The Cringiest Anime Ever

[8BitNinja]

I really like anime. In contrast to how I felt about it a while back, I now think a good amount is great. I have watched a lot of good anime such as Cowboy Bebop, Tokyo Ghoul, and Ergo Proxy.

So that's why my friends and I embarked on a journey to find some truly cringy anime.

So I decided that I shouldn't leave you guys out of this. Tell me which one is truly the cringiest.

RULES:
1. Boku no Pico is disqualified
2. No pornographic content
3. I said cringe, not poor quality. There is a difference. A high quality show can still make you cringe.
4. This is all opinion, and should all be done in good fun. Please do not get offended or argue if an anime you like is mentioned.
5. Harem anime is going to be on this list, however, this is not a board to single those out. Be diverse in genres

ABOUT ME
If you want me to watch one,
1. I will only watch one episode, so if there is a certain episode you want me to see, mention it
2. I probably won't watch the subbed version, mostly because I like dub more.
3. I will be critical

Personally, I have an "unholy trinity" if you will. Consisting of DearS, Eiken, and Green Green. These anime actually made me feel like I committed a crime because I watched them.

Those are my worst.

[Metahuman1]

Obligatory Plug for AoT here. (The manga is admittedly worse so far, and so far as I'm concerned, but the whole well got poisoned for me out the starting gate so I'm biased. )


Ok, now that that's out of the way.





Well, The Animatrix, particularly the second Renaissance parts 1 and 2, was rather disturbing, and emotionally manipulative in what it was pulling ideas and imagery from.



I recall hearing of a series called Black Bible which I never attempted to watch. No idea what it's about, just that it's apparently Anime and near impossible to watch all the way through.


For all the good becoming a Shonen Action series did it, Maho Sensai Negima never did quite escape the creepy factor of being a harem anime about middle school girls and there 10 year old male teacher who hasn't hit puberty yet.


I also have heard of another Shonen called Frozen that has some REALLY cringe inducing rape factor at points. Have also not watched it on recommendation to avoid like the plague.


Well, that's just off the top of my head.

[DJ Yung Crunk]

The dub of Ghost Stories.

But that's the point.

[Aotrs Commander]

I recall hearing of a series called Black Bible which I never attempted to watch. No idea what it's about, just that it's apparently Anime and near impossible to watch all the way through.

I believe it violates no.2 criteron, from my understanding of the reputation.

[JoshL]

Is this where I mention Elfen Lied? Because, Elfen Lied. One of my favorite anime,theme songs too.

[Metahuman1]

I believe it violates no.2 criteron, from my understanding of the reputation.

Huh, well, that would probably be part of the problem if that's correct.






I'll second Elfen Lied.




Then there's the Spawn Animated Series.

Oh, and the Lady Death movie.




Ya know, the whole series might not be cringe inducing, but the sexually abusive mother in Kill La Kill I hear was all kinds of screwed up.

[Clertar]

Golden Boy.

[DoctorFaust]

Watamote, otherwise known as Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!.

[Cespenar]

Cringing can have different sources. I'd say Neon Genesis Evangelion. Shinji's despairing moments, to be exact. The detail and length of screen time on that contorting silly face has regularly tested my mettle against closing the video immediately.

Similarly, Attack on Titan. Yes, I understand, they're trying to convey Eren's fear to the audience, but the only thing I can feel at those moments is pure disgust.

I wish they'd reduce the screen time of such moments. In manga I can pass the page quickly if I want, but in anime it's just silly.

[Flickerdart]

Ouran Host Club.

[pendell]

The single most cringeworthy anime I ever saw was Upotte!!

The series takes place at a school known as Seishou Academy. Unlike an average school, all the students are actually anthropomorphized guns, training to one day become a useful weapon, and is divided up into elementary school (sub-machine guns), middle school (assault rifles), and high school (Battle rifles/sniper rifles). They are capable of drawing the weapons they represent from out of thin air and using them, and any student or her manifested gun can suffer from any gun-related problem the other might have. All students in Seishou train to shoot their target (literally) using live ammunition. The series mainly focuses on an FN FNC assault rifle nicknamed Funco and her friends with their human teacher.

That's weird enough; what's worse is that in the states it is rated "M" for "Mature audiences". There are some good anime that get that tag unjustly; not this one. I didn't finish the first episode. I don't think it's pornography, technically, but Japanese culture has different ideas about acceptability.

Make no mistake, anime is wondrous. It is also really, really weird at times. In the states, we're fortunate that most of the terrible anime doesn't make it out of Japan. But it exists.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[BeerMug Paladin]

Those Who Hunt Elves.

[Fri]

Those Who Hunt Elves.

Oh that's good addition. Mind you, it's actually a funny fantasy comedy-adventure, but the premise is, some modern-day soldier and their tank that got posessed by a cat-spirit got transported to a fantasy universe and to get back they must hunt some elves with special tattoo somewhere in their body. So of course, they must strip elves to find those tattoos. Despite the premise, it's not an adult anime and just a silly one.

Watamote is one in the line of "I was this girl" or "I know someone like this."

What else I can think of...

[Flickerdart]

Oh, another one - Irregular at Magic High School. It's got everything - the high school setting, the Mary Sue protagonist with made-up angst, the unreasonably effective students contrasted with useless adults...

[Sith_Happens]

Recently My Sister Has Been Unusual is about a teenage girl possessed by a ghost who makes her wear a magic chastity belt and come on to her stepbrother. I saw part of an episode at a convention once by mistake and won't touch it again with a ten foot pole.

Oh, another one - Irregular at Magic High School. It's got everything - the high school setting, the Mary Sue protagonist with made-up angst, the unreasonably effective students contrasted with useless adults...

It's also SO. BORING. Like, even the school getting attacked by machine-gun-toting terrorists was somehow one of the dullest thing I'd EVER watched.

[Fri]

Ooh you guys are good.

Irregular at Magic School is the mary suest thing ever, with pseudo incest, and of course ode to Imperialism and "Objectivism".

Recently My Sister Has Been Unusual is about a teenage girl possessed by a ghost who is taken by her brother and have to come on him or she'll die!

[Metahuman1]

It's also SO. BORING. Like, even the school getting attacked by machine-gun-toting terrorists was somehow one of the dullest thing I'd EVER watched.

Is that the one were the portag is considered an ultra looser with uber low test scores, but his problem is his style doesn't fit anywhere near what there actually testing and when you test him properly his power and ability are off the charts?









Oh, and for cringe factor, who could ever forget the 4Kids dub of One Piece?

[Flickerdart]

It's also SO. BORING. Like, even the school getting attacked by machine-gun-toting terrorists was somehow one of the dullest thing I'd EVER watched.

That's because there's literally no threat. They establish from episode 1 that the protagonist is a magic mega-genius (despite his ill-defined "weakness" that never comes up aside from placing him in the lower class) capable of taking out entire buildings with a glance, and that his classmates are only very slightly weaker.

I did sort of enjoy some of the magic-sports parts - Mary Sue vs Mary Sue 2 (the army guy) actually had a tiny bit of suspense, and the team battles when it wasn't just Mary Sue vs mooks were decent when focusing on the other guys. However, One Punch Man does the "sort of strong guys in a world with the one strong guy" thing so much better.

Also, I totally forgot about the incest. Yes, there was definitely that.

Is that the one were the portag is considered an ultra looser with uber low test scores, but his problem is his style doesn't fit anywhere near what there actually testing and when you test him properly his power and ability are off the charts?

I think he was also

Spoiler

Show

forbidden from using his full power because he's a secret military super weapon

but his "weak" powers are more than enough to kick everyone's ass in approximately half a second.

Also he's

Spoiler

Show

a genius-level engineer who owns half of the global magic engineering company and custom builds himself magic tools that make him even more better than everyone else.

Oh, and all the women want to jump his bone, but he is too cool and aloof for that.

[Traab]

High School of the Dead. The basic gist of it is, zombie apocalypse happens, the main characters are high school students, and the main path of the story is actually a good one. Its covering the time between the initial outbreak, and finding a place to fort up long term, which so often gets glossed over in movies. "Omg zombies!" /smash cut to the main characters reaching a mall. It isnt porny, outside of part of one episode which is an obligatory female group bath scene, but the cringe part is it is obsessed with fanservice to a terrifying degree.

Most of the anime is filmed at male gaze height. So lots of butt shots in skirts, and bouncy boobs in tight shirts. To me the cringe worthy episode happens early on. Its either the first or second episode where the zombie attack on the school takes place, because the insistence on fanservice does not match whats going on. We are seeing school girls running away screaming, getting dragged into piles of flesh eating zombies, (who are eating their flesh) plenty of blood, and they STILL give us panty shots, boobs bouncing like they are made out of rubber springs, and plenty of butt shots. The dissonance between the mood of the scene and the obsession with seeing high school girls bounce everywhere they go is cringe worthy to my mind.

There is another scene later on that really drives home the silliness of boob physics in this world. One of the girls is swinging a sword around killing zombies, and one of the guys is holding a high powered rifle. We get to see a bullet time shot of the rifle where one shot passes directly down the crease of her panties while she is in mid flip, which has to give her a friction burn in a very unpleasant spot, and then the next shot, one of her boobs swings up far enough for the bullet to pass under it, and her other boobs bounces so far down the same bullet goes over the top of it. We get to see this in loving slow motion so as to enjoy every millimeter her magic boobs travel.

The thing is, this anime is NOT played off as a hentai or whatever the term would be for a jokey anime where its all about sex, strategic clothing damage, and wank fantasies. Its a deadly serious zombie survival series where people die horrific deaths, emotional trauma is everywhere, and no place is safe for very long, as the city is dying around them. We dont see jokey sexual assault like where the protagonist male trips and falls face first into the crotch/cleavage of some tsundere female character who utilizes hammerspace to summon a giant weapon to beat him with. We see yakuza grab a girl, very clearly state what he is going to do to her, then get shot to death with blood everywhere. Its just, the entire time this is going on, no girl can so much as move without her surprisingly large breasts bouncing and swaying like crazy as the camera focuses on it, and every step she takes causes gusts of wind to blow up her skirt. Apparently the streets of japan are built entirely out of steam vents. So yeah, a cringe worthy series overall, even if I really like the premise.

[Kitten Champion]

I'm going to have to say Ima, Sokoni Iru Boku or Now and Then, Here and There. Which starts as a "boy follows mysterious girl to alternate reality"-story and quickly becomes dystopian fiction which brutally depicts the use and abuse of child soldiers and institutionalized rape by a despotic State.

Its stark realization of the worst humanity can be in such an unflinching manner is the point, and done exceedingly well, but it's still incredibly hard to watch.

[pendell]

Now and Then, Here and there is available legally on youtube. Be advised: This is an anti-war story for adults, the animation not withstanding. There are child soldiers, there is rape, there is murder. The worst bits take place off-camera, so it avoids an "M" rating, but this ain't Saturday-morning cartoon fare. Still worth watching , though.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[HMS Invincible]

If we're counting golden boy, then I'm tossing in Baki the grappler. The basic example is he beats this American fighter who can only compete with Baki by consuming fistfuls of steroids. Luckily for Baki, his superior Japanese genes enable him to win.

[Yora]

Is this where I mention Elfen Lied? Because, Elfen Lied. One of my favorite anime,theme songs too.

I think it's probably the cringiest I've actually watched myself. Which is a bit sad as the manga is a lot more nuanced and handles all the dissonance of the material really quite well.

[Fawkes]

A filmsy excuse to post my favorite gif? I'll take it!

[Zigwat]

Whether it be dub or sub, it doesn't matter. The cringiest Anime I've ever seen was Master of the Martial Hearts. The anime in itself was entirely pointless, and the dialog was so utterly cringeworthy, it really is a shame to think that writers actually got PAID to do it. The worst part about it? The story. There comes about absolute CRAP plot twists out of NOWHERE! "Oh, it wasn't your father that did it, it was your GRANDFATHER!!!" OHHHH NOOOOOOOOZZ Who the hell gives the harry crack of a rat's ass?

Then there's the dialog I mentioned earlier. There's a fighter in it that's a flight attendant! And all of her dialog is derived from the safety briefing before a flight. Then lets not forget that while this is not a porno, it is a boob anime, and it can't even do that right. Clothes are literally BROKEN off during a fight. I mean, really? You can BREAK fabric now? I would say that boobs were the reason for this anime, but considering that they couldn't even do that right, I really can't say. The fight scenes are laughable, the animation was atrocious, and the plot twists come out of nowhere, and you don't really care either way because there's no character build-up.

I saw this on Netflix, but I'm sure it's not on there anymore. If you want to hunt it down to see what I'm talking about, by all means, be my guest.

[KillingAScarab]

This may not be exactly what you're seeking, but reading "cringiest anime" made me think immediately of Crest of the Stars. I haven't watched all of it even though I own the DVD release and it's only 13 episodes. I couldn't get past the premise: space elves know what is best for everyone. They know this so well, they'll conquer your solar system to save you from yourselves.

I recall hearing of a series called Black Bible which I never attempted to watch. No idea what it's about, just that it's apparently Anime and near impossible to watch all the way through.

I believe it violates no.2 criteron, from my understanding of the reputation.

Yes, Bible Black is hentai.

[DoctorFaust]

I actually rather enjoyed Mahouka. Then again, I went into it with the mindset of it being a comedy rather than an actual action show, so YMM definitely V.

[Flickerdart]

I actually rather enjoyed Mahouka. Then again, I went into it with the mindset of it being a comedy rather than an actual action show, so YMM definitely V.

I can see how you might laugh at it, but certainly not with it, which is what a comedy is.

I couldn't get past the premise: space elves know what is best for everyone. They know this so well, they'll conquer your solar system to save you from yourselves.

Seems pretty par for the course for elves.

[Morbis Meh]

I am posting one of my favorite anime's Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (When they Cry) because I have witnessed people cringe hardcore at several of the scenes due to its graphic nature (not pornographic, this has nothing of that variety in it). You can find the first season in english dub to make matters easier (I own the dub version and I prefer dub since I generally multitask).

[Aotrs Commander]

Seems pretty par for the course for elves.

Considering the INCREDIBLY low bar humanity sets, though, can you blame them?