It is always disappointing when an anime just suddenly ends, with no real conclusion. It is even more upsetting when the manga finishes or has already been completed but the anime has no expectations to make a return, either because it was canceled, only one season was planned, or the anime received an alternate ending to make up for the sudden completion.
However, when an anime series simply ends it can be a fun opportunity to dive into the manga to complete the rest of the story—even if fans will never see it animated. Often times, fans will have to read the manga from the beginning in order to get the actual story the creator intended due to the fact that the anime deviated so much from its source material.
10 Blue Spring Ride Ends At Chapter 15 Out Of 49
Blue Spring Ride is a prime example of an anime that ended way before it was meant to. This series consisted of 12 episodes and one OVA that acted as episode 13. The anime leaves off at a point that truly doesn't make sense, not even really completing the first major arc of the series. It just ends.
The manga consists of 49 chapters and so much more happens in the manga than in the anime, where the main couple don't even get the opportunity to kiss. Unfortunately, this is pretty common for shojo anime to do as they often just suddenly end. The manga has a much more fulfilling ending and story overall.
9 The Bleach Anime Ended Before The Final Arc— Though It Is Now Coming Back
Bleach was known as the filler anime, as almost half of the anime as a whole was made up of filler arcs and episodes due to it constantly trying to delay how caught up to the manga it was. At some point in the manga, the creator took a two-week hiatus after Ichigo loses his Shinigami powers and thinks that he has said goodbye to Rukia forever. This is where the anime leaves off and though it's actually a pretty solid ending, it doesn't really wrap up the story since that wasn't the intentioned finale.
The manga continued after the small hiatus with the final arc where Ichigo learns a new skill, continues to hear Rukia's voice and is eventually reunited with the Soul Society world where they finally fight Aizen. It has been said that the final arc in Bleach is actually going to get the anime adaptation now but initially this series ended way before the manga.
8 Bunny Drop's Anime Ending Leaves Off At A Much Better Point
There are rare instances in which the anime ending much earlier than the manga is a good thing, and Bunny Drop is definitely one of those situations. This anime ends after a single, older man ends up adopting a young girl as his own daughter. The two struggle as they adjust to one another and learns how to be a single dad and child combo. The anime ends with them still in this situation but living their life super happily.
The manga continues after a serious time jump that puts the daughter in her high school years and takes a seriously weird turn. She ends up developing feelings for her father-like figure since he has "always taken care of her." The fact that the anime ignored this added plot completely was one of the best choices it could have made.
7 The First Fruits Basket Series Only Covered The First Arc
In the original Fruits Basket anime that only aired for one season, the show covered only the first major arc in the series—Kyo's story. Amongst a bunch of other differences, the anime really only focused on the romance between Tohru and Kyo when this story is just so much more than just that. The anime told his story and showed Tohru's growing feelings for the Cat of the Zodiac before it just skips over everything else with the rest of the Somas and Akito and shows Tohru and Kyo together in the future.
The anime didn't even fully introduce all of the family members and just left a lot of fans unhappy with the series—which is why it now has an amazing remake.
6 Rurouni Kenshin Was Canceled After An Entire Season Was Solely Filler
Rurouni Kenshin was an incredibly popular manga series, worthy of being considered one of the biggest Shonen Jump releases at its time. But the anime was a total flop. It was riddled in filler arcs as they didn't really know how to approach certain elements from the manga. The show ended up getting canceled when the entire season was pretty much filled with filler and didn't show the climactic finale.
The anime later got a couple of movies—both animated and live-action—that finished telling the story, yet none of the retellings were as accurate to the actual manga's ending.
5 My Little Monster Continues Past The Disappointing Anime Ending
Another shojo anime that had an unfortunate cut off. This anime ended on a pretty disappointing note due to the fact that, again, nothing really happened. The main characters had more going on for them than the main couple from Blue Spring Ride but were still missing any major developments and ended with a typical "their love story continues."
The manga, however, continues from there. In the final chapter, the two main characters can be seen at their wedding and it is both wholesome and adorable.
4 Rave Master Had A Critically-Acclamined Manga But A Horrible Anime
Rave Master was a hit manga series, super popular in Shonen Jump, and was even critically acclaimed, running for volumes upon volumes. Yet, when the anime was made, it became more of a horrible mess than anything else.
The anime was aged down while the characters and plot still tried to be the same. The voices were geared towards a much younger audience and thus missed a lot of important elements of the characters. The show ended up getting canceled not long after it began, only running for two seasons.
3 Deadman Wonderland Deviated Way Too Much From The Source Material
Many fans of the Deadman Wonderland manga series desperately want a Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood treatment on this series where the anime gets revamped to better follow the manga as the original series deviated way too much from the source material.
The anime became an entirely different thing basically and many fans were left super unhappy. Many crucial characters were left out, plotlines were completely changed, and nothing really made sense. The manga was utterly fantastic yet the anime never really hit the mark and thus ended abruptly.
2 Ranma 1/2 Was Too Long So It Received A Filler Ending
Ranma 1/2 was a super popular manga series made by the same creator as Inuyasha. But she had one major issue, she made her manga series way too long. This seems a little silly now when compared to the 500 plus episodes of Naruto or the near 1000 episodes of One Piece but when Ranma 1/2 was being aired as an anime, it felt like it was just going on and on to many of those working on the project.
Eventually, the show created a filler ending so that it could just end while the manga received its own end much later on.
1 Soul Eater Ended Abruptly & Continued In The Manga Which Also Ended Abruptly But Much Later
The Soul Eater anime ended abruptly after two seasons of an amazing series that became vastly popular overtime. But the ending still manages to enrage everyone. The series has Soul, Maka, and all of their friends fight an incredibly powerful big bad only to be defeated and say "well, we'll get them next time."
Fans were furious and so they picked up the manga to read on, see the gang beat the big bad, and continue the story. However, years later the manga ended up pulling the same thing, where Crona got stuck on the moon after a fight with the Kishin and Maka swears to continue fighting to get them back.