Top 10 Craziest Anime Spin-Offs Ever
James Austin general
How did these even get approved?! Join Ashley as he counts down our picks for the weirdest anime spin offs that actually exist, including the likes of "Yokai Watch Shadowside", "Mobile Gundam Suit-san", "Angel Links", and more!
Script written by Alex Crilly-Mckean
Top 10 Craziest Anime Spin Offs Ever
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we are counting down our picks for the Top 10 Craziest Anime Spin Offs Ever.
For this list, we’ll be looking at the spin-off series to well-known anime that left us more than a little confused. Which side project do you think was better off as a concept? Let us know in the comments!
#10: “Koro Sensei Quest” (2016-17)
It’s pretty common these days for light-hearted anime spin-offs to also be nothing more than a retread of the original, albeit in a chibi-fied form. That’s largely what this harmless take on Assassination Classroom goes for, only the key difference being that it’s set in an alternative fantasy RPG world where all the characters are knights and Korosensei is the Demon King. It doesn’t do anything ground-breaking with the genre switch, but the twist at the very least keeps things interesting! Roll for critical!
#9: “Gakuen Basara: Samurai High School” (2018)
Yeah, fair warning, there’s going to be a lot of high school-based spin offs here. Seems to be the go-to. Even then…it’s just weird seeing Masamune and the rest acting as high school students instead of feudal lords. Kind of a big leap to go from battling Oda Nobunaga to competing over who gets to become the new student council president. Let’s be honest, character drama was never the series’ strong suit, so for it to suddenly be the whole focus renders the whole thing kind of moot.
advertisement
#8: “Mobile Suit Gundam-san” (2014)
You’ve got to give this show credit, considering it somehow managed to change an all time classic about the tragedy of war into an insane comedy. Drawn in a super deformed art style, this gag-based parody depicts the cast from both sides of the original in hilarious circumstances. What’s even more bizarre is the way Char Aznable is presented, instead of the unwavering anti hero we all know and love, here he’s a complete and utter idiot.
#7: “Angel Links” (1999)
So, remember that duo of side characters that appeared briefly in Outlaw Star? No? Well, too bad. Now they’ve got their own series. As perplexing as it sounds, if it had been given time to develop and had the same level of bombastic, sci-fi joy as Gene Starwind’s adventures, then maybe it could have worked. As it stands, Li Meifon and her gang commit the cardinal sin of being boring. Seriously boring. Can’t believe they went with this over something like an Aisha-centric spin off? Come on!
#6: “Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals” (2012-13)
Given the amount of filler we got along the way, it’s shocking that it took as long as it did for Naruto to get a spin off! Focusing on everyone’s favourite bowl-cut brawler, this is a straightforward comedy that managed to amass over fifty episodes! And to be fair…it can be pretty funny. Lee has always been one of the better side characters, so to see him get the spotlight while taking jabs at the rest of the cast makes this one of the better shows under the Naruto banner.
#5: “Yokai Watch Shadowside” (2018-19)
Ah, Yokai Watch. That show for kids that was sort of like Pokemon but with Ghosts? Apparently, the powers that be decided that as their audience grew up…so would the series. And by grow up, we mean get EDGY. It’s kind of incredible. You’ve got ghost fights, a much more mature approach to the concept and conversations regarding death, and best of all…the voice of Kazuma Kiryu as the voice of Jibanyan’s adult form. That is worth a watch in of itself!
advertisement
#4: “Isekai Quartet” (2019-)
It’s an idea so crazy that it was either going to be a stroke of brilliance of an absolute dumpster fire. Thankfully, it succeeded. Taking place in an interdimensional school setting, the casts of KonoSuba, Overlord, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Re;Zero and Rising of the Shield Hero are all forced to interact. The gags write themselves. So many larger-than-life personalities mashed together with standard high school fare serving as a backdrop has made this crossover an utter delight to watch, and we can only hope they keep adding more isekai to the roster!
#3: “Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya” (2013-16)
Okay, even by Fate standards, this is just weird. It’s the furthest thing from Fate/Zero’s dark content, not to mention the action-heavy Unlimited Blade Works. This is…a magical girl, slice of life and questionable moments all rolled into one. Who was begging for Illya to take centre stage and go on a myriad of magical-filled adventures? It’s baffling! Even Carnival Phantasm makes more sense than this!
#2: “Attack on Titan: Junior High” (2015)
We’re all for a bit of brevity in-between the slaughter, monsters and dark conspiracies…but a high school setting?! For Attack on Titan of all things?! Granted this came out before the third season set everything on fire with its plot twists, but even then, it’s crazy to see the Survey Corp getting up to light-hearted shenanigans while also making meta commentary about who's secretly a Titan and who got eaten. Would be interesting to see how they tackled all the events over in Marley though…
#1: “Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock” (2011)
One of the most beloved Dragon Ball movies out there; learning the history of Goku’s father and his attempts to stop Frieza from destroying Planet Vegeta was utterly heart-breaking. Too bad they didn’t leave it alone. Instead, we were given this special that expanded on Bardock’s fate. Turns out he wasn’t killed with the rest of his Saiyan brethren, he was just sent hurtling thousands of years into the past. It has primordial Saiyans, an inferior version of Freiza, and Bardock becoming the first ever Super Saiyan - probably out of rage for how silly the plot is.
