When talking about some of the greatest anime ever, we forget to point out how many of them end up having disappointing endings. Be it leaving whole fanbases disappointed or abruptly ending without a proper closure.
Below, we have listed some of the most popular shows out there that turned out to have a disappointing ending.
Greatest anime endings that disappointed fans
Death Note
Death Note is one of the greatest anime out there. A name that is recognized easily even by people who do not watch anime. It is also one of the highest rated animated media in various websites and often appears in recommendation lists.
The show is lauded for its brilliant premise and characters such as the protagonist Light, and L on the opposing side. However, the show’s ending left fans with a lot to desire for.
It tries to establish a proper rivalry between the protagonist and L’s successor, Near. But it ends up feeling underwhelming and thus makes it a disappointing ending to what was such an amazing start to a great show.
Berserk (1997)
Berserk can be considered as one of the greatest dark fantasy manga ever written, but barely any good anime adaptations under its belt, as most of them fail to capture the essence of the original source material. Except for the original Berserk anime from 1997
Even though the show omits some of the integral parts from the manga, such as completely removing the elf companion Puck, it does not falter behind in terms of being a worthy adaptation, and that’s a fact which is heavily agreed upon by the community itself.
The disappointing ending of the show comes from the fact that it just ends after some of the most important events that occur in the manga. The rest of the source material has never been adapted faithfully.
Attack on Titan
Created by Hajime Isayama, known as Shingeki no Kyojin in Japan, Attack on Titan has to be one of the greatest anime from recent times with worldwide critical acclaim.
The story has a unique premise, throwing humanity at the brink of an extinction-level threat from the beings known as titans, and are left to fend of for themselves. With a varied cast of characters, the show explores the mysteries of this world as it slowly unfolds.
The ending of the show could be one of the more disappointing ones, causing a continuous debate in the fandom. As it stumbles to find the perfect closure to the story and relations between some important characters
Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt
Gainax is definitely up there with some of the best anime studios known for incredible shows and revolutionizing the sakuga style of animation. Unfortunately, the studio doesn’t exist anymore, but the talented staff are out there working with other incredible studios.
One of the more popular and unconventional shows animated by Gainax was Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. The show followed two angles who were discarded by heaven for misconduct and their quest to pick themselves back up to grace.
The show’s ending is controversial and disappointing, as it just ends abruptly with an insane cliffhanger that is better watched than spoiled. But the good thing is that the show is reportedly coming back and hopefully will answer every fan’s long-awaited questions.
High School of the Dead
High School of the Dead was one of the greatest anime out there that tackled the usual tried and done plot of humanity fending off a zombie apocalypse. But this show set itself apart by pitting high schoolers in the role with a lot of fan service.
The original manga was written by Daisuke Sato and illustrated by Shoji Sato. Unfortunately, the writer passed away in the year 2017 due to ischaemic heart disease. It was an untimely death that left the original source material incomplete.
In turn, the anime fans were left hanging with a disappointing ending. The studio decided to respect the author’s work and not continue animating the series anymore with a new writer, which most media try to do.
Fullmetal Alchemist
When talking about one of the greatest anime ever, Fullmetal Alchemist often comes up in a lot of discussions. Hiromu Arakawa is an incredible manga author with a lot of variety in her works. From a Fantasy set in a world war type era to experiences in farm life.
But we are here to talk about the original Full Metal Alchemist anime, which a lot of people aren’t aware of since Brotherhood is the proper adaptation of the original source material.
The original anime aired in 2003, but it deviated from the main source material and created its own plot and resolution. This left fans disappointed with the ending as it did not do a good job of providing closure to character arcs and the relationship between them.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya can be considered among the greatest shows out there when talking about being influential in establishing the moe subgenre in anime. Originally adapted from a light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa.
The main show turned out to be the center of attention on the internet around the mid-2000s, giving rise to a lot of discourses and memes. By today’s standards, the show was like any other high school anime that dealt with odd occurrences such as espers and aliens.
But this show was different enough to do it back in the day, which helped it garner a lot of popularity, only to end with a disappointing ending. It did not get a proper closure to many of the interesting plot points started by the show and its characters.
