Top 10 Anime with the Worst Endings

The Top Ten

Berserk

Berserk, also known as Sword-Wind Chronicle Berserk, is a Japanese anime television series that aired from 1997 to 1998. An adaptation of the manga Berserk, it comprises 25 half-hour episodes produced by Oriental Light and Magic. The series first aired on Nippon TV and covers the Golden Age Arc from... read more

I agree, not only is it disturbing, but it is also a tragic ending to such a great tale for the Band of the Hawk, losing their leader and soon their lives just to regain the strength of their leader. It is truly the worst spoiling ending in anime history.

It's amazing how fast we can go from mourning over a character's suffering to loathing them. Although the manga continues past this point, the anime ends at this scene.

No, I don't want that! Casca finding another man?! I want her to think about me and no one else for the rest of my life! Even after I die, I want to be at the front of her mind for a while! Ten years, at least!
Soul Eater

Soul Eater is an anime series directed by Takuya Igarashi and produced by Bones, Aniplex, Dentsu, Media Factory, and TV Tokyo. It adapts the Soul Eater manga written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. The anime aired in Japan from April 2008 to March 2009.

Soul Eater is one of my favorite anime series. Good plot, good characters, good character development, and good animation. It was a pretty good series. But the ending just seemed kind of implausible, like when Maka turned into a weapon and defeated the Kishin with "bravery." By "bravery," I mean a punch in the face. Yeah, because none of the other characters were brave when they went headfirst into battle!
I don't know, it just made Maka kind of appear to be Mary Sue-ish by the end. I loved the series, I loved the characters, I loved the villains, I loved everything about it except the ending.

Worst. Anime. Ending. EVER. Seriously! It's like they got lazy after they went to that snowy place involved with Brew and were like, "You know what? It's just going to end like this."
And then they gave it a crappy, lazy ending. Maka defeated the supposedly awesome Kishin with just "bravery." What?! That's it? It was that easy the whole time? They seriously need to redo this anime and follow the manga more closely, like Brotherhood almost.
Death Note

Death Note is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a gifted high school student with a strong sense of justice who discovers a notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing their name in it. His actions as... read more

1. L and Light were an incredible pair, being polar opposites in every manner except intelligence. Near and Light, on the other hand, had little contrast.
2. Light's death both went against his character as dignified and collected and was due to a simple and, once again, uncharacteristic miscalculation that hardly built on the plot in past episodes. If they were going to kill Light, it could have been done in a much more creative manner. This seemed like the producer announced two weeks beforehand that the show had to end, and the writers were just trying to meet a deadline.
While I was admittedly rooting for Light, if only to extend the series, I would have accepted if they had killed him off while staying true to the show.
Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan, known in Japan as Shingeki no Kyojin, is a widely acclaimed anime series created by Hajime Isayama. The series premiered in Japan in April 2013 and debuted in English in the United States in 2014. It is recognized for its emotional storytelling, post-apocalyptic setting, and thrilling... read more

Until Season 2 comes out, this is going to be on this list.

Thank God Season 2 came out and saved this anime.
Claymore

Claymore is a dark fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. It first appeared in the May 2001 issue of the now-defunct Monthly Shōnen Jump but was later transferred to one of its sister magazines due to its mature content. The story centers on Clare, a warrior who hunts shape-shifting... read more

A cliffhanger after several episodes of intense combat, right when you needed that cathartic ending.

Such a great anime series with great female warriors, but the ending...? WHY? This needs to be season 2.
Naruto

Naruto is an anime and manga franchise created by Masashi Kishimoto. The manga was adapted into a television anime series produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered on TV Tokyo and other TX Network stations on October 3, 2002.... read more

The plot was great, the characters were great, but the ending wasn't good at all.
Firstly, 700 chapters for what?! Honestly, what happened to immature, irresponsible Naruto? He barely spent a quarter of the series being a child!
Second, how did Naruto become Hokage? How did Sasuke actually get freed after what he did? Sasuke should have had his butt thrown in jail for the rest of his life. He's just an emo idiot who isn't represented as anything but that.
Third, the sequel. It was horrible. The children of all the characters were the exact same as the originals. Why make them have rubbish versions of the originals with the exact same, if not worse, personality traits as the original characters?
I didn't like the ending at all. If you liked it, go ahead and do whatever, but hey, this is my opinion.
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (Japanese: パンティ＆ストッキングwithガーターベルト, Hepburn: Panti ando Sutokkingu wizu Gātāberuto) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Gainax. The series aired from October to December 2010 on BS Nittele and features a distinct animation style inspired by American cartoons... read more

"Newsflash, I'm really a demon." Like, what Stocking?! Just ruined it all with insane confusion. Cliffhanger! Cliffhanger!
School Days

An anime series was developed by TNK with joint production by Avex Entertainment, Lantis, Marvelous Entertainment, Pony Canyon, and Jinnan Studio.
The twelve television episodes of the anime aired in Japan between July 3, 2007, and September 27, 2007, on TV Kanagawa. On July 4, 2007, Chiba TV... read more

It was bloody and disturbing, and it had the worst logic. Vengeful murder and beheading made me vomit. The anime was bad, and the ending made it worse (better for a few people as the biggest anime jerk got killed).

This anime ending was really crappy. I really did like it when the MC died, though, as he deserved it, but I was really sad about how it all ended. After all those long, complex relationship problems, they fixed it all by killing two people and leaving the used, victimized girl to suffer from emotional and mental trauma. WHAT THE HECK!
Akame ga Kill!

Akame ga Kill! (アカメが斬る!, Akame ga Kiru!) is a Japanese manga series written by Takahiro and illustrated by Tetsuya Tashiro, serialized in Gangan Joker. It received an anime adaptation that premiered on July 6, 2014, and concluded on December 14, 2014. The story follows a group of assassins fighting against... read more

The ending felt rushed. It could have been so much better, but all the ending did was make the revolution feel pointless. At least the citizens are happy, right?

This was the anime Game of Thrones Simulator 2014. They kill all the major characters off except Akame.

I didn't like how they killed everyone but Akame. The biggest spoiler was in the name!
Gantz

Yeah, and the manga ending was rushed and not really interesting. There are still so many BIG unanswered questions. My main one was who was the guy with the godlike powers the reporter talked to?

We don't even know what happened at the end, and the worst part is that the anime doesn't follow the manga directly, so there's no way to find out. I'm so pissed.

The Newcomers

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Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry

Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry is one of those shows that was going really well, but the ending is horrible and fails to tie up loose ends. The series is about Sara Werec as she tries to find out why her once kindhearted brother suddenly becomes a cold-blooded killer. Throughout the anime, Sara develops relationships with other characters, experiences struggles, tries to survive with her new friends, and discovers the truth behind her brother's actions.
This anime's way of storytelling is like one of those where most of the episodes set up mysteries that will be answered in the last few episodes. Unfortunately, the last few episodes of this anime were truly unsatisfying.
During the series, Sara also forms a relationship with a mysterious entity named Emily, who is revealed in Episode 10 to be the very thing that turned Ralph murderous. In fact, Emily is actually a member of an alien race that consisted of identical beings centuries ago, and scientists constantly tortured them to access their technology. This led to the surviving Emilys trying to rescue the captured ones. During the scene, Ralph realizes how wrong it is to treat the alien species unfairly, and one Emily brainwashes him.
Shocking, right? Well, sadly, that tragedy was trashed because after Sara learns the truth about everything, she suddenly becomes unlikable and misunderstanding. She somehow and literally blames Ralph for everything and treats it as if it was all his fault, even though she's aware that Ralph was being mind-controlled. Even the Emily Sara became friends with somehow antagonizes Ralph all of a sudden, even though it was her technology that controlled him. How does that make sense?
It's like the explanation for everything was all put to waste, and now the writing neglects that and goes cynical, inconsistent, and unsatisfying.... read more
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Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers

The Contenders

Highschool of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead, known in Japan as Apocalyptic Academy: Highschool of the Dead, is a Japanese manga series written by Daisuke Satō and illustrated by Shōji Satō. The series was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age magazine from 2006 until 2013. It combines themes of survival horror... read more
Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is a series of Japanese light novels written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. In 2012, it was adapted into an anime by A-1 Pictures and the SAO Project, directed by Tomohiko Ito. The first season features two arcs, "Aincrad" and "Fairy Dance," and it was followed by a second... read more

SAO's ending is lazy but satisfying because the worst character in the series is finally punished. It's so underexplained that the ending of SAO is actually worse than every video game ending I could possibly think of and even worse than some anime endings. They didn't explain why Kayaba helped Kirito all of a sudden or how the hell Kirito escaped death for the second time. Hell, Bloodborne's three endings are more explained than this.

Come on, it may not have been the greatest ending in anime, but it is far from the worst. Everything was resolved at the end of Season 1 of Sword Art Online. Sugou gets put into jail, Kirito reunites with Asuna, Kirito brings closure with Suguha, and Aincrad is brought back in New ALO. Pretty decent ending! I loved it! Could be better, but I loved it.
Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion, commonly referred to as Evangelion or Eva, is a Japanese animated television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production. It was directed by Hideaki Anno and originally aired in Japan from October 1995 to March 1996. The series is known for its psychological depth, complex... read more

The ending of the series was strange and confusing, to say the least. I was not pleased with how it ended, and when I found out that there was a "true" ending in the sequel film, I got super pumped. To my bewilderment, somehow the movie ending was even worse than the one in the show.
It completely ruined Shinji as a character, and the whole thing seemed like a rush job. It really felt like a huge slap in the face. I'm all for somber endings, but this one just felt unwarranted and out of place.

Episodes 25 and 26 of the original anime sucked! I understand that Shinji's character development was a big part of the story, but there was way too much commitment to the details of the universe to throw it away. The many remakes are okay but still don't fully wrap things up, in my opinion.
Princess Tutu

Princess Tutu is a Japanese magical girl anime series created by Ikuko Itoh in 2002 for the animation studio Hal Film Maker. Inspired by ballet and fairy tales, particularly The Ugly Duckling and Swan Lake, the story follows a duck who is transformed into the mythical ballerina Princess Tutu in order... read more

(Spoilers! Don't read this comment if you haven't seen all the episodes.) The story was excellent, but the ending was terrible. Ahiru, after everything she did, gets nothing in the end, while two people who don't even deserve a happily ever after get one. The story ends with the words "a new story has begun." It sounds as if there's going to be a season 3, but it's already been around 10 years. Ikuko Itoh herself said that she already has a season 3 or a spin-off in mind, but what's taking her so long?
However, I really hate the idea of a spin-off. I want Ahiru as the protagonist. The majority of us love Ahiru. A spin-off would not be sufficient for the terrible ending she got. Ahiru and Fakir can't even get married! They can't even become a couple in that state. Ahiru is a duck and Fakir is a human! They deserve to be together. Either Fakir has to turn into a duck or Ahiru has to turn into a human.
Deadman Wonderland

Deadman Wonderland is a Japanese manga series written by Jinsei Kataoka and illustrated by Kazuma Kondou. It was serialized in Shōnen Ace from 2008 to 2013. The duo also collaborated on the Eureka Seven manga adaptation.

Come on, don't just stop when everything was getting good. There was an awesome fight between Ganta and Genkaku, and a character he met just died, leaving Ganta in tears. Then it just switches to Ganta still being stuck in Deadman Wonderland by the end of the anime. At least the manga can take it from there.

Another one of the "What? That's it?" endings that are so prevalent in anime.

Cliffhangers. Why does it have to be cliffhangers?! WHY?!
Bleach

Bleach is a Japanese anime series based on Tite Kubo's manga of the same name. The anime adapts the first 54 volumes of the manga and includes four anime-original arcs that aired alongside and between the main story arcs.
The story follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student with the ability... read more

All the important characters that made Bleach great went MIA. The fight with the mighty Yhwach went like yapping yapping yapping and done. So many plot holes and contradictions in characters. SO BAD!

The anime ending is good. The manga ending is what is terrible.
Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump magazine from June 2002 to August 2005. The series includes 107 chapters, which have been compiled into twelve tankōbon volumes.

I really liked the anime, but the ending was a major disappointment.

I didn't like that cliffhanger. Enough said.
Future Diary (Mirai Nikki)

Future Diary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno. It depicts a battle royale in which each combatant possesses a diary that can predict future events. The manga was serialized from 2006 to 2010 and was later adapted into a 26-episode anime television series in 2011.

This ending made me a little sad. Spoilers: Yuno loves Yuki so much that she sacrifices herself for him so he can become a god. After that, he is with only Murmur, and he must rule time for thousands of years. In the third timeline, he doesn't remember Yuno, and she doesn't remember him.

Unless you've watched the OVA like I did, you're pretty much left with an anime ending that makes no sense.

So in the end, he's just floating around in space for 500 years with a cell phone that dies.
Clannad: After Story

Clannad is an anime series based on a visual novel that follows the life of Tomoya Okazaki, a disaffected high school senior who struggles with his relationship with his alcoholic father and harbors resentment toward the town he lives in. Tomoya and his friend Yohei Sunohara spend much of their time... read more

Many people say that they hate this ending just because Nagisa and her daughter were brought back to life. Actually, they weren't brought back to life. The last scenes were just daydreams dreamt by Tomoya, imagining what could have been if his wife and daughter survived.

After a box of tissues, I get this! If I had a time machine, the first thing I would do is change the ending.

The thing that I like about its ending is that Nagisa dies.
No Game No Life

No Game No Life is a surreal comedy that follows Sora and Shiro, shut-in NEET siblings and the online gamer duo behind the legendary username "Blank." They view the real world as just another lousy game. However, a strange email challenging them to a chess match changes everything. The brother and sister... read more

I just loathed the ending. From day one, all I was waiting for was for Sora and Shiro to go up against Tet again in the new world they were warped to. However, due to the slow pacing of the anime series, I never got to see it. In fact, it wasn't the main focus of the anime!
All I got for an ending was Sora and Shiro beating some fox girl at a game so they could make peace with one of the nations and what appeared to be Sora and Shiro about to go challenge Tet. They could have done so much better with the anime. But with all the Steph sex torture, incest, panty shots, and pop culture references I got, what did I expect? Sigh. Just go watch Sword Art Online instead.
Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. It follows the adventures of Goku and the Z Warriors as they protect Earth from various villains. The series emphasizes themes of good versus evil and teaches values such as teamwork, loyalty, and perseverance.

Goku goes away to train some random guy he knew for ONE EPISODE, who ends up being turned into gum. He left his family, including his YOUNG GRANDDAUGHTER, for some random dude. If Goku wanted to train someone, he could've trained Bulma, Trunks, Krillin, or even Yamcha to be the future savior, but instead, he chose a character even the creators didn't care about. Worst anime ending yet.
Oreimo
Toradora!

Toradora! is a series of Japanese light novels written by Yuyuko Takemiya, with illustrations by Yasu. The story was adapted into an anime series directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai and produced by J.C.Staff.
The anime aired from 2008 to 2009 and follows high school students Ryuuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka... read more

The story was utterly cliche. The ending was hasty and childish. Very disappointed after experiencing how much people liked it and recommended it. It ain't that good.

I just wasn't satisfied with the ending. They should have gotten married!
Ouran High School Host Club

Ouran High School Host Club is a manga series by Bisco Hatori, serialized in Hakusensha's LaLa magazine from September 2002 to November 2010. The story follows a group of attractive male students who entertain female clients in a host club setting at the prestigious Ouran Academy.... read more

I just felt unfulfilled at the end of this anime. It didn't feel like it was actually done. So I read the manga, and like someone said, it ties up the loose ends and made me feel like it was an ending once the manga finished it. Even after a decade, I would still sign a petition, protest, etc., for a season 2 of this anime because that would just be the best thing, done correctly, obviously.

This ending felt like a middle finger to the face. I loved Ouran Highschool Host Club, and it's a shame that it didn't have a better ending. In fact, I probably would have given this series a 10/10 if it were not for that terrible ending.
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Lelouch of the Rebellion premiered in 2006 and is directed by Gorō Taniguchi with a script by Ichirō Ōkouchi. The story follows Lelouch, an exiled prince who gains the power to control others and uses it to wage a rebellion against a totalitarian empire. The anime has received widespread praise for its... read more