Complexity in Anime: More Plot, Less Coherence?

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Modern anime is becoming more ambitious than ever—bigger worlds, deeper lore, multiple timelines, and stories packed with twists. But is this increasing complexity actually making anime better, or is it causing many series to lose coherence, emotional weight, and narrative clarity?  In this video, we analyze why so many recent anime feel overwritten, overexplained, or structurally messy despite having incredible ideas. We break down the evolution of storytelling in anime, the pressure for high-concept narratives, and how some shows succeed while others collapse under their own ambition.  If you love anime analysis and want to understand why some modern series feel confusing or inconsistent, this deep dive is for you.

Transcript

00:00In the anime industry, many series build elaborate universes and intertwine storylines.

00:06However, this narrative richness sometimes leads to internal inconsistencies.

00:12In this video, we will analyze examples of popular anime in which the extensive plot presents

00:18questionable points or plot holes without a convincing explanation.

00:22We will look at cases as diverse as One Piece, Naruto, Terror and Resonance, Evangelion 3.0,

00:30Assassination Classroom and Kapelian, pointing out why their intricate worlds generate contradictions

00:36that affect the logic of the story.

00:38The One Piece manga is famous for its global mysteries, but also leaves loose ends.

00:44For example, the special nature of the Gomu, Gomu no me, Luffy's fruit, raises questions.

00:51The One Piece wiki recounts that 13 years ago, the world government finally captured and secured

00:57the fruit after an 800-year search, but Shank stole it and Luffy ate it.

01:02Given this background, the question arises.

01:05If the government knew how fearsome that fruit was, why didn't they eliminate Luffy as soon

01:10as he appeared on the first wanted poster?

01:13Stopping him from the start would have prevented numerous subsequent conflicts.

01:17This apparent lack of official action, despite the powerful threat, suggests a plot hole.

01:23The world of One Piece is telling us that the fruit is in immense danger, but the story does

01:29not reflect the logical behavior of the most powerful villains.

01:32The image shows the young Naruto alone in his room, symbolizing his isolation.

01:38Naruto faces a similar narrative flaw.

01:40The protagonist harbors the QB, a demon that nearly destroyed villages, yet he still grows

01:46up in total isolation.

01:48Ranker's list of major plot holes points out that inexplicably, Naruto grows up in total

01:54isolation.

01:55Not even his father, the fourth Hokage, provides him with tutors, and only the Secret Service

02:00watches over him sporadically.

02:02This article further clarifies that such extreme isolation would seriously damage Naruto's

02:08development.

02:09In practice, the series ignores this psychological warning and keeps Naruto without any effective

02:16guardians.

02:16In short, it overlooks the fact that a child with such a dangerous demon should have received

02:22real supervision, which for many viewers is a huge plot concession.

02:27Terror in Resonance, 2014, is an anime that starts out as a promising thriller, but whose second

02:34half is questionable.

02:36Kotaku's review highlights that the series starts with one of the best openings possible, but

02:41turns into a completely forced mess halfway through.

02:45This comment alludes to the fact that, in order to carry out their plan, the protagonists

02:51discuss killing or sparing a girl who witnessed their attacks, although we later discover that

02:56they would never kill innocent people.

02:58Kotaku points out that such a dramatic scene is completely out of place, as the characters

03:04would not even consider that option.

03:06In other words, the conversation about killing Lisa makes no sense within the characters' real

03:11motivations. It is a narrative device introduced to deceive the viewer, not to reflect the internal

03:17logic of the story. Kotaku defines this type of writing as contrived. The characters act in ways that are

03:25foreign to their personalities just to advance the plot. For example, given that the protagonists are

03:31actually going to sacrifice everything rather than hurt innocent people, all the previous tension about

03:36killing Lisa turns out to be a retroactive deception. Thus, Terror in Resonance ends up relying on pretextual twists

03:45that seem invented solely for shock value, which breaks the overall narrative coherence.

03:50In Evangelion, 3.0 You Can Not Redo, the story jumps forward 14 years, leaving viewers confused.

03:59The key characters' return greatly changed, but the script gives no clear justification for why.

04:06Kotaku criticizes that the goals of the central cast are never explained. Those who rescue Shinji,

04:12for example, want to use the Eva as a power source for a flying aircraft carrier, but it's never clear

04:18why they need such a ship. In their own words, the main team remains obsessed with taking Shinji away

04:25without us knowing their real motivations. This narrative void makes their actions feel arbitrary.

04:31In addition, some characters act hostile towards Shinji for no apparent reason. The same critic

04:37mentions that the attitude of characters such as Mizato or Asuka, who previously encouraged him,

04:43is reversed without explanation. Overall, the lack of information about the character's attitude

04:49changes makes the plot of Evangelion 3.0 seem almost mechanical. Many transitions appear to be

04:56dictated by the needs of the script, not by the internal logic of the world. Copelion 2013 is often

05:04cited as an example of a logical script writing. In this post-apocalyptic anime, science fails to

05:10maintain consistency. The characters survive highly improbable situations. A specialized blog lists WTF

05:18after WTF in each episode. For example, an irradiated wolf receives instant medical attention and

05:26miraculously recovers. Damaged buildings have been unstable for decades and only collapse at the exact

05:32moment the protagonists enter and other absurd details. As the author says, the little I saw of this

05:38series is weird, everything that falls within logic. The image above comes from Copelion and,

05:45together with the quote, reinforces the idea. Each scene raises obvious scientific contradictions.

05:52In short, the plot of Copelion is full of four situations where the laws of physics and basic

05:57logic are ignored so that the characters can survive or move forward, confirming the criticism that it was

06:04constructed without respecting its own logical framework. The examples reviewed show that great narrative

06:10complexity does not always go hand-in-hand with internal consistency. By excessively expanding the

06:17plot, anime series present mysteries and extensive story arcs that sometimes require contrivances

06:24to move forward. In each case, we saw concessions, from characters acting without clear motives,

06:30Evangelion 3.0, Terror and Resonance, to ignored scientific consequences, Assassination Classroom,

06:38Copelion, or dramatic premises that contradict previous logic. Naruto, One Piece. In the end,

06:45these inconsistencies may be due to the writer's need to surprise or prolong the story, but at the

06:51expense of internal credibility. This reminds us that, no matter how epic or intricate a saga may be,

06:58maintaining a coherent logical structure is essential for the audience to perceive it as solid and satisfying.

07:04I'll see you in the next one.

07:10Bye.

07:12Bye.

07:14Bye.

07:16Bye.

07:18Bye.

07:20Bye.

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