With the ever-growing popularity of the anime industry, hundreds of new series are being released each year. 2025 has been a phenomenal year for anime fans, with the return of major franchises such as Demon Slayer, The Apothecary Diaries, and many more. Not to mention the new additions to the anime world, including Sakamoto Days and Gachiakuta, which easily won fans’ hearts with just a few episodes. On the other hand, Fall 2025 alone is hype worth considering the return of Spy x Family, My Hero Academia, and One Punch Man. While the overall anime year has been incredible, there were also several controversies that grabbed fans’ attention.
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It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Lord of Mysteries, The Beginning After the End, and Solo Leveling were the most controversial series of the year. While the controversies were due to different reasons, all three series were based on non-Japanese novels. While Solo Leveling is among the most famous Korean series, The Beginning After the End broke ground as an American light novel and subsequent webtoon adapted into an anime, and Lord of Mysteries is based on a Chinese light novel and is a donghua, essentially a Chinese anime. All three of these series have wide global fanbases, so one can imagine the hype around their anime adaptations. But why were these series at the center of controversy?
3) Lord of Mysteries
The animation is some of the best of all time, but the problem lies with the adaptation. Since the original story has around 1400 chapters, the anime had to cut down on a lot of scenes, making the story too fast-paced. Just the first three episodes had already adapted around 75 chapters, excluding a lot of scenes from the original. However, considering the studio’s massive budget, they had no choice but to skim down the original story.
Another problem surfaced when Crunchyroll cut down the chibi extras from the show, sparking dissatisfaction among global viewers. The studio has plans to release seven seasons over the next ten years, although any information regarding Season 2 has yet to be disclosed.
2) The Beginning After the End
If you’re an avid manhwa or webtoon reader, you must have read or at least heard about TBATE long before the anime adaptation was released. Considering the series’ massive global popularity, one can imagine fans’ excitement regarding the anime adaptation. However, the series released by Studio A-Cat couldn’t even be considered subpar; it was just that disappointing, which is a clear result of low budget.
To make matters worse, the novel’s author, TurtleMe, himself chose this small studio so they would only focus on one project, but it backfired massively. The controversy was so bad that over 50,000 fans signed a petition to ask for a remake or for the anime to be canceled. The author even had to apologize on social media, but surprisingly, amid the controversy, the studio has confirmed a Season 2, which is expected to be released in April 2026. The studio may be able to turn things around now that they have more time, but nothing can be confirmed unless a trailer is released.
1) Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling is the only anime on the list that didn’t have any problem with the adaptation. A-1 Pictures has been doing a splendid job with the series, and no doubt the third season will be just as amazing. After releasing the first two seasons one after the other, the studio has gone silent on the next installment, but we may hear from them sometime soon. Considering Solo Leveling’s popularity, Season 3 is already a done deal; we just need an official announcement. The studio’s efforts helped popularize the anime even further on the global platforms, but perhaps too popular for its own good.
The annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards is based on audience votes, and Solo Leveling Season 1 completely dominated the ceremony this year, even to the point of winning the Anime of the Year award instead of critically acclaimed shows such as Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and The Apothecary Diaries. Despite the flashy animation and intense fight scenes, many viewers believe the story is too simple to win this many awards, especially since the ceremony recognized its first season, which was comparatively less acclaimed than its competitors. If Season 2 were competing, it’d have been a different story.
However, we can’t fail to consider that the light novel and manhwa were already massively popular long before the anime was released. So, it’s a given that people will vote for something they like. However, this fact didn’t quell the dissatisfaction from Solo Leveling haters at all.
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