While anime like Solo Leveling are gaining traction with their sequels, other titles from the winter 2025 season have been largely forgotten by audiences. In this list, we highlight five anime that suffered from a lack of viewership.
- Kagurabachi: Spoilers and what to expect from chapter 75
- All about the return of Fire Force season 3
But, generally speaking, anime released in the winter lost audience interest. For one reason or another, these anime started strong but declined with each episode. None of this means they're bad, or even mediocre.
Forgotten Winter 2025 Anime Season – Top 5
05. Dr. Stone 4
The fourth season of Dr. Stone continues the series' solid trajectory since its debut in 2019. With consistent production and a well-constructed script, the anime maintains the technical quality that made it one of the most respected shonen series today. In this new phase, Senku Ishigami and his allies have left the Stone Age behind and set sail for America in search of clues about the ancient civilization and possible survivors. Technological inventions continue to be the focus, offering new lessons in science and creativity—a trademark of the franchise.
However, despite its solidity, Dr. Stone: Science Future rarely ventures into innovation. The series no longer surprises like it once did, and many fans have been drifting away due to its predictability and lack of real impact on the otaku community. While the season pleases its most loyal viewers, it offers more of the same, with only superficial changes and little emotional engagement. For those who have followed it since the beginning, the anime remains a familiar experience, albeit without any major new developments. The feeling is that Dr. Stone has already peaked—and now it's just going with the flow.
04. Sakamoto Days
When it premiered, Sakamoto Days divided opinions mainly due to the sky-high expectations surrounding its animation. TMS Entertainment failed to match the level of detailed illustrations in Yuto Suzuki's manga, disappointing some audiences accustomed to visually stunning productions like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu. Even so, the anime delivered a balanced narrative, blending action moments with the everyday life of former assassin Taro Sakamoto. The problem was that, while competent, the animation failed to deliver any visual or emotional depth that truly resonated with audiences, making the series less memorable than it could have been.
As the first cour progressed, the lukewarm reception turned into abandonment by many viewers. The plot and characters, while charismatic, felt generic, recalling formulas already seen in other shonen series, such as Spy x Family and even Gintama. The comparison was inevitable, but the timing of the release also hampered the series' impact. In a landscape saturated with technically advanced action anime, Sakamoto Days ended up overshadowed. Perhaps, if it had been released at a different time with less competition, the anime would have received the recognition its narrative foundation deserved.
Forgotten Animes Winter 2025 Season – Top 3
03. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You 2
The second season of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really Love You went almost unnoticed in the winter 2025 season, overshadowed by giants like Solo Leveling . Despite this, the anime remained true to its absurd premise: balancing romantic comedy with an insane dose of exaggeration. The new batch of episodes maintained the fast pace of character introductions, adding even more girlfriends to Rentarou's already impossible harem. Bibury Animation Studios' direction managed to maintain the series' chaotic and colorful tone, and there's something commendable about the way the anime embraces its own madness without apologizing for it.
However, the excessive repetition and lack of real development begin to take their toll. Each new girlfriend is a stretched-out joke, and even the script's most "sincere" moments end up diluted by the constant need for bizarreness. For those who were captivated by the first season for its originality, this second season serves as more of the same, with less impact. Still, The 100 Girlfriends remains a unique experience in the current anime landscape: a romantic comedy so absurd it borders on performance art—loved by some, unbearable for others.
02. From Bureaucrat to Villainess
From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated! quickly won over fans by bringing something new to the saturated isekai genre. Instead of following the cliché of a young teenager transported to another world, the anime stars Kenzaburo Tondabayashi, a 50-year-old family man. His age and experience lend a more mature approach, full of references that only older anime fans could appreciate. Furthermore, the comedy and parodies of classic titles, such as Galaxy Express 999, brought freshness to the genre. However, this originality didn't last long. After the prologue, the anime quickly falls into the same mold as other game-themed isekai, where the protagonist is reborn as the villain of an otome dating game, tasked with redeeming her character.
While Dad's Been Reincarnated! offers some innovations, such as a real-world subplot where Kenzaburo's family tries to help him survive the game, the bulk of the plot is just another isekai parody. Even with attempts to bring something new, such as interaction with the real world and the attempted escape from the game, the anime ends up falling into the same old traps, with magical schools and generic fantasy worlds. The moments of comedy and subversion may have been entertaining at first, but as the anime progressed, the familiarity of the story caused many fans to lose interest. Dad's Been Reincarnated! failed to maintain its momentum and, like many other isekai, ended up being another forgettable story in the genre.
01. Ameku MD
Ameku MD: Doctor Detective featured a charismatic and unique protagonist: Dr. Takao Ameku, a brilliant doctor with an impressive talent for diagnosing complex illnesses and solving criminal mysteries. However, her personality was a hindrance. Like the famous Dr. Gregory House from House MD , Dr. Ameku was socially awkward, but her intelligence and determination to help others won over audiences. She quickly became a meme among fans, but unfortunately, the series failed to go beyond that. Despite an interesting premise, Ameku MD brought nothing new to the medical drama or procedural genre, remaining just another generic series with a slightly bright protagonist.
Unfortunately, the series failed to maintain its momentum after its initial impact. Although Dr. Ameku was captivating with her lines and impetuous attitude, the anime followed the genre's already saturated formula, with little innovation. The mystery of the medical cases and the quest for justice became predictable, lacking the necessary freshness to sustain audience interest for long. Even with the advantage of being an animated series, the "novelty" factor quickly dissipated, and Ameku MD faded into obscurity, with fans contenting themselves with a few iconic moments before abandoning the anime. All in all, the series wasn't bad, but its lack of originality made it easily forgotten.
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