To most non-fans and casual viewers, anime is often synonymous with non-stop action and fanservice, though fans know that anime can be much deeper than that. Regardless of genre, every anime has a core message and theme, with some making some very profound points. Whether or not a viewer agrees with any anime in question is its own discussion, but the point being made came across as hollow in these specific cases.
The problem here isn’t that these anime’s themes are “wrong,” but that these stories contradict their own messaging. Thanks to sloppy writing, these anime raised more concerns and questions than they intended to.
WARNING: Spoilers ahead.
10 Blue Gender Gave Humanity A Second Chance By Killing Second Earth
Blue Gender was a rather nihilistic story, and it posited that humanity wasn’t worth saving after it ravaged the Earth in the name of civilization. When Yuji Kaido realized that this is what motivated Gaia’s revenge, he spoke on humanity’s behalf. Amazingly, he convinced the planet to give man another chance.
Shortly after, the people of Second Earth killed each other. Whether or not Gaia was behind this is irrelevant next to the fact that Blue Gender doomed mankind to extinction after Yuji’s plea. Yuji, Marlene, and their small tribe aren’t enough to repopulate the world, and those who simply used technology to survive were deemed unworthy of redemption.
9 Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Stopped Violence By Glossing Over Violence
As per Mobile Suit Gundam tradition, AGE showed war’s endless cycle of death and hatred. Things started out promisingly with Flit Asuno, a typical heroic and naïve ace Gundam pilot who was so traumatized by the horrors of war that he became the final villain. Unfortunately, this was better in concept than execution.
In brief, Flit stopped the Federation and Vagan’s war by holding both sides at gunpoint with a superweapon. AGE then ended with everyone hailing Flit as the savior of mankind and erecting a statue in his honor. This is despite the fact that he was a bloodthirsty war criminal who exacerbated the war for hateful reasons in the first place.
8 Magia Record Undermined Magical Girls’ Suffering
If Puella Magi Madoka Magica was a grim and existential deconstruction of magical girl anime, its spin-off, Magia Record, was an affirmation of what was originally demolished. If not for their sad backstories, Iroha Tamaki, Yachiyo Nanami, and their friends would be indistinguishable from typical magical girls.
Besides playing magical girl clichés straight, such as flattening new and old characters into archetypes and emphasizing action, Magia Record’s most egregious misunderstanding was its take on magic. Here, magic, and even temporarily transforming into a Witch, were cool power-ups — not the tragic death sentences seen in the mainline anime.
7 Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) Didn’t Commit To Equivalent Exchange
Even if it deviated from its then-ongoing source material, the first Fullmetal Alchemist still challenged the pursuit of absolute power. This is where “equivalent exchange” came in, which simply means that alchemists must pay the high price that their selfish desires demand. Despite this Edward Elric was somehow exempted from payment.
After Alphonse died saving him, Ed resurrected his brother by sacrificing himself. For some reason, the otherwise strict Gate threw Ed into the parallel world of the real Munich, Germany instead of taking his life. This watered down the 2003 anime’s warnings about the abuse of power, while the reboot Brotherhood did a better job exploring this theme.
6 Code Geass Lelouch Of The Re;surrection Undid Lelouch’s Character Development
Like many mecha anime before and after it, Code Geass condemned war and those who waged it. Lelouch Vi Britannia (aka Zero) was the twofold deconstruction of the heroic revolutionary and villainous mastermind, as his patriotic ideals stained his hands in blood. As atonement, Lelouch ended the series by orchestrating his own assassination.
Meanwhile, Code Geass’ cinematic sequel and release Lelouch Of The Re;surrection thought war was fun. To revive the long-dormant series, the movie retconned Lelouch’s death and had him reclaim his legend as Zero by dominating the battlefield. The movie ignored the series’ strong anti-war themes by making war cool and Zero a badass.
5 The Promised Neverland Skipped Revolution’s Harsh Realities
With the revelation that Emma, Ray, Norman, and every kid in Grace Field House were raised to be fed to the Demons, it was clear that The Promised Neverland would be a story of the sacrifices and trials the young must face when fighting for their future in a cruel world. If the first season did a great job at showing this, its sequel dropped the ball.
Because of its condensed and rushed state, The Promised Neverland’s second season blitzed through a years-long revolution and ironed out all moral complexities. Simply put, it was a rebellion on easy mode. Emma winning everyone over by being nice and saying platitudes only made things worse, turning a once-gritty revolt into a saccharine squabble.
4 Sword Art Online Glorified Escapism After Showing Its Dangers
While there are debatably worse isekai power fantasies out there, Sword Art Online is still guilty of popularizing the trend. When 50,000 gamers get trapped in a VRMMORPG, it seemed as if the anime would be about survival and the dangers of digital escapism. Instead of examining these tough questions, Kirito indulged in his power fantasies.
To be specific, Kirito lived out the wish fulfillment of Sword Art Online’s target audience. Whatever warnings about the abuse of infinite (in-game) power or excessive gaming that the anime made fell flat because Kirito became an all-powerful hero and women’ man precisely because he dove deeper into his gaming escapism, not away from it.
3 Cells At Work! Code Black Justified Fatal Work Conditions
On the surface level, Cells At Work’s seinen spin-off Code Black is an edgier take on the original’s biological edutainment and an ode to working hard. Upon closer inspection, it’s a vindication of dehumanizing work in an exploitative and even deadly environment. By the first season’s end, the focal Red Blood Cell dedicated his entire being to his dead-end job.
To be fair, Code Black is set in a human body, meaning the cells’ failure to do their jobs would literally kill them. However, the Red Blood Cell accepting that he exists only to keep his job and maintain an uncaring system comes across as romanticizing the kind of controlling workplaces that the anime warning audiences about.
2 Weathering With You Put True Love Over Everyone Else’s Wellbeing
Despite its modernity, Weathering With You is a classic love story. Here, teenage runaway Hodaka fought society and heaven itself to be with his star-crossed lover Hina. A story of pure young love conquering all isn’t inherently bad, but it becomes questionable and even morally wrong when it comes at the cost of an entire country.
As was fated, Hina was sacrificed to the old gods to spare Japan from catastrophic weather. Knowing this, Hodaka pulled her back to Earth. Instead of facing the consequences of his genuine but selfish actions, Hodaka was rewarded. Not only did he reunite with Hina, but he was cheered on by the denizens of a now-submerged Tokyo.
1 A Silent Voice Gave Its Worst Bullies A Free Pass
By starring a repentant bully, A Silent Voice showed the long and winding road that someone as formerly cruel as Shoya Ishida had to embark on not just to be forgiven, but to forgive himself. This culminated in Shoya almost dying to prove just how much he changed as a person, but people arguably worse than him were let off the hook.
As kids, Shoya and his friends tormented Shoko. For abandoning him then gaslighting him as teenagers, Shoya’s posse got the moral high ground and even made him indebted to them. In singling out Shoya and letting worse people get away scot-free, unlike how its manga ended, A Silent Voice weakened its call for personal redemption and reflection.
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