Ending an anime series can be a tricky thing to do. Sometimes an anime has to wrap up a long story arc in just a few episodes. Other times a series needs to stretch out an arc or create filler episodes. Unfortunately, anime fans typically do not prefer either of these outcomes.
Rushed anime endings often time leave the audience with unresolved questions or feelings towards the series. Anime series that go on for too long can make viewers lose interest in the story and characters. Sadly, plenty of anime series have unsatisfying conclusions either because the show rushed to its end or because it took the anime too long to reach its finale.
10 SUDDEN ENDING: The Promised Neverland Breezed Over A Majority Of The Story
The first season of The Promised Neverland is one of the most revered anime titles of the past several years. It had pacing that was tight and revealed information in a way that made the audience more curious. The same can not be said of Emma's journey after she escapes the farm.
Sadly, season two of The Promised Neverland rushed through its story. Several important arcs to the source manga are either glossed over or completely forgotten. The finale episode of the second season attempted to cover a majority of the manga's story. What came out of this rushed finale is an exposition dump that plays more like a slideshow. Many argue it is best to stop watching The Promised Neverland after season one or just read the manga.
9 TOO LONG: How Many Times Can Ash From Pokémon Do The Same Thing?
Pokémon is one of the most iconic media franchises. The original Pokémon series began airing in the late 1990s and now has well over one thousand episodes. While this is undoubtedly an impressive feat, a lot of the anime series can feel repetitive. There are several great arcs and battles throughout the series, but watching Ash try to beat gym leaders can feel repetitive.
For some, watching all of the different Pokémon in battle is more than enough. However, Pokémon has a slow pace and can get quite repetitive over its eleven-hundred-plus episode span.
8 SUDDEN ENDING: The God Of High School Never Really Found Its Pacing
Fans of the source manhwa were very excited to hear that Mappa Studios would be adapting The God of High School. The anime adaptation has some stunning fight choreography; however, the story up to its finale felt rushed. Jin Mori's journey to be the best fighter in South Korea quickly brings in a lot of plot information.
The ending of the first season sees Jin Mori unleash the power of the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. This revelation is paired with many other vital plot points that create more questions than answers. Hopefully, The God of High School gets a second season to explain these plot points. However, with nothing officially announced yet, this may be a sudden ending to a rushed anime adaptation.
7 TOO LONG: Bleach Peaked Too Early
Bleach is one of the anime that defined 2000s shonen. It is not hard to see why. The series has some fantastic world-building, fights, and iconic character designs. Nonetheless, the series has over three hundred episodes, and due to its length, Bleach lost its popularity over time.
Bleach raised many questions throughout its later arcs. Unfortunately, many Bleach fans were still left asking questions even after an additional final season. The series spent much of its runtime rehashing ideas from older arcs, prominently the Soul Society arc. This early peak made the series feel repetitive for many viewers.
6 SUDDEN ENDING: Soul Eater's Conclusion Cut Out A Lot Of The Manga
Soul Eater's anime adaptation is quite notorious for not following its manga source material, specifically in the anime's conclusion. The final fight could never play out how it did in the manga due to the cutting of various arcs. Sadly, this missing content does not make Soul Eater a tighter narrative but instead leaves the audience wanting more.
The cut content makes the anime's concluding fight drastically different from the manga's conclusion. The last few chapters of the manga feel earned for its readers; whereas, the anime is cut quite a bit short. Thus, while the anime adaptation of Soul Eater has some great visuals, the concluding fight does not do justice to Soul and Maka's story.
5 TOO LONG: Death Note Lost Its Audience In The Second Half
Many fans of anime consider the first half of Death Note to be perfect. The mind games played between Light and L are nerve-wracking. Light and L are perfect rivals for one another. However, in the second half of the series, L is replaced by several new antagonists.
One may assume that having multiple antagonists for Light would engage the audience more, yet the opposite is true. There are many players in Death Note's second half, which makes the series lose a lot of tension. There are great moments throughout Death Note, but the first half of the anime overshadows the second.
4 SUDDEN ENDING: Erased Has A Controversial Final Episode
Erased is a top-notch murder-mystery time-travel narrative. Satoru's hunt to stop Kayo from being murdered is one of the most moving narratives in anime. While on the whole, this series is excellent, Erased's ending feels rushed.
The last several episodes came out while the same chapters in the manga were being published. By not having source material to work off of, the anime deviated significantly from the manga. For this reason, the anime doesn't delve deeply into the backstory of Yahiro, the killer. More infamously, Satoru outsmarts Yahiro by rolling his wheelchair off a roof into an inflatable pad. This conclusion did not feel earned but instead felt like a fast way to wrap up the narrative.
3 TOO LONG: Naruto Has Too Much Filler
Naruto is famous for a lot of things. The anime has excellent fights, compelling character development, and a lot of filler. The filler in Naruto is quite notorious. An audience member can skip all the filler and still get the whole story. These nonimportant episodes are very prevalent in the series. However, some filler episodes are still fun to watch or can add to the viewer's understandings of the world.
Sadly, Naruto passed down this reliance on filler to its sequel series, Boruto. While audiences can avoid the filler, these inconsequential episodes take up a large portion of Naruto's runtime.
2 SUDDEN ENDING: Wonder Egg Priority Rushed Two Endings In A Row
After finishing its twelve-episode run, many fans of Wonder Egg Priority were left confused. The finale created more questions than there already were, which is quite impressive considering how complex the story in Wonder Egg Priority is. Audiences waited to hear news of a second season or sequel. Instead, what viewers got was a forty-seven-minute special that was supposed to conclude the series.
However, this episode did not clear up the questions fans had. Rather, the final episode of Wonder Egg Priority began by recapping the series and then introduced more conflicts and questions to the narrative. The anime's ending did not feel like a conclusion but rather another jumping-off point.
1 TOO LONG: Sword Art Online Ruined A Great Concept
Sword Art Online is an anime that was extremely popular when it first premiered. The isekai in a fantasy game world enticed many viewers with its world-building, characters, and well-done fights. However, many viewers turned on the series following the Fairy Dance arc.
While several later arcs are well done, Sword Art Online overstayed its welcome for many.