The '90s are fondly remembered as one of the best decades for anime. Classics like Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ghost in the Shell, and Princess Mononoke came out during this era. While YuYu Hakusho, Card Captor Sakura, and Slam Dunk ruled the ratings, shows like Serial Experiments Lain and Revolutionary Girl Utena challenged the medium with their bold visions.

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With all that said, the '90s were full of atrocious anime too. Japan's economic bubble had just popped, and the industry felt its effects. Outsourcing became far more prevalent and a good deal of anime were created with limited budgets. Most of these bad shows are miserable to watch, but others have novelty to them. Some shows are so funny and enjoyable for all the wrong reasons.

10 Super Kid Is Hilariously Painful To Watch

Gokdari from Super Kid

Super Kid is what anime looks like when made by people who don't understand the medium and its shows. Borrowing from the likeness of popular series like Dragon Ball and Mazinger Z, the show features a group of superheroes called the Super Kids. Each member looks like a discount version of a well-known anime character, especially Gokdari, who is modeled off a young Son Goku.

Everything about this film is awful to look at. The animation is sluggish, the character designs are goofy, and the transitions are abrupt. However, it's so nonsensical and painful to look at that it becomes kind of charming. It sticks to its guns, no matter how ill-advised that is.

9 Spectral Force Delivers The Iconic Idea Factory Look

Hiro from Spectral Force

Before Idea Factory gifted the anime community with Mars of Destruction or Skelter+Heaven, they gave viewers Spectral Force. The anime consists of two episodes endorsing a video game of the same name. The story is a rushed mess, speedrunning through the end of the demon kingdom's hegemony as it attempts to maintain power.

Even worse, characters are introduced with no hopes of getting fleshed out. The biggest selling point is its CG animation. The monsters in this show are clunky and out of place, making them funnier than they are intimidating. The art also lacks any detail or polish. It signals the level of artistry that Idea Factory will be known for.

8 Art Of Fighting Is An Awful Cash Grab That's Worth Watching

Ryo from Art of Fighting

In the early '90s, the video game company SNK, famous for their King of Fighters series, made two well-received specials for their fighting game Fatal Fury. To promote their upcoming game, Art of Fighting 2, they tried to see if they could catch lightning in a bottle once more — and they failed. The anime is rushed and stiff, showcasing some of the worst martial arts fights in the medium.

Interestingly, the English dub is amazing with how strange its delivery is. The dialogue tries to match the mouth movements even when it makes no sense. The story is a wacky romp that barely manages to keep itself together. Art of Fighting is simultaneously limp and enjoyable.

7 Panzer Dragoon Makes No Sense For Most Of Its Run

Kyle from Panzer Dragoon

There's no world-building for Panzer Dragoon. It doesn't establish any internal rules or laws. The anime just does whatever it wants whenever it can. For most of the special, Kyle is unable to communicate with his dragon. That causes some tension between them as the dragon is unable to explain why it attacks certain ships or people.

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But by the last third of the anime, the dragon can suddenly communicate telepathically. Every line in the English dub is cheesy and overstressed. Kyle constantly screams Alita's name, and it gets more amusing with each iteration. The CGI is impressively bad, even for its time. Nothing in the anime adds up, and it is perfect that way.

6 Butt Attack Punisher Girl Gotaman Somehow Exists

Mari from Gotaman

Magical girl anime was pushed to its limits with Butt Attack Punisher Girl Gotaman. It has a magical entity that offers a school girl transformative powers that can fight off evil. It gets the formula right, but everything else is crazy. Mari's outfit is the biggest standout. It barely covers her body, while also making her look ridiculous. She even has a transformation device.

Her body is super-powered, especially her rear. Due to that, most of her attacks are mind-numbing levels of silly. The villains in the anime are just as insane. There is a sumo wrestler called Dark Vader who wears a mask just like Star Wars' iconic villain. This is a fan service fever dream from the '90s.

5 Super Mobile Legend Dinagiga Is Gainax Done Wrong

The cast of Super Mobile Legend Dinagiga

Gainax anime are iconic titles that inspire and influence the medium and the industry — sometimes for the worse. Every wannabe Gainax clone fails to understand what makes their anime work. This is incredibly clear in Super Mobile Legend Dinagiga. It copies elements from Gunbuster and Neon Genesis Evangelion so hard that it's a bit endearing.

Everything from training schools for aspiring female mecha pilots, to monstrous sentient alien mechs, to cities that can be lowered into the ground, to traumatic piloting experiences for teenagers — nothing is sacred, and the series understands nothing. The whole show is a surface-level ripoff, and it is amazing.

4 Psychic Wars Is Absurd, Disjointed, & Overwhelmingly Macho

The two lead characters of Psychic Wars

The start of the '90s carried over some of the most prominent features of the '80s. A big one was the prevalence of idealized portrayals of masculinity like in Fist of the North Star and City Hunter. Psychic Wars carries that same tradition but does not handle its content as competently.

Psychic Wars is full of hyper-powered burly men fighting demons and bodacious evil women. The story does not spend any time grounding its premise or fleshing out its characters. It's through-the-roof crazy from the start and doesn't slow down.

3 Action & Gore Reach Their Lowest Point With Apocalypse Zero

Kakugo from Apocalypse Zero

Apocalypse Zero is one of the most extreme cases of bad anime. It holds nothing back. The imagery is graphic, repulsive, excessive, and unhinged. That is its beauty. It's an anime that has never heard of subtlety, pacing, or moderation.

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It carries a naive and immature sense of cool, where violence and spectacle rule over everything else. All the heads explode, mutilation is a common sight, and the voice acting hams it up as it should. It believes in itself so much that it is hard not to root for it. Even at its worst, Apocalypse Zero is a thoroughly entertaining ride.

2 Garzey's Wing Doesn't Make Sense Of Its Convoluted Situation

Falan and Chris from Garzey's Wing

Garzey's Wing is funnier than almost every comedy anime to date. Even though it's directed by the legendary mecha director Yoshiyuki Tomino, this anime pushes the limits of what bad anime can be. The story is a bewildering isekai that shows both the main world and the fantasy world versions of Chris existing at the same time while linked in body and mind.

This leads to many unintentionally comedic moments, such as when fantasy Chris says he is in a war just to be told that his main body will practice chi to help him. The English dub is both the best and the worst in anime. Almost every line is quotable for the wrong reasons. If being bad was a contest, Garzey's Wing is a guaranteed finalist.

1 The Hideous & Outrageous Epic Of Reign: The Conqueror

Alexander in Reign: the Conqueror

Each fault in Reign: The Conqueror is also its strength. The dialogue is horrendously obtuse, but it's also captivating and mysterious because of it. The art is flat and stretched out, but it's also bold and distinct. The plot meanders and drags, but the journey is interesting to behold. Every character is one-dimensional, but they fit the show.

Reign: The Conqueror isn't simultaneously good and bad; rather, it's good because of its bad qualities. They are exciting and creative enough to paint a captivating series, even if every part of it is deeply flawed. The ways in which Reign: The Conqueror fails are so unique that it has to be applauded.