What is a popular anime that you don't like?

Recently, a heated debate arose among forum members on Reddit around an intriguing question: "What's a popular anime that you just couldn't enjoy after watching it?" This discussion has generated a wide range of responses, revealing the various reasons why some viewers fail to connect with certain anime despite their widespread popularity.

Among the series mentioned by users are titles that have enjoyed great critical and commercial reception, but for some simply failed to meet expectations. The reasons behind this phenomenon are varied and complex.

One of the most common reasons mentioned is the discrepancy between the expectations created by the popularity of anime and the actual experience of watching it. When an anime is extremely popular, it tends to generate high expectations in new viewers. However, these expectations are not always met, which can lead to disappointment. Viewers could expect flawless storytelling, deeply developed characters, and high-quality animation, and when one of these aspects doesn't measure up, the disappointment can be greater due to the anticipation generated.

Another key reason is the variation in personal tastes. Just because a series is popular doesn't mean it will align with the individual preferences of all viewers. Some users commented that while they recognize the quality of the animation and narrative, they simply couldn't connect emotionally with the characters or plot. Differences in preferred genres, animation styles, or even the type of humor can significantly influence the perception of an anime.

The issue of prejudice against the popular was also highlighted. There is a tendency among some viewers to avoid or reject something simply because it has reached a high level of popularity. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as the "opposite effect," is based on the idea that if something is enjoyed by the majority, it must lack the depth or quality that one seeks in one's personal choices. This type of prejudice can lead to a negative evaluation before the series is even given a fair chance.

Media saturation and excessive hype also play an important role. When an anime is very popular, it is present everywhere: social networks, debates, recommendations from friends, etc. This omnipresence can generate a feeling of exhaustion before you even start seeing it. In addition, the unconscionable hype can inflate expectations to unattainable levels, resulting in a viewing experience that feels less satisfying compared to the anticipation created.

"Unpopular opinion. Honestly, I couldn't stand Komi Can't Communicate. I was tired of people saying it was so realistic when people with social anxiety would never be as popular as that girl. And the inability to speak isn't the same as social anxiety, either. A good example of realistic social anxiety would be Watamote."
"Nanatsu no Taizai, without a doubt."
"Take a shot every time you read Jujutsu Kaisen in this thread."
"Kanojo Okarishimasu, for many reasons."
"I can't really get into any long shounen. I absolutely hate tropes of overexplaining everything as if the viewer can't understand it without help. It feels like low-quality writing, which you've never heard of 'show, don't tell.'"
"I liked how Hitorri Bocchi handled social anxiety. From the need to constantly make sure that they are still their friends and remember them to over-planning unimportant things like them visiting their house. AnoHana sucks, too."
"Thank God someone else thinks Anohana was a melodramatic scum. If you saw it when you were between 10 and 13 years old, I understand."
"Who the fuck thinks Komi-san is remotely realistic? The whole series is completely absurd. I didn't quite understand the hype that was given to Vivy Fluorite Eyes Song. I thought it was good and I finished it, but I wasn't enthusiastic."
"One Piece, I have a life to live."
"I can get a ton of shit for it, but One Piece. I've been told to watch it by tons of people, so I watched 20 or more episodes and never really got to enjoy it."
"As a huge One Piece fan that I am, I get it. Many fans tell people that they have to go through Arlong Park because "that's where it gets really good!" But that's more than 40 episodes. No one should spend 40 episodes just to get to the 'good part.'"
«That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Even for an isekai, there's nothing at stake. The protagonist is OP immediately and never fights or faces any real threat. And after five episodes I still hadn't found a single character that mattered to me. So, if there's nothing at stake and no interesting characters, there's no reason to watch it."
"Fire Force. Of course, the girl with the fire cat kept losing her clothes to the point that I thought it was a satire of fanservice. But I didn't care. What bothered me was the guy with the flaming sword. "Why am I losing? I'm using the sword with the wrong hand"... What? No, actually, what the. How do you write all your characters to be so dumb that they would physically die if you left them unsupervised in the real world for more than two hours? It hurt, especially because the action was beautiful."
"Shield Hero. The initial statement of "this country hates the Shield Hero, but they can't kill him" was interesting. But the character itself was so bitter that it was unpleasant to watch, and so OP that there was nothing at stake. Not to mention that he single-handedly started the fashion of slavery in another world."
"Blue lock. As someone who loves football, seeing them create a team of only strikers irritated me no matter how insignificant the reason. Also, I don't like sports anime. It was dragged along watching and I got all the way to episode 9 before I left it."
"Demon Slayer, the cast is boring or somewhat annoying and the story is quite bland. The animation took it down. I didn't continue after the first season."
"I didn't get to watch Boku no Hero Academia, it took too long to get to the main plot, and I'm impatient."
"One Piece. They have something like 1100 episodes but I couldn't stand it. I tried to watch some and finally quit after about 200 episodes. No one can say that I quit too soon."
"For me it has to be Demon Slayer. It has a strong beginning, but as the plot progresses and the characters are diluted. It's terribly boring and full of the most hackneyed shonen clichés. I didn't bother to look past the red-light district arc despite how amazing the production and animation are."
"The Monogatari series. I got to 9 episodes and I didn't find any reason for me to care about anything."
"Naruto and One Piece. It's too daunting a task with so many episodes."
"Just Leveling, I have no doubts."
"I left Jujutsu Kaisen during my first attempt, but when season 2 came out recently I gave it a try again and really enjoyed it for some reason. Who knows, maybe I didn't have the right mindset on my first try."
"I tried so hard to like Cowboy Bebop. I saw everything, but it seemed like a very heavy task. I know everyone loves it, but I couldn't enjoy it."
"Mine was Neon Genesis Evangelion. It's too slow and I'm not interested, although the opening is legendary."
"I'm probably going to be crucified for this, but I just couldn't handle Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, like I don't really understand what's so popular about it, I mean, the action scenes are great with the superpowers like the hamon and the bleachers and stuff, but other than that just a lot of really ridiculous stuff I just don't understand it at all how is the flashy clothes everyone wears? The constant sexual actions and innuendos? All the silly, crazy actions and decisions the characters make? I've seen a lot of ridiculous anime that I can at least understand where they're going, like Gintama and Food Wars, but Jojo's.... I don't understand at all what makes them popular."
"Demon Slayer, I tried to force myself to watch it twice and it was absolute torture, there is literally not a single original thing, just recycled shonen tropes with good animation, I really tried to watch it but I couldn't, I was even about to try a third time but I decided to stop trying definitively."
"Mushoku Tensei fan-service literally makes the show virtually impossible to watch I can see a good story, but every episode there is fan-service, just disappointing."
"For me it was Shingeki no Kyojin. I tried to see the hype, I endured the whole first season thinking that maybe there would be something at the end that would hook me, but nothing. So I quit after the first season."
"Re:Zero probably. I reached the middle of S2. I understand what people are able to get out of it, but I'm not one of those people."
"Dr. Stone. The premise of the series is excellent, a series in which the characters reconstruct humanity using science. That's the reason why I love Ascendance of a Bookworm. But what puts me off about the show is how shonen it is. The screams, the smiles, the logic of a mindless young man (oh.. I can't stand to see my girl naked, so I'll dress her up before I revive her. I don't know how to relive it from a thousand-year dream!). I don't know what happened after this since I leave the series in a few episodes. What baffles me is why this series has more than 1 season. I guess it attracts someone."
"86: Eighty-Six, I was just bored, I don't understand why he's so loved and highly valued. Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset, or maybe it's not my type? I never saw the second half."
"I tried it with Bocchi the Rock!, I liked it a little more, but I don't think he was my type either. Although it had its good moments."
"Serial Experiments Lain is my worst-rated anime. Excessively slow. The only reason I didn't give it 1/10 is because I liked the last episode and the art direction was interesting."
"I couldn't get into Black Clover because the protagonist's voice was too deep and didn't fit in very well with him. Maybe she's going through puberty at the beginning of the anime? I'm not sure."
"Mashle... None of the jokes seemed funny to me. It seemed very forced."
"I tried to see Steins; Gate about three times, but I couldn't get past the first few episodes. I'm supposed to like it because I love anime that deal with time travel, but I found the story and the characters boring."
"Just Levelling... I wanted to like it, and I thought the first two episodes were great, but the middle and last episodes, where he just levels up, didn't seem so interesting to me. I preferred it when interacting with others or in a group dynamic (I enjoyed the S-Tier Hunter story a bit more), which is ironic because it's ONLY Leveling."
"To Your Eternity. It felt like people were being killed for the sake of killing people, not because their deaths really mattered, not even for the characters involved."
"Mashle. Terrible premise, terrible character. I hated him. I watched two episodes and finished."
"I tried so hard, and I got this far (8 episodes) in Nichijou, but in the end I quit. Sorry, I don't find that kind of humor funny. It's not my thing, I guess."
"Soul Eater. Great animation – everything else seemed insufferable to me."