At the Reddit An interesting discussion is taking place about those animes that at one time were huge in popularity, but have now fallen into oblivion.
The question posed “I feel like, in general, anime and the community around it mostly focus on what’s new at the moment. There will always be those few evergreen series like DBZ, Naruto, and One Piece, but I’m very interested in series that used to be powerhouses in the industry, but now their presence in the conversation is just a whisper. What are some series that have completely lost their relevance over time?”
This question triggered a series of varied responses, where participants reflected on how certain animes, which once dominated the scene and captured the public’s attention, were gradually forgotten or relegated to the background.
Some fans have pointed out that the ephemeral nature of the entertainment industry can mean that even the biggest hits end up falling into oblivion, overshadowed by new proposals and trends. Others cited market saturation and media overexposure as factors that may contribute to the decline in relevance of certain anime over time.
- Tokyo Ghoul? Okay, it’s more because the final season was a disaster, but still, it used to be one of the animes, on par with SAO, Death Note, Code Geas, etc. Now people do everything they can to forget him.
- Noragami. It was great, but it evaporated, mainly because there was no third season. I would say Blue Exorcistbut he came back from the dead.
- Haruhi It is Shakugan no Shana come to mind. Haruhi had a great first season, she was everywhere. People who didn’t watch it got tired of seeing it on the forums. Shana She was the tsundere par excellence. People adored her. Both series are now so irrelevant that mentioning them can provoke a “…huh?” among younger or more recent fans. Haruhi It still has some reputation, but I rarely see it mentioned online.
- I had forgotten that Magic it existed for an entire decade, until about 2 weeks ago. It used to be huge.
- Love Hina was very important 20 years ago, as it was the archetype of ecchi harem anime in its heyday. As the genre fell out of favor, it became a footnote.
- A Certain Magical Index it was a hit when it came out in 2008. If you ask anime fans under the age of 25, like my sister, if they know this, they probably don’t.
- Before Sword Art Online, Log Horizon and all those “stuck in a game” series, there was the series .hackin particular .hack//Sign.
- LogHorizon. It was very popular, then the creator got involved in a tax fraud scandal, I think, and disappeared for a LONG time. It came back… with mixed reviews and then just… disappeared.
- I do not see Oh! My Goddess. Beldandy used to be an important waifu back then.
- Deadman Wonderland.
- Haruhi Suzumiya It’s not as big as it was in the mid-2000s.
- Lucky Star. A classic that seems to fall more into irrelevance with each passing day.
- Who still remembers D. Gray Man?
- Elfen Lied It is Mirai Nikki were quite notable series and controversies when they debuted, but today they are hardly talked about.
- I don’t hear the name Escaflowne since the 90s.
- Yuri on Iceapart from the film news, was already falling off the map a little.
- I feel like the only person who remembers It will last!!
- Elfen Lied It was one of those animes that everyone watched back in the day and that is barely mentioned now.
- Many anime from the 80s have disappeared. Bubblegum Crisis, Project A-ko, Venus Wars, City Hunter. They tried to make modern versions of Appleseed, but after the latest disasters, it seems like it’s done. I’m glad some have returned and received modern attention, like Urusei Yatsura, Saint Seiya or Legend of the Galactic Heroesbut what I wouldn’t give for a remake of Touch.
- It’s hard to say it’s diminished compared to a lot of the things mentioned here (because even at its peak I don’t think it reached those heights), BUT Angel Beats! I remember for a while everyone had it somewhere in their Top 20.
- Hellsing.
- It’s been a long time since I heard about Yu Yu Hakusho, D Gray Man, Toriko or Reborn. I don’t know if it was a power, but Major It was fantastic and yet I never saw people talking about it.
- Yona of the Dawn. I still recommend it from time to time, but it didn’t have a second season, which reduced its popularity.
- Full Metal Panic it was a very popular series 15-20 years ago, even among those who didn’t watch anime. Now it is barely mentioned.
- Lucky Stars. More or less the great crystallized beginning of moe culture and which had a huge impact on anime culture
- Soul Eater.
- Slayers It is Record of Lodoss War they were very popular in my country when they were released… I haven’t heard anyone talk about any of them since the early 2000s, Urotsukidouji was the joke about hentai until the mid-2000s here too.
