Series with the steepest/largest drop in quality

TheGrimLich

@Windsagio Yeah, I was shocked at the end of V2. But... I kept reading, and V3 was really good. And while it does work as a bow to the series, I also wouldn't mind if it kept going.

Windsagio

@Dawnaxis Worth trying again, the payoff is pretty good.

@TheGrimLich I also wouldn't mind that author getting back to "Vending Machine" (which is what made me think of this), how can Arifureta have 1.4 billion volumes, but people like that have like 3 per series?

TheGrimLich

@Windsagio ...holy schnike, he is the same author! Man, now I'm torn. On the one hand, Vending Machine V4 please, but on the other, Village is a really intriguing story and I'm interested in seeing where it goes...

ackondro

Another vote for both Seirei Gensouki and Abilities Average. Their issues have already been explained.

Realist Hero, anything after the coronation has been downhill for me. It felt like the author wrote in circles for a while before building up their favorite character Fuuga into the real main character. Every so often I'll check in on the latest volume, but it always ends in disappointment.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Trapped in a Dating Sim not drop off. To be honest, it's not improving, but a big scenery change didn't go poorly for once.

ShipTeaser

Potion loli... Definitely dropped.off badly
Abilities Average... The same
80'000 gold... Seeing a pattern yet lol?

By the Grace Of The Gods went from.fun times to volumes of literal nothing...

AmmytheMalaguld

In defense of Abilities Average, I found the entire series to be just as the title implied. Average. Even when I got to the later volumes, its just... Average. It never changes much quality wise, but it also doesn't really do much plot wise or difference wise to shake things up. Ended up dropping it around volume 10? But been maybe thinking of picking it back up as I do have a soft spot for the characters. Even if it is just an average series.

Lex

Hozuki-san Chi no Aneki + Imouto is yhe biggest example I can think of. First chapters have an actual plot and I was looking forward to see if the protagonist and his aneki would end up as a couple. Then the series just become a collection of nonsense and surreal gags without in-story continuity and the main plot was never resolved.
The Twin Star Exorcist anime, in the second half the two protagonists are reduced to newbies who can't win a fight on their own. I later learned that after the first half it was anime original content and, I deed, the ma ga is much better.
I stopped reading Horimiya after the series started focusing more and more on side characters and the only times we saw Hori and Miyamura was to make jokes about her jealousy.
Master of Ragnarock...it may have not declined from an objective point of view but I feel the current arc is lasting too long and is making me lose interest in the series.

the green death

I actually like Average Abilities but was losing interest until I slowed down to reading just one volume a year. At that pace I always have a good time checking in with the gang, but when I was reading 4/year the issues with plotting and pacing and the overall repetitive nature wore at me. I keep meaning to finish the last volume I bought of I’ve Been Killing Slimes again as I feel that’s another that benefits from big reading gaps.

HarmlessDave

@the-green-death said in Series with the steepest/largest drop in quality:

I keep meaning to finish the last volume I bought of I’ve Been Killing Slimes again

That one hasn't gotten bad, just for me a bit bland. It's a one-volume-a-year for me too.

Cid

I was completely sick of Index by the time I finished reading Old Testament. The series peaked with volume 3.

Melting Sky

This is an old thread that never really seems to die, so now that it's been a couple of years and people are still reading and posting on it, I thought I would update my original recommendations. Although they are each now many volumes further into their respective stories, both Ascendance of a Bookworm and Other Side Picnic have continued to buck the trend of quality declining over time. They are still both going strong which is a rarity with LNs.

the green death

@Cid

Old post, but you make me happy I dropped the series after vol 4. I was indifferent to most of the series but loooooved vol. 3.

Pieta

Old thread, but what the heck...

My biggest drop-off would be Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter. Volume 1 was amazing with how much of the story it didn't tell but just hinted at, right down to having characters who are strong and interesting despite never making an actual appearance, and how various threads connected in the end.
Volume 2 was "literally every girl loves him, and all the guys hate all the other guys". Volume 3 more of the same, but due to strength of vol. 1 I kept reading. Volume 4 I just put away in the middle of a chapter due to how bored I was...

Consistent quality, for me, would be Otherside Picnic, Tearmoon Empire, Mapping: The Trash-Tier Skill, Apothecary Diaries, and to my surprise, Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower - didn't feel very strong at first, but at ten volumes in I'm still invested in the characters very much.

DrJamesFox

Many I could mention but instead of "steepest/largest drop", I'll just stick with those I've read recently and/or have been reading for a while.

Declined in quality:

Reincarnated as a Slime
Recent volumes increase the not so interesting battles between not so interesting minor characters while the nation-building takes a backseat. I less read and more skimmed through those unimportant battles. Since this is a recent trend, maybe the series can turn things around?

So I'm a Spider, So What?
Just finished last week. Later volumes have the bulk of text for every character's POV as stream of consciousness thoughts. This style was entertaining early when it was just our manic MC's thoughts. It becomes a chore to read when almost every character gets the same treatment. The ending wrapped up way too fast after multiple volumes either rehashing things, giving side stories, or just dragging in general. The series was definitely at its best when our MC was stuck in the labyrinth and started a slow decline shortly after she gets out.

Grimgar
Amazing early volumes. Gritty, realistic survival through individual and group growth but still barely scraping by made this a good read. Loved the character development, but then that's literally erased later on. Interesting world building, but with few answered questions while the unanswered list continues to grow. While recent volumes have improved, the tone has gotten so bleak and hopeless. I'll continue reading to get world-building answers.

Inconsistent or growing stale in quality:

Classroom of the Elite
Sometimes we get some good battle of the wits. Sometimes we get battle of the wits, minus the wits. Recently, sometimes we get harem-like antics. But we will always get hand-holding exposition after every line of dialogue to make sure you know what's going on. The sociopathic genius MC's enigmatic motivations and actions do a lot to keep things from nosediving.

86
I agree with what was mentioned in this thread about the author struggling to stretch out the social questions introduced in the brilliant first volume. The ever-increasing narration to dialogue ratio is a problem. Becoming less show and more tell (and then tell some more!) when it comes to how the characters feel makes recent volumes a chore to read.

Consistent quality:
Otherside Picnic, Tearmoon Empire, The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt, Apothecary Diaries, S Rank Adventurer Daughter

Bookworm quality: Starts good and continues to get better. Deserving of its own tier.

Windsagio

@Melting-Sky I think Bookworm did fall off, or more specifically the authors limitations become increasingly visible.

Granted, for a series that long it's not so surprising that both would happen -- it also has a TON of momentum, which keeps it going.

Pale moon is a bit of a dropoff for me in something more recent. The first volume was SO good, but it feels like a classic 'ran out of things to say!' deal. It's a bit unusual in that I can't point out a single absolute thing that went wrong, it's just... falling off.

"Level 99" is similar, and I think the same problem. 1 great volume to a great ending, then people wanted more and the author said "sure, I like money!" We could call it Harry Potter syndrome

Cid

@the-green-death I recommend at least volume 5 so you can learn what Accelerator goes through after the sisters arc.

durask

86 - I admit that I am just not motivated to read past vol 5 - started to read volume 6 and just no interest to continue, I think the author at this point just drags things on to sell more volumes.

Goblin Slayer - it's episodic adventures with no major over-arching story but after a few volumes the adventures aren't that interesting. IMHO the Strange Adventure of a Broken Mercenary does the same thing better with more variety in fights and a more interesting cast of characters.

CrimsonScholar

For me it's Demon King Daimaou, however, specifically, and only, the anime. The LN was amazing through and through, hooked from V1 all the way to the ending of V13.

But man, the anime really fell off. The first half or so of the season was very well paced, funny and had good action for the most part. At some point though, they tried rushing it a lot to the point you genuinely can't follow it without reading the LN.

They basically tried pushing Volume 4 and 5 into like, 3- or 4-episodes max, so it ends up not only looking weird but makes no sense. (also some weird thematic choices)

They also skipped crucial dialogue, so you basically have no idea what the main antagonists (Boichiro's, and to a lesser extent God Suharas) goals are.

Shockingly, while the ratings aren't that good on MAL (thought not as terrible as I expected after watching it), I've seen a lot of people ask for a season 2. Though I disagree. The S1 was made into a mess so badly you would basically have to redo S1 and then continue S2. Though, that's never happening. Artland studios, it seems, went bankrupt, and the LN ended 10 years ago.

Which is sad because even after Volume 1-5, which the anime covered, it became better and better. It's adaptation basically suffered from the early 2010s harem, ecchi anime where they tried getting the viewership through fanservice and OP mc trope too much. (panty showing in your face every time a girl is on screen)

kurosov

If we're necroing this thread then i guess i have to put forward Walking My Second Path in Life.

The story had a plan going on the first two volumes yet it's clear the author was given one more volume to wrap things up after a delay and completely butchered his own main character to do so. The third volume was absolutely terrible.

kuali

@kurosov When condensing the (much longer) source material to fit the remaining book, the author cut the jokes to make space for the plot. And even that was cut down too much to really work.

You can't screw up the final book of a comedic series much more than that.