Continuations aren’t always good.
Many fans are upset about their anime only lasting for one season. That’s not always a bad thing, though. Sometimes, a sequel can be disappointing, like in the case of The Promised Neverland (Yakusoku no Neverland).
And sometimes — these 5 anime are good examples — sequels didn’t need to exist at all.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
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Naruto already disappointed many by the end of Shippuden. As if that wasn’t enough, we got a new series focusing on Naruto’s son, Boruto.
There are many reasons why Boruto is disliked, but the main one is simple: it’s simply not Naruto anymore, and it’s really hard to get invested in it after finishing the original.
The original Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch) had one of the best endings in all of anime. So, of course, the natural conclusion was to retcon that ending into three recap movies and make another one, which is a sequel that no one asked for.
Still, Lelouch of the Re;surrection was decently well-received because of its new content with the old cast. Later in 2024, we are getting Rozé of the Recapture — an entirely new series, and, predictably, no one cares.
New FLCL anime
The original FLCL was an iconic OVA full of references, crazy action and weird symbolism. It had a self-contained story and never actually needed a sequel. Except, almost 20 years later, two more projects based on it were produced.
While FLCL: Alternative had a somewhat positive reception, FLCL: Progressive was ultimately panned because it didn’t capture the spirit of the original. As if that wasn’t enough, two more series, FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze were produced later, but no one cared at that point.
Psycho-Pass 2
The original Psycho-Pass was a perfectly fine standalone series that didn’t need (but could use) a sequel.
However, fans were extremely disappointed by the second season — and a huge part of the reason was the main writer of the original, Gen Urobuchi, being barely involved with the sequel. At least the movie and Season 3 were better.
W’z
During the Winter 2017 season, there was a really weird anime called Hand Shakers. It had a very weird battle-royale-like plot about pairs that use supernatural powers to fight each other for the right to meet God.
The story was all over the place, but the visuals were what fans remembered. If there’s such a thing as “too much animation,” Hand Shakers encapsulated that perfectly: it was made entirely in CGI, had a ton of bizarre filters, and the camera never stopped.
How do you make it worse? Simple. A few years later, the studio announced another project, W’z, advertising it as standalone. The visuals were the same, though, and fans weren’t surprised when the first episode revealed that it was a sequel to Hand Shakers all along. No one understood why it exists in the first place.