Looking back at the past decade of anime offerings as the end of the 2010s draws near, it's fair to say fans have been spoiled for choice. From movie masterpieces to an all-time high number of shows being released, anime continues to go from strength to strength, reaffirming its popularity on a global level, inspiring companies like streaming giant Netflix going so far as to produce their own series.
Unfortunately, they can't all be winners. Amongst the huge variety of acclaimed additions to the anime offerings, the 2010s had quite a few flops too. From uninventive storylines to questionable adaptations, let's recap the 10 worst anime of the decade, according to IMDb's ratings.
10 Wonder Momo (3.9)
Quite possibly the very definition of stupid fun, 2014's Wonder Momo drew inspiration from an 80s side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade game. An aspiring idol must save the world from an alien threat after receiving a superpowered suit, all the while dreaming of stardom. It could have been a fun addition to the girl-turned-superhero genre with a bit of creativity, but, unfortunately, Wonder Momo lacks any kind of imagination.
Despite each episode being a mere 7-minutes long, they are incredibly chaotic. Characters appear and disappear suddenly, the story and artwork are inconsistent, and the plot is totally incoherent. Topped off with a choppy animation style, Wonder Momo is like a bizarre fever dream.
9 Paradise of Innocence (3.9)
25-year-old Shouta Handa is a run-of-the-mill loser with a boring life, something his ex-classmates realize when he turns up at his high school reunion. Upset that the beautiful women he used to know aren't interested in him, he skulks outside for a cigarette and discovers the school swimming pool is a time-warping portal which sends him back 10 years to swim with the teenage versions of his classmates.
An ecchi anime which borders on hentai, Paradise of Innocence goes off the rails very quickly. Watching a man swim and flirt with oversexualized 15-year-old girls is painfully awkward. There's no story at all, and the characters are all empty shells present to be (inappropriately) lusted over.
8 Girl Friend BETA (3.6)
An anime adaptation of the mobile game Girlfriend (Kari), Girl Friend BETA is a slice-of-life series which follows smart and athletic Shiina Kokomi and her ever-growing group of friends through the daily struggles of being a teenager.
Instantly forgettable, Girl Friend BETA's only real upside is the cute character designs. Unfortunately, the series lacks every other ingredient essential for making a decent anime. Each of the girls is incredibly dull, with no personality traits to distinguish one from the next. Focusing on the mundane dramas of high school life, it has no comedy to break up the dull conversation, and absolutely no plot whatsoever.
7 Rainy Cocoa (3.4)
The incredibly short episodes of Rainy Cocoa are all set within the cozy café walls of Rainy Color. Aoi Tokura finds himself working there after stumbling inside one thunderous day to find comfort in the friendly staff and warm cocoa. This slice-of-life comedy merely observes as five guys sit in the café and discuss life.
The entire series barely stretches to thirty minutes, but, even then, it's difficult to remain interested. The characters are dull caricatures, making it difficult to connect to any of them, and the comedy falls flat. So very little happens that half an hour of your life would be better spent in a real café rather than bored senseless inside the Rainy Color.
6 Makura no Danishi (3.3)
Another show based on a mobile game, Makura no Danishi is a bizarre experience. Each episode features a different boy, based on various stereotypes, who whispers sweet nothings into your ear and asks about your day, appearing as if they're lying next to you.
It's an interesting concept, but one that's deeply unsettling in reality. Like a peculiar animated ASMR experience, hypothetical questions linger in the air as the animation freezes on their creepy, deadpan stares. Purely a simulated conversation, there's no kind of plot or attempt to give any of the boys interesting personalities. It's entirely weird yet somehow completely dull.
5 JK Meshi! (3.1)
JK Meshi! has a very simple premise. Three school friends often get distracted while studying and spend their time cooking together, sharing trivia as they do so. That's it. But it's difficult to pinpoint who exactly these bite-sized episodes are actually aimed towards. The unappetizing food scenes likely won't appeal to fans of cooking anime, and the trivia is often so serious that it feels more educational than standard comedic slice-of-life fun.
The artwork and animation are both lackluster, giving it an amateur appearance, and the characters are so uninteresting. Unfortunately, JK Meshi! lacks the charm needed to serve up a memorable short series.
4 The Thousand Musketeers (3.0)
Continuing the trend of basing anime on mobile games, The Thousand Musketeers seems to split opinion between those who have played the game and those who haven't. Under a tyrannical new world empire, people are forbidden from owning weapons, which doesn't stop a resistance forming, willing to take on the empire. These musketeers draw upon a power called the Supreme Nobility which significantly increases their abilities, giving them the strength required to destroy entire platoons.
The large cast means there's no room at all for any character development, barely scratching the surface of these musketeers and their motivations. Most disappointing of all is the inconsistent artwork, with scenes often being reused. If you're not familiar with the game, it's probably worth giving this one a miss.
3 Hand Shakers (3.0)
Hand Shakers is a very confusing anime, hindered by its inability to follow its own world rules. At its simplest, Hand Shakers battle in pairs and can conjure items from their minds through their hand-shaking connection, eventually earning the right to fight God so he can grant them a wish.
The plot is truly baffling and often difficult to follow, made all the worse by the anime's self-inserted plot holes. The world is hard to buy into since there's very little time spent establishing what's going on and why. Alongside flat characters, spinning movement, and poorly integrated CGI scenes, Hand Shakers is a muddled mess.
2 Meruhen Medohen (2.8)
There are so many brilliant magic girl anime that it can be difficult to put a new spin on the well-worn genre. Meruhen Medohen has an interesting premise: book lover Hazuki Kagimura finds herself pulled into a magical world after becoming lost in the library stacks. At this magic school, the girls are tied to the world's classic stories. After being linked to Cinderella, Hazuki decides to stay at the school with her new friend Shizuka to become a magician.
However, Meruhen Medohen quickly loses its way, becoming a generic and uninspired show. From characters and costumes to art and action sequences, there's absolutely nothing new or interesting from this anime, easily lost amongst the better magic girl offerings.
1 Pupa (2.6)
Pupa has become somewhat notorious for being terrible. Based on the horror manga, the short 4-minute episodes really hinders the genre with no room for creeping tension to grow. Instead, Pupa relies heavily on gross, bloody gore.
When Utusu and his sister Yume are infected by the pupa virus, Yume becomes a man-eating monster. Using his newfound regenerative powers, Utusu allows Yume to feed off of him until he can find a cure. What could have been an interesting exploration of horror themes and a sturdy plot which could have justified the gore instead becomes a repetitive and repulsive mess with no real substance behind it. Not only has Pupa consequently been widely dubbed by fans as the worst anime of 2014, but rated the worst of the 2010s by IMDb.