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In recent years, anime like Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and the Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc movie have earned the distinction of being called masterpieces, primarily due to their stunning animation and impressive visual quality. However, beneath this visual brilliance, some of these shows conceal narratives that are not as compelling.
It’s undeniable that visually captivating anime often achieve great popularity. However, regardless of their aesthetic appeal, the strength of their storytelling is what ultimately matters. Some series, despite their success, owe their acclaim more to the animation studios than to the original creativity of their source material or authors.
Take Demon Slayer, for example. By 2025, it has established itself as a powerhouse in the anime world, largely due to the phenomenal success of its Infinity Castle movie. This film shattered multiple box office records, swiftly ascending to become the highest-grossing Japanese movie. Yet, this acclaim doesn’t erase the narrative shortcomings present in Demon Slayer. The storyline often falls short in delivering depth and substance.
10
Ufotable’s Animation Saved Demon Slayer’s Straightforward Story
Demon Slayer is hands down one of the biggest names in the anime industry in 2025 because of the massive success it experienced after the release of its Infinity Castle movie. It has broken several box office records and has quickly risen to the top, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese film. However, this does not change the fact that there are very apparent writing issues within Demon Slayer, and the story lacks substance in many ways.
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The very premise of Demon Slayer is pretty generic, with the hero’s journey having no memorable twists or turns, lacking heavily in any new avenues for the protagonist to grow. It also suffers from constant mid-battle conversations where the characters stop an engaging action sequence to relay backstories. The only thing that actually elevates Demon Slayer from being a generic shonen anime is its exceptional animation by Ufotable.
9
Solo Leveling’s Power Fantasy is Nothing But Sung Jinwoo Aura
Solo Leveling rose to fame very quickly because it already had a massive fan base centered around the success of its web novel and webtoon. It has an interesting premise, following a protagonist who grows from weak to strong after enduring a deeply traumatic experience. However, despite having an impressive world, Solo Leveling is heavily dependent on the hero himself rather than its world-building, storytelling, or characters.
Jinwoo, the lead, very easily turns into an overpowered main character, and from then on, barely any conflict comes his way. Whenever a new villain appears, they are defeated far too quickly, making the stakes in this anime feel surprisingly low. This kind of narrative made Solo Leveling repetitive and predictable, which even the gorgeous animation of A-1 Pictures could not save.
8
My Hero Academia’s Animation Brought It Back From the Dead
My Hero Academia is on a success run, with its final season being one of the best currently airing anime. However, there was a time when MHA‘s anime tanked significantly in its storytelling and felt like a shonen anime unlikely to recover from its setbacks. Even now, the core issue with My Hero Academia remains that the protagonist is protected by excessive plot armor, leaving the supporting characters far more memorable than him.
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Nevertheless, it was the absolute disaster of My Hero Academia Season 5 that pushed many to criticize My Hero Academia as a show that had begun to fall apart. It showcased unnecessary fillers and indulged in developments that added nothing to the ultimate conflict. Yet, it was the production by Bones that made fans stick to the franchise and stay hopeful for its future.
7
Fire Force’s Excessive Fan Service Destroys a Good Story
Fire Force is written by the same author behind Soul Eater, Atsushi Ohkubo. Both shows are linked plotwise, but when it comes to sheer quality, Fire Force doesn’t come close to the brilliance of its predecessor. A major reason why Fire Force became such a big hit is because of its marvelous animation by David Production.
However, when it comes to Fire Force‘s plot, hardly any interesting bits come that actually give the audience enough substance to be hopeful for future outcomes. The characters also do not go through decent developmental arcs, and many of their roles get reduced to being plot devices. A sufferer of this is Tamaki, who is only there to showcase random wardrobe malfunctions that happen too often.
6
Charlotte Could Not Measure Up To Jun Maeda’s Angel Beats!
Charlotte should have been an amazing and moving anime that would uphold the reputation set by other popular works like Angel Beats! from its creator, Jun Maeda. It also started out very promising, for it dived into a plot that highlighted not the benefits but the consequences of manifesting supernatural abilities. P.A. Works also delivered remarkable animation and music, and with Jun Maeda contributing alongside other composers, the series became a memorable experience.
However, it suffered from noticeable pacing problems and genre shifts, which became especially glaring in the second half of the series. The conclusion also arrived too abruptly, offering little explanation for the events that were unfolding. Needless to say, it became one of Jun Maeda’s inferior works, with the studio’s production doing most of the heavy lifting.
5
Mashle: Magic and Muscles’s Animation Hides a Basic Story
Mashle: Magic and Muscles had all the elements that make up for a good shonen anime. Yet, none of the things it shows are elements one has never witnessed before, from its plot to its characters. Here, the story follows Mash Burnedead, an aspiring mage without any magical powers, who plans to survive in his world with the help of his muscles. In fact, he might just be the strongest entity around when it comes to raw physical strength.
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This naturally leads to plenty of hilarious moments, as Mash’s deadpan attitude collides with the expectations of mages he still needs to convince he’s just like them. The issue here is that though the comedy works at times, it becomes redundant after some time. In the end, Mashle: Magic and Muscles ends up feeling like a lesser version of One-Punch Man with clear Harry Potter parallels.
4
Wistoria: Wand and Sword Remains an Underrated Fantasy Anime
Wistoria: Wand and Sword definitely had a lot of potential to become the next best shonen anime, but its reliance on clichés exposed its weak structure. It has a seemingly shy and talentless main character, who is actually very strong in his own right. He also showcases an immense and intense devotion to his childhood friend, who is a generational talent in the field of magicians.
This kind of setup is almost a direct ripoff of another light novel, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, by the same author, Omori Fujino. It pulls heavily from familiar elements of that series, only with a stronger shonen tilt and a Harry Potter–like structure woven into its worldbuilding. Though the animation by Actas and Bandai Namco Pictures was gorgeous with some of the best usage of CGI, it still could not make Wistoria a good standalone anime.
3
Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress Isn’t The Next Attack on Titan
Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress is an engaging anime with a decent storyline, but it is undeniably a blatant copy of Attack on Titan. The similarities are not limited to the shared survival themes, as even the characters feel alike. The music by Hiroyuki Sawano gave this anime the same grandness as Attack on Titan, but it still fell short of the former’s brilliance.
Here, the setup is rushed towards the end, and the conclusion comes across as unconvincing because it does not offer a legitimate closure. Yet, it is certainly true that the animation is gorgeous and confirms that Wit Studio was a major reason behind Attack on Titan‘s success. If Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress had preserved more of its individuality, it could have escaped the endless comparisons and the backlash that came with them.
2
Bucchigiri?! is MAPPA’s Most Disappointing Project
With MAPPA, one of the best companies of today, handling production, Bucchigiri?! emerged as one of the most exciting prospects of its season. Even at the beginning, the premise looked good with the inclusion of genies, that too in a Yanki-style anime. However, just after a few episodes, the anime turned unbearable with its story going nowhere and everywhere, all at the same time.
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The protagonist was also far from likable, with a personality that mostly revolved around being infatuated with someone who clearly detests his advances. In the end, an anime with so much potential managed to sabotage itself, producing a climax that was even more underwhelming than its story. The only saving grace of Bucchigiri?! is that it has a really good animation, thanks to its studio.
1
Lazarus Disappointed Every Cowboy Bebop Fan
The hype surrounding Lazarus came because of the legacy of its maker, Shinichiro Watanabe, who also created Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, etc. It also introduced an incredible collaboration, as Chad Stahelski, the director of the John Wick films, designed the action sequences here. Thus, this time as well, fans expected a gritty action thriller with engaging writing that would do justice to Watanabe’s fantastic reputation.
However, despite all this, Lazarus ultimately turned out to be a disappointing series, one that paid little attention to actual writing and relied far too heavily on flashy fights. For most episodes, it wasted time on too many subplots that had little to do with the main conflict. In the end, the show’s twist landed with barely any weight, leaving Lazarus memorable only for its visuals.
