One of the reasons that anime has been able to endure is that it finds a way to cater to every audience, no matter how mainstream or niche. The accomplishments reached by the anime industry have only become more staggering and there have never been more opportunities and diverse genres for fans to explore.
Plenty of anime series subvert expectations and present challenging narratives that reinvent tired tropes. However, anime is still full of regrettable stereotypes and exploitative fanservice that can cause audiences to blush. These shows won't qualify for Anime of the Year, but they can still turn into popular guilty pleasures.
Updated on April 5, 2023 by Kennedy King: Over the past few decades, the critical value of anime has consistently risen across the board. Now, the medium is one of the most beloved art forms in the entire world, and with each passing season, countless shows are released that challenge its existing conventions. However, for every anime that achieves critical success, numerous others become guilty pleasures enjoyed by their viewers behind closed doors. These series might not be as generative as their peers, but they deserve recognition nonetheless.
10 Fairy Tail
In all fairness, Fairy Tail was a major player in the shonen landscape during its original run in the early 2010s. However, in comparison to series like One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Naruto: Shippuden, it's clear why this series consistently plays second fiddle.
Fairy Tail benefits from an enjoyable cast of characters and a light-hearted tone, but there is no denying that the show recycles shonen tropes like clockwork. Its predictable power-scaling, over-the-top fan service, and uninspired fight sequences are all clichés explored more thoroughly by other series.
9 Sword Art Online
When Sword Art Online debuted, its beautiful setting and fun narrative took international anime audiences by storm. The iconic isekai title helped put its genre on the map for Western viewers and prompted an influx of anime focused on the exploits of a virtual reality world.
Unfortunately, despite Sword Art Online's novel impact on the anime medium, its quality massively deteriorates after a single arc. While there is no shame in enjoying the exploits of Kirito and Asuna, their journey becomes less original with each subsequent arc, eventually transforming the series into a jumbled mess of recycled ideas and unwanted fan service.
8 The Seven Deadly Sins
As the second exclusive anime to hit the Netflix platform, expectations surrounding The Seven Deadly Sins were sky-high upon its release in 2015. Although the first season of the action-filled shonen was rightfully criticized for its use of fan service, it ultimately lived up to the hype in the eyes of most fans.
Whereas The Seven Deadly Sins' first season is a resounding success, its third season is an absolute mess. The show's animation quality in these episodes is abysmal, which makes this fun series even more of a guilty pleasure than its preliminary episodes would have suggested.
7 Food Wars!
Thanks to its blend of comedy, cooking, and comedic fan service, Food Wars! has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the most eccentric anime released in the last 10 years. Centered around protagonist Souma Yukihara, the show follows his journey to becoming the best sous chef in all of Japan.
Although Food Wars! emphasis on culinary arts is uncommon for the shonen genre, its dogged commitment to over-the-top fan service certainly is not. The absurd reactions of its characters as they eat different dishes make the show hard to watch with friends, even if its narrative is among the most underappreciated in all shonen.
6 Hetalia: Axis Powers
Hetalia: Axis Powers is the perfect example of an absurdist anime that doesn't take itself too seriously, yet has been able to use that playful energy to turn out more than 100 episodes of political madness. It's hard to not get addicted to Hetalia's energy and sense of humor after a few episodes.
Hetalia prides itself in heightened political and historical allegories through the personification of the world's nations into silly stereotypes. It often feels like the audience shouldn't laugh at Hetalia's broad jokes, but everyone is equally lampooned. Against all odds, the anime also departs genuine knowledge to its audience.
5 Boruto
The Naruto franchise holds a special place in the hearts of many anime watchers, so fans were hopeful that its sequel series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, would carry the torch of its predecessor. Thus far, it feels safe to say that hasn't been the case.
In almost every regard, Boruto falls well short of the mark set by Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden — its animation quality, world-building, and character designs are all far less innovative than the original series. However, given many fans' connection to the original anime, it's easy to forgive these issues for old times' sake.
4 Kill La Kill
At its core, Kill la Kill is an electric action series that hits tremendous heights and features some of the most impressive animations to come out of the prestigious Studio TRIGGER. Ryuko's mission to get closure over her father's death leads her to a highly unconventional prep academy where she's forced into constant combat.
The extraterrestrial Life Fibers fuel Kill la Kill's bewildering fight sequences, but they also strategically cover up the character's bodies in a way that leaves very little to the imagination. Kill la Kill contains genuine substance, but the awkward outfits and tendency to embrace easy jokes push it into the guilty pleasure column.
3 Ghost Stories
Originally, Ghost Stories debuted as a collection of popular Japanese tales targeted toward younger demographics. However, the series was not particularly successful upon its initial release, prompting its licensors to give localization companies free rein when it came to dubbing the program.
ADV Films, the company behind Ghost Stories' English dub, completely changed the tone of the program, filling it with dark humor and fourth-wall breaks that were clearly aimed at older audiences. Although many of the jokes in the localized version of Ghost Stories aren't politically correct by today's standards, it's so absurd that its shortcomings are often easy to forgive.
2 Guilty Crown
Guilty Crown takes place in the near-distant future where Japan is lost in a perpetual state of chaos. Shu Ouma, a simple high schooler, is thrust into greatness when he gains unprecedented strength through the "Power of the King," a prolific ability to pull "Voids" out of other people and use them in combat.
Guilty Crown trades in extremes, but it uses these to maximize the anime's suspense. Characters make foolish decisions and lack a certain complexity, but it remains an entertaining ride. At only 22 episodes, Guilty Crown is the perfect length. Audiences can enjoy this heightened madness but not feel like they've lost too much time.
1 Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress
The shonen genre is undeniably popular, but that doesn't mean it's anywhere near the most innovative in the anime medium. Shonen titles consistently draw heavy inspiration from other famous works, which occasionally results in a blatant rip-off like the 2016 release, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. In Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, humanity is struggling to survive against the humanoid monsters created by a rapidly-spreading virus.
Survivors build safe havens surrounded by giant walls, and eventually, a young boy born within these walls champions the power of these monsters for himself by transforming into a half-Kabaneri, half-human hybrid. The series' plot is grossly similar to Attack on Titan — albeit with much less nuance — and it even shares the same animation studio, making it a guilty pleasure for many fans of Eren Jeager and the 104th Cadet Corps.