You Just Keep Me Hanging On: Shows that do not have entirely satisfying endings

[The Great Bear]

Okay, that's a long thread title :sd:

I guess a little warning is in order. Since I plan to talk about endings, I might as well say that there's no point in using spoiler tags, unless people want this thread to be like a declassified government document, with large blocks of blackened-out text.

People should take this to be a SPOILER FILLED thread.


What inspired me to mention this was seeing DearS just in the past couple days. While the show does come to a conclusion by the end of it, I don't really feel like that story has ended at all. We have Takuya and Ren together, seemingly forever, and all that nonsense, but then there's this mysterious queen woman or whatever, and there seems to be more things to be revealed.

I know, I know, there's a manga which is the source to begin with, so I could go there to get an ending, but I don't really read much manga. For whatever reason, I just don't feel satisfied with the ending. It doesn't feel like an ending so much as a starting point.

Another great example, of course, would be Inuyasha, which has an absolutely horrible ending. Of course, it's not a spoiler to talk about it at all, since, it's not an ending at all. They just keep on doing the same boring crap they do every episode. Forever. The End.

I know, I know the manga was ongoing at the time, and Rumiko Takahashi doesn't know when to end something so long as she can string it out to 154,234,726 tankouban (okay, maybe that's a slight exaggeration).

And I'm sure that someone else, if I did not do this first, would probably mention Rozen Maiden, which again just leaves things at a rather unsatisfying point. We learn nothing new about Rozen except that he's an annoying dick.

I realize there seems to be a pattern here, that often it's the fault of a property being based on an ongoing manga that leads to an unsatisfactory stopping point for the anime adaptation.

But it's not always the case. When I saw Fruits Basket to the end, I did not have this same feeling of dissatisfaction when I reached the end. Likewise, having seen all of Ah! My Goddess, while I would certainly like to see more, I don't have this same deep dissatisfaction I'm feeling. Like I'm being left hanging, wanting to know what happens next.

So, what others shows do you think have endings that for whatever reason, make you feel dissatisfied because they do not provide an "end?" Shows that make you feel like you're just left hanging, and wish that they had continued to make more and bring the story to a more satisfying conclusion?

[Dack Ralter]

Most recently, Pumpkin Scissors. It felt like it was only getting warmed up when it stopped.

The Big O, too. I loved every minute of that show until the very last bit (although I would still heartily recommend it to folks).

[populuxe]

Chobits - What an anti-climax. If I was a misogynist, I would say "Only a woman would think a satisfying ending to a shonen romantic comedy is he gets the girl but he can never have sex with her."

[Fencedude]

Chobits - What an anti-climax. If I was a misogynist, I would say "Only a woman would think a satisfying ending to a shonen romantic comedy is he gets the girl but he can never have sex with her."

Well, if you want to be technical, he just can't have vaginal sex with her. She's got two more...uhh...orifices.

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

[Suwako Moriya]

The problem with Rozen Maiden could be solved with perhaps a 3rd season. Honestly, I have a feeling they intended to have one, but ultimately failed to make one. Which is too bad because things were getting interesting.

Inuyasha is a hilarious situation. That many episodes and yet they can't make a proper ending? I mean honestly that was just pathetic on so many levels.

Granted some shows solve the problem of leaving you hanging by NEVER ending. Not that I'm implying anything here.

[HitokiriShadow]

Well, if you want to be technical, he just can't have vaginal sex with her. She's got two more...uhh...orifices.

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

I know I've brought this point up before myself, though it may not have have been here at AoD.

[Evil SDude]

His & Her Circumstances, it just ends in the middle on nowhere. They could have least shown the play which ended a major arc in the manga.

Plus another vote for Pumpkin Scissors, whilst the arc was finished the major storyline was left hanging.

[Suwako Moriya]

His & Her Circumstances, it just ends in the middle on nowhere.

That was perhaps one of the greater flaws of a series that turned out to be a letdown in many regards...

[Betenoire]

Well, if you want to be technical, he just can't have vaginal sex with her. She's got two more...uhh...orifices.

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

I know I've brought this point up before myself, though it may not have have been here at AoD.

I imagine others have thought it but decided against making that point :devil: Not that I'm admitting to anything.

[Betenoire]

Oh look I get to be the one to hit the hanging curve that is Berserk. Seriously, if you try for a story arc of some kind one season can be done in such a way viewers don't feel gipped in the end. Few other favs-Ranma 1/2 (and not much in the manga either. Shouldn't expect much but still) tokyo underground (left me with a AND... feeling) Get Backers (you went out on that note) Silent Mobius (...) Nadesico movie (um didn't get the story between TV and movie and the movie begs a follow up) and of course Kenshin (I refuse to accept the ADV funded ova as cannon-it's pretty close to dead to me but at least I've got the manga for this including the Shonen Jump vol with the Yahiko side story).
These are just some of the ones that I can think of at the moment, and most are because they don't have an end as opposed to some of the series that I felt the ending just left me hating part/ all of the work (I'm looking at you Dessert Punk) or was just glad to be done with (Niea_7 just never clicked with me).

[Gatts]

Groove Adventure Rave aka Rave Master. I could understand Tokyo Underground having a rushed ending. 26 episodes is rarely enough for something being built up as a shonen action adventure series. But Rave took great pleasure in building up new story elements in the last 10 episodes, kicking me in the privates and saying "F* you, buy the book!"

Of course it got me to buy the book so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

[Jeremy J.]

The most disappointing ending I've ever seen is D.Gray-Man, the anime. It just ends with them saying Allen continues to fight Akuma (or demons). I have no idea why they would just stop, since DVD sales were moderately well.

Kaiji also doesn't bring about a very fufilling ending, but season two is in the works so I'm happy about that.

[cxt217]

It is late and tomorrow is work, but the first titles that comes to mind (Other than the Nadesico movie, already referenced before.)...

Star Ocean EX. Yes, I know that TECHNICALLY they actually finished the story with a second season of drama CDs, but the anime itself basically ended halfway through the storyline. 'Is that ALL?!?' is not what I should be thinking of when I reached the end of the series.

Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure. Okay, the ending seemed fitting enough, but it seem to promise more than that. Then again, Masaki Kajishima might just be teasing us with it.

Lunar Legend Tsukihime - the ending does not need to be longer (In fact, it was pretty close to one of the endings of the game.) but it need more exposition and explanation about why it is so. Too abrupt, without cause.

Idolmaster Xenoglossia has a problem that is basically similar to Tsukihime. There was slightly more explanation in the DVD release of the last episode, but ending does not as much dangles as it frays at the end. More clarification needed.

Claymore is a special case. They had to come up with an ending because waiting for the manga to provide one was going to be a long time. But I did not partake well of the divergence the series had from the original source material.

Maybe I can think of a few more later.

C.T.

[Dizzon]

Inuyasha is a hilarious situation. That many episodes and yet they can't make a proper ending? I mean honestly that was just pathetic on so many levels.

Not to :horse:, but the end of Inuyasha(or lack there of)will always haunt me. Sure there are many examples of bad endings, but no other series ending has even come close to giving me the utterly dead feeling inside like Inuyasha did.

I'm just really big on closure. And Inuyasha is as far from closure as you could possibly get.

[davesimmons]

I didn't mimd DearS, but I did end up reading the manga to see how it really ended.

E's Otherwise is currently at the top of my list of unsatisfying and incomplete endings. Half the plot threads were left dangling and what ending there was didn't fit with the rest of the story.

Big O II's ending was . . .interesting but I think you needed to be taking some kind of drug to delude yourself into thinking it really made sense.

[xia]

Inuyasha
What the heck!
I mean, it just finishes like that.. they never got all the jewel shards, or killed Naraku. It was just like they were heading off to another adventure. I'm glad I didnt follow that show weekly, because i'd be pissed.

His and her cirumstances
Thats it? Really.. nothing else?

[pianocello]

.


What inspired me to mention this was seeing DearS just in the past couple days. While the show does come to a conclusion by the end of it, I don't really feel like that story has ended at all. We have Takuya and Ren together, seemingly forever, and all that nonsense, but then there's this mysterious queen woman or whatever, and there seems to be more things to be revealed.

I know, I know, there's a manga which is the source to begin with, so I could go there to get an ending, but I don't really read much manga. For whatever reason, I just don't feel satisfied with the ending. It doesn't feel like an ending so much as a starting point.



Just so you know, DearS manga has one of the most amazing endings I've read.

[populuxe]

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

Probably because it kinda misses the point.

[Fencedude]

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

Probably because it kinda misses the point.

Yeah.

The point was also pretty silly (as was pointed out earlier)

[Prede]

Hmm... Pumpkin Scissors, Gantz, and Witch Hunter Robin come to mind.

Le Chevalier D'Eon 's ending wasn't horrible, but it was a big let down.
It did complete the series, and it didn't leave me hanging. Still it;s a big letdown. I think they could have done a lot better. I liked the episode before the last episode, but the last episode felt a little too crazy maybe? I felt that it was a little too weird, and not fitting to have the King be behind it all. I was also disapointed with Anna's death because there was no point to it. The ending was not really a happy one, and not one I am sastisfied with. It didn't have to be a happy ending, but it would have been nice if it was different. I think they could have done a much better job with the ending. Still a great anime though, just the ending felt very off.

[ArcticMech]

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful: For what was a fairly light and fun series, it ended on a decidedly non-light and non-fun note.

[ryverstar]

Full Metal Panic:TSR - Unsatiesfying that there was so much more to the overall story . . . and few, if any, of us will ever see it.

Death Note - Light's downfall & death It was not enough, it was just all we were going to get. It was probably all we could get.

Black Cat - The last episode was just too convoluted . . . too many characters and too many time skips

Yumeria - I will never be satiesfied with series that hit the "Reset" Button

Ah! My Goddess - The storylines came to good stopping points . . . I just want to see more of them, especially of Urd

Hellsing TV - I never understood the end when Alucard is talking to Integra in the prison cell. Their conversation I understand. Why they are having it in the first place, I don't. What was Integra doing there?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other thoughts . . .

Sorrcerer Hunters/Blue Seed/Silent Mobius - These share the fact that they just came to a dead stop, like skydiving without a parachute. This seems to be common in a lot of the "older" series I have. Some shows need some sort of epiloge to give a glimpse of the aftermath.


IMHO . . .

As much as Inuyasha gets (deserved) abused for its "Wash, Rinse, Repeat" story, I am obligated to mention Dragonball (in all its flavors) for following a very similar pattern. Even after seeing the end of DB GT, it is just a matter of time before the next overpowering entity comes around. How many times can Naraku get away vs how many more Super Seiyan levels are there? READ AT YOUR OWN RISK: Maybe an Dragonball IY . . . that way one of the two will have to come to an end.

[populuxe]

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful: For what was a fairly light and fun series, it ended on a decidedly non-light and non-fun note.

I strongly agree with this one. I understand what they were trying to do, but they totally failed at it. The manga handled it so much better. The final chapter of the manga was functionally the same as the final episode of the anime, but the manga covered a lot more ground, showed us everyone else, added some wonderful little twists, and put it all into a context that fit the tone of the story. It had the time to give us all the emotional satisfaction that the anime failed to deliver.

Yumeria - I will never be satiesfied with series that hit the "Reset" Button.

It was a crap show, so a crap ending suits it somehow.

Speaking of the dreaded reset button, Happy Lesson could have been so much better if they hadn't hit the reset button. Fumitsuki finally confesses to Chitose, the show stands on the edge of greatness, and the writers puss out and pull back. It's so damned frustrating.

[Nylock]

The one that annoyed me most recently was Trinity Blood. It was obvious near the end that they hadn't explained the backstory enough, so they ended up with a big series of events that made no sense, a climactic fight that didn't climax, then a non-ending involving a character who returned at random from earlier in the show.

[Suwako Moriya]

Yumeria - I will never be satiesfied with series that hit the "Reset" Button.It was a crap show, so a crap ending suits it somehow.

I'm not going to argue about the crap comment because even though I liked the series, I do have to admit it could have been better. I guess I'm partial to it because I'm fond of certain characters. Such as Nate for example.

That being said, I think Yumeria is one of the few times a reset ending actually fitted the series. Then again one also has to look at the type of reset it was. It was a bit more involved than just "Let's go back to day X". Since things also got altered in order for people to have a better future.

Also I'm partial to the ending because of that scene involving Nate and Neneko. That was one of the best moments of the series. For the record, I realize that's for one who thinks the show is bad that's not saying much. Even so it still worked for me.

Also on a side note, I find that often the term "Reset" gets abused. Plus even if a show can be considered a reset, it's sometimes a bit more involved than simply just erasing events. Of course there are indeed bad resets...

Speaking of the dreaded reset button, Happy Lesson could have been so much better if they hadn't hit the reset button. Fumitsuki finally confesses to Chitose, the show stands on the edge of greatness, and the writers puss out and pull back. It's so damned frustrating.

And here we have an example of a poorly done reset. In fact, it may be one of the worst resets in the history of resets. At least the Yumeria one was for the greater good. The one in Happy Lesson was soley for the purpose of pissing people off. A mission they succeeded at very well. It still angers me greatly when I think about it.

[The Great Bear]

Just so you know, DearS manga has one of the most amazing endings I've read.

I'll keep that in mind, though in general, I'm not happy with shows that say, at the end, "Fuck you, buy the book" as Gatts elegantly expressed it above.

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful: For what was a fairly light and fun series, it ended on a decidedly non-light and non-fun note.I strongly agree with this one. I understand what they were trying to do, but they totally failed at it. The manga handled it so much better. The final chapter of the manga was functionally the same as the final episode of the anime, but the manga covered a lot more ground, showed us everyone else, added some wonderful little twists, and put it all into a context that fit the tone of the story. It had the time to give us all the emotional satisfaction that the anime failed to deliver.

~na-geanna does not exist for me. Or, at least the last 15 minutes of it does not. I have heard many people say the manga does a good job of putting it all into much better context, but I'm afraid the anime ending turned me off from wanting to learn anymore.

Speaking of the dreaded reset button, Happy Lesson could have been so much better if they hadn't hit the reset button. Fumitsuki finally confesses to Chitose, the show stands on the edge of greatness, and the writers puss out and pull back. It's so damned frustrating.

That's definitely one where the Reset Button wreaks havoc with what could have been a quite satisfying ending.

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki.

[Suwako Moriya]

I'll keep that in mind, though in general, I'm not happy with shows that say, at the end, "Fuck you, buy the book" as Gatts elegantly expressed it above.

It's absolutely heartless when shows pull that crap. At the very least they should at least provide you with a cut-off point. Granted sometimes the problem is a show does intend to tell more of the story, but for whatever reason they're unable to.

[The Great Bear]

"buy the book"
It's absolutely heartless when shows pull that crap. At the very least they should at least provide you with a cut-off point. Granted sometimes the problem is a show does intend to tell more of the story, but for whatever reason they're unable to.

Yeah, I get the feeling that with DearS, they might have wanted to do another cour, but for whatever reason (lack of profitability, slowness of the manga, who knows?), they decided to stop there.

Good stopping points are important with ongoing franchises. And I don't really mind if they wait a while before animating the final arc of the original story. Sadly, the Japanese think differently, and most of the time don't like to revisit shows that have already ended. Thus, we'll likely never get the end of Fruits Basket animated. Or Kare Kano for that matter.

Sad.

[rooboy]

But it's not always the case. When I saw Fruits Basket to the end, I did not have this same feeling of dissatisfaction when I reached the end.That's funny because Fruits Basket is one of the series I think of when I think of dissatisfying endings. She's supposed to end the Zodiac curse and when we get to the end she ... doesn't ... Fruits Basket is a show I'd really like to see a second season of, the ending would be great for a first season, but not so great for a whole show.And I'm sure that someone else, if I did not do this first, would probably mention Rozen Maiden, which again just leaves things at a rather unsatisfying point. We learn nothing new about Rozen except that he's an annoying dick.The problem with Rozen Maiden could be solved with perhaps a 3rd season. Honestly, I have a feeling they intended to have one, but ultimately failed to make one. Which is too bad because things were getting interesting.Well, Rozen Maiden had a special problem at the time because while I'm sure they would have liked to have made a third season, Peach Pit started fighting with their publisher at that time and Rozen Maiden went away. By the time they started writing the manga again for a new publisher, a lot of the momentum was gone.

As for Happy Lesson, it does have an ending, it just hasn't been released in the US. As for the ending: after learning what it was, you can go back and see that's where it's heading, but like The Great Bear, I kind of wonder what was wrong with the generic Fumitsuki ending?

[Suwako Moriya]

Good stopping points are important with ongoing franchises. And I don't really mind if they wait a while before animating the final arc of the original story. Sadly, the Japanese think differently, and most of the time don't like to revisit shows that have already ended..

Indeed those series that are able to get another season are often the exception rather than the rule. Which is kind of sad when there are series that badly need one, but don't get one. On a side note, over time I've been finding the idea of cut-off points more and more appealing. They're at least better than what either ends up being a rushed ending or simply just stopping.

[Isuzu Inugami]

Chobits - What an anti-climax. If I was a misogynist, I would say "Only a woman would think a satisfying ending to a shonen romantic comedy is he gets the girl but he can never have sex with her."

Well, if you want to be technical, he just can't have vaginal sex with her. She's got two more...uhh...orifices.

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

Yeah, but I'm concerned about her pleasure. How could they be so cruel as to build her that way to begin with? Totally pisses me off at certain supposedly sympathetic characters, and indirectly at CLAMP. Not many shows make me RAGE like Chobits.

[Isuzu Inugami]

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful: For what was a fairly light and fun series, it ended on a decidedly non-light and non-fun note.

Well, I was dissatisfied as well, but maybe from a different angle. The whole series ends each episode with a knife twist that promises the viewer an emotional blowout when Mahoro finally shuts down. But the whole issue gets sidestepped; there's never any deathbed moment, Mahoro disappears in a fight that seems entirely pointless, and twenty years down the road it turns out she's an aspect of some space goddess or something, LOL.

[Suwako Moriya]

I'm just really big on closure. And Inuyasha is as far from closure as you could possibly get.

The problem is Inuyasha (or at least the anime version) was essentially allergic to closure. Plus there are more important things than closure. Like for example helping yet another random village. Because you can never have enough of those.

[Herron]

"buy the book"
It's absolutely heartless when shows pull that crap. At the very least they should at least provide you with a cut-off point. Granted sometimes the problem is a show does intend to tell more of the story, but for whatever reason they're unable to.

Yeah, I get the feeling that with DearS, they might have wanted to do another cour, but for whatever reason (lack of profitability, slowness of the manga, who knows?), they decided to stop there.
.

I find it really interested that 3 of Peach Pits series that have been animated have stopped short of an actual ending. Mainly because the manga are still on going. DearS, Rozen Maiden, and Zombie Loan. Shugo Chara is at least still going so we'll see how it goes.
Only noticed this because in the last few days I've been thinking about picking up Peach Pit's manga and the anime companions.

EDIT: I'm too tired to think right I suppose. Because DearS is at least finished now... though I'm not sure if it was when the anime was being made.

[Zeether]

Negima! does not have a satisfying enough ending after the botching of the Kyoto Arc and killing off Asuna only to bring her back via a time travel plot device. It just screams "we ran out of money and we don't feel like following the manga, let's make stuff up so that we can show all 31 students' Pactios and wrap up the series". I have to laugh at people who cried at the ending because it's too abrupt and rushed to even be considered a proper ending.

[LenMiyata]

Grumble Grumble Grumble

Now one of the greatest series of the 1990s that had a ending that would make you want to throw the DVD case at the screen, would be 'Martian Successor Nadesico', where at the last episode, after hiding the secret alien artifact that was the object of the war, they self-destruct their ship, escaping in the command module, making themselves traitors to BOTH SIDES of the war, as well as making them unemployed by the company that hired them, with the epilogue that the story will be continued inthe sequel that was sure to come, but was never produced. And it doesn't help that the 'Prince of Darkness' movie was a written sequel to the two novels and console video games that came out after the TV series, leaving out a big missing chunk of the story for US viewers...

[Suwako Moriya]

Shugo Chara is at least still going so we'll see how it goes.

The fact that Shugo Chara is still going gives hope for a proper ending. Granted that's assuming they actually have an intention of ending properly. They could instead just drag out the series until they are forced to end it without any conclusion. In other words it might become another Inuyasha.

[Fencedude]

Speaking of the dreaded reset button, Happy Lesson could have been so much better if they hadn't hit the reset button. Fumitsuki finally confesses to Chitose, the show stands on the edge of greatness, and the writers puss out and pull back. It's so damned frustrating.

That's definitely one where the Reset Button wreaks havoc with what could have been a quite satisfying ending.

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki.

EAAAARGH. I almost threw something at my monitor over that. Fucking bullshit. The first part was bad enough (seriously, HER? Of all the damn people! WTF Cheetos), but then they "reset" it into something even worse.

Ugh. I don't ask much from my crappy harem shows, just that they not ACTIVELY piss me off.

[Suwako Moriya]

EAAAARGH. I almost threw something at my monitor over that. Fucking bullshit. The first part was bad enough (seriously, HER? Of all the damn people! WTF Cheetos), but then they "reset" it into something even worse.

I take it that it's probably a good thing that I never finished Happy Lesson. By that I mean I only watched up to part of Advance and then just gave on the series. I don't think I even touched Final.

Ugh. I don't ask much from my crappy harem shows, just that they not ACTIVELY piss me off.

A harem anime that ends up leaving one raging will always be worse than one that leaves the person simply feeling meh. Sometimes I can tell ahead of time that a harem will leave me raging and other times I find out too late.

[treatment]

hmm. alll I can think about is...

School Rumble.

oh, and yeah. good luck with the manga "ending", too.

oy, vey!

[Suwako Moriya]

School Rumble.

In some ways that series was frustrating. It had definite potential, but it was clear that the very format of the series was designed to kill that potential. Not kill it, but torture it to death. Once I realized that, my interest in the series dropped completely. I haven't check the exact details on the manga ending, but the negative comments about it are of concern.

[Glamrgrl104]

hmmm where do I start lol

Trinity Blood- I have found this mainly with Funimation titles that they do not end. There's definitely a s2 that would be nice to actually feel complete.

Fruits basket- Why can't they do a s2 for it? I mean they have gobs and gobs of episodes for other animes ex)Inuyasha,Bleach,Naruto.

Tsubasa- They really need another season to really complete it. The movie didn't really end it.

Hellsing- This is exactlly why I am still making a decision if I want to own it or not the uncomplete ending. It does have awesome vampire action sequences though.

Ouran host club- I am reading the manga right now and I was hoping to see the sports battle in the anime. A 2nd season would be nice, but I don't know if that's going to happen.

Story of Saiunkoku- Good ending overall not as lacking as most others, but really they need a 2nd season to this as well.

Paradise Kiss- I know they couldn't go anywhere with it, but it just ends.

Trigun- what happens next?

[Suwako Moriya]

Story of Saiunkoku- Good ending overall not as lacking as most others, but really they need a 2nd season to this as well.

Actually that does have a second season. Granted I never saw it. I never even finished the first...

[Konoha]

.hack//sign. Do I even need to explain why?

[Thomas Alan]

But it's not always the case. When I saw Fruits Basket to the end, I did not have this same feeling of dissatisfaction when I reached the end.That's funny because Fruits Basket is one of the series I think of when I think of dissatisfying endings. She's supposed to end the Zodiac curse and when we get to the end she ... doesn't ... Fruits Basket is a show I'd really like to see a second season of, the ending would be great for a first season, but not so great for a whole show.

You'd just have the same problem even if they made a second series. Fruits Basket would require three 26-episode seasons at bare minimum to be done right.

My personal problem with Fruits Basket wasn't the ending, it was the run-up to it where they crammed in as many Zodiac members as they could into the show before it ended. Even then they still left out two.

The ending was at least a solid (if flawed) attempt to turn a relatively minor plot-point in the manga into a thematically consistant stopping point. There was really nothing else to do besides just leaving the viewers hanging after a random episode.

It's a real shame, because if they could have kept that show's early series momentum up long enough to complete the whole story, we'd be talking about it as a contender for best anime of all-time. It had all the elements to be a contender. That's probably why it's always on these lists.

[Gatts]

Speaking of the dreaded reset button, Happy Lesson could have been so much better if they hadn't hit the reset button. Fumitsuki finally confesses to Chitose, the show stands on the edge of greatness, and the writers puss out and pull back. It's so damned frustrating.

I just want to toss in "Fuck Happy Lesson Final. That garbage needs to burn." It was a waste of my time and money buying that. What was with all of the hinting the Fumitsuki would finally get her respect in all of the previews. Making people buy the DVDs in the hopes that the series would end without a massive ton of bullshit, only to slap everyone who spent money on it in the face. Those are the only R2 DVDs I've ever thrown away.

As for the sub-topic of reset endings, Magikano pissed me off. Okay, so we get the characters stuck in an endless loop with no possible chance to escape? At least give me some clue as to a break in pattern, but no. We'll just give you the beginning of the first episode again so that you think they continue repeating the same few months of their life for infinity.

[populuxe]

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki.

I've heard who Cheetos ends up with in Advance. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

[treatment]

oh, oh!

I got another one.

Canvas 2 !!!

yeah.

Canvas2's ending was one big fat FAIL!

[Suwako Moriya]

As for the sub-topic of reset endings, Magikano pissed me off.

I found the ending to Magikano to be frustrating because it leaves you feeling futile about things. That being said I think there is potential to fix the ending to Magikano. The trick here is to create a second cour that takes place after the first one.

This imaginary second cour would essentially boil down to having the cast find a way to destroy the loop. and hopefully lead to a proper ending. Such a second cour would have been pretty nice to have. Which is why it didn't happen.

[The Great Bear]

Such a second cour would have been pretty nice to have. Which is why it didn't happen.

It does lead one to wonder: do the Japanese like to yank peoples' chains?

[EmperorBrandon]

The fact that Shugo Chara is still going gives hope for a proper ending. Granted that's assuming they actually have an intention of ending properly. They could instead just drag out the series until they are forced to end it without any conclusion. In other words it might become another Inuyasha.

I sure hope not... It doesn't seem like Peach-Pit-based series have a good track record with ending on satisfying points.

Well... I've always thought the first series of Rozen Maiden ended rather satisfyingly. Funny that they are able to deliver another series after a good ending, but then with the second series they end on a note that really seems to set things up to continue with another series... and then it never happens. :rolleyes: The main problem with Traumend's ending in my mind is just that the anime never continued. The ending is otherwise decent enough, I guess.

[Suwako Moriya]

It does lead one to wonder: do the Japanese like to yank peoples' chains?

The answer would be yes. At least sometimes, but then again I get the feeling they're not the only ones.

[The Great Bear]

It doesn't seem like Peach-Pit-based series have a good track record with ending on satisfying points.

Well... I've always thought the first series of Rozen Maiden ended rather satisfyingly. Funny that they are able to deliver another series after a good ending, but then with the second series they end on a note that really seems to set things up to continue with another series... and then it never happens. :rolleyes: The main problem with Traumend's ending in my mind is just that the anime never continued. The ending is otherwise decent enough, I guess.

If Rozen Maiden had ended with the first series, that would have been a perfect stopping point. There's a complete story arc told there, and what loose strings there are (the Alice Game, will any of the Rozen Maidens become a real girl) are loose threads that would not, really annoy too much.

But where Träumend ended sucked.

[Suwako Moriya]

I sure hope not... It doesn't seem like Peach-Pit-based series have a good track record with ending on satisfying points

It would be nice if my fears in regards to Shugo Chara did not come to pass. However I'd much rather let others "test" the series out first.

[The Great Bear]

It does lead one to wonder: do the Japanese like to yank peoples' chains?

The answer would be yes. At least sometimes, but then again I get the feeling they're not the only ones.

That's true enough. There are certain American shows where the creators and writers have done the same thing to the audience. They may think they're being all "edgy" and whatnot, but if the point of entertainment is to…oh, I don't know…entertain, then you would think that they might want to think a little bit further before doing some of those things.

Ending a show at a point that makes the audience go "wow, that was awesome," even if it's a strange disjointed awesome, is far better than ending with a "Huh? That's is?" ending that probably reduces the chance you'll want to rewatch the show.

[Suwako Moriya]

But where Träumend ended sucked.

In some ways the final episode of Traumend felt less like an episode 12 of 12 and more like an episode 12 of 24.

[Suwako Moriya]

Ending a show at a point that makes the audience go "wow, that was awesome," even if it's a strange disjointed awesome, is far better than ending with a "Huh? That's is?" ending that probably reduces the chance you'll want to rewatch the show.

Sadly many series or rather the people behind these series often fail time and time again to learn this valuable lesson. Granted often the failure begins long before the final episode. By that I mean the following. It's fine to have a long term goal for a series. However any decent series is going to be smart and have short term goals to go along with the long term goal.

[The Great Bear]

But where Träumend ended sucked.

In some ways the final episode of Traumend felt less like an episode 12 of 12 and more like an episode 12 of 24.

Yeah, one more cour would have been enough to round out the story and bring it to rest at a better stopping point, or perhaps a final conclusion (considering the problems with the manga, perhaps they could just ask Peach Pit to give them an outline for an ending, even if it were to be an anime-only one).

[Randall Flagg]

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki.

I've heard who Cheetos ends up with in Advance. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

I think I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was Mutsuki. Is that right?

[The Great Bear]

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki. I've heard who Cheetos ends up with in Advance. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.I think I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was Mutsuki. Is that right?

Correct.

As said above, it's just plain wrong. On so many levels.

[Suwako Moriya]

Yeah, one more cour would have been enough to round out the story and bring it to rest at a better stopping point, or perhaps a final conclusion (considering the problems with the manga, perhaps they could just ask Peach Pit to give them an outline for an ending, even if it were to be an anime-only one).

In the case of Rozen Maiden, they probably would have been better off just making an anime original ending. Come to think of it, I vaguely remember reading that the anime was already quite different from the manga anyway. So an anime original ending wouldn't have been out of place.

[The Great Bear]

Yeah, one more cour would have been enough to round out the story and bring it to rest at a better stopping point, or perhaps a final conclusion (considering the problems with the manga, perhaps they could just ask Peach Pit to give them an outline for an ending, even if it were to be an anime-only one).In the case of Rozen Maiden, they probably would have been better off just making an anime original ending. Come to think of it, I vaguely remember reading that the anime was already quite different from the manga anyway. So an anime original ending wouldn't have been out of place.

Despite the cries of manga purists, many anime adaptations might have been better off with going the anime original ending route, with as much input from the original creator as possible (some manga-ka might even like the idea of having alternate endings, who knows?), rather than just picking a random stopping point, and then leaving you with "Fuck you, buy the book."

Of course, the publishers of the manga probably prefer the "Fuck you, buy the book" position, so that might explain why so many shows based upon ongoing manga series wind up the way they do…

[Gatts]

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki.

I've heard who Cheetos ends up with in Advance. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

I think I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was Mutsuki. Is that right?

At first yes, Mutsuki, but then they decided to make it all of the mama's. Fucking stupid. If you wanted to take the time to make it a literal harem, why bother turning down Fumitsuki in the first place. Just to piss of the fans. Basically, any woman is okay with me. As long as it's not you.

[Randall Flagg]

Unlike the actual ending that comes about in the sequel series Happy Lesson: Advance. That ending, which you can do a little searching to learn about, is, frankly, bordering on sick. Maybe an exaggeration to say that, but I think "Cheetos" would have been better off with Fumitsuki.

I've heard who Cheetos ends up with in Advance. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.

I think I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was Mutsuki. Is that right?

At first yes, Mutsuki, but then they decided to make it all of the mama's. Fucking stupid. If you wanted to take the time to make it a literal harem, why bother turning down Fumitsuki in the first place. Just to piss of the fans. Basically, any woman is okay with me. As long as it's not you.

I am now really, really glad I never watched it.

[The Great Bear]

I think I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was Mutsuki. Is that right?

At first yes, Mutsuki, but then they decided to make it all of the mama's. Fucking stupid. If you wanted to take the time to make it a literal harem, why bother turning down Fumitsuki in the first place. Just to piss of the fans. Basically, any woman is okay with me. As long as it's not you.

I almost forgot about that further step that they went.

I wish I had now :sd:

I don't think I can quite put it into words my reaction to their decision there.

[Gatts]

I almost forgot about that further step that they went.

That's the part that pissed me off. I could have dealt with the other ending. Would have been a bit angry, but wouldn't have thrown away the DVDs. It was total bullshit.

[The Great Bear]

I almost forgot about that further step that they went.

That's the part that pissed me off. I could have dealt with the other ending. Would have been a bit angry, but wouldn't have thrown away the DVDs. It was total bullshit.

Which is why perhaps it's for the best that nothing more of the series has been licensed.

The "reset" ending to HL may suck, but it's better than what they handed to people at the end of Final.

[Gatts]

I almost forgot about that further step that they went.

That's the part that pissed me off. I could have dealt with the other ending. Would have been a bit angry, but wouldn't have thrown away the DVDs. It was total bullshit.

Which is why perhaps it's for the best that nothing more of the series has been licensed.

The "reset" ending to HL may suck, but it's better than what they handed to people at the end of Advance.

BTW, that was "The Final" OVA. Not Advance. Advance was the one with Kuron.

[Vegard Aune]

The most disappointing ending I've ever seen is D.Gray-Man, the anime. It just ends with them saying Allen continues to fight Akuma (or demons). I have no idea why they would just stop, since DVD sales were moderately well.
Too lazy to check if someone else already said this, but there's a very good reason for this annoying non-ending: They progressed the story too fast, and ended up running out completely of manga-material to animate. (I believe the gap between the manga and anime was less than 20 chapters at the time the series ended, and when you take into consideration the fact that one episode probably takes a few months to make, they just might have started production on the last episode like, 3 weeks after the events of it happened in the manga.) Because of this, I can't really BLAME them for the fact that the ending sucked, and the fact that it was faithful to the manga up to the very end doesn't rule out the possibility of a continuation at some point.

Another series with a stupid non-ending that I can't see any justification for, however, was Claymore. So basically, Clare defeats Priscilla but lets her live because Raki says that "killing her is wrong" or something, even though SHE had killed countless humans and would without a doubt continue to do so. Priscilla escapes, and as such, ALL the major antagonists are still running wild, the whole "find out the true motives of the organisation"-subplot was left completely unresolved, and due to them breaking off from the manga towards the end, any chances of ever getting a second season were pretty much thrown out of the window, so this retarded non-endng is literarily all we'll ever get.
...And to make it even more stupid, the manga actually had a scene just a few chapters after the part where the anime broke off, which would have worked perfectly as a season-finale.

[The Great Bear]

BTW, that was "The Final" OVA. Not Advance. Advance was the one with Kuron.

Yeah, I fixed it above.

It's still for the best that we haven't gotten any more of the show.

[DocWatson]

See my .sig for a link to a list of incomplete hentai series.

[Suwako Moriya]

Despite the cries of manga purists, many anime adaptations might have been better off with going the anime original ending route, with as much input from the original creator as possible (some manga-ka might even like the idea of having alternate endings, who knows?), rather than just picking a random stopping point, and then leaving you with "Fuck you, buy the book."

I figure it this way. It's one thing to want the adaptation to respect the original. However there comes a point where if a person wants a clone of the manga, they're better off reading the manga. Radical idea? However it might just work.

In any case, having a basic outline is probably for the best. So long as the outline is a decent one, a good enough anime staff should be able to fill in the blanks quite easily. All they need is basic information on what will happen and have a good feel for the characters.

[Suwako Moriya]

At first yes, Mutsuki, but then they decided to make it all of the mama's. Fucking stupid. If you wanted to take the time to make it a literal harem, why bother turning down Fumitsuki in the first place. Just to piss of the fans. Basically, any woman is okay with me. As long as it's not you.

All right then, I don't even know how to respond to that. If I can figure out how to respond to this, it will end up being extremely negative. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like "Happy Lesson Final" is complete fail. That's just err I'm not even sure I want to say it. I just have one simple question. Why?

[Suwako Moriya]

I am now really, really glad I never watched it.

After reading the spoilers for "Happy Lesson Final", I'd like to say the same exact thing. I guess the best thing to is the following. First, pretend that Advance and Final don't exist. Second, pretend the "reset" crap didn't happen in Original. Third, pretend that a certain character got a ****ing clue. Fourth, realize this is all a pipe dream. Fiifth, be forced back into reality.

[Randall Flagg]

I am now really, really glad I never watched it.

After reading the spoilers for "Happy Lesson Final", I'd like to say the same exact thing. I guess the best thing to is the following. First, pretend that Advance and Final don't exist. Second, pretend the "reset" crap didn't happen in Original. Third, pretend that a certain character got a ****ing clue. Fourth, realize this is all a pipe dream. Fiifth, be forced back into reality.

Hell, that Final ending almost makes the reset in the original seem like a work of genius.

[Fencedude]

I think I remember reading somewhere a while back that it was Mutsuki. Is that right?

That is what really pissed me off (well the bit after that was technically worse, but at that point I didn't care). But really Cheetos, HER!? You turn down one of the best girls EVER to go for...for...for...MUTSUKI!? The most boring, bland and generic of the bunch!? Holy shit! She's not even a decent MILF.

Yeah, fuck Happy Lesson Final

[Suwako Moriya]

Hell, that Final ending almost makes the reset in the original seem like a work of genius.

In other words, it's better to deal with a slight cut than to have acid dropped on you?

[Suwako Moriya]

But really Cheetos, HER!? You turn down one of the best girls EVER to go for...for...for...MUTSUKI!? The most boring, bland and generic of the bunch!? Holy shit! She's not even a decent MILF.

Let's be perfectly honest. The very fact that Cheetos even turned her down just proves that he's not worthy of her at all. Or at least that's the way I'd look at it. In any case, I guess for me it's not just rooting for her. It's also a case of feeling that certain choices should have canceled each other out. If that makes any sense.

To be exact, sometimes it can be interesting for a guy to make a choice that's actually outside the theme and/or main competition. In this case choosing a girl that wasn't one of his mothers would have been a perfect example of going outside the theme. Yet it would seem the guy instead embraced the theme completely

[Garasharp K7]

Grumble Grumble Grumble

Now one of the greatest series of the 1990s that had a ending that would make you want to throw the DVD case at the screen, would be 'Martian Successor Nadesico', where at the last episode, after hiding the secret alien artifact that was the object of the war, they self-destruct their ship, escaping in the command module, making themselves traitors to BOTH SIDES of the war, as well as making them unemployed by the company that hired them, with the epilogue that the story will be continued inthe sequel that was sure to come, but was never produced. And it doesn't help that the 'Prince of Darkness' movie was a written sequel to the two novels and console video games that came out after the TV series, leaving out a big missing chunk of the story for US viewers...

Erm, what he said. Those would be my exact thoughts an' all.

And while the 'buy the book' solution might be a bitter pill to swallow for some, the 'learn Japanese, import the book, hunt down the drama cds and maybe buy a couple of consoles and games while you're at it' approach would be even harder to ingest. I'm still in two minds about getting that Dreamcast game too.

I don't mind going to the manga to finish the story myself - It helps if the manga got a western release too - though I do prefer when the anime itself can wrap everything up.

[Dack Ralter]

As for the sub-topic of reset endings, Magikano pissed me off. Okay, so we get the characters stuck in an endless loop with no possible chance to escape? At least give me some clue as to a break in pattern, but no. We'll just give you the beginning of the first episode again so that you think they continue repeating the same few months of their life for infinity.

I can't believe I forgot about Majikano. I guess since I was getting it only for the dub by the end, it wasn't a top priority to pay attention to the plot. :sweat:

Maburaho's ending isn't quite as annoying, but Maburaho managed to string me along long enough to make me hope they would try something cool. I do have to admit the ending was...different, though.

[Zeether]

School Rumble.

In some ways that series was frustrating. It had definite potential, but it was clear that the very format of the series was designed to kill that potential. Not kill it, but torture it to death. Once I realized that, my interest in the series dropped completely. I haven't check the exact details on the manga ending, but the negative comments about it are of concern.
I did not like the way the manga ended. Tenma goes to live with Karasuma because of his illness and the whole class goes up to the US to meet her and to see how Karasuma is doing, and the big meeting is the end of the manga.
The second manga School Rumble Z just seems to be a bunch of stupid parodies at the moment.

[Mateo_home]

I have to agree with Inuyahsa. Though I've only seen the first 51 episodes and I don't feel like I missed out. Read about what happens after. And it's not a bad anime by any means. Popularity is a good thing indeed. Because it's only natural that you're going to want more. But popularity is also a deadly poison. Then it becomes a story with no end in sight. Of course it's usually the case of the manga. When the anime catches up and it still hasn't ended, they run out of source material. "Welcome to the land of filler" they'll say. Sometimes I think the fans like myself are more evil than the creators. Because that's when we'll say "they should have ended it when I demanded more".

Of course that's how I felt about Rozen Maiden. The first series ended on a good note. Traumend I liked and had a reasonable ending, but wasn't satisfied with it. I even think the animation quality dropped near the end. And right now I probably shouldn't get my hopes up for a third season. But even if Traumend wasn't created...well if a second season alone wasn't created, I still would have liked a sequel.:P

[populuxe]

At some point we're going to need a "Great endings" thread to counter the negativity of this thread.

[Suwako Moriya]

At some point we're going to need a "Great endings" thread to counter the negativity of this thread.

Why not? I went ahead and made one (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1550576&postcount=1). However if having the two threads existing at the same time causes the end of the universe, you only have yourself to blame.

[populuxe]

At some point we're going to need a "Great endings" thread to counter the negativity of this thread.

Why not? I went ahead and made one (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1550576&postcount=1). However if having the two threads existing at the same time causes the end of the universe, you only have yourself to blame.

I can live with that.

[untoldsorrow]

Since its the most recent anime I finished, I have to say Guerren Lagann. I just found it devoid of all the "excitement" one would expect from this show. I don't know what it is but it irks me so much. I expected Nia gone but they ended the farewell perfectly.

I am also glad to see that see that someone mentioned Claymore. I was going to mention it myself. the whole ending was stupid. The whole battle at the north with the comrades dying left and right BECAUSE of the Alicia. CLare's past just went away because some idiot kid said killing is wrong.

[pianocello]

As for the sub-topic of reset endings, Magikano pissed me off. Okay, so we get the characters stuck in an endless loop with no possible chance to escape? At least give me some clue as to a break in pattern, but no. We'll just give you the beginning of the first episode again so that you think they continue repeating the same few months of their life for infinity.

I can't believe I forgot about Majikano. I guess since I was getting it only for the dub by the end, it wasn't a top priority to pay attention to the plot. :sweat:

Maburaho's ending isn't quite as annoying, but Maburaho managed to string me along long enough to make me hope they would try something cool. I do have to admit the ending was...different, though.

On the issue of 'breaking the loop', they could take a cue from Higurashi's 2nd season on ideas of how to do a 2nd season.

[Talyn]

Here are my two cents:

Berserk - For the obvious reasons and that I almost killed my tv after the last episode.

Claymore - You can thank Joelgundam for getting me to start on the manga after watching the first two volumes. I went ahead and read the ending for the anime. I see several places the anime could have stopped with the material provided at the time without hurting the integrity of a solid series up to that point.

Trinity Blood - I love the show, I honestly do, but the ending was utter bs. Nothing, absolutely nothing was resolved....

Evangelion - Yeah, I'll break the code of silence. I never felt so insulted by an ending of a series. I felt like it was telling me, my investment in the series was told to f*** off. Thankfully End of Eva, came around to redeem it.

Air Gear / Tenjho Tenge - Basically the Oh! Great series that just fricking stop when they just finished getting started.

[bluesilo]

I don't know if this reset ending was mentioned, but Mai-Hime's ending is awful. Everything leading up to that point is pure gold. Why couldn't everyone who died just stay dead!

[plaidwolf]

In addition to Kare Kano and Mahoromatic, allow me to nominate a few animes that seemed to end mid-story...

when i got into anime seriously many years back, Hyper Dolls and Voogie's Angel were two discs that seemed to cry out for more, more, more....

but while we talk about those series that either didnt end, or had WTF endings....just remember this....

it took a LOT of years...but we finally got the Tenchi OVAs finished (admittedly, not the best writing and storyline plotting, but hey...it was finally complete!)

[populuxe]

when i got into anime seriously many years back, Hyper Dolls and Voogie's Angel were two discs that seemed to cry out for more, more, more....

Hyper Dolls definitely could have used more episodes. Sadly, even the manga, which was 5 volumes, ended mid story. But there were a lot of those 2 or 3 episode OVAs in the late '80s and '90s that were like that. If shows like Hyper Dolls, Kotetsu, Dragon Half, Compiler, My Dear Marie and others didn't have endings, it wasn't a big deal. It's not like I was invested for 13 or 26 episodes and then had the rug pulled out from under me.

[Suwako Moriya]

I don't know if this reset ending was mentioned, but Mai-Hime's ending is awful. Everything leading up to that point is pure gold. Why couldn't everyone who died just stay dead!

Actually if you want to get technical My-HiME is not a reset ending. Yes, people do get revived. However that alone does not make a reset. In either case the ending to My-HiME was actually set up long before the final episode.

In fact, I'd say around episode 15 the ending was essentially set in stone because at that moment the Obsidian Lord lost because the HiME system got ****ed thanks to Alyssa Sears In general the series gave clue after clue about how it was going to go. Or at least the basic direction.

Actually the irony is had the ending gone the other route aka Obsidian Lord gets his way, what you would have gotten would have been closer to a reset than the actual ending. Either that or you would have gotten an everyone dies, the villain won ending.

That being said, I will concede that the ending was a bit rushed. However the ending still fit the over all theme of the series. Especially if you take into account the show as a whole and not just the final episode.

[Buckeye]

First of all, I would like to split my least favorite endings into two categories. The first one is because the series ended mid-story. The second one is that it did have a complete story, but it totally left me paralyzed in a bad way. So here it goes.

Category 1: Incomplete Series
Spiral - It ends with Ayumu getting over his self-doubt. But we never saw Kiyotaka.
Star Ocean EX - By far the worst ending I have seen. The planet Excel is about to be destroyed by this guy named Gabriel. Claude and company travel to the El Continent to stop the planet from being destroyed. The one orchestrating it was shot down by Claude's blaster powered up. Gabriel is dead, or so we thought. The crew vow to defeat him and save the planet, and the the series ends there.
Bobobo Bobobobo - They are chasing after an enemy when the plug is pulled on the series.
Inuyasha - I don't need to explain this one. I'm pretty sure it's a well-known fact.
Rozen Maiden - We think everybody is dead, right? It is the Alice Game after all when all the dolls are destroyed to anoint an Alice. Except that the last doll was a fake and thus the result of the Alice Game is void.

Category 2: Ended, but on a bitter note
Evangelion - Everybody saw the original ending, so I don't need to explain this one. The movies and other spinoffs are a completely different thing.
Black Cat - Series should have ended when Creed Diskenths is drained of all his power. But instead we get one last mini-arc where Eve is to be awaken as the destroyer to recreated the planet.
Abenobashi Magical Shopping Arcade - The kids never really go back to their original home.

That's all I can think of at this moment.

[Randall Flagg]

fuck Happy Lesson Final

Never have so few words said so much.

[Randall Flagg]

Hell, that Final ending almost makes the reset in the original seem like a work of genius.

In other words, it's better to deal with a slight cut than to have acid dropped on you?

Absolutely.

A small cut - "I'll have to put a band-aid on that."
Acid - "Holy shiiii..."

[Azumangaman]

I'll use spoiler tags, because no spoiler tags = evil.

His and Her Circumstances- I was loving every second of this show. Then it ripped my heart out. The last episode of the series is a train wreck and resolves absolutely nothing. Complete Nonsense. It seems like its a case of fuck you, read the manga, which pisses me off.


Azumanga Daioh- I'm lying. This was a great ending. I'm just bitter there isn't anymore :)

I can really only think of series ending that I hated above. A lot I just didn't like because I wanted more.
I disagree with My-Hime hate, it was a great ending, if a little rushed.

[Suwako Moriya]

I disagree with My-Hime hate, it was a great ending, if a little rushed.

So would you be interested in an imaginary Mashiro is way better than Obsidian Lord badge?

[untoldsorrow]

School Rumble.

In some ways that series was frustrating. It had definite potential, but it was clear that the very format of the series was designed to kill that potential. Not kill it, but torture it to death. Once I realized that, my interest in the series dropped completely. I haven't check the exact details on the manga ending, but the negative comments about it are of concern.
I did not like the way the manga ended. Tenma goes to live with Karasuma because of his illness and the whole class goes up to the US to meet her and to see how Karasuma is doing, and the big meeting is the end of the manga.
The second manga School Rumble Z just seems to be a bunch of stupid parodies at the moment.


I feel the same way. It should be focusing on the more important aspect, the 3 way romance between Harima x Eri x Yakumo. Tenma's situation got stale and took a turn for the worse at the end of the manga. I really hope it picks back up.

[Arnold]

The Ranma 1/2 anime. Pretty much just stopped in the middle. (the manga does a little bit better- conclusive enough for me but not enough for others.)

[Betenoire]

Abenobashi Magical Shopping Arcade - The kids never really go back to their original home.
Not nearly as painful as an American shows similar move "Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home" in Quantum Leap (late 80s early 90s US live action TV series for those who don't know). It still hurts a bit today. At least the kids in Abenobashi seemed to be having a more (usually in a good way)interesting time . Besides his (forgot lead male name :depressed: ) collection of toys was gone. I'd have a hard time returning after that myself.

[Gatts]

it wasn't a big deal. It's not like I was invested for 13 or 26 episodes and then had the rug pulled out from under me.

I have to agree. When I watched 2~3 episode OVA in the past, I rarely expected an ending. I was happy when they did give one, but I was never upset when there wasn't an ending. The first time I watched You're Under Arrest OVA or Bubblegum Crisis for example.

It was a nice change of pace when a complete story was given like with Moldiver, but I never really expected an ending, so I didn't get upset over the ones that didn't finish.

[Draneor]

So would you be interested in an imaginary Mashiro is way better than Obsidian Lord badge?

You can sign me up.

[Suwako Moriya]

On the issue of 'breaking the loop', they could take a cue from Higurashi's 2nd season on ideas of how to do a 2nd season.

So all we need to do is gather the main characters of Magikano. After that toss them into a classroom and have them be taught by certain characters from Higurashi. Or maybe not, but...

[Suwako Moriya]

When I watched 2~3 episode OVA in the past, I rarely expected an ending.

It's probably not fair to expect much from only two or three episodes. I think a lot of it depends on what they try to do with a given OVA. The absolute worst thing an OVA can do is bite off more than it can chew. The best types of OVA are the following. The first would be the ones that tell a more focused story. The second would be OVAs that akin to be episodic or something like that.

[Suwako Moriya]

So would you be interested in an imaginary Mashiro is way better than Obsidian Lord badge?You can sign me up.

All right, your signature has been accepted. On a side note, while I don't consider My-HiME a bad ending, I can't consider is a great ending. For me it's good, but could have been better.

[Zeether]

Initial D Fourth Stage isn't very satisfying once it ends because the manga is still going on...

[Gatts]

Initial D Fourth Stage isn't very satisfying once it ends because the manga is still going on...

I love most of the Initial D endings, I especially liked the ending for Extra Stage 2 since it was completely obvious what the ending would be to anyone who has watched Initial D.

[Njr Scrawl]

Gasaraki is the show that always comes to mind. It has realistic Patlabor/Votoms type futuristic bipedal mecha. Japanese mysticism, MGS type private armies, all-powerful rival families/institutions & deeply thoughtful leaders, as well as a global crisis.

And it ends with a rushed pseudo-Evangelion aliens type finale, more like a cheap B movie, that an Oshii-type conclusion.

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

Elfen Lied - 13 episodes was not enough to me to tell an effective story with this series. I still like it and I know the manga goes past the point were the show ended so I would love a second season. But I don't see it happening any time in the near future.

[Njr Scrawl]

Elfen Lied - 13 episodes was not enough to me to tell an effective story with this series. I still like it and I know the manga goes past the point were the show ended so I would love a second season. But I don't see it happening any time in the near future.

14 with the unlicensed OVA. The only EL DVD I have (R2J)

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

Oh yeah I forgot obout the OVA. I have the thinpak box ADV put out several years back. No OVA included cause its not licenced and not dubed.

[Garasharp K7]

Gasaraki is the show that always comes to mind. It has realistic Patlabor/Votoms type futuristic bipedal mecha. Japanese mysticism, MGS type private armies, all-powerful rival families/institutions & deeply thoughtful leaders, as well as a global crisis.

And it ends with a rushed pseudo-Evangelion aliens type finale, more like a cheap B movie, that an Oshii-type conclusion.

I felt the same way after watching the show. I thought the biggest problem with the ending was that they revealed what the Gasaraki actually was. I would've preffered it was kept as this unseen supernatural force, or at least make it a literal demonic entity, and not....what was it again? Some sort of alien hivemind/living computer manipulating humanity's development?
I'd almost say there were shades of Votoms' Wiseman there, but it was introduced gradually during the Quent arc and not squeezed into the last couple of eps like the Gasaraki was.

[a fist of JUSTICE!!]

Claymore. Oh my god, Claymore. I honestly cannot think of a worse ending; it didn't fail to wrap the series up, it didn't even bother trying.

If the series had simply stuck to the war in the north, and ended with Clare departing the organisation, it would have been perfect; the main conflict is resolved, and there's room for a sequel. However, it was probably changed due to time restraints, so I would have accepted Clare actually killing Priscillia. It would be a notably weaker, but still acceptable way to end the series. But no, instead the war in the north is not resolved, and neither is Clare's wish of vengeance; the former is seemingly ignored, and the second is unfulfilled due to a deus ex machina. Combined with Clare leaving the claymores, the ending fails to provide anything remotely satisfying, and ends up being the worst excuse for an ending ever.

And yes, I am aware it's based on a manga, and yes, I do plan to read it.

[Gatts]

Elfen Lied - 13 episodes was not enough to me to tell an effective story with this series. I still like it and I know the manga goes past the point were the show ended so I would love a second season. But I don't see it happening any time in the near future.

Elfen Lied had an anime only ending. They would need to redo the last few episodes in order to continue to the manga conclusion. Even then, there isn't enough content to do a second season (well, I guess they could, but they would need to expand on the given material). It could mostly be wrapped up in a movie or OVA series as there are a few characters and situations left out of the anime that would need to be reintroduced.

[Keith]

Chobits - What an anti-climax. If I was a misogynist, I would say "Only a woman would think a satisfying ending to a shonen romantic comedy is he gets the girl but he can never have sex with her."

Well, if you want to be technical, he just can't have vaginal sex with her. She's got two more...uhh...orifices.

For some reason I seem to be the only person ever to point this out

Now was any of that ever mentioned in the series? I always got the impression that Especially considering Chi was shut down at least once or twice during the series, her not wanting to be "touched" there had more to do with only "the one" being allowed to, rather than it turning her off and erasing her memory. Once the series was finally over, I don't see any reason why that would have been an issue at all. And hell, one of her creaters was even there to disable the "button" if that was really an issue.

I didn't mimd DearS, but I did end up reading the manga to see how it really ended.

Big O II's ending was . . .interesting but I think you needed to be taking some kind of drug to delude yourself into thinking it really made sense.

Big O II doesn't exist, that's pure myth, lalalalalalala, Big O endikng with an oncoming awesome battle of awesomeness, the end!

Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful: For what was a fairly light and fun series, it ended on a decidedly non-light and non-fun note.

::cough::: GAINAX ::cough::: With that said, having seen both the TV ending & reading the manga, I really didn't mind the end much at all.

As for Abenobashi, one simple tweak would have infinately fixed that series/ending. If it had been Arumi instead of the Grandfather that died in the incident, Satoshi's jumping and refusal to go back home would have made a hell of a lot more sense. It just seemed to me to be the more obvious choice, and not at all beyond Gainax's bouts of darkness.

As for Kare Kano, It was just so good leading up to the end, I can't hate it, plus I heard it had something to do with the Mangaka not liking how Anno was handling things in general, leading to his second (3rd?) leaving of Gainax. Without staff problems there, we probably would have gotten more of an ending/a more satisfying ending. But since it was leading up to them breaking up, moving on from their first love, etc, I see it as a decent ending point-ish.

School Rumble's ending I was actually cool with. Maybe for the same reason I was ok with Kare Kano's abrupt stop, it just makes sense that Temna & Harima don't wind up together. The whole show is about unrequited love, and hell, high school for that matter is usually about unrequited love. I do kinda wish Kenji & blondie wound up together, it make sense that they don't, since his love for Temna was still so strong at that point that he wasn't considering feelings for anyone else. I do wish he'd succeeded in becoming a mangaka though, but I like to think after their years later reunion, Kenji does get together with the blond chick, they to me were the best match of the series.

Now for my picks!

-Arjuna: Kawamori obviously has a penchant for open endings/continuing stories. And we all felt the abrubt sting of Escaflowne, but were still cool with it because it fits, but damn, Arjuna's ending was cruel. Juna just comes into her powers, fights the big bag, and bam Appears to be lay dying for all her trouble of being intentionally killed by the previous Gaurdian, and humanity is still pretty f'd up just because no one would give her a proper lesson in what it was she was supposed to be doing aside from "feel it out," damn you Shoji Kawamori!!!

Ergo Proxy, mind you a lot of things are somewhat resolved, but it's still too open for my taste. Would have liked a bit more of a Megazone 23 Part II/Wall-E style ending.

[Betenoire]

Gasaraki is the show that always comes to mind. It has realistic Patlabor/Votoms type futuristic bipedal mecha. Japanese mysticism, MGS type private armies, all-powerful rival families/institutions & deeply thoughtful leaders, as well as a global crisis.

And it ends with a rushed pseudo-Evangelion aliens type finale, more like a cheap B movie, that an Oshii-type conclusion.

I felt the same way after watching the show. I thought the biggest problem with the ending was that they revealed what the Gasaraki actually was. I would've preffered it was kept as this unseen supernatural force, or at least make it a literal demonic entity, and not....what was it again? Some sort of alien hivemind/living computer manipulating humanity's development?
I'd almost say there were shades of Votoms' Wiseman there, but it was introduced gradually during the Quent arc and not squeezed into the last couple of eps like the Gasaraki was.

Wow, I've totally repressed this:sweat: All I'd remember was the traditional dance (Noh) and the song used for ADV's trailer. Makes me kind of glad I didn't spend the cash to buy another set I saw used about a year ago (It had the Champagne art box).

[njchobitsfan]

.


What inspired me to mention this was seeing DearS just in the past couple days. While the show does come to a conclusion by the end of it, I don't really feel like that story has ended at all. We have Takuya and Ren together, seemingly forever, and all that nonsense, but then there's this mysterious queen woman or whatever, and there seems to be more things to be revealed.

I know, I know, there's a manga which is the source to begin with, so I could go there to get an ending, but I don't really read much manga. For whatever reason, I just don't feel satisfied with the ending. It doesn't feel like an ending so much as a starting point.



Just so you know, DearS manga has one of the most amazing endings I've read.

Cool! That is one anime that frustrated the heck out of me with that ending. Now I definately have to get the manga. Bookcloseout.com has the first two volumes for 99 cents until 3/26.

[Ashyukun]

Now was any of that ever mentioned in the series? I always got the impression that Especially considering Chi was shut down at least once or twice during the series, her not wanting to be "touched" there had more to do with only "the one" being allowed to, rather than it turning her off and erasing her memory. Once the series was finally over, I don't see any reason why that would have been an issue at all. And hell, one of her creaters was even there to disable the "button" if that was really an issue.


Nope, the anime just ended with her 'coming back' after being erased and the shockwave of her power hitting the other Persocoms and doing whatever the heck it did to them. The whole thing about the reset switch was only in the manga- when several friends and I heard about it from another who had read the actual manga, we laughed at it and said pretty much what Fence did. It was apparently (as my friend explained it) supposed to be a sign of how much he truly cared for her that he would continue to love her though he could never 'be' with her, but with a) the aforementioned (sorry, bad pun incoming) loopholes and the fact her creator is right there and should obviously be able to made some mods it just seemed contrived and silly.

Most of the shows I had problems with ending-wise have already been mentioned. One I would have liked to have seen more of was the original Bubblegum Crisis OVAs. They were supposed to run for more episodes apparently but ended up stopping where they did after Scoop Chase (not to mention having changed the story due to voice actress issues). Sure, Crash technically continues it on, but it wasn't quite the same...

I'm of mixed feelings about the ending to the Video Girl Ai anime... one one level, it is a fairly satisfying ending emotionally. However, it totally doesn't resolve anything other than proving that they love each other. Of course, I'm not the most fond of the manga going past that point (such that I've not even finished reading what I have of it...), but it definitely needed more, even if it was an anime-only conclusion to everything.

[Panko]

biggest one i can think of is most recently Shigurui - superb buildup but you don't even get to see the the actual fight between Irako and Fujiki promised from the first episode. such a disappointment.

[DJ_72]

Trinity Blood and Last Exile. I love both series, but let's please get a few more DETAILS about what's going on.

LE I'm a little more willing to forgive because it's main selling point was the characters and at least they got proper treatment.

[Yotsuyasan]

.hack//sign. Do I even need to explain why?

I'd like a bit of elaboration on this one, myself. I mean, you'd kind of have to be living under a rock at the time when it came out not to know it was basicily a prequel to the PS2 video game series.

To use a similar example, that would be like getting to the end of Back to the Future, part II and thinking, "That's it? That's horrible!" No, that's not horrible. Marty rescues Doc in part III. In the mean time, the relevant story of part II was pretty well wraped up in that they stopped Biff from having the alminac and restored the timeline to where they wanted it to be.

Similarly, .hack//SIGN may have intentionally left some of the big world events hanging, such as everything going on with Aura, but it did wrap up things nicely with Tsukasa, which was the wrap-up I would have expected from that story. For anything else, either start playing your PS2, or if you don't have that option I suppose you could read the Another Birth novels. (Although it has been a while since I read them, so I can't recall any thoughts on how they might read to someone who didn't already know the story from the games.)

If SIGN was innitially designed as a stand-alone project, yeah it would be a bit of a shit ending. Even if the games had come later, I'd be left thinking, "Nice that they got back to that, but SIGN still had a wierd ending." But since they were designed and plotted together from the get-go, I can't fault it. The one was intended to lead into the other, and no secret was made of that fact.

[jmnovak]

biggest one i can think of is most recently Shigurui <...>

I just finished watching this one, and was seriously left hanging... Does anyone know if the rest of the story is summarized anywhere? I understand this was based on a manga (in turn based on a novel)... This isn't a story that I am desperate to see or read every detail of, but I kinda want to know how they got from the point at the end of the series to the point in the first episode...

--John N.

[mifuneral2]

.hack//sign. Do I even need to explain why?

I'd like a bit of elaboration on this one, myself.

here is the timeline:

FIRST SERIES:

.hack//Liminality - This is a four episode series that was included in the LE copies of the .hack games. I may be wrong about it happening before SIGN but it seemed to be about the beginnings of the infection.
.hack//SIGN - Anime series that ended with Sora being infected and turned into SKEITH
.hack//Infection/Mutation/Outbreak/Quarantine - PS2 game series that starred Kite as he fought the infections that began in SIGN and eventually freed Sora from the infection.
.hack//Unison - OVA included in the final LE volume of .hack//SIGN which includes characters both from the anime and the games series united for one final time. From what I remember it's just a nice one-off to let you know how the characters are doing after several years away from The World.

inbetween there's .hack//Legend of the Twilight which I haven't watched, but I heard it's lighter and involves another infection but different characters.

There's a second series involving .hack//G.U. games (three of them) and a .hack//ROOTS anime series but I have not yet played those games or watched that anime. However, anyone who has finished the first series may be intrigued to know that the main character in the second series, Haseo, is actually Sora from the first series

[GundamWingMan]

Ahh! Too many to mention without getting disgusted. Here are some of my favorite examples:

--Neon Genesis Evangelion: Need I say more?

--Mahoromatic 2: Another punch to gut after watching the train wreck that was the last several episodes.

--Madlax: A decent "girls with guns" show that went completely off the rails with all that metaphysical crapola. Urgh!

--Trinity Blood: A wretched, uneven, hurried mash-up of a finale that made absolutely zero sense to me.

--Fruits Basket: While the series covered the manga's first arc, it whetted my appetite for more which will never happen.

--Ai Yori Aoshi: I was annoyed that the anime ended without Aoi and Kaoru revealing their relationship to the rest of the crew.

--Hellsing: The 180 degree sea change from the original manga was another hurried mess that left a sour taste in my mouth.

[njchobitsfan]

Ahh! Too many to mention without getting disgusted. Here are some of my favorite examples:

--Neon Genesis Evangelion: Need I say more?

--Mahoromatic 2: Another punch to gut after watching the train wreck that was the last several episodes.

--Madlax: A decent "girls with guns" show that went completely off the rails with all that metaphysical crapola. Urgh!

--Trinity Blood: A wretched, uneven, hurried mash-up of a finale that made absolutely zero sense to me.

--Fruits Basket: While the series covered the manga's first arc, it whetted my appetite for more which will never happen.

--Ai Yori Aoshi: I was annoyed that the anime ended without Aoi and Kaoru revealing their relationship to the rest of the crew.

--Hellsing: The 180 degree sea change from the original manga was another hurried mess that left a sour taste in my mouth.

Completely agree with you on Madlax, so much so that I sold the turkey. Mahoromatic 2 was a punch in the gut, yet I thought it wasn't too bad. It kinda takes the sails out of watching it multiple times. I thought the ending for Ai Yori Aoshi was just right.

[Fencedude]

--Madlax: A decent "girls with guns" show that went completely off the rails with all that metaphysical crapola. Urgh!

What? MADLAX made complete sense as long as you paid attention to what the characters were saying.

Of the "Bee-Train Trilogy" (Noir, MADLAX, El Cazador), MADLAX's plot is the tightest and most coherent by far.

[Suwako Moriya]

I'm tempted to nominate Shikabane Hime because it pulls the "Let's end in the middle of a scene" scenario. However there's supposed to be a bonus episode and there's a chance it might take place after episode 25. If so then maybe the ending will be fixed.

[GundamWingMan]

--Madlax: A decent "girls with guns" show that went completely off the rails with all that metaphysical crapola. Urgh!

What? MADLAX made complete sense as long as you paid attention to what the characters were saying.

I did pay attention, and it still left me scratching my head.

Of the "Bee-Train Trilogy" (Noir, MADLAX, El Cazador), MADLAX's plot is the tightest and most coherent by far.

Well, I haven't seen El Cazador, but I thought Noir was better paced and more straightforward.

[Njr Scrawl]

--Madlax: A decent "girls with guns" show that went completely off the rails with all that metaphysical crapola. Urgh!

What? MADLAX made complete sense as long as you paid attention to what the characters were saying.

Of the "Bee-Train Trilogy" (Noir, MADLAX, El Cazador), MADLAX's plot is the tightest and most coherent by far.

I've yet to buy Madlax (sounds like a purgative!), sonds better than Noir's ending which to me is ambiguous, at best. As its open if the girls were killed, or escaped. I believe the former.

Char's Counter Attack is unsatisfactory generally, & its ending screws the lid on how I feel about it. The ending should not be assumed that either Amauro or Char died, not being able to use their Newtype powers to escape from the asteroid, so formidable is each.

[Chief Wahoo]

Basically every Tenchi series (God forbid the writers actually end a series with Tenchi choosing one girl and settling down with her) and Ranma (preferably with Ranma and Nabiki falling for each other and Ryoga getting Akane).