The Best ‘So Bad It’s Good’ Anime of All Time (Ranked)

Some anime series aren’t necessarily good on a technical level, and somehow, that doesn’t matter — they’re still amazing.

Anime series like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are nothing short of masterful from start to finish, and their quality is undeniable from the very first episode. These anime series are not like that.

The best bad anime series don’t always have a good story, or they have an over-the-top premise that defies all logic, and while that would ruin other series, it’s exactly what makes these franchises exceptional.

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability has a ridiculously long title that fits the nature of the series perfectly. At its core, I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince is a ridiculous isekai anime that takes the power-fantasy premise to its absolute maximum.

The series stars Prince Lloyd as the titular 7th Prince of the kingdom. In his past life, he wasn’t a noble and could never dive into magic and satisfy his curiosity. As the 7th Prince, however, he’s able to live the life he’s also wanted to, learning the intricacies of magic and becoming one of the strongest characters in the series.

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro

Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro is an odd romance anime series that works because of how odd it is. It stars a couple that thrives in conflict, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. It stars Naoto Hachiouji as a second-year student who is constantly teased by his fellow schoolmate, first-year student Hayase Nagatoro.

Lelouch from Code Geass, Light from Death Note, Nagisa from Clannad, and Tohru from Fruits Basket

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It’s an adorable series from the very beginning, and while it doesn’t try to create the most enthralling narrative around, it really doesn’t have to. Their relationship grows a lot over the course of two seasons, and even though Naoto is always getting teased, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride has a pretty bad premise that it somehow turns into an exceptional romance series. Most romance series need to start out amazingly if they’re going to succeed, but An Archdemon’s Dilemma doesn’t let its shaky first sequences get in its way.

Zagan is one of the most feared sorcerers around, and he’s on his way to becoming one of the strongest too. When he heads to an estate auction, he finds Nephelia and falls in love at first sight. He purchases her at the auction, which is why the series has such a shaky start, but ends up getting into one of the most enriching relationships in romance anime.

The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses

The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses is a fairly typical harem-based anime, but it has enough charm to get past the most common tropes that hold the genre down. Most harem tropes are marred by incredibly boring main characters, side characters with no personality, and a narrative that never really gets going.

While The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses isn’t the most complex series, it never tries to be. Instead, it uses the normal harem tropes to its advantage, creating a wonderful and light-hearted romance series in the process. It’s much better than it should be, and while it isn’t changing the genre, it doesn’t have to.

Quintessential Quintuplets

Quintessential Quintuplets has one of the most hilariously ridiculous premises in anime. Futaro Uesugi is a near genius high-school student, but after his mother passes away and his dad incurs an incredible amount of debt, he needs to find a way to make money.

He meets Itsuki Nakano, a fairly rich girl in desperate need of a tutor. He heads to her place to begin their lessons, where he meets her four sisters. Futaro ends up tutoring them all, and over time, they each fall for him. It’s a premise completely devoid of realism, and Quintessential Quintuplets turns that silliness into a strength.

Pseudo Harem

Pseudo Harem is an anime series that truly stands out from the rest. While it doesn’t nail its execution perfectly, it has an undeniable charm that will make it a great pick for anyone looking for a romance anime that doesn’t feel like anything else around.

Pseudo Harem stars Eiji Kitahama as a high-school boy who has always wanted his own harem. His junior, Rin Nanakura, is one of the most talented actresses around, and she brings her various subpersonalities to life in an attempt to give her crush the harem he’s always dreamed of.

The Eminence in Shadow

The Eminence in Shadow is one of the best isekai series ever. At its core, it’s an absurd series that leans so heavily into the power-fantasy trope that it feels like it created an entirely new genre. Shadow has always wanted to be outlandishly strong, and when he’s reincarnated into a new world, he finally gets his chance.

Shadow becomes so powerful that there isn’t a single character in the series that can even touch him. He leads a group of some of the strongest and smartest soldiers around, and while he just wants to have fun, he hilariously keeps running into significant plot points that he wants nothing to do with.

Kengan Ashura

Kengan Ashura is both one of the best martial arts anime ever made and one of the most farcical. Most anime series that rely on 3D CGI animation are horrific, but Kengan Ashura uses it to its advantage. The 3D CGI animation the series uses brings the best out of the action, showcasing insane fights fairly well.

Kengan Ashura is no Hajime no Ippo, and that’s OK. It’s a high-powered, action-packed thrill ride from the very beginning. It also relies heavily on power-fantasy elements, and that’s just one of the reasons why this fight-heavy franchise is worth watching.

Solo Leveling

Since its inception, Solo Leveling has received a lot of flak for not having a strong narrative. While it’s hard to argue that Sung Jinwoo’s story doesn’t have a lot of depth, there’s no arguing that Solo Leveling is one of the best anime series of all time.

While other bad-but-good anime series lean heavily into the power-fantasy trope, Solo Leveling is drenched in it. It’s quite literally a story about the only man in the world who can get stronger, and Jinwoo’s strength knows no limits. Solo Leveling has some of the best fights in anime, a solid main character, and animation that just doesn’t quit.

Baki

Baki has never made any sense, doesn’t make any sense, and will never make any sense, and that’s why it’s unbelievably good. There’s a sequence in the series where the titular Baki gets stronger by pretending to fight a giant praying mantis, and for a while, he’s losing.

Baki fights his father who uses his son as a pair of human nunchuks, meets the ghost of his grandfather, and fights a prehistoric man known for eating massive dinosaurs. There’s not one part of Baki that’s grounded in reality, and nobody wants there to be. It’s amazing because of how bad it is, and even calling it bad feels like a stretch.