2009 in Review: Top 5 Most Disappointing

See also:
2009 in Review: Top 10 Best
2009 in Review: Top 5 Honorable Mentions

2009 may have been a great year for anime fans, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any disappointments. In this post, I’ll be discussing the 2009 anime shows that I was looking forward to seeing, but unfortunately turned out to be a major snoozefest. Again, this is only my opinion, and I just know people are going to hate me for what I picked.

5. Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza

Not being a big fan of the first season, I actually wasn’t really expecting much of the second season. Sure, Nogizaka Haruka Season 1 had its funny moments, especially with the Shakugan no Shana parodies, though overall I found the series unfunny and over-dramatic at times. So when I went to give season 2 a try, I had little expectations. As expected, the first episode wasn’t all that great. However, what really irked me was the blatant censorship. There’s one scene where the girls are in a hot spring touching each other in inappropriate places. This is a very common anime trope, but never before have I seen it censored. But in this particular scene, I kid you not, about 90% of the screen was filled with steam, meant for purposes of censoring the material. Japan must be really desperate for people to buy their insanely overpriced anime DVDs if they find it necessary to censor the TV airing of a show this much. Additionally, there were plenty of other scenes that were censored as well. It was utterly unbearable.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza is currently available on Crunchyroll

4. Akikan!

Akikan! is a show about cans of soda that turn into girls and fight each other. No, I’m not kidding, that’s really what the show is about. Some may think that this may be a hilarious basis for a show, and well, yeah, it definitely could be. To be honest, I did actually watch all of Akikan! and enjoyed it to some extent, but there are many, many issues with its presentation. The comedy in the show is generally unfunny. The story is nothing spectacular at all, although I can’t say I expected much of a story from a show about transforming soda cans. The show tries to be ecchi, but the fanservice is lacking, to say the least. What sucked me into this show was the first episode, which actually was pretty funny. It wasn’t until later on that I came to realize the show in its entirety just isn’t worth the effort.

3. Shangri-La

Shangri-La is a perfect example of how one should not judge an anime by its opening theme. After seeing its totally awesome OP, I was immediately sucked into the show. However, it didn’t take long for Shangri-La to turn into a show with one of the the most confusing, convoluted, and just plain awful plots I’ve seen. Taking place at some point in the future, global warming has taken its toll on the planet, and Tokyo has been transformed into a “jungle-polis” to help put more oxygen in the air. An interesting basis for a story, indeed. Unfortunately, viewers are immediately “thrown into” the show. No backstory is given at all; you simply have to figure it all out yourself. Names are thrown around that have no meaning to the viewers. The characters are pretty lame, though I must say I am partial to Kuniko Houjou (for obvious reasons). Overall, the show is a mess, and unless you can somehow manage to keep up with the plot, you’ll find yourself lost very quickly.

Shangri-La is currently available on Crunchyroll

2. 11eyes

An anime based off of a visual novel can sometimes be awesome. However, there are also times where it just simply doesn’t work out. Pacing is always an issue when adapting a visual novel, manga, etc. into an anime series. The anime adaptation of Lass’s popular eroge visual novel is no exception to this. I was actually really looking forward to seeing this show. One reason I loved Higurashi so much was because I felt it was an excellent combination of moe and horror, an unlikely mixture. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for 11eyes. From the two episodes I saw, the vast majority of it was just “filler fluff” where nothing really happened, which overall led to a pretty lame show that I just couldn’t stay focused on, nor did I care to.

11eyes is currently available on Crunchyroll

1. Kimi ni Todoke

I can already feel the heat rising within you. Yes, I’m dead serious. Kimi ni Todoke is the most boring anime I have ever seen. Given how everyone was raving about it, I really, really tried to enjoy this show. After the initial viewing, I dropped it after one episode. I later gave it another try and got about halfway through episode 2 before I just couldn’t take it anymore. I do not see the appeal of this show at all. It’s insanely slow-paced. The art style is generic, the plot is generic, and the characters honestly are nothing special. Sawako spends 3/4 of the first episode talking about how awesome Kazehaya is. Not only that, but in that very episode, the “Sawako = Sadako” joke is killed, beaten down with a hammer, and disintegrated within less than 10 minutes. That’s not what I call entertainment, though it’s certainly a nice alternative to NyQuil.