Anime/Manga Better than Expected

Are there any anime or manga that you thought you wouldn't like but ended up enjoying? Which ones? What put you off of them at first and what did you like in the end?

I thought I wouldn't like My Hero Academia, but it was alright in the end. Nice seeing Japan make their own spin on superhero comics.

I honestly can't think of any series at this point.

If I were to look at my list I might find something but at the moment nothing comes to mind as being something I didn't expect to like going in that I ended up liking.

Well maybe a children's short like Banan-nya! or Itoshi no Muco! or whatever their titles were.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, full stop.

When I had first heard about the series, I didn't think it would be for me at all. I ended up really liking it and wanting part 5 asap. (Good thing it's finally coming in October.)

Violet Evergarden on Netflix

I just didn't think at first that it would be something that I would enjoy, but I was hooked after the first episode haha. I hear that they are making a movie that will be a sequel in 2020, so I'll look forward to that when it comes out.

Cross Ange. So glad I stuck with it beyond the first few episodes.

I can tell how good or bad an anime is by looking at it's picture on MAL, so this has never happened to me.

Promised Neverland first arc was way better than I expected. Too bad it declined somewhat after

Norou said:

Violet Evergarden on Netflix

I just didn't think at first that it would be something that I would enjoy, but I was hooked after the first episode haha. I hear that they are making a movie that will be a sequel in 2020, so I'll look forward to that when it comes out.

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What made it for you? What about it didn't look like something you'd like?

There was quite a bit of hype for that before its Japanese release among English speaking fans until so many found out it was exclusive to Netflix and wasn't going to be released for something like 6 months, so I'm surprised to see someone post it here.

Yu Yu Hakusho. It wasn't that I disliked it at first, I just didn't ever give it a chance until now. I didn't give it a chance because I brushed it off with other classics (like Samurai X and other stuff) that just were there, but that I never delved into further. But there was like a meme going on and it seemed really cool so I tried it. I'm on episode 65/112 and I love it now! Especially the characters, I think that's the best thing about the anime.

Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the GOAT Shonen series.

Darkmaster006 said:

Yu Yu Hakusho. It wasn't that I disliked it at first, I just didn't ever give it a chance until now. I didn't give it a chance because I brushed it off with other classics (like Samurai X and other stuff) that just were there, but that I never delved into further. But there was like a meme going on and it seemed really cool so I tried it. I'm on episode 65/112 and I love it now! Especially the characters, I think that's the best thing about the anime.

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A lot of classics are classics for a reason. Even if that reason might just be nostalgia and rose tinted glasses in the current day, there were reasons people got engrossed in the classics over other shows at the time in the first place that give them some leg to stand on.

A recent example for me, Fairy Tail. Started watching it because I joined an RP based on it after years of actively avoiding it and thinking it looked like a cash grab. Now I'm watching it and I realise that whilst it's definitely riddled with flaws there's actually a lot to appreciate too.

gimmepie said:

A recent example for me, Fairy Tail. Started watching it because I joined an RP based on it after years of actively avoiding it and thinking it looked like a cash grab. Now I'm watching it and I realise that whilst it's definitely riddled with flaws there's actually a lot to appreciate too.

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What's there to appreciate about Fairy Tail? It's fairly shallow.

strangerhypno said:

What's there to appreciate about Fairy Tail? It's fairly shallow.

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Honestly, it's biggest flaw is in how the plot is executed. The story itself is actually pretty interesting and unique but the writing is really poor which results in the show often axing its own suspense or tension, making plot twists really obvious, undermining what should be major moments for the story or individual characters etc which makes the whole thing seem a lot more shallow than the content actually is and absolutely obliterates the emotional weight some of it could/should carry. Also it has the worst filler arcs of any series ever.

There's definitely positives in there though. The world itself is quite interesting and while not perfectly displayed to the audience, we come to know it pretty well through showing and telling. For example, we learn how technology is quite a ways back from where it is in the real world and is built around magic instead of physics and chemistry for the large part and by extension how integral magic is to their society despite only a small percentage of people being naturally magically gifted.

Another strong point is the characters. Not Natsu obviously because he's basically carefully formulated to be the textbook shounen protag (although I would argue he's actually a better character than fellows Luffy or Goku by some margin). I'm talking about the other main cast and the supporting cast. Although not as prevalent as I'd like by any means, there is actual character growth present within the cast. In particular Wendy, Laxus, Carla, Cana, Ultear, Jellal, and Gajeel (I'll spare listing every character with notable growth) all display pretty decent growth and to a lesser extent we do see growth from Gray, Erza and Lucy. Where character growth is missing, there is often at the least a decent degree of character depth too which is where the latter three characters excel more. What's really impressive though is that even though the cast of characters is absolutely enormous so many of them feel distinct, interesting and likeable. The antagonist side of things is weaker in honesty, but even there there's been some compelling or well-conceived of villains. Fairy Tail also has to get a shout out for how it treats female characters. The fan-service is fucking infuriating at times but unlike most shounen series FT doesn't shy away from creating strong, relatable and relevant female characters which is a nice change.

It's definitely no master piece and could be a lot better than it is, but I am forced to admit my original prejudices, although not entirely unfounded, were largely wrong. It's a decent show and much better than I was originally willing to give it credit for. As far as shounen goes I'd rate it higher than DB and One Piece easily.

I do personally like the setting that Fairy Tail tries to build for itself. I personally didn't find it to even exceed expectations, myself, but my expectations for any shonen series is that it'll be a fun ride that probably isn't told as well as it could be.

I liked the boobies, bums and tummies in Fairy Tail and that was about it. I liked the between arc chapters far more than the actual plot, which ranged from forgettable to just rubbish. Characters and development were all standard fare for battle shounen, fun but nothing special.

We live in a world where people would choose to listen to Lil Pump over Chopin, it really doesn't surprise me when people prefer this to One Piece.

Might as well keep the topic going, less specific than one show but I only really diversified out of the shounen genre back in like 2012, before then it was only ever your standard action series. Then I randomly decided to branch out more and I ended up trying comedy, romance, thriller, horror and drama and now I watch more stuff in those dramas than I do your standard shounen stuff usually. So entire genres turned out way better than I expected.

Has it been the same for anyone else?

I was always pretty open to watch any genre but I was surprised at how much I enjoy 70s and 80s shoujo series.

So cool.

I never thought I'd actually sit down and watch a Historical anime, but Utakoi remains probably the best better-than-expected anime I've ever watched. Granted it was comedic and very liberally "historic", it was still unlike anything I'd ever watched, and that certainly ended up being a selling point rather than a detriment.