10 Modern Anime That Are Completely Overshadowed By Controversy

No media is ever completely safe from controversy, and anime is no exception. Whether it’s how an anime writes its plot or characters, or even if it just doesn’t present something in a way fans like, fans will always find something to object to, even if their criticisms are based more on personal problems than actual issues with a show.

It’s all but impossible for an anime not to generate some amount of controversy, and that’s especially true with modern anime, as anime being as big as it is has made it even harder for new shows to avoid controversy. A few modern anime especially stand out in that regard, and unfortunately, that won’t change anytime soon.

10) Dragon Ball Daima

Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball Daima is the latest installment in the Dragon Ball franchise. A year after defeating Majin Buu, Goku and his friends are turned into children by Gomah, the king of the Demon Realm, so now Goku must go on a grand adventure through the Demon Realm to return everyone to normal and end Gomah’s tyranny.

While Dragon Ball Daima had plenty of great comedy and gorgeous animation, the low stakes and numerous continuity issues have made it incredibly divisive with fans. The fact that it was the last story Akira Toriyama wrote before he died makes it even worse, and with the franchise still on hiatus, there’s no telling how long Daima’s controversy will last.

9) Dandadan

Science Saru’s Dandadan stars Momo Ayase and Okarun, two teenagers who awaken to supernatural abilities after encountering violent spirits and aliens. Unfortunately, it also left Okarun without his genitals, and the two must team up to turn Okarun back to normal while fighting any supernatural threat they come across, all while slowly falling in love along the way.

Dandadan has been a major modern hit with its fun writing and incredible artwork and animation, but it’s also been criticized for its excessive fanservice and repeatedly using the threat of rape as drama, especially in season 1. By the time Dandadan season 3 comes out, those elements should be mostly gone, but that won’t make Dandadan any less controversial.

8) Solo Leveling

A-1 Pictures’ Solo Leveling takes place in a world where people can awaken to supernatural abilities and become Hunters for profit and to protect the innocent. Among them is Sung Jinwoo, regarded as the world’s weakest Hunter, but after awakening a video game-esque power, he’ll use it to slowly become stronger than everyone, even if he might lose his humanity.

As another generic power fantasy anime, Solo Leveling has all the typical criticisms of poor worldbuilding and a boring protagonist, but they’re even worse here because of all the hype attached to it. Granted, the incredible animation and direction do justify it, but it’s hard not to feel like Solo Leveling gets too much praise over shows with more substance.

7) My Hero Academia

In Bones Film’s My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya dreams of becoming a hero, despite being born without any powers, and after a chance meeting with his idol, All Might, Izuku will finally get a chance to prove that he has what it takes not just to be a hero, but to be the greatest hero of them all.

With how big My Hero Academia is, there’s definitely controversy over whether it deserves its hype, but it’s also been criticized for its lackluster worldbuilding and for the fates of certain characters in the final arc. Various epilogues have improved the reception of My Hero Academia’s ending, but it’s hard to see that applying to the entire story anytime soon.

6) Gushing Over Magical Girls

In Asahi Production’s Gushing over Magical Girls, Utena Hiiragi jumps at the chance to become a magical girl just like her idols, Tres Magia, but she was unknowingly recruited to become an evil magical girl, and whenever Utena fights as Magia Baiser, she can’t stop herself from indulging in her repressed sadistic urges and subjecting them to BDSM-style torture.

It’s one thing for Gushing over Magical Girls to be filled with highly erotic fanservice, but what’s worse is that most of the girls are underage and no older than 15. There’s a surprising amount of charm to the writing underneath it all, but that doesn’t change how uncomfortable the premise is, with many people saying it shouldn’t even exist.

5) Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Madhouse’s Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End stars Frieren, the unaging elven mage of the hero’s party who just completed their journey to defeat the demon king. It isn’t until the hero, Himmel, dies decades later that Frieren realizes how much she cared about them, though, and so she decides to go on another journey to learn how to understand others better.

Frieren depicts demons as an objectively evil race, and while that’s a classic fantasy trope, it’s been warped into an allegory for racism against real-life minorities, with people either hating the anime for it or, most frustratingly, outright supporting the idea. It’s an utterly disgusting phenomenon, and unfortunately, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 2 will only make it worse.

4) Attack On Titan

In MAPPA’s Attack on Titan, after man-eating Titans destroyed humanity’s last stronghold for the first time in a century, Eren Yeager’s family is caught in the crossfire, and he’ll dedicate the rest of his life to ridding the world of Titans, even if it ends up being far more complicated than he could have imagined.

As Attack on Titan’s story became increasingly political, fans were divided on both the execution of it all and whether it made sense to support any one side, especially as one faction was a clear allegory for fascism. Add in a highly divisive ending, and it’s easy to see why Attack on Titan is so controversial.

3) Rent-A-Girlfriend

In TMS Entertainment’s Rent-A-Girlfriend, after getting dumped by his girlfriend, Kazuya Kinoshita hires a girl from an escort service named Chizuru Mizuhara to make himself feel better, and while they can’t get along in the slightest, various circumstances force them to pretend to be a real couple, although it isn’t long before true feelings develop between them.

Rent-A-Girlfriend suffers from an unlikeable lead and a poorly-developed cast of girls, but as the series goes on, it’s become a punching bag among anime fans for its poor pacing and how every character seems to get progressively worse, especially Chizuru. Harem anime can be fun to watch, but unfortunately, Rent-A-Girlfriend is easily one of the worst there is.

2) Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

Studio Bind’s Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation stars an obese shut-in evicted from his home, who then dies saving kids from a speeding truck. The man was then reincarnated into a fantasy world as Rudeus Greyrat, a boy with a natural affinity to magic, and he decides to use the opportunity to live a life he can actually be proud of.

While Mushoku Tensei’s incredible visuals and worldbuilding have made it a massive hit, it’s incredibly undermined by Rudeus being an unabashed pervert and arguable pedophile, something the story never has him grow out of. All of that has made Mushoku Tensei divisive for years, and with Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation season 3 coming soon, it’s only going to get worse.

1) Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Studio Pierrot’s Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the direct sequel to the iconic Naruto anime. Years after Naruto Uzumaki saved the world and became Hokage, Naruto’s son, Boruto, has started his own journey as a ninja, and despite the world being in a new era of peace, Boruto’s journey is poised to become even more dangerous than his father’s.

Boruto is highly disliked because of its poor pacing and controversial handling of old and new characters, yet diehard fans will always defend it while also deriding anything else as trash. The toxicity from Boruto’s supporters and detractors is impossible to ignore, and it’s hard to see it as anything other than modern anime’s most controversial series, by far.

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