The 17 Unlucky Anime With The Worst Pacing You’ll Ever Watch

Pacing is a very sensitive issue in anime as well as movies and TV series.

But let’s dispel a myth first: slow pacing if deliberately so, that takes its time to tell its story is not bad pacing.

Rather, it means an adaptation of the original work done badly, cutting out parts of the original story or unnecessarily lengthening it.

Infamous fillers are a different story. They ruin the pacing of the work not by adapting it badly, but by adding parts invented out of whole cloth for the sole purpose of stalling.

Let’s now see after this introduction which anime have the worst pacing, but a premise must be made: some of them are good shows!

Usual disclaimer: rankings are based on our experience and taste. And also, there may be spoilers throughout the article, so be careful.

17. Texhnolize

Texhnolyze is an anime that aired in 2003 and produced by Madhouse Studio.

The story takes place in the crumbling underground city of Lux, marked by a harsh conflict between 3 factions.

The conflict revolves around Raffia, a rare substance that can only be found in this dreaded city and it allows for the texhnolyze transplant of any limb with a prosthetic and more powerful one.

The protagonist Ichise is an orphan boy who has become a bounty hunter by circumstances. He was mutilated and left without a leg and arm, for them to be replaced by advanced inhuman, yet powerful technological prosthetics.

But like other works by Yoshitoshi Abe, Texhnolyze is not an easy series to follow. Many episodes are incredibly slow, the first even has very little dialogue, with extremely slow pacing, but deliberately so.

16. Ergo Proxy

Ergo Proxy is set in a post-apocalyptic future where survivors live under a dome city called Romdo, to get shelter from the lethal and toxic climate.

To help with mankind’s recovery, AutoReivs, humanoid-like robots, have been created to assist people in their day-to-day lives.

However, these automatons have begun contracting an enigmatic disease called the Cogito Virus which grants them self-awareness.

Re-l Mayer, with the help of his AutoReiv named Iggy, will be tasked to investigate this phenomenon and prove himself to his grandfather, the ruler of Romdo.

Ergo Proxy is truly a little gem of Japanese animation, a small hidden masterpiece, however, not without flaws. And one of them is the pacing of course, which is very slow and may tire the less forged.

If you can withstand the slow and confusing first half, then you will enjoy one of the most interesting anime ever. If not, we won’t blame you either, some anime fans may simply prefer other shows.

15. Naruto Series

Naruto is another one of the iconic Shonen Jump Big 3 and one of the most important anime ever again.

The events narrated are those of budding ninja Naruto Uzumaki, who carries the burden of being the vessel of the nine-tailed fox, which destroyed the village years earlier. His dream, however, is to become Hokage, leader of the village, and be respected by all.

One of the reasons for the planetary success of this iconic anime is surely its memorable world-building, a very distinctive ninja world accompanied by iconic magical arts and techniques.

But another round, we are still faced with a great series marred by a disarming amount of filler, which makes up almost 40% of the show. Again skip them quietly, you miss absolutely nothing.

14. Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z is a legendary anime that tells the story of Goku, a man who discovers to be part of the Saiyan race and decides to put use his powers to protect humanity and Earth.

This anime tells lots of stories with many compelling characters that make it stand out and be remembered as one of the most successful shounen of all time.

It is impossible not to know Dragon Ball, without exaggeration one of the greatest expressions of Japanese pop culture in the world, destined to be and remain one of the most celebrated fighting works ever.

But this is certainly not because of its pacing, which is rather horrible. We’re not talking about filler, but just the speed at which the anime progresses.

Certain episodes, especially those of the Namek Saga, have such a slow pace as to be annoying, with repeated scenes, recycled animations, and even entire episodes.

Nonetheless, Dragon Ball Z is a cult you have to watch and know, the ideal solution to this problem is watching Dragon Ball Z Kai instead.

The latter has no filler content and is straight to the point while sacrificing the vintage appeal of the original version.

13. Bleach

Certainly no great introductions are needed for Bleach, a very famous work by Tite Kubo that has earned the title of one of the Big Three of anime in its category.

Indeed, we are unceremoniously talking about one of the most important battle shonen anime ever.

The protagonist is Ichigo, a boy like any other with all the classic characteristics of a protagonist in the genre. Generous, physically strong, and kind.

What sets him apart is his ability to be able to see spirits, reasoning that one evening like any other he will see Rukia, a Shinigami, grappling with a Hollow.

A series that is worth watching or reading in addition to its breathtaking fights, especially for its villain, Aizen, regarded as one of the best villains ever.

But like all its other fellow components of the Big 3 of shonen anime, Bleach has really bad pacing.

And this is not due to the content of the anime itself but to the presence of an embarrassing amount of fillers, which is why we recommend that you skip them altogether or read the manga if possible.

12. Captain Tsubasa

Famous anime centered on the sport of soccer, as well as probably one of the most iconic sports anime ever of the 1980s.

Tsubasa Ozora is a 12-year-old boy with a passion for soccer and a dream of winning the World Cup with the Japanese national soccer team.

Having just moved to the city of Nankatsu, Tsubasa attends a game where Genzo Wakabayashi, a goalkeeper so skilled that he saves the shots of baseball and rugby players as well as soccer players, is playing.

So he decides to challenge him at all costs, intending to beat him in a soccer match. He thus joins his hometown team, which turns out to be a disaster.

Thus begins Tsubasa’s ascent, joined as a mentor by former Brazilian professional soccer player Roberto Hongo.

An iconic anime, but one that definitely doesn’t excel in pacing and dynamism. Not surprisingly, the endless soccer fields in this series are iconic, where it seemed as if the soccer players ran infinitely, slowing down the action.

11. One Piece

Everyone knows One Piece, the most famous and celebrated work ever created by the genius of Eiichiro Oda.

Gold Roger, the Pirate King, before he died opened the great age of piracy to the world, saying that his great treasure, the One Piece, exists and is available to anyone strong enough to find it.

The One Piece manga is what could be called by one of the best manga ever, but the anime adaptation is just different.

Don’t get us wrong, it remains an excellent product, especially before the time skip, but it’s a prime example of bad pacing in anime.

Very slow pace of progression, repeated scenes, and sometimes not even a single chapter adapted into an entire 20-minute episode.

This leads to unnecessarily long and drawn-out scenes that make it very hard to follow.

It remains a very good product, but if you want to do it sooner, given the length as well, read the manga.

10. Tower of God

From what is probably the most famous manhwa shonen of all the Tower of God anime is being adapted in 2020, but so far only in its 12-episode first season.

The Tower of God promises fame, power and riches to anyone powerful enough to climb it and make it his own.

Bam is a strange boy and the protagonist of this interesting series. Rachel, Bam’s only salvation and friend, will decide to undertake the climb, abandoning the boy who will go looking for her.

What is an excellent manhwa receives an adaptation all but up to the mark, cutting a ridiculous amount of material by rushing it through.

There are some events in the first season that were changed for no particular reason and this will have repercussions on future developments.

Read the original work without questions, it’s also free for the time being.

9. I want to Eat your Pancreas

A movie released in 2018, discussed by many both positively and negatively, but all in all a success especially for its tear-jerking scenes.

A shy high school student accidentally finds the secret diary of Sakura Yamauchi, his classmate, and learns of her terminal pancreatic disease.

The girl’s days are numbered, but Sakura seems to face the disease and the cruel reality with her head held high and a cheerful spirit, and so the boy decides to stand by her side to make her last moments of life as better as possible.

What is flaw is the pacing, making us almost forget about the initial premise, and then shoving it all at once, leaving us almost confused.

8. Shaman King 2021

Reboot of the famous Shaman King anime from 2002 in a more modern key and viewable by modern standards.

The events of the series center on the friendly Yoh Asakura, a young shaman descendant of one of the oldest families in this branch.

The protagonist has innate spiritual power and is able to make friends easily with spirits, who bestow power on him or help him in his endeavor.

He becomes friends with the spirit of Amidamaru, a samurai betrayed by his master, who will give him strength through his spirit by transmitting strength to the swords Yoh wields.

The animations are excellent, too bad the same can’t be said for the adaptation, rushed and with many parts cut and omitted. For these reasons, the 2002 version remains better.

7. The God of Highschool

The God of High School is a manhwa focused on martial arts with the ever-present trope of the big tournament.

A mysterious organization creates a tournament in which the world’s most skilled fighters participate, with the winner getting whatever they desire as a prize.

Only the best of the best can participate, with their preferred fighting style.

But unfortunately, it almost seems like a treatment reserved for Manhwa adaptations, as this one is rushed and cuts a lot too. Once again, you can just read the original source for free.

6. Chaos;Head

Another anime that belongs to the SciADV Universe, much like the aforementioned Chaos;Child. Chaos;Head comes out in 2008, with a lot of horror and thriller.

Takumi Nishijo is a hikikomori who lacks the courage to bond with people. His life takes a turn when he is suspected of being the terrible murderer who has been blazing a brutal trail of crimes in recent times.

But Takumi, who can’t even distinguish fact from fiction, will be overwhelmed.

This is a very gripping storyline, full of twists and turns and scenes that will keep one’s breath holding.

Chaos;Head had the same fate as the Chaos;Child anime adaptation, so it’s rushed and lacks character development.

This is even worse because this show is strictly connected to Steins;Gate and the visual novel is the first work of the universe.

Our recommendation is the same, play Chaos;Head Noah instead.

5. Tribe Nine

Tribe Nine is an anime that is part of a multimedia project, but it simply serves to sponsor the video game of the same project being released.

The anime like the project is based on Extreme Baseball, a kind of duel based on, as you might guess, the sport of baseball. The main characters are Minato and his team.

Definitely an interesting project, but with an anime that is anything but up to par, coming across as rushed and with an almost confusing ending.

You can think of it as a big promotion for the franchise, but done wrong. Most of the characters are way too similar to Danganronpa, and you may say this is obvious since Kodaka worked on this show.

The problem is that you have to add terrible pacing with almost recycled character design and an unoriginal plot.

4. The Promised Neverland

The setup for this anime is as simple as it is frightening. Humans and Demons ended a long war by coming to an agreement named The Promise.

According to this agreement, humans and demons won’t invade each other worlds but demons will have to be granted a steady supply of food in the form of human flesh.

The humans will be bred in these fake orphanages where a human Mother would make sure that the children would grow up and then be adopted, meaning they will be fed to high-ranking demons.

The story follows three children who live in one of these orphanages, the Grace Field House, as they slowly unravel the chilling mystery of the place where they grew up in.

An anime that starts with a bang, seeming very interesting and engaging in the first season, but ends up spoiling everything in the second with mind-numbing pacing.

Cut sequences, constant rushes, and a lot of confusion. We recommend the manga, but even that is not that great after a while. Wasted potential at the highest level.

3. Tokyo Ghoul

One of the most famous and talked-about anime of recent years, which has been at the center of attention for a variety of reasons.

The story revolves around Ken Kaneki, an ordinary college-going boy who lives in a town where strange and violent murders are happening.

According to the police investigation, these deaths are caused by Ghouls, mysterious and unknown creatures that feed on the bodies of their victims. No one has ever seen them even in passing.

Tokyo Ghoul is a much-discussed anime because of its uncertain and unfaithful animated adaptation, which on more than one occasion turns out to be confusing and inaccurate.

The first season is very accurate and adapts the manga without smearing, but from the second season, the confusion begins.

The anime for obscure reasons takes a totally different path from the manga, inventing material and becoming anything but faithful to the original work.

Not to mention the final season, Tokyo Ghoul Re, which goes back on the tracks of the manga but adapts it badly, with rushed and poorly explained parts. Once again, better read the manga.

2. Chaos;Child

Chaos; Child comes out in 2017 and gives us another anime adaptation within the SciAdv universe, much like Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes.

This anime takes place in a rebuilt Shibuya, after a severe 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2009 in Tokyo.

The year is 2015, and on the same day as the disaster, strange incidents manifest themselves causing rumors of the advent of a New Generation of Madness to run rampant.

Chaos;Child is a direct sequel of Chaos;Head, a series where the main cast had to investigate the mysterious killings happening in Shibuya. Following the same idea, this show does a similar effort with a renewed cast of characters.

The flaw this time is that the anime is based on a visual novel that takes around 50 hours to complete all the routes. This anime is adapted into 12 measly episodes, you can understand how rushed it is from reading this.

The idea behind the game is excellent, it’s one of the best novels on the market. If y

1. Big Order

The main character Eiji is a boy who dreams of nothing less than the coming of the end of the world. He lives in Amakusa, is so shy that no one in his high school approaches him, and harbors a huge secret.

One day he is approached by a mysterious girl, who first stuns him and then attempts to slice him with a sword, setting events in motion.

The genres this time are pure action, supernatural and psychological, but you already know what we are going to say: pacing.

The anime isn’t even that bad in its first half of episodes, but the closer we get to the ending, the more rushed and incomprehensible it becomes.

The manga, the original source, is confusional too, so we can’t even say it’s the fault of the adaptation. Big Order was created by the same author as Mirai Nikki and they both suffer from characterization issues.

This show went even further and boasted one of the worst pacings you can ever see.