Top 20 Most Controversial Anime Moments of All Time
These scenes were not without their naysayers. Join Ashley as we look over the anime moments that had some fans crying foul
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most infamous anime
00:09 scenes that sparked full-on scandals.
00:18 20.
00:19 The End of Eren Yeager – Attack on Titan
00:23 After ten years, almost a hundred episodes, and more jaw-dropping moments than we can
00:28 count, the ending of Attack on Titan was never going to please everyone, especially since
00:33 it committed to killing off Eren Yeager himself.
00:36 The vengeful Eldian spent the show's final season as a total renegade, so some vocal
00:42 fans weren't happy to see him die as a crying kid, mourning the life he could have had with
00:48 Mikasa.
00:51 It's a moving moment in a fantastic final episode, but clearly a subset of the fanbase
01:01 would have preferred to see Eren go out on the top of his game.
01:05 Either way, no one's forgetting this finale anytime soon.
01:13 19.
01:15 Lover's Quarrel – Aremo
01:23 Like most romance anime protagonists, Kyosuke has girls practically banging down his door.
01:29 But, he doesn't want any of them.
01:31 He only has eyes for his little sister, Kirino.
01:34 Unfortunately, she has eyes for him too.
01:41 Look, it's one thing to hint at an unsavoury relationship, and another entirely to show
01:49 a brother and sister pretending to get married.
01:52 As you can imagine, it didn't take long for the masses to condemn Aremo for its gross
01:57 central pairing.
01:58 There were even a select few defending Kyosuke and Kirino's romance, which only stirred
02:03 up even more controversy.
02:05 Given that the show is a very acquired taste, it's not even worth arguing about anymore.
02:10 Plus, Kureneko was obviously best girl.
02:16 18.
02:19 Episode 4 – Gurren Lagann
02:21 Simon's time inside the titular mech may be considered a modern classic these days,
02:27 but not every one of its episodes was as warmly received at the time.
02:31 Looking at you, Episode 4.
02:36 Helmed by a guest director, the divisive instalment used a very eclectic art style that left many
02:43 wanting.
02:45 Fans were extremely critical and made sure Gurren Lagann's production company, Gainax,
02:50 knew it.
02:51 In response, Gainax's co-founder made some not-so-professional comments comparing fan
02:56 criticism to his behind.
02:59 That only fuelled the fire, and eventually he was forced to resign altogether.
03:04 After all the hubbub, it's a wonder Gurren Lagann is still as beloved as it is.
03:12 17.
03:16 What's in the Dish?
03:17 The Pet Girl of Sakurasou
03:19 When it comes to anime, cooking food for a sick friend seems as innocent as you can get.
03:25 But somehow, this show found itself in hot water anyway.
03:33 Fans noticed that Jin prepared Korean food for his pal, instead of the Japanese dish
03:39 he makes in the source material.
03:41 Through some wild leaps in logic, fans began arguing the show was an offensive marketing
03:46 ploy for Korean grub.
03:49 Despite assurances from the production company, things only got worse when a future episode
03:54 edited out the Japanese national anthem.
04:03 Whether intentional or not, The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is now remembered more for its scandals
04:09 than its plot.
04:11 16.
04:12 Impersonation Evasion – Gintama
04:15 Even a show as funny as Gintama can go too far sometimes.
04:20 In the name of a good joke, they released an episode in 2011 featuring some biting critiques
04:26 for a well-regarded Japanese politician.
04:33 He didn't take kindly to being parodied, though.
04:36 The word "defamation" started getting thrown around a lot, and before things got
04:41 messy, the episode was yanked from airwaves and heavily censored.
04:46 You can still watch it on streaming sites to this day, but just be prepared for a lot
04:51 of bleeps and black bars.
04:54 Honestly, given Gintama's subject matter, it's surprising stuff like this doesn't
04:59 happen more often.
05:03 15.
05:04 Karen's "Pearly Whites" – Nisei Monogatari
05:09 There's a lot of feelings that come to mind when watching a scene like this.
05:13 The first, of course, being plain and simple discomfort.
05:24 While the Monogatari franchise is far from kid-friendly, Koyomi's up-close and personal
05:29 look into Karen's mouth was something else.
05:32 The question is, in what direction?
05:35 Fans spent weeks debating the scene's creative merits.
05:38 Is it plain and simple fan service?
05:41 An animation flex?
05:43 Or is it just meant to make you squirm?
05:45 No one knew for sure, but boy did everyone have an opinion.
05:48 Who knew dental hygiene could cause such a fuss?
05:57 14.
06:00 The Cabbage's "Crescent Love"
06:03 You heard that right.
06:05 In this charming slice of life, there's no graphic violence, uncomfortable romances
06:10 or taboo themes.
06:11 Nope, it garnered attention because it showed someone cutting a cabbage.
06:15 Or rather, something that's supposed to be a cabbage.
06:19 The animation left a lot to be desired, leaving most viewers in a state of shock, laughter
06:25 and amused bafflement.
06:30 The production got wind of the backlash and fixed the visual for the DVD release, but
06:35 it was too late.
06:37 By then, the perfectly smooth vegetable was already a widespread internet meme.
06:42 There is no outrunning a cabbage like this.
06:48 13.
06:50 Kaneki's Love Life
06:52 Tokyo Ghoul!
06:54 The power of shipping knows no bounds.
06:57 Even though Kaneki had heaps of chemistry with Best Girl Touka, a certain section of
07:02 the fanbase wanted him to get in bed with his best friend Hide.
07:06 But all those hopes went up in flames when Kaneki and Touka finally consummated their
07:11 relationship.
07:22 To say fans weren't happy would be an understatement.
07:26 Some went as far as calling Tokyo Ghoul homophobic, and even sent the author death threats.
07:31 While we can appreciate wanting more diverse relationships in anime, this glorified hate
07:36 parade went to the extreme.
07:38 The unwarranted reaction is a black mark on the Tokyo Ghoul fanbase that won't be going
07:43 away anytime soon.
07:48 12.
07:52 Not-So-Super Animation – Dragon Ball Super
07:56 You'd think a property as beloved as Dragon Ball would get the time and care it deserves.
08:02 But in only five episodes, the hotly anticipated Super turned fan excitement into internet-melting
08:08 outrage.
08:17 The show's rushed production schedule meant that animators couldn't keep up with the
08:21 battle-heavy storylines.
08:22 So, even though episode five was supposed to be Super's first big fight, it ended
08:27 up looking like a duel between stick figures.
08:39 The production company gave a few ham-fisted excuses, but in the end, Super went down as
08:44 a cautionary tale amongst fans.
08:46 On the bright side, the show did eventually get its act together, but the horrors of episode
08:51 five still haunt everyone's nightmares.
08:54 11.
08:55 Makoto's Murder and Nice Boat – School Days
09:00 In a scene that still drops jaws to this day, the shocking slice of life ends with some
09:05 literal slices taken out of its leading man, Makoto.
09:20 But that's not the most notable part of its finale.
09:22 A day before the episode was supposed to air, a real-life tragedy in Kyoto forced the Japanese
09:29 network to cancel its broadcast.
09:31 Instead, they aired a scenery shot with the subtitles "Nice Boat."
09:37 The internet exploded, frustration turning into confusion, turning into absolute hilarity.
09:42 By the time School Days' final episode aired, "Nice Boat" had become the anime meme
09:48 of the year.
09:49 You gotta feel for Makoto.
09:50 His death got upstaged by a bloody boat.
09:57 10.
10:01 Too Close for Comfort – Oshinoko
10:04 While it may seem bubbly on the surface, this show is actually all about exposing the dark
10:09 underbelly of the rich and famous.
10:12 But in its sixth episode, Oshinoko blended fact and fiction a bit too well.
10:18 The plotline follows Akane, an actress facing so much online harassment, she eventually
10:23 tries to end it all.
10:34 The specifics of her torment echo the situation of real-life pro wrestler, Hana Kimura.
10:40 Unfortunately, while Akane survived her circumstances, Kimura didn't.
10:44 Later, the wrestler's mother denounced Oshinoko for using her daughter's death as a quote-unquote
10:51 "source material."
10:52 Her comments struck a chord, with a lot agreeing Oshinoko should be more sensitive with its
10:57 real life going forward, while others argued that the manga was written much earlier.
11:05 9.
11:13 False Allegations – The Rising of the Shield Hero
11:21 You only get one chance at a first impression, and for some, Shield Hero blew it.
11:26 While its fresh spin on the isekai genre drew rave reviews, others were quick to point out
11:31 some of its more problematic elements.
11:34 Namely, that its first episode depicts slavery and false misconduct allegations.
11:46 Viewers who stuck around found that Shield Hero handled its tough subject matter with
11:50 finesse and maturity, but unfortunately, several of its protesters had already written the
11:55 show off.
11:56 It's a real shame.
11:58 If they'd just given Naofumi one more chance, they'd have seen that the first season – and
12:02 only the first season – of The Rising of the Shield Hero is isekai at its very best.
12:08 8.
12:09 The Endless Eight – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
12:14 In this malign storyline, Haruhi and her friends are stuck in a time loop, repeating the same
12:19 summer vacation.
12:21 Even though the second episode reanimated every scene, it rehashed the exact same events
12:26 as the first.
12:28 The third episode repeated the trend again, so did the fourth, the fifth, and so on, eventually
12:34 wasting over half the season with the same identical plot points.
12:45 Haruhi fans went into a tailspin, and we can't even blame them.
12:48 The fanbase's meltdown reached such a boiling point, the show's former director had to
12:54 issue an apology.
12:55 But "sorry" wasn't enough to stop The Endless Eight from becoming one of the most
13:00 hated arcs in anime history.
13:05 7.
13:09 Dio and the Quran – JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
13:13 As if being a thorn in the side of the Joestar family isn't bad enough, Dio Brando decided
13:19 to take on an entire religion, too.
13:22 During the 90s OVA adaptation of the series, the vampiric villain reads excerpts from something
13:27 that looks an awful lot like the Quran.
13:31 Obviously, Muslims weren't thrilled to see such flippant use of their sacred text, especially
13:43 by a vampire who's talking about murder.
13:46 In response, the manga's English release went on hiatus, and the OVAs were pulled from
13:52 storefronts.
13:53 Nowadays, there's a whole new version of JoJo's to fall in love with, and this one
14:02 hasn't offended any religious groups yet.
14:05 6.
14:06 Meet the Goblins – Goblin Slayer
14:08 If you turned on this anime expecting a light-hearted action fantasy, you had another thing coming.
14:15 In the very first scene of the very first episode, a group of unlucky adventurers get
14:19 cornered by goblins, and it crosses more than a few lines.
14:25 Let's just say that some of these party members got treated to a fate worse than death.
14:33 Almost immediately after it aired, Goblin Slayer was accused of using extreme violence
14:38 for shock value, and even worse, doing so without a content warning.
14:48 For what it's worth, the scandal did get a lot of eyes on the show, but something tells
14:53 us most of those viewers didn't hang around for episode two.
14:56 5.
14:57 Nina and Her Table – Code Geass
15:00 Lelouch of the Rebellion
15:02 Love is love, but there's a time and a place for everything.
15:08 This was most definitely not the time for Nina.
15:11 She's caught red-handed in a dark room, examining a photo of her beloved.
15:24 Given Nina's position, it's heavily implied that she got it on with the corner of a table.
15:29 Sorry, we meant "table-kun", as some cheeky fans started calling it.
15:34 Jokes aside, the scene's almost unnecessary content drummed up its fair share of drama.
15:40 This kind of weird fan-service-y scene feels incredibly out of place in a tense thriller
15:45 like Code Geass.
15:46 And yet, that's part of the reason Nina and Table-kun remain the show's most infamous
15:52 ship to this very day.
15:57 4.
15:59 Taboo Content – Sudo Online
16:01 It's almost ironic that an episode titled "Taboo Index" has a scene that literally
16:07 had to be censored.
16:09 To put it as vaguely as possible, Yujiro almost had to watch as his comrades suffer the worst
16:15 punishment imaginable.
16:23 The moment went through heavy edits before it could even hit streaming sites, let alone
16:28 public broadcast.
16:29 And clever cutting or not, the reality of the girls' situation isn't any easier
16:34 to stomach.
16:39 In the face of ever-mounting backlash, Sudo Online's original author assured fans that
16:45 he'd moved away from using violence as a subplot.
16:48 If only he'd come to that conclusion a few years sooner.
16:52 3.
16:53 The Real Kind of Revenge – Redo of Healer
16:57 The show is like a contentious bag of chips.
17:00 You can't just pick one.
17:02 After all, the entire premise is basically a walking PR disaster.
17:11 Without getting too deep into the nasty details, Redo of Healer is about the disgraced wizard
17:17 Kiaru who goes back in time to get revenge on those who wronged him.
17:22 Boy does he get creative.
17:29 Kiaru's vengeance is upfront, gratuitous, and so vile we can't even talk about it
17:37 on YouTube.
17:38 Or, hell, show any footage for that matter.
17:41 Whatever you're thinking of, it's probably worse.
17:44 You can't even watch Redo of Healer in some countries, and honestly, that might be for
17:49 the best.
17:50 2.
17:51 The Porygon Episode – Pokemon
17:53 Gotta catch 'em all, unless it's Porygon.
18:03 During the monster's debut episode of the anime, Pikachu went into the internet and
18:08 delivered a shock that the industry is still reeling from.
18:11 The repetitive, flashing lights triggered a series of epileptic reactions across Japan,
18:17 sending more than 600 viewers to the hospital.
18:20 Pokemon immediately pulled the episode down, and went on a four-month hiatus to address
18:26 the issue.
18:31 By the time they returned to their regularly scheduled broadcast, Japanese networks had
18:36 written up entirely new guidelines on light effects in anime.
18:40 All these years later, shows are still being held to those standards.
18:44 As for Porygon himself, he's been blacklisted from the anime ever since.
19:08 3.
19:21 The Evangelion Fandom – Shinji
19:22 The characters may be congratulating Shinji, but for some, there's nothing to be happy
19:25 about here.
19:26 Especially if you're a hardcore theorist.
19:28 Ever since the series ended with this ambiguous scene, the Evangelion fandom has been stuck
19:34 in a complete controversy of interpretation.
19:37 Did Shinji reject instrumentality?
19:39 Or are they congratulating him because he joined their universal consciousness?
19:43 Or is this all just because they ran out of budget?
19:48 After all, the previews did show footage that would later be used in the end of Evangelion
19:53 movie.
19:54 Either way, thematic or not, many were still peeved about this anticlimactic ending.
19:59 But of course, some argue that's the whole point.
20:11 Things have, of course, become a lot more clear, and people don't care as much now
20:15 that "Thrice Upon a Time" has wonderfully wrapped up the series.
20:19 But either way, back then, people were livid.
20:23 What anime scandal surprised you the most?
20:26 Let us know in those comments below.
20:40 And as always, thanks for watching.