I mean, Yorkshin is the GOAT.
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What are some manga/anime with a big drop in quality between arcs?
- Thread starter Compbros
- Start date
The third and fourth arcs in Transformers: Super Link (the one everyone knows by the dub, Energon).
You will often hear that this is the worst Transformers show. Not so! The first half is in fact one of the better Transformers shows with interesting moral situations due to the Autobot-Decepticon alliance and the question of whether to revive Unicron or not, fun characters, and an intriguing third faction led by Rodimus in alliance with Scorponok.
It's after the halfway point that things go downhill because they go into an alternate dimension where they repeat the plot for 13 more episodes followed by an excruciatingly dull final 13 episodes where the Autobots run around a really ugly negative energon filled Cybertron and Optimus and Galvatron keep turning into giants. The first half feels very carefully set up but they finished the plot too early and had to string it along for 26 more episodes. Things stop making sense and everything is repetitive.
You will often hear that this is the worst Transformers show. Not so! The first half is in fact one of the better Transformers shows with interesting moral situations due to the Autobot-Decepticon alliance and the question of whether to revive Unicron or not, fun characters, and an intriguing third faction led by Rodimus in alliance with Scorponok.
It's after the halfway point that things go downhill because they go into an alternate dimension where they repeat the plot for 13 more episodes followed by an excruciatingly dull final 13 episodes where the Autobots run around a really ugly negative energon filled Cybertron and Optimus and Galvatron keep turning into giants. The first half feels very carefully set up but they finished the plot too early and had to string it along for 26 more episodes. Things stop making sense and everything is repetitive.
J
JeremyEtcetera
Unconfirmed Member
Buu Saga.
Goku Black Arc(Strong start, trash finish).
Last few arcs in Rurouni Kenshin.
Bleach post Aizen.
GiTS SAC after Laughing Man(maybe not a huge enough drop but that arc was definitely odd).
Yu Yu Hakusho after Dark Tournament.
Death Note after L(Even if you say Light should not have won, they should have at least created a better story out of Near and Melo than what we got).
Sword Art Online after the first main arc.
Pokémon after Johto(not all of it but there were some really weak arcs).
Big O second half.
Gurren Lagann second half.
FMA original series second half(although it does have its merits for straying from the manga).
Seven Deadly Sins after season 1.
Berserk(3d Anime) season 2. The animation is so bad it makes season 1 actually look great.
Fairy Tail(maybe post Edolas?)
Edit: I want to add but can't add Naruto because its main issues aren't a drop in quality, its main issue is putting hundreds of filler and flashback episodes in to stretch for time/manga production.
Goku Black Arc(Strong start, trash finish).
Last few arcs in Rurouni Kenshin.
Bleach post Aizen.
GiTS SAC after Laughing Man(maybe not a huge enough drop but that arc was definitely odd).
Yu Yu Hakusho after Dark Tournament.
Death Note after L(Even if you say Light should not have won, they should have at least created a better story out of Near and Melo than what we got).
Sword Art Online after the first main arc.
Pokémon after Johto(not all of it but there were some really weak arcs).
Big O second half.
Gurren Lagann second half.
FMA original series second half(although it does have its merits for straying from the manga).
Seven Deadly Sins after season 1.
Berserk(3d Anime) season 2. The animation is so bad it makes season 1 actually look great.
Fairy Tail(maybe post Edolas?)
Edit: I want to add but can't add Naruto because its main issues aren't a drop in quality, its main issue is putting hundreds of filler and flashback episodes in to stretch for time/manga production.
VendettaRed07
Member
Yeah lol, Slut-senpai giving me hope. She's really given the series the only awkwardly tense situation that made the series what it was. But that stand off man.. ooft..Kiyoshi basically said nothing for what seemed like an entire YEAR. Meanwhile we got the entire backstory of literally every character in the entire crowd.
I need the Hana x Kiyoshi train to pick up more steam asap tho.
The last two arcs of Kensin are it's best, and Chapter Black is better than DT imo in the least it's certainly not a dramatic drop in quality.
J
JeremyEtcetera
Unconfirmed Member
Are you remembering the last Kenshin(anime) arcs correctly? The last arc was about him vs crusaders and it was terrible. Chapter Black had the issue of a villain that didn't stand out at all to me, coming from Toguro, so it made me care less about the arc as a whole.
UnemployedVillain
Member
1. 2nd Gig was awesome, even better than the laughing man, and gave us some of the best standalone episodes in the series (like Poker Face)
2. Chapter Black was different from the Dark Tournament, but still excellent
3. Ehh, I never really felt Death Note took a huge drop. I think people just didn't like Near/Mello as much
4. Johto WAS the shitty season. Advance was far better than it. And D/P were excellent as well (Paul is still the best rival)
Conkersbadfurday
Member
It's a boring slog that barely advances the plot and has the only awful villain in the entire anime. It's mostly 17 episodes of them leveling up with some dumb video game on the side.
One Piece's Punk Hazard arc is so damn boring. I dislike it a lot more than Fishman Island, actually.
Berserk's troll arc is the schlockiest shit. Odd looking designs and tons of rape.
Dragon Ball's Buu Saga was a mess.
Yeah. The definition of giving zero fucks and just wanting that check.
Kaioh lol.
Berserk's troll arc is the schlockiest shit. Odd looking designs and tons of rape.
Dragon Ball's Buu Saga was a mess.
Yeah. The definition of giving zero fucks and just wanting that check.
Kaioh lol.
Didn't watch the anime, Manga arc is much different and better.
Eh, I loved Johto, Pokemon was at it's peak popularity wise and the show reflected that, the episodes were so energetic and I remember laughing a lot.
Advanced was pretty bleh though, I disliked Max and the Pokemon contests that May had were coma inducing.
thequickandthedead
Member
Why do people dislike JoJo part 5 so much? I'm 2/3rds in and it's pretty decent although some fights are a bit long.
You know, if I made the topic of largest drop in quality during an arc then this would be my number 1. It started off SOOOOOO good and then devolved to shit for roughly half a year.
Poor translation, fights were hard to follow, ending was kind of lackluster too. I need an anime adaptation so I know how I truly feel about it though.
Crimson_Echidna
Banned
I knew there was a series I forgot. Yeah, I jumped that ship. The Cavalry Battle just completely killed any interest I had in it.
JoJo peaked at 4, get out
People tried to tell me how the villain stand ability is simple, I said... Fuck that
Those are some of the best ones though...
chrisPjelly
Member
It's not horrible as other people are saying, and if anything, it has has the some of the best fights and crew in jojo imo. BUT you should finish the manga to judge it for yourself and see why people take issue with it.
Sakura
Member
I don't care for the change to Stands, and the villain of the week format really puts me off.
MaximumSpider
Banned
Nope. Did you forget Saboady came next?
Meh, I found Hamon to be rather boring. Stands let the Jojo parts do whatever the fuck they want now, far more entertaining.
Are you saying Saobody was bad?
ChasingComets
Member
Wait, did no one mention Seed -> Destiny yet? lol
MaximumSpider
Banned
No, I'm saying how can you say the series fell after Thiller Bark when Saboady and everything after is outstanding
Saboady > Amazon Lily > Impel Down > Marineford
How can anyone hate this!?
Destiny first arc is pretty good.
So actually no need Seed -> Destiny, just Destiny
Oh okay, I was about to say. Thriller Bark ain't bad either, it's great for the simple fact that we got Nightmare Luffy, and it was the first time the whole crew teamed up to take down a threat.
Sakura
Member
It just seems like everyone and their mother has a stand, and every week is finding out what the stand's gimmick is.
The characters don't seem to have much progression in terms of strength or ability. Just stand there and oraoraoraora.
Don't get me wrong I ultimately enjoyed the arcs but I much prefer something like parts one and two.
ChasingComets
Member
Also, another legacy cross-season example I haven't seen yet, Digimon Adv 1 -> 2
striferser
Huge Nickleback Fan
Yeah, Akagi vs. Washizu took about 20 years to end. ALL OVER MAHJONG GAME (yes, there's a part in the middle where Washizu go to hell, but still...)
Maybe they mean Water 7 - > Thriller Bark.
KenzinFive
Member
I'll agree that Skypiea is a huge step down. It's overly long and the only good thing it has going for it is Enel. He's a great villain in need of a better arc. One Piece bounces back pretty well from its low points though. It's currently one of the best and most interesting arcs it's ever had. Oda continues to defy expectations and his own "rules" even 20 years into his manga.
I'm of the opinion that Death Note should have never
killed off L. Yes, it's a ballsy move, but his dynamic with Light is what kept me reading, since I had an actual good guy to root for.
The first Fullmetal Alchemist series takes a big dive in quality after its halfway point where it diverges from the manga. I really like the concept that the Homunculi are
formed from the results of failed alchemy
connection to our "real" world and its resulting movie
I don't think of DBZ as a series with extremely high standards, even though I love it. It's dudes fighting and throwing energy blasts at each other. That's why I can enjoy the Cell Saga and most of the stuff from Super. But the Buu saga is so bloated and all over the place, especially in the anime.
Ryouji Gunblade
Member
Yes. Thriller Bark is entertaining, but it's nowhere close to being on the same emotionally impactful level of Water 7. That doesn't make it the worst arc.
Evil's Bane
Member
Dragon Ball Z started a steady decline in the Cell arc. Super came back after years only to continue right where the decline left off. Series just isn't fun for me anymore.
Naruto Part II is notoriously bad at this point so there's not much to say.
Death Note after L of course
Naruto Part II is notoriously bad at this point so there's not much to say.
Death Note after L of course
AquaWateria
Member
Anyone saying Sabody arc in One Piece wasnt good are probably smoking something lol.
Like it had one of the hypest moments in One Piece. That scene at the auction was amazing. Never had a scene felt so satisfying till that scene when everything went white and black.
Like it had one of the hypest moments in One Piece. That scene at the auction was amazing. Never had a scene felt so satisfying till that scene when everything went white and black.
Not to mention how it ended...
AnkiRendan
Member
I really hope the people saying Kenshin fell off after the Kyoto arc are anime watchers. I mean...how the hell are you going to dismiss Kenshin's incredible backstory? I didn't really have much of an issue with the final arc either...
As for drop offs...
Naruto and One Piece's timeskips ruined them.
Digimon Adventure 02 was a massive drop in quality compared to Digimon Adventure. What the hell happened?
After the disappearance of a certain character, I think Hikaru no Go was pretty bad. The anime was smart to end it where it did.
As for drop offs...
Naruto and One Piece's timeskips ruined them.
Digimon Adventure 02 was a massive drop in quality compared to Digimon Adventure. What the hell happened?
After the disappearance of a certain character, I think Hikaru no Go was pretty bad. The anime was smart to end it where it did.
Nobody's gonna mention Reborn! throwing itself right off a cliff with the future arc?
Agree with the sentiments about Aldnoah Zero, though I feel more like it was the 1st->2nd season where the quality really nosedived. The boss fights in the back end of the first season were fun and the way it wrapped was a great cliffhanger until... Well until season 2 happened.
Captain Earth loses its momentum when all the bad guys need their own individual introduction episodes and the plot basically stops to allow for that arc to carry itself out. Never really got its footing back.
Also what the hell was even the point of the second season of Gundam: Iron Blood Orphans?
Agree with the sentiments about Aldnoah Zero, though I feel more like it was the 1st->2nd season where the quality really nosedived. The boss fights in the back end of the first season were fun and the way it wrapped was a great cliffhanger until... Well until season 2 happened.
Captain Earth loses its momentum when all the bad guys need their own individual introduction episodes and the plot basically stops to allow for that arc to carry itself out. Never really got its footing back.
Also what the hell was even the point of the second season of Gundam: Iron Blood Orphans?
Doc Holliday
SPOILER: Columbus finds America
Wtf its been 7 years since the one piece time skip?? Jesus, time flies.
Dragon Ball was ok after Frieza... It really sucked after cell.
One piece is still awesome!
Naruto was horrible after the time skip.
Dragon Ball was ok after Frieza... It really sucked after cell.
One piece is still awesome!
Naruto was horrible after the time skip.
Host Samurai
Member
Gantz after the Osaka arc. There was something unique going on and they ruined it with the following arc, which was as predictable as they come.
shadowfall
Member
I have watched only the Anime and so I felt Kenshin reached its peak on Kyoto arc and went down after that. Perhaps I should read the manga. To me Kyoto arc is one of best arcs across any anime.
It is. Read the manga. The final arc is great, but not on Kyoto's level.
It's not to say TB is the worst or even a bad arc but the drop from what many people consider the best arc in Water 7 to Thriller Bark may be the biggest drop in quality to some.
Edit: Also, the tournament arc in History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi to the arc after is a TRAVESTY