action horror and more but sexual nope no thank you and i dont really know how this app works if anyone could tell me i just joined lol…
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The main reason I’ll drop an anime is boredom or just general lack of interest. But in those cases, I’ll generally go back after a few months/years and give it another chance. A different place in life and state of mind can go a long way in enjoying something I previously haven’t. There’s only one anime that I’ve ever fat out dropped and will probably never pick back up. That anime being Bleach. The plot left me bored after a while then when I events went on to read the manga it was far superior. I can’t look at the anime without thinking it deserved better. But yeah boredom and general lack of interest would be my answers.
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I came here because I saw Future Diaries and heard the name “Yuki” echo in my mind.
I will cut away from an anime if it fails to keep my attention longer than three episodes. At first, The Gate (yep, on Crunchyroll) and Mob100 was like that for me. However, out of the two, I finished The Gate and fell in love with it.
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