Have you ever found yourself extremely frustrated by something within or related to the world of anime? Everyone has personal storylines or ships that have irked them, but there are particular events that have stirred up widespread agitation among the entire fan community. As you’ll see with some of these stories, it’s almost always unwarranted and fans need to chill out sometimes.
Will shippers ever relax? Some Re:Zero fans went into rage mode when Subaru rejected Rem. Other times fans almost rage quit a show over a studio change, but in those instances they usually have a point. Either way, grab some popcorn and read on to learn about some of the biggest drama in the anime community in the modern era of anime fandom.
1. ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ Switched From A-1 Pictures To Studio Deen
Much like Berserk and One-Punch Man, the popular shonen series The Seven Deadly Sins suffered at the hands of terrible animation. In its third season, the anime switched from A-1 Pictures to Studio Deen – and it did not go down well. Because of Studio Deen’s busy schedule, they were forced to outsource their animation to studio March Jack. This led to a significant drop in animation quality that upset fans everywhere. From messing up the highly-anticipated fight between Meliodas and Escanor to painfully stiff animation, Seven Deadly Sins‘ third season was a huge disappointment.
2. Berserk Fans Absolutely Hated The CGI in the 2016 Remake
Berserk is a beloved anime from the 90s that is among many anime fans’ top favorites. The continuation of the story in 2016 seemed like it was going to be a universally good thing, until that continuation actually came out. The problem wasn’t how they handled the material – it was the CGI. The characters’ movements were jerky and unnatural, and they often looked less like actual people than they did like haunted dolls. The fight scenes were so ugly that it was hard to take them seriously. Considering the fact that Berserk is a horror-action series, fights that don’t send your heart straight into your chest are kind of a big deal.
Most of the problems were fixed up in the DVD release, but that didn’t stop people from giving the series a way lower rating than they did earlier entries.
3. Attack On Titan’s Creator Received Threats Against His Life For A Character’s Design
Despite being one of the most popular anime/manga series in the world, not everybody is so fond of it. In fact, some people find it so objectionable that they actually made threats against creator Hajime Isayama’s life.
There are a lot of reasons why people don’t like AoT, and we won’t get into all of them now – just the one that led to the threats. A character named Dot Pixis appeared to have been modeled after a Japanese military official named Yoshifuru Akiyama who some consider to be a war criminal who committed atrocities against the Korean people. This caused an outpouring of anger from people who felt that Isayama was showing support for Akiyama’s crimes by basing a heroic character off of him. Most simply voiced their displeasure, but some threatened violence. Meanwhile, other people insisted that Akiyama wasn’t a war criminal at all, and that these accusations were based on untruths.
Regardless of your stance on the issue, threats like these are way out of bounds.
4. Fans of ‘ERASED’ Didn’t Appreciate Satoru and Kayo’s Ending
When an anime spends its entire run focused on the developing relationship between two people, fans are naturally going to start rooting for them to get together at the end of the series. That’s what happens in ERASED, a show where Satoru Fujinuma travels backwards in time to prevent his childhood friend from being wiped out by their serial killer teacher. He succeeds, getting close to Kayo in the process. But despite the series seemingly ramping up to the two of them falling in love, that didn’t happen. While many series in this genre hint at romance without actually closing the deal, ERASED nixes the concept forever by having Kayo marry someone else.
This happens while Satoru is in a coma, caused by injuries incurred while in conflict with their horrible teacher. So, it’s not like one of them intentionally spurned the other – Satoru was in a freakin’ coma, and Kayo eventually had to move on and build a happy life for herself. That’s a good thing, but for many fans, it still kind of stung that the two couldn’t have a happy ending together.
5. No Fly Me To The Moon Ending Theme When Evangelion Aired on Netflix
When Neon Genesis Evangelion aired on Neflix, it signaled an opportunity for fans to finally watch it using a method that didn’t involve price-gauged boxsets or illegal streaming. Unfortunately, watching it legally and conveniently also means not getting to experience the iconic end theme. That’s because the end theme, Fly Me To The Moon, came with extra rights expenses that Neflix apparently didn’t want to pay for. Why they made that call, we can’t say. Maybe they spent so much money creating the worst interpretation of Death Note ever made that they didn’t have enough left over for the ED that pulled one of the most iconic anime of all time together.
6. The Relationships in ‘Re:ZERO’ Were Controversial To Almost Every Fan
Ask any random fan who their anime best girl is and chances are good that they’ll mention Rem from Re:Zero. Many were charmed by this sweet and loyal maid, and wanted her to achieve happiness – one major source of happiness for her being Subaru, who she’s fallen in love with. When Subaru rejected her in favor of the half-elf Emilia, those fans weren’t thrilled to say the least. Meanwhile, others were fine with it, since they liked Emilia and thought she and Subaru made a good couple. With Season 2 fast approaching, it’s possible that fans’ feelings are about to get hurt all over again.
7. Legendary Villain Orochimaru Was Completely Defanged In ‘Boruto’
Orochimaru is one of the most selfish, violent villains in the world of Naruto. He kidnapped children and experimented on them, often ending their lives or maiming and traumatizing them. He manipulated the then 12-year-old Sasuke Uchiha into agreeing to sign over his body, and he left the very young Yamato in a pile of children who didn’t survive the experiment. The person who spent the most time with him, Kabuto, exited the experience with his sanity shattered.
And he’s not just reprehensible, he’s stylishly reprehensbile. That’s why it’s hard to hate him no matter how awful he is – his snakish vibe is almost sexy, and his fervent desire to live long enough to learn every jutsu is kind of admirable. That’s why he’s a good villain – he’s awful but he’s the kind of awful you want to watch.
The version of Orochimaru who appears in Boruto is another story. Here, he’s the parent of Mitsuki, permitted to continue his experiments under supervision, and even allowed to visit his child’s school. While some think that the series’ new take is an interesting development, for others it’s either a loss of a fascinating villain or an affront to both his victims and to the Naruto villains who actually deserved redemption but lost their lives instead.
8. Funimation’s Fiasco Surrounding ‘Interspecies Reviewers’
Interspecies Reviewers is a series about a man named Stunk and an elf named Zel who travel around to brothels staffed by different sentient species and review them. This highly suggestive concept was a little too much for Funimation, the company that was originally streaming it. This meant that there was no longer any legal way to experience the series in the USA.
Reactions were mixed. Some people didn’t care about the series itself, but bristled at the censorship and the lack of oversight involved in signing the show in the first place. Others wanted to watch it and were irritated not to have that option. Still others thought it was a good decision, as they found the show distasteful.
9. Ichigo’s Kiss Scene Caused Major Outrage In ‘Darling in the Franxx’
Anime ship wars are always intense, but the one in Darling in the Franxx takes the cake. Zero Two x Hiro was a popular ship among the fandom since it was clear that the series was leading up to this relationship. But things got heated once Ichigo, a girl in love with Hiro from the start, decided to confess her feelings to him.
After Zero Two betrays her squad and is taken away, Ichigo prevents Hiro from going after her by kissing him. This scene enraged Zero Two x Hiro shippers so much that some fans sent death threats to the staff – including the animation producer and the voice actress playing Ichigo.