The best endings are often bittersweet, both in life and in fiction. Anyone who wants to see the world must say goodbye to loved ones. Any show that wants to end well will have to make sacrifices, too. A clean ending is never satisfying and the anime that remain lodged in the hearts of fans feature moments of great joy as well as immense sadness.
Shonen is often dismissed as a more flippant genre, but it’s anything but carefree when it comes time for finales to play out. Many shonen shows have endings that aren’t just cathartic, but haunting. While some shonen series never get proper endings at all, others have been lucky enough to strike a uniquely bittersweet balance in tone.
10 Yato is Denied Job Security And The Audience Is Denied Closure (Noragami)
Noragami feels like it’s been stuck in a special kind of limbo. While the anime seemed to enjoy a steady viewership over the course of two seasons and the manga maintains a devoted audience, Noragami has never been greenlit for a third season.
The second season ends with Yato finally abandoning his legacy as a god of calamity and promising to be a god of fortune. What’s bittersweet isn’t that the ending here is unsatisfying, it’s just clearly unfinished.
9 Karasuno Suffers A Heartbreaking Defeat Against Seijo (Haikyuu!!)
It’s hard to pick one “best” thing about Haikyuu!!, a show that has more than earned its accolades. But one aspect of the hit sports anime that really shines is its willingness to let its characters contend with failure. The Karasuno kids lose their games; not just occasionally, but often.
The first season ends with a neck-and-neck battle against Seijoh and it’s gut-wrenching when Karasuno loses. They do their best, but it isn’t good enough. It’s never worse than bittersweet to see them lose, knowing they’ll continue to climb given the very next opportunity. Fly, crows!
8 There is Room For So Much More Adventure (Yu Yu Hakusho)
Yu Yu Hakusho is often regarded as a near-perfect shonen series. It has all the successful elements that define a great show: a lovable protagonist, supporting characters worth rooting for, a story arc that feels evenly-paced, as well as action, magic, and monsters, too.
While the anime does have a proper ending, author Yoshihiro Togashi has said that he had many more ideas he never got to write. The thought of what might have been is a unique kind of torture.
7 Vash Can Save Others Or Remain A Pacifist, But Not Both (Trigun)
Somewhere during its run, Trigun went from a swaggering 90s space-western to a deep exploration of human pathos and existentialism. The reason the show is still spoken of today has a lot to do with Vash’s gradual development as a character and the way his backstory relates to the world-building. When he is pushed to the edge, the audience genuinely doesn’t know what this self-proclaimed pacifist will do.
The finale, in which Vash goes head-to-head with his brother, Knives, after witnessing the death of a dear friend is a riveting piece of narrative. But there’s really no solution to the problem that is the brothers’ shared existence — and the characters know it as well as the audience does.
6 Ed and Al Are Stranded In Separate Universes (Fullmetal Alchemist)
While many fans have replaced the original Bones 2003 anime in their hearts with the more manga-faithful 2009 Brotherhood version, the first series deserves a lot of credit for the strides it made. The pacing of the original series is often more satisfying, such as during the Shou Tucker/Nina arc, which is altogether too rushed to leave a proper impact in Brotherhood. Still, the 2003 anime had a distinct disadvantage.
Because Arakawa hadn’t yet finished writing FMA when the first anime aired, Studio Bones had to move forward with the series by writing an ending of their own. What results is a completely different story than what Brotherhood tells, but it’s not without its moments. Among them is a deeply painful ending. During Ed’s attempt to save Al, the latter loses his memories and reverts to being a 10-year-old boy. And Ed finds himself in a parallel world, separated from his beloved brother.
5 Characters Are Put Through Tragedy Before Catharsis (Kekkai Sensen)
It should come as no surprise that Kekkai Sensen, something of a sleeper hit, wasn’t afraid to get introspective by the time it reached its season one finale. Written by the same author who gave audiences Trigun, the series follows an organization of oddballs who more or less keep the peace in a futuristic New York City, trying to balance the lives of humans and interdimensional monsters.
Cursed (or blessed) with superhuman eyes, protagonist Leo is frequently targeted by villainous ne’er-do-wells. But a show that starts out feeling a bit zany turns deeply affecting by its final brief arc, despite feeling somewhat rushed. Luckily, fans were greeted with news of a second season shortly after the first left them breathless.
4 The Ending Is More Memorable Than The Series Itself (Chrono Crusade)
Chrono Crusade isn’t an especially great series. Airing in the wake of such hits as Fullmetal Alchemist, the anime failed to obtain the popularity of other shonen series of the era. But Chrono Crusade is remembered for one reason alone: it has one of the saddest endings known to anime.
Without going into detail, this series about an exorcist and a demon fighting monsters ends with more than one major character death. What’s bittersweet is that the ending elevates what came before, but it’s a real gut-punch getting there just to be broken in two.
3 The First Season’s Ending Is Extremely Dark (Black Butler)
While Black Butler has always been something of a divisive anime. Seemingly splitting audiences between hardcore devotees and those who would rather never watch it — the first season’s final few episodes are better than the rest of the season combined. Not to mention certainly better than the following seasons. What makes these episodes so good is their commitment to a very bleak bit.
Throughout the show, Sebastian Michaelis has been extremely honest about his end-goal: He’s a demon, and he intends to devour Ciel’s soul. So when Ciel finds himself on the brink of death, is it any wonder that Sebastian follows through? Any fans who deluded themselves into thinking Sebastian was “good” simply because he’s suave missed the point. Had the season 1 finale been the ending for the whole series, he would have left one heck of a legacy behind.
2 The Cast Remains Forever Changed After The Tonal Shift In Episode 8 (Gurren Lagann)
It doesn’t take for Gurren Lagann to get serious, not that it wasn’t always an excellent mecha series. The show was unique and playfully animated by Gainax, breaking new ground when it came to bringing a genuine sense of fun to a genre long dominated by darker titles in the wake of Evangelion.
Anyone going into Gurren Lagann thinking it’ll be just fun and games is in for a surprise. There’s a remarkable tonal shift after the series’s eighth episode and by the finale, it feels like the story is really just beginning. Gurren Lagann leaves everyone wanting more and it accomplishes that without feeling like a cop-out.
1 Things Lost And Found And Lost Again Are Explored In The Ending (Your Lie In April)
If there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know how Your Lie In April ends, it would be surprising. But as the manga was written as the anime aired, many fans were less familiar with the story and hoped the ending would be brighter. When it became apparent that Kaori’s surgery was not successful, many fans felt as disembodied as Kousei does playing onstage without her.
While Your Lie‘s ending is profoundly sad, it’s not without great beauty. Kaori leaves Kousei with a beautiful letter, confessing her love for him and confirming what fans had long suspected. If this finale isn’t the textbook definition of bittersweet, it’s hard to say what is. Kousei has experienced loss again, but this time he’s prepared to face it. That’s what growing up means.
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