The List

7 Frustrating Anime Cliffhangers

You've heard it before over and over: "Anime is just an advertising tool for the manga." That's all well and good but is there anything as frustrating as watching 26+ episodes of plot only for it to never tie up at the end? Some series keep you hooked until the very last moment before taking a huge break (InuYasha) or get an ending redo via a movie (End of Evangelion). Others have the credits roll while fans thrash in agony hoping for some kind of continuation.

7. Claymore Claymore was the violent shonen-fantasy title of 2007. The series brought a medieval setting, monsters, a cold-yet-cool female protagonist, and lots of action to keep viewers watching. As Clare prepares to face off against her arch-nemesis, the audience is also introduced to some big-bad Awakened Ones with a lot of prophetic dialogue...that goes nowhere. The final battle also ends in a frustrating "conclusion."

6. Fruits Basket Viewers never learn all of the secrets of the Sohma family. We get well-enough resolution to Kyo's arc and backstory, but the series' arguable antagonist is Akito who is never adequately fleshed out in the television series. In the last episode, Tohru makes a visit to Akito where much of nothing happens. The manga has long ended along with the fandom to push for more screen time for the series.

5. Highschool of the Dead The campy horror series has remained popular stateside despite its non-ending. Does the crew survive the zombie apocalypse? Do Takeshi and Rei ever find a safe enough place to bone? These are important questions for inquiring minds but the manga's creators continue to take extended breaks, delaying any potential anime sequels.

4. Darker than Black The creators already took a risk in season two by revamping Hei's character and adding an alcohol problem. As the series culminates its sci-fi espionage plot threads, the series pulls a Cowboy Bebop with Hei's fate undecided. Studio Bones has kept itself busy with many original projects since, and doesn't appear to have any intention of revisiting Darker than Black.

3. Gantz The "super edgy" sci-fi murder game spared no one. Children, little old ladies, girlfriends, best friends, were killed by weird aliens indiscriminately. The survival game is controlled by a black sphere called "Gantz" and that's about all the audience ever learns after 26 episodes. The last episode instead cuts to a strange, possibly metaphoric train station sequence. We never find out if Kei is alive or any of the real motivations behind Gantz.

2. Berserk The Berserk anime television series made ended with a punch in the stomach. Gutz is left in a hellish world and carrying the wounds of betrayal. The anime series wrapped in 1998 but hope was renewed with the manga was picked up again for a set of films almost 15 years later. Those hopes were dashed when Studio 4°C decided to revisit the same early storyline again for its CG-blended anime movies.





1. Tokko GTO's Tohru Fujisawa decided to try his hand at a horror with Tokko, a story following a special police unit and its new recruit. In Tokko demons are real and the group is tasked with retrieving 108 pieces of an evil box to stop the influx of demons tearing people apart. Despite what sounds like a long-winding task for salvation, the show wraps in 13-episodes. Except the villain isn't really dead and the demons are still running amok. What was the point again?

The new poll: What are your reactions when a series leaves off on a cliffhanger?

The old poll: Last week's poll asked, "How many conventions do you attend a year?" (anything less than 1% is not shown)

1. 1-2 46.0%
2. I've never been to a convention 37.3%
3. 3-4 9.2%
4. I go to cons, but not anime cons 1.9%
5. I staff some, and attend some 1.9%
6. 5-6 1.5%
7. I only go as a staff member 1.1%