The Worst Sci-fi Anime Of Every Year Of The 2000s

Many fans consider the 2000s to be the height of anime’s popularity – often called its “golden age.” This decade saw a huge variety of genres emerge, including action-comedy, thrillers, realistic slice-of-life stories, and science fiction. Japanese sci-fi anime, in particular, is incredibly diverse. Two popular subgenres are Mecha, which features giant robots piloted by humans, and Cyberpunk, which explores worlds with advanced technology.

Space opera anime often features exciting adventures in outer space and interstellar travel. Other genres, like dystopian and psychological anime, explore darker visions of the future. While the 2000s brought a lot of anime releases, especially in science fiction, not all of it was good. In fact, some sci-fi anime from that decade was truly terrible. Here’s a look at some of the worst examples.

10. 2000: Argento Soma

This 25-episode animated sci-fi series, directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi and written by Kazuyoshi Katayama, originally aired from 2000 to 2001. A separate version, released as an Original Video Animation in 2002, had a different title. The story takes place in 2059 and centers on Tukuto Kenishiro, a metallurgy student. He and his girlfriend, Maki Agata (a lab assistant to Professor Noguchi), accidentally revive a biomechanical alien. A power outage causes the alien, nicknamed Frank by the professor, to awaken and destroy the lab, killing everyone except Tukuto, who is left with severe facial injuries. After recovering, Tukuto is approached by a mysterious Mr. X, who offers him a chance to join FUNERAL, a military organization dedicated to fighting alien invaders, and avenge Maki’s death. Tukuto accepts and adopts the new identity of Ryu Soma.

I really struggled with this series. The beginning was incredibly slow and frankly, pretty dull. While it did get a little better, the pacing never quite felt right. I found it hard to connect with the main character; he was so consumed by revenge that he didn’t seem to realize the destruction wouldn’t have happened without the alien’s involvement. Visually, it wasn’t great either – a lot of the characters looked strange because they weren’t even given noses! And the ending? A total letdown. Everything was resolved through tearful confessions, which just didn’t feel satisfying.

9. 2001: Generation of Chaos

This animated video was created to promote a tactical role-playing game series developed by Idea Factory. It was initially released in 2001 to give players a first look at the game’s universe.

I watched a series of animated shorts called Generation of Chaos. The first part introduced us to Chiffon, a well-known monster trainer struggling with a lost power, and Roze, a half-demon girl facing prejudice. The second short, released in 2002, focused on Ellile, a knight-in-training secretly in love with Princess Roji. Then, in 2003, the third part came out, telling the story of Prince Alfred and his companion Welles – known as the ‘Galloping Winds’ – as they fought to defend their country, Randia.

The three Generation of Chaos OVAs received negative reviews for a number of issues. Viewers found the stories unengaging, and the animation quality, particularly the CGI, was subpar. Despite a title hinting at exciting action, the series lacked both action and a compelling plot. Furthermore, the characters were underdeveloped, preventing viewers from truly connecting with the world they existed in.

8. 2002: Genma Taisen: Shinwa Zenya no Shou

Known in English as Genma Wars: Eve of Mythology, this 13-episode anime is adapted from a manga chapter of the same name by Shotaro Ishinomori. The original manga ran from 1979 to 1981. Produced by E&G Films, the anime series premiered in Japan in 2002 and is set in a bleak, post-apocalyptic future.

The story centers around Genma, a cruel king from the Mah tribe, who wants a son with a woman from the Hito tribe, believing it will produce a powerful heir. Non, a Hito woman, agrees to bear his child in exchange for protecting her village. She gives birth to twins, Loof and Jin. Genma raises Loof among the Mah people, while Non raises Jin in the Hito village. The narrative follows their separate upbringings and how they eventually discover their connection and unite to oppose their father.

Honestly, I was really disappointed with this sci-fi series. It just didn’t come together – the production values felt cheap, the story was pretty dull, and the episodes just didn’t flow well. I really struggled to get invested in any of the characters, and it made the whole experience pretty frustrating as a viewer. It’s a shame, because the premise had potential, but it just didn’t deliver.

7. 2003: Beast Fighter: The Apocalypse

I’m a huge fan of Majuu Sensen, a really cool anime from 2003! It’s only 13 episodes, but it packs a punch, mixing sci-fi with some seriously dark fantasy, horror, and awesome action. It’s actually based on a manga from way back in 1975 by Ken Ishikawa. The story centers around some incredible characters: you’ve got Dr. Genzou Kuruma, a totally unhinged scientist determined to end the world, his son Shinichi Kuruma, who can summon beasts from his own body and even absorb their power by… well, eating them! Then there’s Ayaka Sanders, a girl with really unique blood, and Tomizoro, who everyone calls Tommy. It’s a wild ride!

The story centers on the ruin of a city and Shinichi’s quest for revenge against his father, Dr. Genzou. Genzou experimented on Shinichi and his mother, and Shinichi believes his father also murdered his mother. Genzou’s goal is to awaken God, and he needs a specific blood type – found in both Shinichi and a girl named Ayaka Sanders – to do so. He’s relentless in his pursuit of them, even though awakening God would destroy the world. Genzou uses New Humans – beings he genetically modified into monsters – to carry out his dangerous plan.

The show isn’t very good because it relies heavily on static images, repeated footage, and slow panning instead of smooth animation, even during important action scenes. The artwork also feels uneven, and the characters’ lip movements don’t match their dialogue. It features a lot of graphic violence, including the deaths of children, which many viewers will find disturbing.

6. 2004: Tenkuu Danzato Skelter Heaven

This anime is a short, 19-minute mecha OVA released in 2004, directed by Yoshiteru Sato. When a strange entity appears in Tokyo, the Alta Mira Agency, led by Otsuya Funagai, is tasked with defeating it. But Rin Ichikawa, a female pilot and Otsuya’s romantic partner, could potentially endanger both the team and their mission.

I have to say, this anime is really rough. The 3D animation looks incredibly dated and doesn’t fit at all, and the story just doesn’t make much sense. Plus, the show relies heavily on a group of female characters who are mostly just there as eye candy – they don’t have much personality or any real growth throughout the series. It’s honestly one of the most disappointing anime I’ve seen.

5. 2005: Mars of Destruction

Prepare for a truly dire situation, the details of which will soon be clear. Mars of Destruction (also known as Hametsu no Mars) is a 2005 animated film based on a PlayStation 2 visual novel released that same year by Idea Factory. The story takes place in 2010 and begins with the catastrophic return of a manned mission to Mars – the spacecraft explodes upon entering Earth’s atmosphere. Soon after, mysterious creatures called “Ancients” start attacking Tokyo. A specially formed all-female task force, AAST, struggles to defeat them. Hope arrives in the form of the MARS suit, a powerful new weapon. However, the suit can only be operated by individuals with a specific genetic makeup. This leads to an unlikely hero: Takeru, an inexperienced teenage boy whose DNA is a perfect match, and who is thrust into the battle.

This 19-minute anime is considered one of the worst ever made, and for good reason. The animation is incredibly stiff, and the action scenes are unintentionally funny – characters just stand there while being shot at. The story doesn’t make sense, the characters are underdeveloped, and even the gore, like a character’s head being blown off, looks badly drawn. To make things worse, the ending includes a random, pointless twist that comes completely out of left field.

4. 2006: Musashi Gundoh

Musashi Gundoh, also known as Musashi: The Way of the Gun, is a 26-episode anime series created in 2006 by Monkey Punch, the creator of Lupin III. The story takes place after the Sengoku Era, when the Toyotomi army won the war for control of Japan, defeating the Tokugawa clan. However, a sinister spirit named Yasha manipulates Tokugawa by convincing him that history will remember him as the true victor. Believing Yasha, Tokugawa gains an evil power and begins to seize control of the country. The only one who can stop him and Yasha is Musashi Miyamoto, a bold young man skilled in Gun-do – a fighting style that blends swordsmanship and firearms.

The show is notorious for being very cheaply made. Characters often look different from one scene to the next, and it’s filled with drawn-out, pointless action sequences using static images. Many scenes don’t flow together well, and the editing feels disjointed. Things got so confusing that the show had to air a recap episode mid-season, between episodes 11 and 12, just to help viewers follow the plot.

3. 2007: Shining Tears X Wind

Based on two PlayStation 2 games from Sega’s Shining RPG series, Shining Tears X Wind is a 13-episode anime that unfortunately doesn’t live up to its source material. The story, directed by Hiroshi Watanabe and produced by Studio Deen, centers around Souma Akizuki and his friend Touka Kureha. They are unexpectedly transported to a fantasy world called End Earth by a mysterious girl named Mao. Before this, students at St. Luminous Academy in Tatsumi Town were vanishing without explanation. Now in this new world, Souma is determined to find his missing classmates and battle the monsters that inhabit it.

The anime adaptation of this series started to decline when Kaito Kiriya, the popular protagonist from the original game, was reduced to a supporting role. To make matters worse, he was reimagined as a rival to the new main character, Souma. The animation quality was noticeably low, and the storyline was so confusing for those unfamiliar with the game that it was difficult to follow.

2. 2008: Blassreiter

Blassreiter is a 24-episode Japanese anime series from 2008, created by Gonzo and Nitroplus. The story takes place in a Germany of the near future, where Earth is under attack by biomechanical creatures called Amalgams (also known as Demoniacs). These creatures rise from corpses and can merge with vehicles to become even more powerful. To combat this threat and protect the population, a special task force called the Xenogenesis Assault Team (XAT) sends out officers Amanda Werner and Hermann Saltza.

During their mission, the team encounters a new, more dangerous type of Amalgam – beings that are half-human. These are known as the Amalgamated, and Joseph Jobson is one of them. Unlike other Amalgams, Joseph can control his powerful, demonic form and dedicates himself to protecting humanity while seeking the person who made him this way. Unfortunately, the series suffers from poor storytelling, lacking any compelling plots and quickly becoming dull. It also heavily relies on tired and predictable science fiction clichés.

1. 2009: Abunai Sisters: Koko & Mika

I remember stumbling across Abunai Sisters: Koko & Mika a few years back. It’s a short, 10-episode anime from 2009, created with 3D CGI by Production I.G. It was a really interesting project – essentially a way to promote the Kano sisters, who are famous in Japan. Originally, it was supposed to be shown weekly, but it only lasted two episodes on AT-X before being cancelled. Thankfully, the whole series eventually came out on DVD. The story centers around two incredibly wealthy sisters, Koko and Mika, who live a super glamorous life, all thanks to a special gemstone they possess. The catch? A couple of clumsy criminals are constantly trying to steal that stone, hoping it will give them eternal youth and beauty.

This series is disappointing, and not just because of its use of 3D animation. The overall quality is low, with a confusing and dull story that lacks any real background or explanation. Although the animated short is brief, it feels much longer due to its slow and awkward pacing.

2026-05-06 01:42