It'snot always about the destination, but the journey. However, an ending is still rather important, and a bad ending can even ruin theentirety of a story, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of those who enjoyed what came before it.In the case of anime, thereplenty out there that end in a satisfying way, but there are others that aren't so lucky.
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While a lot of anime stay close to their roots when being adapted, there are cases where the source material has not been finished or the series goes in a completely different direction.At their least bad, these "anime-original" endings end up being unsatisfying cliffhangers for a season that'll never come, at their worst, they end up being insultingly awful conclusions.
10 Clay-No-More (Claymore)
Claymore isthe tale ofahybrid warrior named Clare, who's tasked with killing the man-eating creatures called "Yoma." For the most part, its anime adaptation is a soliddark-fantasystory full of epic battles and plenty of medieval violence, much like its manga. Unfortunately, the last three episodes fail to be a worthy sendoff.
WithClaymore'smanga still going at the time, the animerushed to a final battle between Clare and Priscilla that ends with a disappointing anticlimax after all its build-up and finishes itself off with more questions than answers.Claymore'sanime ends with nothing truly feeling resolved at all.
9 Congratulations? (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
Neon Genesis Evangelionis one of the most famous mecha anime of all time, it also has one of the most divisive endings in anime history. After confronting and killing Kaworu, Shinji and the rest ofEvangelion 'scast spend the last two episodes of the anime's run wallowing in depression and existential dread, which presumably is a result of "Human Instrumentality."
This all comes to a head when Shinji, finally resolves that his life is worth living which makes the various characters appear before him and congratulating him. This infamous ending was the result of behind-the-scenes drama andis less of a solid conclusion and more like a detour into self-loathing beforeEnd of Evangelion.
8 The Status Quo + A Vampire (Rosario + Vampire Capu 2)
Rosario + Vampire'smanga may have started out as a harem comedy starring a human surrounded by girls in a school for monsters with some "villain of the week"-style action, but it would become even more of a battle shonen as it went on. The anime, however, does not do that and mostly sticks to its harem comedy antics while having loose connections to its source material.
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AfterMoka's inner self ends up being permanent, Tsukune goes on a quest to bring the other Moka back. He even battles her father, releasing his own vampire powers too, but it onlyleads to Moka's outer self returning and restoring the status quo. While the manga developed its characters and world,theanime didn't, ending with a whimper andplenty of missed opportunities.
7 It's All About Marie (Persona 4 The Golden Animation)
Anime adaptations of video games have been pretty spotty at best, though the originalPersona 4anime ended up being a pretty faithful adaptation of the popular RPG.Persona 4 The Golden Animation, wasa weak companion series that gave Marie too much attention to the point where she took over the plot and ending.
At Yu's darkest hour during the final battle with Izanami,Marie appears beforehimand together they defeat her. This reimagining of the game's "True Ending" ends up spitting in the face of Persona's "power of bonds" message since Marie ended up being the only one that mattered inThe Golden Animation'sversion of the story.
6 The Killer Is Caught...By Convenience (Erased)
The hook of a good murder mystery is the "who did it" and "why" that comes towards the end. When it started,Erased'sanime adaptation seemed like it could pull that off,but things went south as itbegan to wind down and it felt incredibly rushed.
Satoruand his friends set a trap for Yashiro that involves Satoru nearly rolling himself off the roof himself. Not only does this plan go off without a hitch, but it only worked because Yashiro stopped Satoru before letting him fall. Caught red-handed, Yashiro's sent to jail with much of his motivations left out of the anime. Not only does Satoru's plan hinge on convenience, but it makes Yashiro seem pretty gullible for an elusive serial killer.
5 With Fiends Like These... (Black Butler II)
WithBlack Butler'smanga is still ongoing, so it was pretty clear the anime would end up having to make its own conclusion since the manga wasn't even close to done. Season one diverged quite a bit from the manga, but season two went completely off the rails from start to finish.
After an undeserved "tragic/happy end" for the antagonists, Ciel is revived as a demon which now prevents Sebastian from ever taking his soul and binding him to Ciel forever. He and Sebastian leave to wander for eternity,encapsulating how aimlessthis season really was. As a result,Book of Circus ignored all of it.
4 Basically No Closure (Tokyo Ghoul √A)
Tokyo Ghoul √Ais another infamous example of an anime diverging from its source material to the detriment of the plot. The entire seasonended up becoming widely despised by fans due to its out-of-character moments for Kaneki and its jarring lack of plot.So of course the ending was a letdown too.
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AfterHide collapses, Kaneki carries his friend out. Kaneki stands face to face against Kishou and the anime ends right there.Tokyo Ghoul √A'sfinal episode was an abrupt end that had no closure for anything that happened in the story. All it left were questions and no answers for any of them.
3 Akame Ga Rushing It! (Akame Ga Kill)
Akame ga Kill,the story of a group of assassins fighting against a corrupt empire,was yet another anime that had to go its own way due to the manga not being finished. As one could expect, this ending was a weak and pretty rushed conclusion to Night Raid's final battle.
With Tatsumi and most of the other Night Raid members dead, Leone kills the Prime Minister and Akame is left alone to face Esdeath, a battle thatendsin sudden anticlimax.Akame ga Kill'sendingfeelsmore like a race to the finish line. The strange part is, the manga would actually end up taking cues from the anime for its ending, with some slight variations such as Honest's death being at the hands of the people he oppressed and Tatsumi living.
2 With The Power of Courage& My Fist! (Soul Eater)
For the most part, evenwhen it couldn't adapt everything fromthe manga, fans thoroughly enjoyedSoul Eater'sanime. With all that style and substance,Soul Eaterseemed like it would be fine despite the changes, that is up until its final episode. Despite everything Maka and Soul throw at him, it's Maka talking about "bravery" and punching Asura in the face that wins the day.
This plot point about "the power of courage" comes right out of nowhere and ends the fight in the most unsatisfying way possible after the sheer terror that the Kishin was built up as too.
1 Satan Wasn't Such A Bad Guy After All (Blue Exorcist)
Divergence from the source isn't always a bad thing, but when mishandled it can come off as a slap in the face to fans.Blue Excorcist'swas just that, in an original arcfeaturing Rin and Yukio's grandfather being the true villain of the series and Satan being a misunderstood tragic figure.
The problem is Satan killeda lot of innocent people (including Rin and Yukio's surrogate father),and he nearly kills Rin and all his friends in Yukio's body, so it comes off as disingenuous. The final battle also ends up being quick and unsatisfying, and things basically go back to normal real fast.Blue Exorcist'sanime went out in blue flames and the following season retconned the ending out.
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