While the world of cartoon production runs under very different rules than American TV shows, but there’s still one end result that every fan fears: an unfinished series. It’s very rare for anime to be “cancelled” the way American shows do – that is, delaying the show and ending it midway, in part because the success of the anime is determined by more Blu-ray sales. TV ratings. Even so, it’s especially common for an anime to start an adaptation of a light novel or manga and then suddenly stop. Some of these series are extremely high quality, but for whatever reason, only a small portion of the entire story is adapted.
Here is a list of 10 critically acclaimed anime series that ended with a lot of material left to adapt, of various genres. Since it is almost impossible to rank things that are too different from each other, the items on this list are not sorted in any particular way.
10 Wonderland of the Dead
Deadman Wonderland is a 2011 film series about an extremely violent prison system where blood-powered inmates, known as the Sins Branch, are forced to compete in gladiator games to entertain the people. Protagonist Ganta Igarashi is an ordinary high school student who sees his class slaughtered by a mysterious figure and implanted with a strange gem. Investigators quickly found the boy innocent, sending him to the death prison/amusement park known as Deadman Wonderland. Ganta must fight in these gladiator games to stay alive, as well as navigate the prison culture, while trying to find a way to clear his name. Despite the potential premise, having the series come to an end after 12 volumes (plus an OVA after that), covering about 20 chapters, there’s still more than half of the manga’s story to tell.
9 Ranma 1/2
Rumiko Takahashi’s gender-bending story is a classic of late ’80s and early ’90s anime, and a breakthrough for the comedic anime series. The story follows Ranma, a boy on a trip to China who fell into a cursed stream where a girl once drowned, causing him to turn into a girl whenever cold water was poured on him. Of course, Hijinks happens after that, but the anime’s story abruptly ends as soon as Ranma’s mother enters the story. What happened was that Ranma 1/2’s anime caught up with the manga, which required extra creation, but the production studio went bankrupt shortly after, leaving the story unfinished forever. The manga continued for another three years after the anime ended.
8 Fruit Baskets
Fruits Basket is a slice of life romantic comedy with supernatural elements. The film tells the story of Tohru Honda, a girl who is made homeless by evil relatives after her mother’s tragic death, and how she learns of the Sohma family, who are cursed to turn into living beings. different animals in the 12 zodiac signs when stressed. Fruits Basket got its first anime adaptation in 2001, lasting 26 episodes before ending abruptly. It is known that the director of the anime and the author of the manga have a big difference in terms of creativity, leading to mangaka Natsuki Takaya not liking this first adaptation. While the 2001 anime never continued, fans finally received a second complete adaptation of Fruits Basket in 2019.
7 spices and wolves
Spice and Wolf is a fantasy series about merchant Kraft Lawrence, who travels the world selling his wares until he lands in the town of Pasloe, where an ancient goddess named Holo was once worshiped. Holo was indeed sealed and unwittingly freed by Lawrence; she then asks to travel with him and see how the world has changed while she was sealed. The anime lasted for two seasons of 12 episodes, premiering in 2008 and 2009, but then abruptly stopped. However, the Spice and Wolf light novel series has a total of 24 books, meaning there’s a huge amount of content that has never been adapted, which is sadly common with light novel-based series.
6 Kaze does not discriminate
Also based on a light novel series, Kaze no Stigma follows Kazuma, a boy banished from his clan for being defeated in a contest for ownership of the legendary sword that will make him his successor. family. During his exile, Kazuma mastered Airbending, and eventually returned home, though not because of a major confrontation, but just a contract to kill demons. However, at the same time, members of Kazuma’s family began to be murdered, and the culprit apparently used wind magic. It was adapted into a 24-episode series in 2007, which includes a fair amount of the 6 main light novels. Unfortunately, the author of the Kaze No Stigma light novel, Takahiro Yamato, passed away in 2009, meaning this is a story that never had a chance to end well.
5 No Game No Life
Another series that began as a light novel, No Game No Life follows Sora and Shiro, two siblings, as they win a game of chess against the god of games, who transports them to a new world where everyone The matter is decided by high stakes games. . Two brothers conspire to take over the world with their gaming skills and become the new gods of the game. No Game No Life was adapted into a 12-episode anime in 2014, at the height of the series’ popularity, but was scrapped completely thereafter. The series would have a prequel film, No Game No Life: Zero, in 2017, but the anime’s story never had a proper conclusion. The anime covers only the first three episodes, while the series includes the sixth episode, skipping episodes 4 and 5.
4 noise!
The pattern continued with Baccano, another series that began as a light novel. Baccano’s story is complex, told in a non-linear fashion with scenes spanning three anime time periods. The 2007 anime spanned 13 episodes and was reasonably concluded, with 3 additional episodes adding more detail. Again, however, this is just the tip of the Baccano iceberg; At this time, there are 22 light novel volumes, usually identified by the year in which they are set, spanning from 1705 to 2002. The original anime is overrated, especially for the music, so it’s a pity. when the series was unable to continue to adapt to this completely wild world.
3 passionate masters
An earlier manga by Fairy Tail’s Hiro Mashima, Rave Master is an incredible fantasy series with some big ideas. The English version of the anime is also famous for its opening theme by the band Ska Reel Big Fish. The anime ran for 51 episodes, which seems pretty respectable, but those 51 episodes only make up about a third of the manga, which lasted another three years after the anime ended. Mashima has a special love for Rave Master, and often hopes for a complete adaptation of the series. In the meantime, though, Rave Master fans might want to check out the crossover episode with Fairy Tail, as it’s the last major content featuring these characters.
2 Suzumiya Haruhi’s Melancholy
Haruhi Suzumiya’s anime was hugely popular when it first premiered in 2006, and it maintained its popularity long enough to be watched two seasons of 14 episodes and a movie in 2010, The Disappearance by Haruhi Suzumiya. The exact circumstances of the anime’s ending are unknown, but its second season includes the highly controversial “Endless Eight,” in which the same episode was recorded and replayed eight times, something that fans feel is a huge waste of budget and effort. However, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya includes only the 4th light novel, with 8 more books still completely unadapted. Given the popularity of the once-in-a-lifetime series, it’s shocking to see how much of it remains in book form only, and many fans have been hoping for a revival for years.
1 Gum crisis
By far the oldest example on this list, Bubblegum Crisis is an OVA (Original Video Animation, similar to live video) series that was released between 1987 and 1991. The series only lasted 8 years. episode, but it is considered influential, especially in the realm of cyberpunk anime. Bubblegum Crisis is also unique in that it is an original anime, not adapted from a manga or light novel, so it is unknown where the story will go. It is known that many episodes were planned, but the legal dispute between the two studios that own the copyrights made the series never have a proper ending. Bubblegum Crisis eventually saw a reboot, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, which ran from 1998 to 1999 and many consider this version superior. Still, it’s hard not to wonder how the original series’ ending could have been planned.
Unlike most American TV shows, anime’s tendency to adapt other media means dedicated fans can still find out what happened in (most) anime series get canceled, but that doesn’t soften much to know that it will never end on screen. Maybe one day, these cartoon the series could be rebooted, like Trigun, and finally have a chance to be adapted with a proper ending.