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A well-executed plot twist is one of the most exciting ways to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. When done right, it subverts expectations, adds intrigue, and keeps viewers hooked. Many anime series use plot twists to inject surprise and excitement, but they only work if the audience remains unaware of what’s coming.

However, some anime plot twists, like Spike’s fate at the end of Cowboy Bebop or Aizen’s betrayal in Bleach, become so famous, virtually every fan knows them getting into the series. In spite of that, newcomers still enjoy the series. This is not true of all anime with unpredictable plots. These anime shows rely so heavily on the shock factor of their big twist, knowing it in advance makes the experience of watching the series meaningless.

School Days Has Little Value Outside Its Ending's Controversial Twist Streaming on CrunchyrollImage via Tnk

At first glance,...

The rich and diverse medium of anime invites fans to experience no shortage of captivating stories. Pushing the bounds of narrative virtuosity, visual technique, and artistic expressiveness, the best anime films and series are universally acclaimed as masterpieces. In the opulent tapestry of the medium’s cream of the crop, titles like Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gintama, and countless other esteemed works make new fans fall in love with anime and encourage audiences to revisit them time and time again. However, like any prolific medium, anime hardly counts only admired masterworks and celebrated smash hits. Aside from the plethora of forgettable and mediocre titles, a few are situated on the very opposite end of the spectrum from the medium’s revered sensations — the worst anime of all time.

An anime series’ quality is hardly an objective metric. Nonetheless, quite a handful of titles are recognized and remembered by the...

There have been several amazing anime series that deserve to be watched at least once—from the shōnen big three to potential modern classics like Frieren: Beyond Journey's End or Attack on Titan. Then there are anime so bad that heavy critique weighs down their titles with terrible reputations for years and years to come.

The second season of The Promised Neverland flopped badly enough that fans only acknowledge the first season. Erased's ending became such a disappointment that viewers denied anything past episode 10. However, there come some truly cursed classics that have gained so much renown for their terrible quality that hardcore anime fans are obligated to give them a go at least once before swearing them off for eternity.

RelatedThe 10 Worst Anime Adaptations Ever Made, Ranked

Over the years, not all anime has been created equal. Some studios fail to capture the essence of the manga, while others...

The following article contains the mention of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

Many popular anime titles are bound to run into controversy at some point. It could be as simple as many viewers feeling tired of played-out tropes like an overpowered main character or more serious issues like Rising of the Shield Hero's depiction of slavery. Most of these series have other qualities that make them enjoyable. But there are exceptions to this rule.

Often, a series can rise to infamy among the anime community because of these controversial elements. These issues could become apparent right from episode 1, turning off potential fans from ever watching the series. However, there are anime titles out there where these issues are more exaggerated. While not flawless, these controversial animes still do more than makeup for their flaws.

Naruto Doesn't Deserve the Hate It Gets Streaming on Crunchyroll

Naruto is one of the quintessential shōnen anime series,...

Anime is known for its creativity and gorgeous animation, which combine to tell some of the most profound and entertaining stories on the small screen. However, the medium is also victim to many poor endings, whether it be the unified hate of School Days or the polarizing ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Even worse, sometimes it isn't just the ending but the entire final arc that is horrible.

Fresh off the heels of its full season order, Poppa’s House is sharing bloopers from its endearing first season. The new multi-cam sitcom has been including bloopers in its end credits after each new episode on CBS, and TV Insider can exclusively share the bloopers from the episode airing tonight at 8:30/7:30c. Season 1 Episode 4, titled “School Days,” features Wendy Raquel Robinson‘s debut as Catherine, ex-wife to Damon Wayans‘ Poppa and mother to Damon Wayans Jr.‘s Junior. In the episode, Junior and Nina (Tetona Jackson) turn to their parents for help paying tuition when their son gets accepted into a prestigious private school. While Poppa believes the kids will be just fine at public school, his ex-wife, Catherine, and Nina’s father, JJ (Geoffrey Owens), try to convince him that his grandson’s education is worth the investment. The exclusive blooper reel above teases clips from next week’s episode,...

The fourth episode of CBS’s “Poppa’s House” seems poised to deliver a sitcom staple: the clash of wills between parents and grandparents, this time over the ever-thorny issue of private school tuition. In “School Days,” Poppa finds himself at odds with his daughter Nina and her husband, Junior, regarding the educational future of their son. […]

Poppa’s House “School Days”...

In the latest episode of “Poppa’s House,” titled “School Days,” Junior and Nina face an important decision regarding their son’s education. With their child getting accepted into a prestigious private school, the excitement quickly turns into a challenge when they realize the tuition fees are higher than they expected. This episode, airing at 9:30 Pm on Monday, November 11, 2024, on CBS, promises to blend humor with heartfelt moments as the couple navigates their financial dilemma.

As Junior and Nina turn to their parents for help, the dynamics of family support come into play. Viewers can expect some funny and touching interactions as the grandparents weigh in on the situation, each bringing their own perspective on education and finances. The episode explores the lengths parents will go to ensure their children have the best opportunities, highlighting both the struggles and joys of family life.

With relatable themes and a comedic touch,...

Before the rise of popular and accessible streaming services like Crunchyroll, newly released anime spread by word of mouth over the internet, and fans often watched whatever they could get their hands on. It was during this time that Elfen Lied rose to popularity in the West, and coming across the series would eventually become something of a rite of passage for fans of the medium. Many of them, myself included, used Elfen Lied as a gateway into other more obscure anime.

For that reason, the show was largely beloved by the anime watching community, building the reputation of a must-see series during any newer fan's anime-watching journey. As the years passed, however, and anime and manga became more easily accessible to fans outside of Japan, public perception of Elfen Lied shifted. These days, the series is widely viewed as a poorly aged product of its time that was edgy...

Whose house? That’s right, “Poppa’s House” is heading to TV screens, bringing you another comedy series led by the iconic Wayans family.

Between the “In Living Color,” the “Scary Movie” franchise and more, there’s no doubt that the Wayans family knows funny, which is why they’re tackling the sitcom arena once again with the father-son series. And instead of naming a character Junior, like in “My Wife and Kids,” Damon Wayans has enlisted his very own son and his namesake Damon Wayans Jr. to kick it with him as his co-lead

With both Damons on-camera and the Wayans — including Kim, Shawn and Michael Wayans — working the writers room, fans can anticipate a hilarious and family-oriented show for everyone of all ages.

When does “Poppa’s House” come out?

“Poppa’s House” comes out on Monday, Oct. 21 on CBS at 8:30 p.m. Est/Pst.

Where is “Poppa’s House” streaming?...

The highly anticipated anime adaptation of the webcomic written by TurtleMe and illustrated by Fuyuki23, The Beginning After the End, has been finally confirmed during the series panel hosted by Crunchyroll at the New York Comic Con event, alongside a first trailer. The Beginning After the End season 1 is set to have 24 episodes split into two cours, which will be released in 2025.

According to a post by Kakao's Entertainment webtoon platform on X @tapas_app, The Beginning After the End will be adapted by Studio A-cat and streamed on Crunchyroll upon its release. The anime will be directed by Keitaro Motonaga, who has previously worked in animes like Katanagatari, School Days, and Date a Live, while the series composition will be in charge of Takamitsu Kono and the character design by Masami Sueoka.

Big News from #Nycc! @tapas_app & @Crunchyroll are bringing The Beginning After the End to life as an anime,...

A familiar demonic seductress has made a surprising cameo appearance in one of the funniest anime series of the Summer 2024 season. Fan-favorite character Rias Gremory from High School DxD recently stepped out of the spiritual realm of Kuoh Academy and into the digital world of anime VTubers.

The official Japanese social media account for High School DxD on X (formerly Twitter) has shared a hilarious clip from the latest episode of VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral After Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream. The clip in question comes from Episode 4, which focuses on VTuber streamer Awayuki Kokorone watching her genmates live streams while recovering from a brutal physical workout from playing a video game parody of Ring Fit Adventure. One of the streams Awayuki stumbles upon is of supporting character Hareru Asagiri raging over an anime-themed collectible card game.

Related High School DxD Gets Official "All Ages" Rias Gremory...

Where to Buy the School Days Fairy Tail Perfume: Prices Revealed - Main Image

Nearly 17 years after the anime aired, School Days got a surprise perfume collaboration with Japanese scent brand Fairy Tail Parfum. To be exact, this new perfume lineup features three scents, each inspired by a certain School Days character.

As a bonus, there’s a pouch available for sale that is inspired by the infamous bag that was used in the anime’s controversial final episode.

What Does the School Days Perfume Smell Like?

Up first in the School Days perfume collection is a scent inspired by Makoto Ito, the controversial school romance anime's protagonist.

Its scent is described as “unrestrained yet captivating,” and its fragrance notes reflect this. The perfume features top notes of blueberries and daffodils, meaning it’s a combination of a fruity and flowery scent.

Meanwhile, the middle notes are rose, apple, jasmine,...

While most anime are based on manga, many great shows are actually based on visual novels instead. Visual novels are a popular style of game in Japan that are narratives the player must navigate, often making choices that impact the outcome of the story. This can make them somewhat hard to adapt, but not impossible as many anime show.

Of course the biggest challenge in adapting a visual novel is condensing all the content contained within into a clear narrative. While someone playing a visual novel can experience all of its diverging story paths, most anime are constrained to one straightforward narrative which usually necessitates making some major cuts. Some series on this list have gotten around this by making multiple anime to encompass the entire story. This list will just be focusing on one entry per franchise however for the sake of variety. That being said, here are the...

Romance is found in some of the happiest stories and fairytales. However, it is also used to portray the deepest tragedies. This latter plot is especially prevalent in romance anime. Very often, something tragic will happen to anime couples that packs suck a punch, fans can't help but cry.

Each couple is different. Anime seems to come up with increasingly sad things to do to its characters. These story elements are so unspeakably distressing that some fans can only bring themselves to watch the show once. These romances are by no means poorly written, but the tragedies they feature are so sad that they sit in audiences' hearts long after finishing them.

Related: 10 Saddest Anime Heroes

Makoto Ito, Kotonoha Katsura, & Sekai Saionji (School Days)

School Days is a tragedy waiting to happen from its first episode. Kotonoha Katsura has a crush on Makoto Ito, and Sekai Saionji initially encourages their relationship.

Controversy and media are eternal partners. There's no escaping from the scrutiny of the audience over objectionable stories and content, even if it's anime. There's no shortage of mind-boggling anime series that left the audience shocked, if not traumatized.

Some anime titles have been so off-putting that even the fans across the Pacific couldn't handle it. "Controversial anime" doesn't necessarily mean series with solely offensive content. It also points to receiving hate from the fandom, poorly executed stories, and exploring themes that are simply off-limits.

Related: Jujutsu Kaisen: Everything To Know About Cursed Energy

Hetalia Axis Powers (2009)

The world has exploited the spoils of World War II, both for better or worse. However, Hetalia Axis Powers took it in a completely different direction by personifying the involved countries in the war into rather quirky characters. No matter how clever or comedic the content may be, World War II is a...

This article contains mention of suicide, which may be uncomfortable for some readers.

"If I can't have them, no one can" is the motto of yandere archetype characters. The yandere is a dere type that combines "yanderu," meaning sick, and "dere," meaning lovey-dovey. Together, it creates someone so lovesick that they're willing to do absolutely anything to end up with the one they love.

Yandere anime characters are fixated on their love interest. On the outside, they act as if they're kind and sweet characters to everyone, but on the inside, they're willing to go as far as murder if someone gets in their way. Often, yandere characters become fan favorites even though they're incredibly scary.

Updated by Mayra Garcia on August 17th, 2023: When it comes to yandere anime characters, some of them miss the mark by becoming too much of a stereotype. However, others are deeply beloved, such...

While plot twists are far from a rarity in anime, some series choose to hold their cards until the final episode to reveal their biggest secrets. These sorts of endings almost always become infamous in some way, completely subverting the expectations that audiences have when committing themselves to an anime series.

Whether this be a complete change in genre or some kind of ultimate betrayal, curveball endings are something that many anime fans love. They're not only enjoyable in the moment, but they also keep fans talking long after a series is over.

School Days

Based on a series of visual novels with the same name, School Days is an infamous romance-turned-horror series that is perhaps best known for its shocking final episode. While the anime begins as a standard harem romance centered on a love triangle between the three main characters, the show quickly devolves as the series' lead,...

Yandere is one of the most controversial "dere" types in anime, featuring characters who appear sweet and kind at first only to reveal a secret dark side over time. Yandere characters are incredibly possessive of their loved ones, often becoming violent when their relationship is threatened. Despite their disturbing nature, yandere anime characters remain a popular archetype.

Related: 18 Best Yandere Characters In Anime, Ranked

However, some yanderes are too much even for the biggest fans. With toxic behavior that takes creepiness to a new level and obsessive personalities that get downright annoying, some yandere characters embody all the worst aspects of the trope.

Tohma Seguchi (Gravitation)

Tohma Seguchi is a supporting character in the classic Bl series Gravitation, as well as a lesser-known example of a yandere in anime. At first glance, Tohma seems like a perfectly sweet and innocent guy. However, in reality, he's far from it.

Tohma has...

It's common for an anime to significantly change certain parts of the manga it's adapting for creative and practical reasons. This can affect the manga's characters in such a way that they either feel familiar yet different, or they become new people entirely. The best kinds of changes are those that impress viewers and improve the story.

Related: 20 Manga That Are Too Controversial To Receive An Anime Adaption

Whether it was thanks to the animators undoing certain things from the manga or making up something entirely new, these manga characters worked a lot better in anime. Previously forgettable side characters now had the chance to be the stars of their own arcs or spin-offs, while protagonists became more compelling they ever were.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Makoto Itou School Days

Since School Days was a visual novel, the player character Makoto Itou didn't really have a defined identity. At most, he...

Visual novels are an unorthodox medium that take the best from video games, anime, and literary approaches to craft an immersive and interactive experience incomparable to any other storytelling method. The close link between anime and visual novels makes the latter medium an inviting source for adaptations.

Over the years, anime fans have praised countless incredible stories, such as Steins;Gate and Clannad, often without knowing their origins as visual novels. Unfortunately, not every excellent visual novel translates well into an anime format. Struggles like condensing tens of hours of gameplay into a one-cour show or choosing the wrong route to adapt result in the creation of some of the worst visual novel anime out there.

Related:12 Anime You Didn't Know Were Based on Video Games

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

One of the most famous visual novel adventure games, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, is famed for its endearing characters, inventive twists,...

Many types of characters exist in anime, but one of the more provocative is anime womanizers. These Lotharios are charming and handsome, and know just the right things to say to have women fall at their feet.

Related: 15 Worst Couples In Shonen Anime, Ranked

These seductors are typically self-important and love to show off. They have high standards for their appearance and are threatened by other male characters. They also seek validation in their romantic conquests. Even so, anime womanizers still find themselves with more female partners than they know what to do with (even if their hearts are really only set on one person).

Makoto Ito (School Days)

Makoto Ito is one of the most womanizing characters in anime. Despite claiming that he has a crush only on Kotonoha Katsura, he fools around with Sekai Saionji as well. Thinking he can play the two girls off of each other,...

The Kinks will mark their 60th anniversary as a band with a two-year celebration that kicks off this March with The Journey – Part 1, a two-disc compilation featuring songs handpicked by the surviving members.

Boasting tracks from the Rock Hall-inducted group’s first singles in 1964 to their 1975 concept albums, each side of The Journey – Part 1 — curated by Ray and Dave Davies and Mick Avery — follows a narrative arc, ranging from “Songs about becoming a man, the search for adventure, finding an identity and a girl” to “Days and nights of a lost soul,...

Part of Alice Cooper’s enduring appeal has been the fact that, unlike many of his Seventies FM-radio peers, he always rejected the notion that rock & roll should be Serious Art. “School’s Out” is just a distant cousin of Chuck Berry’s “School Days,” and “I’m Eighteen” is inherently funny since Cooper was 23 when it became a hit, and he hasn’t stopped singing it for the past 50 years. That’s why his great Seventies albums like Love It to Death and Killer were great in the first place.

Lord of the Flies meets The Road in this ruthless, thrilling romp about posh boarding school kids fighting a deadly virus

Adapted from a trilogy of young adult books by Scott K Andrews, that forms part of the “shared world” Afterblight Chronicles series, this gory British boys’ school-set sci-fi posits a deadly virus that swiftly kills almost everyone everywhere except those with a particular blood type. If The Lord of the Flies crossed with The Road and a dash of Tom Brown’s School Days sounds like your bag of blood, than this ruthless romp will be a kick in the head.

Director Oliver Milburn, who has made a bunch of horror-themed shorts and one feature (The Harsh Light of Day), has a real knack for staging action and coaxing sincere, punchy performances from his mostly young cast. Much of the story is seen through the eyes of Lee, one...

Few actors can boast a career quite like Malcolm McDowell, and he’s still working, prolifically, in the present day. His latest is the Anglo-American gangster flick The Big Ugly, written and director by Scott Wiper. We had the immense pleasure of speaking to them both, on seperate occasions, to discuss this collaboration.

“I’m only involved because of Vinnie,” McDowell said of co-star Vinnie Jones, when as asked what attracted him to this project. “I love Vinnie. He’s a great guy. I knew him a bit because of golf, and he came up to play in my tournament, and he’s such a fun character and I’ve always liked his work and I know that he’s the cockney heavy, the gangster, but when he explained to me that this was his chance to do something more interesting and not just be the heavy, I brought into...

Since announcing her retirement in 1997, Country Music Hall of Fame member Barbara Mandrell has mostly stayed out of the spotlight other than a handful of public appearances where she wasn’t performing. So it feels like a significant development that Mandrell has released a new dance remix of the pop crossover classic “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed,” which became her first Number One country hit in 1978.

Remixed by Dave Aude (Rihanna, Madonna, Beyoncé), this new version of Mandrell’s disco-tinged track aims for dance floors and drag shows alike,...

Donald Trump was still months away from being elected president when Stephen King began writing his new novel. But The Institute — out September 10th and centered on a 12-year-old boy stolen from his parents in the night and locked up in a mysterious facility — is likely to remind readers of certain immigration policies. “I can’t help but see similarity between what’s going on in The Institute and those pictures of kids in cages,” says King. “Sometimes fiction outpaces fact.”

This isn’t the first time a King book...

The 2018 Grammy Awards remembered the legendary Chuck Berry and Fats Domino during Sunday night’s live broadcast.

Berry died of natural causes at the age of 90 on March 18, 2017. Domino, who is best known as one of the fathers of rock and roll, died in October and was known as a pioneer in the genre. He was 89.

Jon Batiste, Gary Clark Jr. and Joe Saylor sang Berry’s “Maybelline” and Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame” in remembrance of the two artists.

With a litany of hit singles such as “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Brown Eyed Handsome Man,” “Johnny B. Goode,...