36 replies to this topic

[chouzu_tao]

There are multitudes of anime shows now, and whether that's just a matter of more exposure or if they're being popped out by big machines being mass produced like k-pop groups, there are still a few diamonds in the rough. Personally, now adays it can be hard to find one that sticks, with so many recycled tropes and plots, the ones that really stick out are ones with unique story elements, great representations of archetypes, and for many, the most important part: a fulfilling ending; the ones that leave a lasting impression for you, ones that sate your frustration of the show's final stop.

 

Because I know there have been so many debates about what the best anime are in general, I just wanted everyone to share which finales to which anime was your favorite and which ones disappointed you to no end. And of course since we are discussing finales beware possible spoilers.

 

I'll probably think of more but right now off the top of my head I'd say from the beginning of the finale to the end, Gurren Lagann was the most satisfying for me. Yes, not every character got what they wanted, but not only did it get the adrenaline junkie in me to spike, but it also hit me in the feels. 

Gurren Lagann

The finale opens with Nia being slowly erased, receiving a lecture on the futility of the actions of herself and her loved ones. She cries out in anguish but with fiery determination holds onto hope and the belief that her friends will succeed.  From that moment, and the moment Simon and Team Gurren Lagann erupt into the Anti-Spiral Realm from the ring Simon gave Nia,

 

 

shattering the shackles holding her as with a swift swipe of his coat like the after blur of Superman's cape as he speeds headlong into battle Simon catches her, to the sad realization by everyone else that Nia has been fading since the destruction of the anti-spirals and that she was only holding on so she could marry the man she loved,

 

 

the finale is electric and just bursting with spirit.

 

Oh yeah, FLCL too. But that whole series is my favorite.

 

FLCL

With the Pillows' "Last Dinosaur" pulsing at it's heart, the episode sees our main character Naota absorb the full might of the Pirate King, Atomsk, eater of whole galaxies, to do battle with his crush and mysterious alien Haru over who should truly wield it's powers, as this eccentric and spastic series comes to a head. It's no surprise that production studio Gainax is also responsible for Gurren Lagann. They do quiet, crazy, and action so well. The climax in both finales are just so potent.

 

 

 

 

As far as frustration goes I'd say the finales to Neon Genesis Evangelion

 

NGE

 

This last episode has been a polarizing item in anime fandom for years so to go into it would just be tiring. Basically it goes like

 

"Things are messed up, but whatever dude, it's all good.... Roll credits."

 

and Aquarion Evol

 

Aquarion Evol

 <--- this and not --> =  The supposed story of this series and it's predecessor are of a reincarnated Romeo and Juliet in Hunter Angel, Apollo and Human defender Celiane and how they through their love pilot the god armor Aqaurion to defend mankind. But what the second series does is say that the male protagonist of both series was actually the reincarnation of Apollo's dog who also had a crush on Celiane... and that Apollo was actually reincarnated as a 2nd tier charater in both series. The villain of both series is the shunned ex-lover of Apollo. The only reason why he acts out and tries to destroy everything is because Apollo cheated on him with a human female and chose her over him. At the end of this series he decided to take care of the villain who is now a vegetable and let his dog and his lover get together.  WTF! If he wasn't going to defend his right to stay by Celiane's side, then YTF did he not say "Hey, I'm sorry I chose her over you. But she's in love with my dog now and uh... I want to take care of you again." BOTH SERIES OVER! Seriously, you cannot say to me that that is not a troll ending. 

 

irked me to no end. They just felt like such troll endings. 

 

What are yours? Let's just leave this as a description of why you feel the way you do and not a debate about which one is better or worst. 

Edited by chouzu_tao, 09 September 2014 - 04:57 AM.

[rocci]

For now, I think last exile-fam of silver wing.

[chouzu_tao]

For now, I think last exile-fam of silver wing.

 

For Best or Worst finale?

[Liu bie]

You think Kishi is the best to troll his readers you wrong, Kobayashi Jin will troll you  until the end with that manga, Schoo Rumble is one that it has one the worst finales.

Edited by Liu bie, 09 September 2014 - 04:08 AM.

[rocci]

 
For Best or Worst finale?

I think for the worst finale.

@liu bei
Yup, status quo FTW.

Edited by rocci, 09 September 2014 - 04:19 AM.

[Liu bie]

@liu bei
Yup, status quo FTW.

What do you mean?

[CloudMountainJuror]

Best finales:

• Steins;Gate
  • Emotionally satisfying to the utmost and ties everything together wonderfully.
• Madoka Magica
  • Its ending takes everything that came before it and enhances it to the level of masterpiece this show is.
• Code Geass R2
  • The ending is arguably the most memorable and impacting part of the entire show.
• Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
  • Beautiful.

 

Worst finales:

• Soul Eater
  • Not just the finale, but the ending as a whole disappointed enough to the point where I never really want to visit the show again.
• Last Exile
  • This show's finale being included shows that I've been lucky in terms of avoiding incredibly disappointing finales to good anime, as its finale really isn't that bad. But it rushes through its conclusion and leaves many holes open, which definitely disappointed me, so I feel the need to include it here. Also, so I'm not singling out Soul Eater.

Edited by zacrathedemon5, 09 September 2014 - 06:04 AM.

[Jenskott]

Sometimes I think that Japanese creatives do not know how ending a series properly. Anyway, as far as I can remember now...

 

Best Finales:

 

Maison Ikkoku:

- Usually Rumiko Takahashi gets criticized because her series often have disappointing endings. Maison Ikkoku is the exception that confirms the rule. Plot progression and character development reached their logical conclusions, all plot ends were tied nicely, and the ending was highly satisfactory. The last pannel often brings a tear to my eye.

 

Saint Seiya:

- I am talking about the ending of the manga, because the finale of the anime was real bad. The series had got too predictable and the fights stale for several arcs. Then the Hades saga changed the formule and the plot became surprising and unpredictable. The finale was tragic, heroic and bittersweet and you had a nice sense of closure. A pity that I found out that it was not the real ending years later.

 

Bad Finales: Bad finales in manga and anime series usually fit in two categories: they are too open-ended, leave too loose ends and unexplained stuff and are unsatisfying; or they are a mind-screw.

 

Evangelion:

- I went through the damned thing waiting for answers and resolutions to a bunch of convoluted misteries and loose ends. I got NOTHING. Then I saw the movie. I got a "What the hell have I just watched?" reaction. And I realize the show was a complete rip-off. It never had the slightest internal coherence, the plots and character development (hah!) led to nowhere and the misteries had no answer (or it made no sense or it was not interesting) because the creator was more interested in stuffing the show with mind-screws and nosense to pretend cleverness that in making a good, coherent plot.

 

And thus I came to hate mind-screws. And to avoid like the plague any series that is compared with this trash (I am looking to you, Gasaraki, Serial Experimental Lains and Madoka!)

 

Ranma 1/2:

- I really liked Ranma. I really did. However the finale was... It was not an ending. After the longest and most dramatic saga, things seemed to be coming to an ending... And then they did not. The series simply stopped.

 

Dangaioh:

- Dangaioh was a very minor, three-episode-long mecha series. It was pretty average but at least it was entertaining. But the ending was another no-ending. After a brutal fight, we see the four main characters floating in the space void inside their ships, fainted after the battle... and then it ends. No resolution, no explanation, we do not know what happened to them afterwards, we do not know how the war ended.

 

Hmm... This is all for now.

[CloudMountainJuror]

And thus I came to hate mind-screws. And to avoid like the plague any series that is compared with this trash (I am looking to you, Gasaraki, Serial Experimental Lains and Madoka!)

 

Hey hey hey, unlike Evangelion, Madoka makes complete sense and has great characters that actually go places, and has a wonderful (not to mention coherent) ending. It's only compared to Evangelion in terms of being a "deconstruction" of its repsective genre.

Edited by zacrathedemon5, 09 September 2014 - 07:28 AM.

[Sedna]

Best ending is School days. It was so beautiful and colourful! :))))))

[lupina]

Best ending is School days. It was so beautiful and colourful! :))))))

 

Hmmm ... I sense a slightly touch of irony here! ;)

[Jenskott]

 

 

Hey hey hey, unlike Evangelion, Madoka makes complete sense and has great characters that actually go places, and has a wonderful (not to mention coherent) ending.

 

Yes? Its plot makes sense, its characters go anywhere and its ending is coherent?

 

Okay, then it is not like Evangelion.

 

I do not think that I will watch it, thought. Let me explain:

 

Before I ever heard about Sailor Moon I had already watched some Magical Girls series (Creamy Mami, Mahou no Star Magical Emi... even Sally the Little Witch, I think. That is the first magical girl anime). I found them entertaining and I watched some episodes but I did not care much for them. They were series for little girls, what is fine and good, but I was not their target audience.

 

I have become quite leery and wary of deconstructions. I have liked some series that were a deconstruction or deconstructed some trope (by the way, I have the feeling of tvtropes overuses and abuses that word. A trope is used in a harsher way than usual? Oh, it HAS to be a deconstruction. I have the feeling of a lot of tropers think that deconstruction=mature and adult so they try to prove that their favorite work is a deconstruction in order to "elevate" it... but that is another history). And as I can understand the desire of exploring tropes and themes in a different light sometimes I do not see the point of insisting on revealing the feet of clay and trying to "show" or "prove" that your favorite fantasy is a dumb idea or a horrible, awful nightmare.

 

But I digress.

 

My point is Madoka is a deconstruction (something that I am leery of) of the magical girl series (a genre that I care little for). So I feel little motivation to watch it.

 

Not that I could not give it a try. Majokko Meg-chan is also a deconstruction of the magical girl genre (often the titular character gets defeated. Or she gets physically hurt and her magic can not heal it so she has to live with her wounds. And although she fights monsters, demons and rival witches she constantly finds and has to fix things that her magic can not solve -child abandonment, broken relationships...- and comes to regard the dark side of the human nature like her worst enemy-. And the series central theme is she growing from a childish brat into an adult, compassionate, wise woman, not into fighting some evil empire) and I kind of want to check it (good luck with it, though. It is hard to find). But again, I digress...

[Sedna]

Hmmm ... I sense a slightly touch of irony here! ;)

You got me...

[rocci]

What do you mean?

There is nothing change from the love triangle.

[Liu bie]

There is nothing change from the love triangle.

I can say too that if  NS  doesn't become canon Naruto manga would end like School Rumble  of course just in  the plot romance.

 

On another hand there are animes that have best finales like Card Captors Sakura. The confession  in the anime, then the anime's ending was not enough they made the movie.

[Khaleesi]

worst final: Mekaku city actors

[CloudMountainJuror]

 

Yes? Its plot makes sense, its characters go anywhere and its ending is coherent?

 

Okay, then it is not like Evangelion.

 

I do not think that I will watch it, thought. Let me explain:

 

Before I ever heard about Sailor Moon I had already watched some Magical Girls series (Creamy Mami, Mahou no Star Magical Emi... even Sally the Little Witch, I think. That is the first magical girl anime). I found them entertaining and I watched some episodes but I did not care much for them. They were series for little girls, what is fine and good, but I was not their target audience.

 

I have become quite leery and wary of deconstructions. I have liked some series that were a deconstruction or deconstructed some trope (by the way, I have the feeling of tvtropes overuses and abuses that word. A trope is used in a harsher way than usual? Oh, it HAS to be a deconstruction. I have the feeling of a lot of tropers think that deconstruction=mature and adult so they try to prove that their favorite work is a deconstruction in order to "elevate" it... but that is another history). And as I can understand the desire of exploring tropes and themes in a different light sometimes I do not see the point of insisting on revealing the feet of clay and trying to "show" or "prove" that your favorite fantasy is a dumb idea or a horrible, awful nightmare.

 

But I digress.

 

My point is Madoka is a deconstruction (something that I am leery of) of the magical girl series (a genre that I care little for). So I feel little motivation to watch it.

 

Not that I could not give it a try. Majokko Meg-chan is also a deconstruction of the magical girl genre (often the titular character gets defeated. Or she gets physically hurt and her magic can not heal it so she has to live with her wounds. And although she fights monsters, demons and rival witches she constantly finds and has to fix things that her magic can not solve -child abandonment, broken relationships...- and comes to regard the dark side of the human nature like her worst enemy-. And the series central theme is she growing from a childish brat into an adult, compassionate, wise woman, not into fighting some evil empire) and I kind of want to check it (good luck with it, though. It is hard to find). But again, I digress...

 

That's fine and understandable; I just wanted to make sure you weren't purposely avoiding Madoka because of the Evangelion factor alone.

[chouzu_tao]

Worst finales:

• Soul Eater
  
  • Not just the finale, but the ending as a whole disappointed enough to the point where I never really want to visit the show again.
  
  

Not to get off topic (although it is my thread) but how did you feel about the manga ending? While I also don't like the ending of the anime, I do applaud that instead of leaving it open ended or having one of those "the asura is still out there, our heroes will continue to grow stronger until they finally meet him" endings they took a risk and created their own ending. 

 

 

Sometimes I think that Japanese creatives do not know how ending a series properly. Anyway, as far as I can remember now...

 

Best Finales:

 

 

- Usually Rumiko Takahashi gets criticized because her series often have disappointing endings. Maison Ikkoku is the exception that confirms the rule. 

 

I thought Inuyasha's Finale was satisfying. It wasn't great but it made sense.

 

Bad Finales: Bad finales in manga and anime series usually fit in two categories: they are too open-ended, leave too loose ends and unexplained stuff and are unsatisfying; or they are a mind-screw.

 

^ Truth. Do you feel that many of the open-ended finales are due to the manga not finishing yet? But I definitely feel like the open-ended finales are the more abundant ones, you're right.

 

[nikki1314]

I can't think of much. as I'm very picky with my Anime/Manga.

 

Rave Defs is one of the Better Endings i've read.

 

on the Bad Endings side..

 

I think I'd like to just get this off my chest..

 

Freakin COOKING MASTER BOY! WHY :(( didn't you finish. Ten Years + have come and Gone, Yet you are still incomplete T__________T

[Liu bie]

Saint Seiya (classic) bad or good ending?