Random Great Anime That Had Terrible Second Seasons (13 items)

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  (#1) Sword Art Online

  • TV Program

  The anime community has mixed feelings about Sword Art Online, but most agree the first season is far superior to the second. Season 2, AKA the Fairy Dance Arc, undoes many of the good things set in place early in the series. Asuna, the show's heroine, starts off powerful enough to stand beside Kirito in battle, but in the second season, she's reduced to a helpless coma victim who needs her boyfriend to save her. To make matters worse, her consciousness exists in the virtual world, where she's being held captive by Nobuyuki Sugou, a creep who constantly feels her up despite her aggressive protests. 

  Additionally, the way Kirito defeats Sugou is totally ridiculous. Out of nowhere, he's granted "admin privileges," which allows him to destroy the ultra powerful Sugou with little effort. Then there's the whole "Kirito's sister is randomly in love with him" thing, which adds nothing to the show save a general sense of ickiness. 
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  (#2) Death Note

  • Comic Book Series

  The second season of Death Note has its good points. The opening and ending themes are amazing, and there are some genuinely fascinating moments involving Light's descent into madness. However, for some fans, the second season fails to reach the heights achieved by the first. The new antagonists Mello and Near aren't as richly developed as L is in Season 1, and the whole thing feels tremendously rushed.

  While Season 2 does manage to stay faithful to some aspects of the original manga, it compresses and cuts a ton of vital plot points, and the resulting story doesn't always make sense. The series is about elaborate schemes and mental warfare, so viewers need to be able to follow along, yet without reading the manga, it's hard to know what's really going on. 
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  (#3) Black Butler

  • Comic Book Series

  One major source of tension in Black Butler comes from the question of whether or not Sebastian is going to get to eat Ciel's soul. In the second season, another demon named Claude swoops in and takes Ciel's soul for himself. This is unsatisfying for viewers who were hoping to see Sebastian achieve his goal, and also for fans who wanted to see Ciel come out unscathed. Worst of all, the story doesn't even go anywhere, as Season 2 is largely composed of filler and fan service.
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  (#4) Darker than Black

  • TV Program

  The second season of Darker Than Black isn't a hit with fans. Instead of answering some of the major questions posed by the first season, Season 2 goes off in a completely different direction. New characters dominate the screen, and most of the old favorites are either dead or nonexistent. Besides that, the first season paints Hei as a total badass, while the second season reduces him to an alcoholic who abuses his children. Not exactly a fitting end for a fan-favorite. 
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  (#5) Psycho-Pass

  • TV Program

  While the first season of Psycho-Pass tells a thought-provoking story about a dystopian future, the second season doesn't do much to enhance the original premise. The villain, Kirito Kamui, seems like a watered-down version of the Season 1 antagonist, Shougo Makishima. Both want to take down the Sibyl System, a mysterious program that identifies potential criminals and kills them if they're deemed threatening.

  Makishima's methods are well thought out and generate a constant feeling of suspense, while Kirito's do not. To be fair, it's hard to maintain tension after the Sibyl System is revealed to be bogus at the end of Season 1, but a lackluster new villain does not help. 
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  (#6) Eureka 7 (US)

  • TV Program

  One of the most powerful themes in the first season of Eureka Seven is the idea that love conquers all. Renton, a human, falls in love with Eureka, a Humanoid Coralian who is tasked with observing humanity so she can help the two species live in peace. They learn to coexist with each other's differences, and since they can never be together in the world they inhabit, the season ends with them leaving together for an unspecified destination. 

  In the second season, the Scub Coral (the non-human version of the Coralians) are definitively evil, and Renton and Eureka lose their children. All this suffering undoes the positive message depicted in the first season, and makes it seem like the humans were right to wage war on the Scub Coral. 
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  (#7) Rurouni Kenshin

  • Comic Book Series

  The second season of Rurouni Kenshin is actually pretty good, but it starts to come apart at the seams during Season 3. Instead of furthering the plot, the creators stopped adapting material from the manga, and decided instead to feature a long, confusing string of filler episodes. For fans who were actually invested in the storyline, this came as an unwelcome surprise. 
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  (#8) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

  • TV Program

  The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is routinely praised, and for good reason. If Haruhi ever gets bored, she can destroy the planet, which is an excellent way to generate tension, and the animation is top-notch. It's an overall excellent show, except for the "Endless Eight" incident, which was the subject of serious controversy for anime fans. 

  The "Endless Eight" are a series of eight episodes in the second season that all tell the exact same story. It starts with a Groundhog Day style plot where Kyon is forced to relive the same day 15,000 times until he can break the repetitive cycle. For some reason, the creators decided it would be a good idea to subject viewers to a similar experience. The episodes do have slight differences, which might intrigue extremely dedicated fans, but for your average viewer, the whole saga feels like a disappointing waste of time. 
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  (#9) Oreimo

  • TV Program

  The second season of Oreimo ends with a brother and sister getting married. While there's definitely a fan base for that type of anime, most viewers aren't interested in seeing a romantic familial relationship. Some fans argue that Kirino and Kyousuke were inevitably going to end up together, as their love is heavily hinted at in Season 1, but that still doesn't make it palatable for the public at large.

  While there are definitely some subtle clues, Season 1 predominately focuses on Kirino's journey to accept her otaku identity, not her feelings for her brother. Considering the taboo nature of the relationship, it's understandable why not everyone is into it.
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  (#10) Moyashimon

  The original Moyashimon has its flaws, but it's still an overall charming comedy about life at an agricultural college. The quirky cast of characters definitely carry the show, and it's easy to grow attached to them long before Season 1 wraps up. In the sequel series, many of those characters are ignored in favor of new ones.

  Sometimes, the introduction of new characters can add life to a series, but in this case, their backstories are far too dramatic. Most of the time, the newbies detract from the bouncy, light-hearted tone that made Moyashimon work in the first place. 
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  (#11) Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!

  • TV Program

  In Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!, a young boy named Yuuta is embarrassed by his eccentric behavior in middle school, and wants a fresh start. He ends up embroiled in the life of Rikka, a girl who believes she is a vessel for something called a "Wicked Eye," and who calls him the "Dark Flame Master."

  While the first season does a great job bringing this concept to life, Season 2 spends most of its time focusing on random slice-of-life nonsense that leads nowhere. When Rikka decides to secretly move in with her grandparents, it feels like a cheap way to drum up angst. Rikka's decision effectively destroys the support network she's been building since the beginning of the series, and she fails to provide a compelling reason to justify her actions.
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  (#12) Log Horizon

  • TV Program

  The first season of Log Horizon presents a more mature take on the concept that grounds Sword Art Online, as once again, thousands of people are trapped in the world of an MMO, and need to find a way to survive. It takes a close look at issues Sword Art Online glosses over, like how the in-game economy works when resources are necessary for players' survival.

  Unfortunately, this promising concept doesn't really pan out in Season 2, mainly because the animation quality takes a huge dip, and the pacing is inconsistent. While attentive viewers will catch glimpses of good ideas, the series is held back by subpar presentation. 
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  (#13) Date A Live

  • Literary Series

  The first season of Date a Live may seem like a silly harem show, but it actually has some pretty decent characterization. The protagonist, Shido Itsuka, is constantly spouting witty banter as he works to seal away sexy "spirits." It's not exactly thought-provoking, but it takes the harem genre into rarely explored territory. Unfortunately, most of the charm is noticeably absent from Season 2. All character development grinds to a halt, the fun quips are gone, and the whole show becomes dull and joyless. 

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