When it comes to writing a story, perhaps the hardest part is nailing down the ending. This is precisely why several talented writers over the years have delivered absolutely sensational stories, only to falter at the end and fail to deliver a proper conclusion to tie up all the loose ends. Anime series are notorious for having subpar or imperfect endings sometimes. Over the years, quite a few exciting anime series have ended on a rather disappointing note due to multiple plot threads not being developed properly, preventing otherwise great stories from getting a perfect 10/10 from fans.
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7
My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia is a brilliant series that fans all over the world love. This anime officially ended in 2025 and is considered one of the very best modern shonen. Despite that, however, the end of My Hero Academia was not perfect. While Kohei Horikoshi set up many plot points, not all of them were addressed in the epilogue.
Also, Izuku Midoriya losing the power in One For All and then getting a Hero armor was also something that many fans didn't like. The conclusion of Shigaraki's character arcs and many other characters, such as Bakugo and even the heteromorphs, felt a bit out of place and rushed. My Hero Academia's ending is not bad by any means and is definitely better than the average shonen anime out there; however, it is far from perfect and could have been much better.
6
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is one of the most controversial anime series out there, and despite its incredible popularity, its ending is not universally loved. Attack on Titans the ending saw the main character, Eren, go completely wild and resort to wiping out the vast majority of the human population by activating Rumbling. In the end, Eren got what he deserved after he was killed, but what's worse, he was portrayed as some kind of martyr who made a huge sacrifice for his people.
Along with this, there are many other storylines like Attack on Titan failed to deliver, making its ending one of the most controversial and largely disappointing. In fact, even the writer of the series, Hajime Isayama, previously said that he would have liked to change the ending if he possibly could.
5
The never promised land
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Creators: Kaiu Shirai and Demizu Posuka
The never promised land is a brilliant series with an exciting plot that offers great excitement from start to finish. However, when talking about The Promised Neverland, it is very important to distinguish between anime and manga. This is because the anime for the series, produced by CloverWorks, is incredibly rushed.
In fact, the final season adapted around 100 chapters in just a handful of episodes and even left out a couple of arcs entirely, which was a shock to many. The ending of Promised Neverland made absolutely no sense in the anime and is something that fans would like to forget. It is one of the lowest rated anime endings of all time.
4
Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail has never been the most popular shonen anime series, but it is truly a classic that is remembered to this day and is considered to be in the same generation as Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach, among others. While the series is by no means bad, the conclusion the anime received was far from perfect.
The last arc of the Fairy Tail series fell flat largely because there were very low stakes and hardly any tension in the story. More than that, the vast majority of the main characters continued to use the power of friendship to simply win over the enemies as they always have. More than that, death fakes, reincarnation and other things only made matters worse, and it got to the point where fans finally stopped caring about the series. While it's not the worst ending out there, it's certainly one that stands out as imperfect.
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3
Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul is another anime series where you have to distinguish between anime and manga. While manga for Tokyo Ghoul is phenomenal, the anime series is anything but. Tokyo Ghoul is one of the most rushed anime adaptations, as well as a terrible one. The flow of the series makes absolutely no sense, considering that the second season of the Tokyo Ghoul anime is an original from the director and does things completely differently than the manga.
What's worse is that the third season continues from the sequel manga to Tokyo Ghoul is called Tokyo Ghoul: Re, and the pace of this season is absolutely ferocious. Many important things are left out, some others are changed and some receive hardly any attention. Tokyo Ghoul is one of the worst adapted manga anime series out there with an imperfect ending.
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2
Death Note
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Creators: Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Death Note is often considered one of the best anime series, especially for people who are starting to get into anime; however, that does not protect it from criticism. Death Note has a very enjoyable first season, and up until the point where L dies, the series is really incredibly exciting. After L's death, Mello and Near take over, and this particular part of the story is difficult to get through.
Death Note loses all its charm after L's death, as one of the greatest anime rivalries is decimated. More than that, the satisfaction that fans would have gotten from seeing Light captured by L is basically removed, and two characters who only serve as clones of L are put in the front seat instead. Without a doubt, Death Note's ending leaves something to be desired.
1
Naruto
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Creator: Masashi Kishimoto
The Naruto the series is absolutely brilliant from start to finish, but like any other series it has its ups and downs. Specifically, the conclusion of the Fourth Great Ninja War, with the arrival of Kaguya Otsutsuki, is anything but perfect. But even more than that, Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage is not really fleshed out in the story.
Naruto being Hokage is shown briefly in the final chapter, and fans never really get to see him live out his dream. This, along with everything to do with Kaguya Otsutsuki towards the end, makes this ending an imperfect one that Kishimoto could definitely have improved upon. Thankfully Naruto has a sequel called Borutowhich expands on many of the mysteries left behind by the original series, as well as showing fans bits of the former protagonist as the Hokage. In many ways, this is a comfort to the fans of the series and something that they appreciate.
