It takes time and effort to develop a truly magnificent story, and not all authors manage to hook the audience on their concept off the bat. Some of the best shows in anime have a rough start that could easily alienate tons of potential fans.
10 Amazing Anime With The Worst First Impressions
For this reason, many viewers follow the ‘three episode rule,’ which entices one to wait for at least three episodes before deciding to drop the show. Yet, some incredible anime series take even longer to come into their own. Fans had to suffer through mediocre, if not outright terrible, starts to grow to love these amazing anime.
10 One Piece
20 Seasons, 1,063 Episodes
Eiichiro Oda’s magnum opus is commonly referred to as one of shonen anime’s greatest adventure tales. Yet, the early stages of Monkey D. Luffy’s search for the legendary One Piece treasure weren’t always smooth sailing.
Both the anime and the manga start with a disappointingly slow-paced search for crew members and directions, and most diehard One Piece fans claim to have hated the show’s first few arcs. The anime also has the added problem of poor art quality and pacing, both issues that aren’t as noticeable in the manga.
9 Steins;Gate
1 Season, 24 Episodes
Those picking up Steins;Gate for the first time might struggle to understand why his show is praised so much for its intense sci-fi plot and dramatic suspense. The establishing episodes of the series are more akin to an otaku culture slice-of-life than a time travel thriller.
While it becomes clear later on that these boring sequences were necessary to lay the groundwork for the greater narrative, Steins;Gate’s prologue still feels like a totally different show from the rest of the story. Thankfully, once the plot’s pace picks up, all initial frustrations disappear.
8 Durarara!!
2 Seasons, 60 Episodes
The urban fantasy cult classic Durarara!! is a chaotic entanglement of different plot threads, characters, and underlying mysteries that don’t make much sense at first. Getting introduced to Ikebukuro’s disarray in the first few episodes can feel both confusing and aimless to new fans.
The greatness of Durarara!! comes from how it manages to tie its seemingly disconnected plotlines together, and that isn’t apparent from the get-go. Yet, with the introductory portion out of the way, Durarara!! rewards patient viewers with an incredibly tight and gripping story.
7 March Comes In Like A Lion
2 Seasons, 44 Episodes
A melancholic exploration of a teen shogi professional Rei Kiriyama’s climb out of depression and self-imposed isolation, March Comes In like a Lion is not a story for everyone. To accurately portray the mental toll of trauma, abandonment, and sky-high expectations, the series takes its time establishing these nuances of Rei’s character.
Combined with the heavy themes March Comes In like a Lion explores, the show’s slow pace requires some getting used to. Yet, once the viewers grow to understand Rei’s struggles, falling in love with his story is inevitable.
6 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
5 Seasons, 190 Episodes
Absurd, chaotic, and unpredictable, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is celebrated for its dedication to innovation and risk-taking. However, all legendary stories need to start somewhere, and the bizarre tale of the Joestar bloodline begins with Phantom Blood, a relatively conventional and one-dimensional shonen plot about a chivalrous hero’s rivalry with his vampire stepbrother.
While one can see the signs of JJBA’s signature weirdness peeking in Phantom Blood, the part’s overall tone is nothing like the rest of the show which was too reliant on shonen’s old cliches and basic characterization.
5 Texhnolyze
1 Season, 22 Episodes
On top of being an incredibly bleak and slow-paced dystopian sci-fi, Texhnolyze is a notoriously difficult anime to parse and comprehend. The characters don’t like providing much context to their actions and motivations, and the depressing underground city Lux is a setting deliberately shrouded in mystery.
Nevertheless, those looking for a thought-provoking challenge in the media they consume will soon realize just how much thematic substance this quiet show hides. Getting to appreciate it just requires a bit of patience, attentiveness, and an open mind.
4 Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
9 Seasons, 203 Episodes
Upon picking up a show about a middle schooler getting trained to succeed a Mafia boss of a feared family by a baby hitman, one is not wrong to expect bombastic action and intense organized crime drama. Disappointingly enough, Katekyo Hitman Reborn! greets new fans with an entire long arc of uneventful slice-of-life.
It’s a chore to sit through an equivalent of an entire two-cour anime of what feels like comedy filler. Thankfully, once Reborn! exits its awkward slice-of-life stage, the action-packed fun promised in the premise begins.
3 Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
1 Season, 27 Episodes
The first few arcs of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann can be a hit or a miss with newcomers, depending on how willing they are to suspend their disbelief and appreciate the show’s over-the-top absurdity.
However, the nuances seasoned fans adore about TTGL, such as emotive character writing and subversion of viewers’ expectations, make themselves apparent only after the show shatters its facade of lighthearted innocence. The series remains true to its unapologetic love for the spectacular throughout, but it’s TTGL’s more serious later half that sticks with fans eternally.
2 Hunter X Hunter
6 Seasons, 148 Episodes
Despite its reputation as one of the darkest and most intense popular shonen series, Hunter x Hunter has a distinctively lighthearted beginning. Gon Freecss’ quest to find his father starts as almost any other shonen adventure, and the protagonist’s naive and simple-minded attitude doesn’t give Hunter x Hunter any originality points off the bat.
However, the story subtly morphs into a much more nuanced tale as Gon and his companions reveal more morally ambiguous parts of their personalities, and their adventures take them to the world’s most sinister corners.
1 GIntama
10 Seasons, 367 Episodes
Starting its run with a filler arc is never a good way to hook the audience. Yet, Gintama somehow prevailed through its lackluster beginning to establish itself as anime’s funniest gag comedy.
Still, Gintama is a rare series that gets better with time, with some of its most hilarious episodes and best plot-heavy arcs debuting in its latest seasons. Much of Gintama’s comedy relies on the relationship the viewers form with the show’s peculiar cast of characters, and the stronger it grows, the more impactful the series feels.