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Makoto Shinkai's Five Centimeters per Second is another sort of bad ending that is fitting. The protagonists don't get together, despite their mutual attraction, but they move on.

Great list Lynzee (and suggester)!! Better than a lot of previous ones. Yes, for me Rebellion didn't happen, which makes the end of MM a fitting end to a well-written series. The Air anime ending I thought left the status of the curse in limbo as I was hoping that Yukito would break the curse, but he only gets transformed into a time-displaced crow (WTF) and spoiler[Misuzu dies anyway (was this tag even needed really?)] . For the new poll, I choose "all of the above", so hard to choose just one! I'd love to get an Amusphere for Christmas, an Anywhere Door for my birthday, a Death Note to deal with a-holes and trolls spoiler[(some reading this should hope to God I never learn your name if so)], a Sealing Wand for whatever it does since I'd love to try being a Magical Girl etc,etc

vv Edit: Yeah, I could accept that concept, you're right

Regarding MM, I I consider Rebellion an alternate ending to the series; basically, there's Madoka Magica, and Madoka Magica + Rebellion. I like both, honestly; MM on its own has an ending of hope and positivity, whereas MM+R goes a step further and focuses on a what-if scenario wherein spoiler[Homura cannot accept Madoka's sacrifice, which honestly totally fits in with her character arc and personality established throughout the whole series.] So yeah, not a happy ending for Rebellion, but definitely a fitting one.

While we're on the topic of potentially controversial endings, I have to say, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa is basically the epitome of such an ending to me. It's not the most "happy" ending many fans may have wanted, but it's absolutely the most thematically cohesive and fitting ending to that series.

Hiroki not Takuya wrote:

Yes, for me Rebellion didn't happen, which makes the end of MM a fitting end to a well-written series.

Wait, wait... why don't we leave the first, what, 2/3rds of the movie, and ignore the last portion? Then we get the happy ending we all wanted.

I'm not about happy ends, just completions to a story and not lame attempts to continue a finished one for $$. Please see my last edit Wink

Thanks for sticking up for Air, the Key/VisualArt's entry that is often either overlooked or degraded for its short running time (which I consider a blessing when compared to something like the three-cour tedium of Little Busters!). The ending works in my head better than my heart, but if nothing else, it's good for doomed characters to occasionally succumb to their fate, rather than let audiences assume a last-minute ass-pull salvation is always coming. Plus, the curse ends with her, and her aunt moves on with her life (even if this a borderline fridging).

I'm still OK with Madoka Magica: Rebellion, but I'm also really tired of arguing about it.

Now I'm wondering if Angel Beats! counts as a "bad end". It's the single best ending to a TV series I've ever seen, but man it sucks for Otonashi when the credits roll.

I only agree on School Days because it's a bad end to what I consider a TERRIBLE series about an absolutely awful character. I normally like harem shows and simply could not watch more than 2-3 episodes of School Days (once it became apparent what was going on). I later watched only the ending out of morbid curiosity, and I honestly feel zero sympathy for the MC but really sad for the two main girls.

I'm torn on whether "nice boat" was actually the greatest ending ever, or the absolute WORST for giving this show a meme to keep it alive well past when everyone would/should have forgotten about it.

Last edited by nhat on Sat May 06, 2017 1:28 pm; edited 3 times in total

I still consider Air my favorite Key series (though Clannad After Story is almost even with it) even though the main plot points isn't as well explained compare to the other series.

spoiler[I think that worked to the show's advantage in some ways. On the surface you can see the struggles of Yukito trying to save Misuzu and Haruko's moment near the end when she finally opened up to Misuzu in that very tender moment.

I think that in itself is one of the best stories created and if the viewer decide to dig deeper or already figured out themselves with the limited information, (mainly because of how short the series is), it's even more of a bitter, sad story because of Misuzu's fate]

Quote:

She manages to break her curse this time around, but she still dies, and her mother is still left grieving her loss anyway but if the situation had been anything different, the curse might have still continued.

spoiler[Yukito was able to break one of I believe 2 curses. His descendants should be trying to break the other one now but since I didn't read the VN, I'm not sure who will take that role on now that he doesn't really exist anymore]

Me: An anime item to use in my everyday life? Ooooh! The Anywhere Door!

Inner sadist me: *a few seconds later* A Death Note would be nice... Twisted Evil

The ending was absolutely the best part of Air, but for me that wasn't enough on its own to make up for the adaptation's numerous other flaws.

invalidname wrote:

Now I'm wondering if Angel Beats! counts as a "bad end". It's the single best ending to a TV series I've ever seen, but man it sucks for Otonashi when the credits roll.

I think Angel Beats' ending is too ambiguous to qualify as either "good" or "bad." People have been theorizing for years about that ending and what it means and what actually happened to Otonashi after spoiler[Kanade moved on], and how the epilogue scene fits in - to me it seems to fall more in the area of, "Interpret it whichever way you want to, happy or sad."

BTW, the poll doesn't seem to be adding write-in choices. The one I wrote in a couple of hours ago is still sitting in the "other" box.

Hmmmmm... What about Chrono Crusade?

Heh, when I saw Ringing Bell on there, I thought, "Yeah, this really deserves to be on the list." It is so messed up and depressing at times. I'd say this would be a good story to adapt to Hollywood, but it's guaranteed to flop due to Animation Age Ghetto being very unkind to it.

I voted for "Anywhere Door," because that'll make life super-convenient and I can take vacations to faraway places whenever I want. I'd be concerned about anyone who would actually vote for the Death Note on that list though. (Speaking of which, would Death Note qualify as having a downer ending that was deserved? Light is such an irredeemable smug cakehole that I don't really consider it a downer ending.)

I'm also glad to see AIR on the list. The reason KEY doesn't do more ending like it is because it wasn't that well received by game players, so in Clannad and going forward,
the endings have a much happier tone.

invalidname wrote:

... (which I consider a blessing when compared to something like the three-cour tedium of Little Busters!).

Just wondering if you ever finished Little Busters anime? IU know the anime isn't kyoani material, but they did a decent job. The Refrain arc is the best part of the series, and it totally on par with After Story. But it's the built up towards it that makes sense, without the stuff before it the impact isn't the same. The stories for the heroines aren't by any means imo, the best KEY has done in the past, but some are done pretty well. I feel like maybe you didn't give the series a fair look? Since I see that you do enjoy KEY's past works. But I think you will find the game on Steam perhaps more enjoyable.

Last edited by belvadeer on Sat May 06, 2017 3:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

Air's ending was definitely the most heartfelt and tear-inducing thing I've ever watched in 2006. Thing is, the presence of spoiler[those two kids on the beach Misuzu waved to in the first episode] confused a lot of viewers, but a statement from a staff member explained that mystery so that people wouldn't think spoiler[they were Yukito and Misuzu reincarnated; the kids represent us, the viewer].

Regarding Sailor Moon, yeah it was pretty obvious to anyone the others died during the journey to confront Queen Beryl. They really tried to write death out of a lot of things to "protect the children" in those days because they thought it would scare them to hear or see such things, but most kids know what death and dying is by age ten. You can't kid a kid.

I still remember the impact Grave of the Fireflies had on me and my classmates when I saw it in my Japanese cultural studies course in university. Truly a depressing story, and we knew the siblings wouldn't make it. There was no hope to look to, and the ending was spelled out clear as day. Bleak, but the message about the war wasn't lost on anyone.

As for the poll, definitely the Anywhere Door. That gadget is just perfect.

I've never considered the Madoka Magica Rebellion movie to be an actual ending to the franchise, as it feels like it ends on a fairly transparant sequel set-up. Once the Monogatari well finally dries up, i would expect the studio to return to Madoka before too long.

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The List - 6 "Bad" Endings that Were Actually Fitting