Overrated and beaten to the pulp?

by Anime Geek

Some animes finish up with a great big bang and others seem to never end. Others may end but continue to commemorate as the best anime 'ever' no matter how many years have passed. However, I feel some of these 'best animes' are a bit mainstream and do not seem to have an end no matter how good they are. Nothing wrong with mainstream anime, as a matter of fact, I am a fan of some of them BUT sometimes it would be nice to see it end. So here are some of the most overrated animes I feel are overrated (it does not mean they are not good because some of these are!).

1. Death Note

Death Note is considered a masterpiece and the best anime out there for many fans. I can sympathize, why? Because the plot is orchestrated diligently and the suspense on the mystery of catching 'Kira' is thrilling. There are not many animes out there that can bring forth an intriguing story about a guy killing people with a book and a pen, so I will applaud the author. HOWEVER, I feel fans have placed this anime on a golden throne and praise it to be the best ever. Could it be that the anime has gotten more attention because of Netflix? YouTube? There are many more animes out there that are just as good as Death Note and not much praise is given to them. It is quite unfortunate and I feel it is overly done. This is a great anime for a newcomer to the anime community or for someone who has never watched an anime in his or her life, but as an anime fan, I feel there is more to Death Note in the fandom.

2. Naruto ​

What can I say? Naruto is considered to be one of the best animes out there. The anime does encourage positive image to young teens and adults so I am not going to be 'nay' to it. It has comedy, action, and a well-paced plot that some animes may lack. BUT since it is so well known in the anime community, it is pretty mainstream. Naruto is long overdue and perhaps one of the first animes seen by many fans, but it has gotten pretty old. The franchise cannot get enough and has continued to promote its spinoff, Boruto, based on Naruto and Hinata's son. Which I think satisfies the nostalgia of many fans, yet keeps on stretching the Naruto franchise. In my personal opinion, it is way overdone and it never seems to end.

3. Dragonball Z

I remember as a child watching DBZ in my pajamas and eating my favorite snack. What perfect days those were! However, not so perfect now that I am an adult. I do enjoy cruising through other bloggers and YouTubers channels on DBZ news, but I feel that it has lasted way too long. The series never seems to end no matter what turns and twists it takes, as a matter of fact, Goku became a grandparent! Wow! Yes, DBZ is that old that even the main character became a grandparent and still looks pretty damn good for an old fellow that never seems to age no matter what. Anyways, I am quite surprised it continues to have a lot of followers and many continue to be loyal to the series (which is fine if that is what you like) but it baffles me that it is regarded with a lot of support from the community. To me, it will hold a special place in my childhood memories but that is about it.

4. Pokemon

As a child that grew up watching Pikachu and Ash every weekend morning, I can say it was awesome!! As an adult, I can say that I am surprised that it continues to release movies and new episodes. Before joining the anime fandom, I thought Pokemon was finished but boy was I wrong. The franchise continues to market merchandise as well as the series in every possible way. Which is nice if you are a pre-teen and have never watched anime before, but as an adult it feels disappointing that Ash never grew up. In other anime series, the main protagonist grows up and has children of his or her own like Naruto or DBZ but not Ash. The poor fellow continues to be a 12-year-old child that only gets an update every 3 to 5 years on his face, clothing, and hat. It would be nice to see Ash grow up and introduce a new protagonist to the franchise rather than keeping an eternal 12-year-old boy. However, marketing specialist does not feel the same as I do, but that is ok maybe in 30 years right?

5. Sword Art

Online I remember when SAO was not mainstream yet, and it was quite enjoyable. However, it has gotten pretty big and continues to be extremely popular. The storyline is pretty good, and there is enough butt-kicking for me to stick around. BUT it has joined the mainstream ranks in these past few years because it everyone knows about, reads about, breathes about it, and continues to talk about it. Which is fine but there are other animes like SAO where the protagonists are 'stuck' in the game that are more intriguing. The series is still enjoyable, but it never seems to end. Why can't Asuna and Kirito get married and live happily ever after? Please do not let this be another eternal teen story. Then again this is my opinion and I think the story should start wrapping up after this upcoming season on October.

These are what I consider to be the top 5 most overrated animes, and do not get me wrong some of these continue to be enjoyable. However, I feel that it should end at some point (20 years is enough time) and let new fresh ideas give way.