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When it comes to adapting video games, most anime fans would agree that apart from a few exceptions, the live-action versions doesn't meet the expectations. However, that is sometimes the case for anime adaptations as well. For every Fate game that gets a good adaptation, there's another one that is completely disappointing.
Whether the animation is awful (as seen in the case of Persona 5), or the story takes too many liberties with the source material (like Dragon Age: Your Story), there are multiple reasons why fans would hate an anime adaptation of a beloved video game or series. This article will chronicle 10 such video games that are adapted into anime that fans hate.
Disclaimer: This article is subject to spoilers and reflects the author's personal opinion.
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Tekken: The Motion Picture and 9 other hated video game anime adaptations
1) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
This standalone Final Fantasy film is one of the most famous films to ever blight the landscape of video game anime adaptations. Why? This is because it has the same problem that several moviegoers have with the James Cameron-directed Avatar movie franchise, which feels like all flash and no substance.
This is particularly bad when one considers how far out and removed The Spirits Within feels from the Final Fantasy series. Other than the presence of spirits and Doctor Cid, the film has almost nothing to do with the Final Fantasy universe most fans are familiar with.
To be fair, the story itself is interesting, and the visuals were impressive for 2001. However, that couldn't save the film that got rejected so badly by both Final Fantasy fans and moviegoers that it completely destroyed Square Pictures as a movie studio. Instead, watch Advent Children for a better Final Fantasy film.
2) Persona 5: The Animation
Of all the adaptations of this series, Persona 5's anime adaptation is considered the worst. There was some stiff competition when compared to Persona: Trinity Soul and Persona 4: Golden's anime adaptation. However, Persona 5's anime adaptation trumped them both in terms of just how awful it was.
Persona 5, Royal, and the Strikers sequel are all bombastic games, with a memorable cast and lots of epic and emotional moments. The anime adaptation condenses far too much into a short 26-episode runtime, barely giving the main characters any development. Besides treating the protagonist as a bland slate, some of the key pivotal battles are also shortened to the point of absurdity.
As the final nail in the coffin, the animation is shockingly poor quality for an anime adaptation produced by Cloverworks, who is known for The Promised Neverland, Fairy Tail, and Spy X Family, and A-1 Pictures, who owes the credits to the production of Sword Art Online, Black Butler, and Blue Exorcist. However, many people expected more from an anime adaptation of such beloved games. The English dub may be great, but it doesn't quite save the rest of the problems the anime has.
3) Tekken: The Motion Picture
Fighting game adaptations tend to usually do well in the market. From Mortal Kombat's live-action adaptation (both the original in 1995 and 2021) to Street Fighter's many anime and live adaptations, the concept of colorful fighters fighting each other tournament style should be a flawless victory.
Sadly, this isn't the case for Tekken: The Motion Picture. The film mostly focuses on the Mishima family drama, featuring Heihachi and Kazuya, with Jin's mother, Jun, investigating Heihachi's dark schemes. While the follow-up Blood Vengeance is considered superior, the original film suffers from many problems.
While the voice acting was considered flat by fans, the animation didn't even try matching the game's action. Besides, the whole thing came off like a derivative version of a Bruce Lee movie. To top it all off, series mainstays such as Yoshimitsu, Paul, and King were reduced to extras, which was not good for an ensemble cast.
4) Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (1997)
The OVA of the Fire Emblem anime adaptation, titled Mystery of the Emblem, was named after the 1994 game of the same name. It was only two episodes long and sold poorly enough to cancel the production of the remaining episodes. Additionally, no further copies of the anime were ever found.
The 1997 OVA follows Marth as he journeys to fulfill his destiny. Since the audience never got to the destiny part, the rest of it has to be critiqued based on two episodes. Surprisingly, based only on the dub of the first two episodes, most liked it when it came to YouTube views.
While not hated, as most people would rather it be remade or remastered, it still sold poorly enough to get canceled. Moreover, Fire Emblem was considered obscure in the west and didn't garner enough attention to warrant a full anime adaptation.
5) Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works (Studio Deen version)
Trying to fight a long visual novel game into a 105-minute OVA isn't going to settle well with fans. The Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works movie attempts to abridge the Ufotable series and doesn't do so well. While the story is still decent, it's much better told in the anime.
The movie was found to have reduced the story by a massive amount, with the content reduced by about 80%, according to some reviewers. This means downsizing everything from the prolog being three minutes to taking far too many liberties from the other Fate routes, making the shonen aspects focus rather than the ideological and psychological aspects.
Basically, the art is bad, the story is told rather nonsensically, the characters feel flat, and it hasn't aged well.
6) Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker
Dragon Age is Mass Effect's second series, which is worth a play and deserving of an anime adaptation. Dawn of the Seeker focuses on the character Cassandra Pentaghast from Dragon Age Inquisition, who was known for being a hardliner at times though she never hesitated to keep the player on an even keel.
The problem is that her characterization in the OVA doesn't quite match up to what happened in the game, with her being incredibly hard on everyone around her. Additonally, the story is riddled with cliches without much of the charm that Dragon Age has, which is why fans have also described the art as stiff.
7) Dragon Quest: Your Story
An improperly told story can be overlooked, a bait-and-switch one cannot. This anime adaptation's climax extremely soured fans hoping for a straight anime adaptation of Dragon Quest. In a case of a climax ruining the entire series, it turns out the main character, Luca, is literally in a .Hack scenario where he's plugged into the game as a VR simulation.
That's not hyperbole, that's literally what happened. The entire story was about someone playing Dragon Quest V. Needless to say, nobody liked this twist and soured on the anime after it was revealed. As some fans have said, that twist feels better suited for science fiction like Sword Art Online or similar productions.
Point being, don't bait-and-switch the audience who expects a fantasy story and then introduce science fiction elements at the very end.
8) Corpse Party: Missing Footage
Corpse Party is entirely niche for an anime adaptation, much similar to the Dead Space. Horror doesn't usually sell well unless it's well made like the Silent Hill series or the works of Junji Ito. As for Missing Footage, its problems are incredibly and painfully obvious as its entire runtime is 11 minutes.
This is a small OVA showcasing what happened before the series, following a different set of characters than what's usually focused on. The animation is stiff, lacks visual appeal, and the moments feel off in comparison to other horror anime. Besides, the ending is unsatisfactory, which is not enough is explained to justify it's existence.
As a general rule of thumb, the audience often cares about what happens to characters in a horror setting. However, the characters feels like cardboard and are not missed. An alternative to this is the anime adaptation of Tortured Souls and/or the live action Book of Shadows to satiate one's gruesome preferences.
9) Devil May Cry
Capcom’s Devil May Cry series centers around a snarky and stylish brawler named Dante. He is a demon hunter out seeking revenge for the death of his family through gunning and slashing several demons and horrors form the underworld. The idea of an anime adaptation of this game seemed inevitable. However, it disappointed several fans.
Many feel the that Studio Madhouse dropped the ball by trying to mold DMC into something that would work for newer fans. Dante was transformed from a cool, wisecracking demon hunter exploring twisted environments into a downcast paranormal investigator taking mundane jobs in a city that offers nothing memorable.
While the action was great and the expansion on Lady and Trish was incredible, the anime adaptation of this over-the-top game is downgraded to slower-paced events. Moreover, it doesn't help that some hated the character of Patty, who reminded them of Ashely from Resident Evil 4.
10) Bayonetta: Bloody Fate
An anime adaptation based on Bayonetta should not grace this list since the whacky game features the protagonist using her hair to fight angels and demons. The animation is a clear sticking point, as it often becomes incomprehensible at the best of times. While this can be the case in video games, especially with Bayonetta's stylized executions, an anime adaptation should have been able to convey what was going on without feeling like it was directed by Michael Bay.
The reception is more mixed than outright hatred. However., most people that played the game do recommend it in the broadest sense, given it's a direct adaptation of the first game. Although the animation could've used some polish, the soundtrack is missing some of the best tracks, and the story isn't conveyed half as well as the game does it.
