7 Anime With Great Animation (But a Forgettable Plot)

Anime as a medium often bursts with untapped potential. It’s where bold ideas, distinct aesthetics, and emotional storytelling intersect. There are countless shows that almost achieve greatness. Yet, they often crumble under their own weight. The result is a show that shines brightly in moments but fades quickly when the credits roll.

What’s most frustrating about this kind of anime isn’t that it’s bad — it’s that it’s disappointing. You see the creative spark. But then it falters — perhaps the story starts pandering to fan expectations, or philosophical depth gives way to spectacle for spectacle’s sake. Ambition is admirable, but execution matters more. 

7. The God of High School

In terms of animation, The God of High School is a showpiece of kinetic energy. The fight choreography — courtesy of MAPPA — is electric, highly stylized, and bursting with fluid motion. Every punch and supernatural transformation is a visual feast. The camerawork and dynamic angles scream “sakuga showcase,” and they deliver.

Unfortunately, beneath all that flash lies paper-thin storytelling. The plot starts as a martial arts tournament and then spirals into a mythology soup of gods, keys, and apocalyptic nonsense. Emotional stakes vanish behind spectacle. It’s the perfect example of a show where the animators went beyond what the script deserved.

6. Sword Art Online: Alicization

Few can deny that Alicization looks incredible. The color palette, digital backgrounds, and fight animation all reach cinematic standards. A-1 Pictures poured their budget into intricate particle effects, sword clashes that sparkle, and hero shots that belong in a movie theater. It raised the bar for how fantasy MMORPG settings could look on screen.

But the storytelling still strays into the same SAO pitfalls: bloated exposition, meandering pacing, and a lack of real emotional maturity. The narrative feels like a tech demo for its own lore, rather than a story that knows what it wants to say. 

5. Takt Op. Destiny

A joint production between Madhouse and MAPPA, Takt Op. Destiny looks like a moving art exhibition. Every frame oozes polish: from the character designs bursting with color to the elegant attack sequences set to classical music. The blending of music and action is genuinely inspired, and its world has a lush, painterly aesthetic rare in TV anime.

Yet its plot feels undercooked and emotionally detached. The world-building teases grand themes — music as humanity’s salvation — but never explores them deeply. The finale, in particular, fizzles out instead of crescendoing. It’s a show that deserved a symphony, but only managed a well-played overture.

4. Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song

A rare original anime from WIT Studio, Vivy is breathtaking. Its visual direction is stunningly composed, blending sci-fi ambiance with orchestral action. Every episode looks like a short film, boasting meticulous lighting, gorgeous reflections, and fight choreography that rivals any top-tier production. The sound design complements that spectacle beautifully.

But while Vivy tries to tackle big philosophical ideas — AI, identity, humanity — it never quite lands its emotional arcs. The pacing fluctuates wildly, and character motivations often serve plot convenience rather than emotional logic. It’s a technical masterpiece that leaves the viewer oddly unmoved after the curtain falls.

3. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (2016)

WIT Studio again proves they can animate anything into pure eye candy. Steampunk trains slicing through hordes of zombie-like creatures? Check. Epic, hand-drawn explosions? Check. The show’s visual identity is profound — Attack on Titan’s DNA is all over it, but dressed in even richer colors and cinematic flair. And yet, the plot severely drops the ball. Character arcs are barely formed before the next crisis hits, and emotional beats rarely land.

2. Promare

Trigger’s Promare is a visual inferno. It’s an explosion of neon color, polygonal design, and kinetic motion — a modern masterpiece in pure animation craft. Hiroyuki Imaishi’s direction delivers unrestrained energy, blending 2D and 3D animation so seamlessly it feels revolutionary. But the plot? A simple “firefighters versus mutants” story that collapses under its own melodrama. The emotional resonance never matches the volume of the visuals. Promare is exhilarating and exhausting — a sensory high that fades as soon as the credits roll. You remember the colors, not the characters.

1. Garden of Sinners

Garden of Sinners remains one of the most gorgeously produced anime film series ever made. Ufotable’s mastery of digital compositing, lighting, and atmosphere set the stage for what they’d later accomplish in Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works and Demon Slayer.

However, the story’s nonlinear, opaque narrative alienates many viewers. Characters often speak in riddles, themes are buried under abstraction, and emotional clarity takes a back seat to aesthetic mystique. It’s a work of art, yes — but one that can feel emotionally distant. Stunning, unforgettable visuals paired with an experience that’s, ironically, forgettable.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!