Top 13 Worst Anime-Influenced Animations.

Hello everyone. Much like my previous list, I have been drafting this one since I started this blog; but I finally have it down to the my absolute worst of anime-influenced animated series that neither understand what makes the medium work or are able to stand on their own. So, I present my Top 13 Worst Anime-Influenced Animations!

13. GI Joe: Sigma Six

Even with all the drafts I've gone through over this list, I knew I would be including this attempt to have the GI Joe franchise cash in on the anime craze in the early-mid 2000s. Sadly, even though GONZO would be able to handle a similar paramilitary concept with the Full Metal Panic franchise; this series made me shout less "Yo Joe" and more "Ah, Hell no!" The animation clashes between the realistic American style and the more stylized anime aesthetic; and the writing and voice acting would be more at home in a Robot Chicken sketch than an official series Hasbro signed off on. Furthering the disappointment is how a very good series with anime influence would later be made with GI Joe Resolute. While this may not be the worst entry on the list, it definitely will be one of several that shows how a good premise can be botched with terrible execution.

12. Three Delivery

One of several series made by Kappa Mikey creators Animation Collective, this one sees some young people who work at a Chinese restaurant and make deliveries; while also defending the city from supernatural threats. I have never seen the film "Big Trouble in Little China" and have no plans to; so you would hope that concept would result in at least something interesting, but apparently not. Though the animation is highly-stylized, the movement is also very stiff; as many Canadian Flash cartoons were at the time. To be fair, it's not the worst thing that the studio had a hand in; nor is Kappa Mikey. That comes later on down the list, but for now; the series was the last one produced by the animation studio Fatkat after a single 26-episode season. What a way to go out on.

11. HiHi Puffy AmiYumi

For those of you who missed this show: yes, that is the actual title. This one falls under the category of something I liked at the time, but it hasn't aged that well at all. I watched again on a whim while drafting this list, and while the live-action segments with the titular band definitely cater to the part of my mind that enjoys offbeat Japanese humor; the animated segments are some of the more unfortunate entries of the aforementioned attempts to cash in on the anime trend in the early-to-mid-2000s. At the time, it made sense, especially with how the band sang the theme song to the original Teen Titans (serious episodes in English, totally bonkers comedic episodes in Japanese); but for me at least, it's aged about as well as mayonnaise left in the sun on a hot August day.

10. The Avengers: United They Stand

While some of the newer Marvel cartoons may not be perfect, I am here to remind some people bemoaning them that things could be much worse. As the last show in the original universe of Marvel cartoons in the 1990s, this was a rather blatant attempt to cash in on anime starting to gain popularity among kids and sell toys covered in garish body armor. This also falls under the category of "good idea, bad execution." While I am not against making a series that lets members outside Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Incredible Hulk shine; this was well before the MCU managed to turn characters outside the likes of Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four from relatively obscure names into pop culture icons in their own right. This includes, but not limited to the likes of Ant-Man, the Wasp, Hawkeye, the Falcon, Scarlet Witch and the Vision. Again, not a bad idea on paper, but Seanbaby once compared it to organizing a Def Leppard reunion and "only making the effort to get Rick Allen's severed arm." Hard not to agree, since after just 13 episodes; the show was cancelled and it would be years before Marvel would attempt an animated shared universe after being bought out by Disney. While most of them are essentially like smaller-scale versions of the movies they're making nowadays, at least they're better than this.

9. Speed Racer: The Next Generation

Here it is: my least favorite production from Animation Collective. While the live-action remake from the Wachowskis (the Matrix Trilogy, et al.) may not perfect; at least it tried to stay faithful to the absurd premise of the series while also having its own unique look and feel, even if it did get pretty insane by the third act. This series, however, was a cheap attempt to make a quick buck on the name alone; and also is a key reason why they don't really do "next generation" TV series much anymore, and instead opt for reboots that aren't bound by the same continuity. As newer series like Voltron Legendary Defenders prove, it is possible to update a beloved anime from the past without totally ruining what made it work to begin with. Here, however, every attempt to use the name just feels superficial at best. The low-budget animation and terrible CGI don't help matters either. Seriously: it looks worse to me than the original 1960s series; which just used traditional ink and paint. When you can't even outdo that with modern techniques, you've done something wrong.

8. Mega Man: Fully Charged

I wasn't looking forward to this show when I first heard about it, and it turns out my skepticism was justified. This latest animated adaptation of Capcom's video game series is derivative of numerous other series in the "wake up, go to school, save the world" category of cartoons; as well as many other animated works that have involved robotics and technology. The liberties taken with the games don't make any sense at all to me, the voice acting is terrible (Garry Chalk not withstanding), and the animation style tries to juggle ideas from Japan, Canada and the US; none of which make much of an attempt to stand out. Given how Cartoon Network hasn't been advertising or airing the show that much as opposed to their other shows (like Teen Titans Go, OK KO: Let's Be Heroes or even Gumball), this gives the impression that even they knew they had a bomb on their hands. While I am glad that Mega Man 11 is pretty fun and they're finally making a new game in the X series; this continues the no-hitter streak of Mega Man having that fun not translate to animation. Heck, even NT Warrior wasn't as bad as this; and that's quite the accomplishment. I really hope the next adaptation tries to really examine what makes the games work, because this is now officially the worst Mega Man animation I've ever seen. Seriously, the vocal performances in this show make the acting of the PSX games sound like the original Metal Gear Solid. Next!

7. Skunk Fu

While not the most well-known series on this list, this short-lived English-Irish co-production had a simple premise of a group of animals that practice martial arts. While an action-comedy series like this isn't a bad idea on its own; I'm still surprised that it was aired on the later days of Kids WB as opposed to somewhere like Nick Jr. Still, the inclusion on this list was partially sparked by my associate Josh Strider comparing it to a smaller-scale Samurai Jack. Before I continue, allow Aku to start my rebuttal.

Sorry, Joshua: but there is no comparison of any kind to Genndy Tartakovsky's vision of a wayward ronin trying to find his way home from the distant future. If anything, the series is like a precursor to a lower-stakes version of Paw Patrol, PJ Masks or anything that's not likely to hold the attention of someone above a certain age. While the animation itself might not be the worst I've seen, the story and characters are so banal that it's yet another situation where I could power off the show and imagine a better story just looking at a blank screen for the same runtime. If I may damn the show with faint praise, I at least found the panda master and the villainous baboon somewhat amusing. The creators even wanted to make a movie out of the series; but to this day, it hasn't materialized in any form.

6. Robotboy

This is probably the last show I have in the merely dull and disappointing category before I get into the really terrible stuff. This clanker of a poor man's Astro Boy was a short-lived English-French co-production that aired on Cartoon Network at a time where the station was not in the best shape, to say the least. It didn't get really bad until the regime change after the incident in Boston, but it feels like this show was just running on autopilot in virtually every aspect. Sometimes, the animation is passable, at others; it looks like cheap Flash animation. I may have been a bit outside the target audience; but even I had my doubts if those inside it liked it. Disregarding any of the rather stock plots the show had, I also could not get over how the characters had names like "Professor Moshimo" and "Dr. Kamikaze." Yes, really. I would get mad, but that is reserved for my top five entries on this list.

5. Neo Yokio

A year removed from this series' initial debut on Netflix, here is one of the examples of how not everything the platform has produced was gold (another being the live-action Death Note). This glorified vanity project for Jaden Smith and members of the band Vampire Weekend is an attempt to satirize cheap anime knockoffs; though it unfortunately IS just a cheap anime knockoff on its own, stealing from everything from mecha series to YuYu Hakusho (which was not lost on Funimation when promoting the 25th anniversary of the series on social media). Even though a second season was proposed, so far, the only thing that's come of that is a Christmas special; but given how I have other things planned for when it streams, I wouldn't praise this show for all the big Toblerone in Switzerland. That joke was the only one that made me laugh, and I do love that chocolate at any rate.

4.  Ben 10 (2017)

Though I already said I wouldn't be including Teen Titans Go before; I also won't include the 2016 Powerpuff Girls either, since I didn't find either show as bad as others said. However, this one, I can agree is pretty bad. Not as bad as I was expecting, but still pretty bad. This latest version of Man of Action's action franchise embraces a more comedic tone and cartoonish art style, to some of the most diminishing returns these reboots have seen so far. I may not be a terribly big Ben 10 fan (I was more of a Samurai Jack/Avatar guy in those days, and I still am); but I can definitely understand why those that are had a lot of strong reactions to this one. Despite critical and fan reception, ratings and toy sales being mediocre at best; the series has somehow managed to air two seasons of this incarnation with a third on the way for the near future. This is also after a proposed live-action movie never materialized, with WB unlikely to move forward with one with their current focus on Lego, Harry Potter and DC for the most part. I did at least get some chuckles out of the use of the characters in the Crossover Nexus, at least; so there's that. Nothing too funny about my top three entries, though.

3. Loonatics Unleashed

While a great many people have bemoaned the current trend of turning action series into comedic reboots, the previous decade had the opposite problem of turning comedic series into action reboots. This cartoon is a big example of that, infamously trying to reboot the classic Looney Tunes into a cyberpunk, anime-infused superhero cartoon. The results went about as well as you'd expect, and while it does have a small following, the reaction can best be summed up majorly by the exchange in this viral video. "I don't like you!" "Hell YES you do!"

WB later attempted to retool the show's second season to be more loony, but the damage was done; and the show was cancelled after that season. Congratulations, folks: you managed to combine the Looney Tunes and anime with absolutely NOTHING I like about either one. Naturally, outside the aforementioned small following, WB has tried to forget the series ever happened. Well, it did, and we all let it happen.

2. Redakai: Conquer the Kairu

Ah yes, this failed action series: unlike some of the other shows by Marathon Media (Totally Spies and Martin Mystery are both campy fun for my money); this thinly-veiled attempt to shill overpriced trading cards is an absolute mess of overblown style with almost no substance; and none of the aspects that made other anime series that influenced this show work.The plot is thinner than the failed TCG it aimed to promote, and the characters range from being dull as a post to being so obnoxious that even Jar Jar Binks would be irritated by them. Thankfully, the show was an absolute flop; and my associate Kohdok can definitely attest to how terrible it is.

1. My Life Me

Here is the bottom of the barrel of rotten attempts to exploit the anime craze. While I have been drafting this list for ages, I knew no matter how much I thought it about it; no other anime-influenced series I've seen has had such a toxic combination of inept production and outright contempt for its audience, and that's something coming off the second entry on this list. Created by JC Little, the series follows the exploits of a group of young teenagers named Birch, Liam, Sandra and Raffi as they try to go through the pitfalls of daily school life. On paper, the idea of applying the style of a Japanese slice of life anime to a French-Canadian cartoon isn't a bad one; but the approach of this show seems to go out of its way to depict its characters as complete human garbage, especially the leads. The only exception is their homeroom teacher Mr. Towes, who gets gleefully excited about everything from class elections to fast food premiums. Otherwise, the leads are everything that I wanted nothing to do with at that age; and I still don't. The voice acting isn't much better, with everyone shouting every line regardless of whether or not it fits the scene (again, not counting Mr. Towes). The animation is easily the worst part, with low-grade Flash that makes Johnny Test look like Princess Mononoke. Birch also apparently wants to make her own OEL manga, but she and her classmates are such terrible people that they'd be lucky if they could even get a job getting coffee or cleaning bathrooms at another publisher. That's why I chose this one to be at the top: even after all the time I spent trying to work this list out over the years, I knew it would go to this rancid insult to viewing audiences while simultaneously attempting to pander to them. It wasn't the first a show like this did that; and it definitely wasn't the last.

Now, before I go back to rewatching Avatar and finishing Korra, here are some dishonorable mentions in no particular order: Mega Man (1994), Chop Socky Chooks, Perfect Hair Forever, and Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go. I am at least glad that I have several things I wish to have posted soon are ready to go with more to come, especially my full look at Pokémon The Power of Us. That's all for now. See you, space cowboy.