I say “Anime Endings” but really most of what will be on this list can be applied to a variety of works, from blockbusters to epics. What I am attempting to do is understand and examine the particulars of different kinds of emotions produced by conclusions. I do not mean to try and categorize specific genre endings or go into immense detail but instead wish to broaden the scope of my categories. What I will be addressing are not the quality of the endings, since I believe, that enjoyment is subjective but rather try and categorize the feelings that I (and hopefully others) commonly have after finishing an anime show or movie. Any examples I use will be shows that gave me the following feelings, please, feel free to disagree.

1.The “I don’t really remember” endings

I remember every anime I have ever watched but it is impossible to remember everything from the viewing experience. However, the ending is the one section that you do not want to have the audience forget because, assuming they enjoyed the show enough to make it to the end, the viewer is waiting for the big pay-off. My example for this ending is “The Devil is a Part Timer,” my number 20 in favorite anime. A blend of comedy, slice of life and fantasy the show produces a hysterical experience but for the life of me I can’t remember how it ended. But, I guess, I’d rather an ending I don’t remember more than a bad ending.

2.The “When is season two/sequel coming out?” endings

In anime this type of ending is not only commonplace but often expected going into some shows. “One Piece” has broken 700 episodes and is probably close to reaching 800 by now and there is no real end in sight. A better example though, considering “One Piece” and the other two big three shows have a tendency not to end, would be “Yona of the Dawn,” “Shokugeki No Soma” or any other half completed show. Shokugeki No Soma is actually receiving its second season this upcoming summer season (not that I’m super hyped for it to come out or anything, baka).

3.The “This needs another season but I know it probably won’t get one” endings

These endings are the second most upsetting endings. The anime in this category need a second or third season and most likely will not get one. There is no better example of this than “Spice and Wolf,” the beautiful narrative weaves a character drama more beautiful than almost any other show and it is ended prematurely. The viewer leaves disappointed that the season ended and praying for a sequel that will never come. The “read the manga too get the full story” endings are also in this category.

4.The “Well that was a letdown” endings

These endings are bad. However, despite the experience of the ending, the viewing experience as a whole was acceptable. In short, the ending can be brushed off without much thought. The two shows I would like to use as examples are very different “Wagnaria!” a quirky slice of life anime has a one-hour series finale that was completely boring and anti-climactic but in the grand scheme of things the show was fun, engaging and worth re-watching. The second example I’m going to use is “Kekkai Sensen” a supernatural action anime with an unnecessarily convoluted ending that left me with questions unanswered. A bad ending for a mediocre show, maybe worth the re-watch if I want to watch that strange mushroom person episode (yes, I would rewatch an entire show for one episode).

5.The “They could have done that better” endings

These endings are better than the endings talked about in number four but you feel more let down after these endings than the endings of those shows. Why might that be? These shows are usually significantly better than those in four and a kind of disappointment comes from watching the end. I’m going to use the show “Shimoneta” as my example here, this raunchy superhero comedy ends decently but I could’t help but find myself asking if there was any retribution for this world where dirty jokes don’t exist (by the way SOX is the greatest name for this sexual terrorist organization).

6.The “Alright, not bad” endings

If I were to say that these are the run of the mill average endings, well, then I’d be lying because naturally a viewer will polarize an ending to either good or bad rather than this sort of neutral stand point. These endings, basically, have no effect on your viewing experience. My example for this is the ending to “Hunter x Hunter” (2011), a long series with some spectacular storytelling, that resolves the main conflict beautifully but leaves the viewer still slightly unsatisfied.

7.The “That was pretty damn good” endings

These endings should be the goal of every show. If the initial reaction reaches this point, I would consider it a job well done. I would consider the endings of “Kill La Kill,” “Parasyte,” “Yu Yu Hakusho” and any number of other great shows.

8.The “Well, that just ruined the show, I’m gonna try and pretend like that didn’t happen” endings

I have only encountered two viewing experiences this bad and of those I have already written about one of them (the other, if you’re curious, is “Monthly Girl’s Nozakikun”- but the girl has an adorable bow so I’ll probably re-watch it for that reason alone, at some point) and so I’m going to use an American sitcom to exemplify this feeling. If you’ve ever watched the entirety of “How I Met Your Mother,” well then you know this exact feeling.

9.The “WHAT DID I JUST WATCH?” endings

These endings, in short, are the best of the best and not only that but you will most likely find yourself comparing other anime in the same genre to these endings; “Toradora!” for romances, “Death Parade” for shows with emotional climaxes, “Toppa Tengen Gurren Laggan” for action thrillers, “Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt” for I don’t even know but I wanted to put this ending in here, “School Live!” for post-apocalyptic zombie thrillers disguised as cute moe blob shows and “Katanagatari” (oh wait, sorry, this shows ending was awful, I’m just really angry at it, it’s the exemplary number eight). Before moving on I would like to shine a spotlight on a show that I don’t particularly like but had a fantastic ending that I still regard as one of the best 60 some anime later, that show is “Future Diaries” which has an ending that I believe was written almost to perfection. It has a blend of complexity and satisfaction that most horroresque shows fail to comprehend.

10.The “They tried way too hard” endings

I’m looking at you “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” These endings truly aren’t bad but whenever I see them I’m left wondering “wow, that was unnecessarily complicated” or “so they did that just to be smart.” It’s as if I were to use an unnecessarily convoluted sentence to demonstrate my ever increasing frustration with this specific manner of conclusions to a work. Honestly, I don’t really mind them but I can’t help but leave the anime with a little less respect than when I went in.

Now I may have missed a type of ending or two and honestly this essay is quite long already and probably doesn’t need an extra paragraph but there is something I want to address. I would like to address a common misconception “Happy endings are bad and Complicated endings are good.” An ending should fit the flavor of the show; if a show is happy, let it end in a simple feel good way; if a show is dark, I expect a dark ending; if a show is dark but simple, it wouldn’t need a complex twist or overblown action to complete it. “Amagi Brilliant Park” is an excellent example of this, a twist in the narrative increases the stakes of the climax but it ends happily with all problems happily solved, even if one is quite the Deus Ex Machina. I would never expect this show to end in any other way but happy and feel good; I don’t want to watch a comedy about an amusement park with talking mascots from a different world end with the park closing or (mumble mumble mumble) losing her (mumble), it’s simply not appropriate.