Great stories with absolute GARBAGE endings

[Ayazel]

Am I the only one who finds it really frustrating when it happens?

We've been following the MC for dozens (most of the time, hundreds) of chapters. We've gone through profound character development, intense world building, several side stories and anime adaptations... and then, nothing.

I've just finished reading the Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka light novel. Without spoiling anything, let's just say our dear author pulled a deus ex machina out of his ass, which contradicts everything that has led up to the final moment. And I can't even begin talking about the mountain of romcoms that end 1 microsecond after the confession (450 chapters led to this point).

Too quick, too bland... Are there any popular series that received this treatment despite the readers best hopes?

 

[undeed]

interesting...
I haven't read many light novels
(only around 10 series, and I've only finished like 3 of them, the others mostly I've only read 1 or 2 volumes)

so.. do light novels also have the "Axed" treatment like manga?
if not, then does that mean that shitty ending was planned?
because in manga, most shitty endings happen because of the termination, right?

that being said,
the first time I was so pissed reading the ending of a manga was the original Shaman King
I bought the physical volume the day it came out
it was the era before scanlations, so I didn't know what was going on until the volumes were released
(man... that was almost 20 years ago at this point)
the next day, I brought it to school so I could show it to my friends and get pissed off together

 

[Ayazel]

@undeed As for Kumodesu, I suppose the author himself was tired of writing. He blurted out to his editor that he will release two volumes at a 2 months interval, which means a ton of work in a tight deadline, hence the very rushed ending. Looks like the author axed his title himself tbh.

Man, I didn't read Shaman King but that must have been though back in the day. At least we can read stuff for free here (mostly). Do you still believe the "It's the journey that matters, not the destination" saying, or was the ending really so crappy it spoilt the entire series?

 

[GipoScribantino]

Scanning through my Mangadex library, there are some.

Sorta underrated comic: Sen wa boku o egao has a good pacing and the characters are interesting, but the author decided to end it with the "everybody's happy" ending which even though thinking about it the events are actually fairly realistic (more than other similar comics, if anything), it still comes out as cliché and a cop-out especially after all that happens in the previous chapters.
Would still recommend reading it, just the ending will disappoint.

Inkya de Wotako de Binbou Deshita got disappointing near the end and the actual ending makes no sense whatsoever, which is a pity because until that last part everything was going great.

This Croc Will Die In 100 Days... Wani-kun... Wani-kuuuuun!!!

 

[MilkDrinker]

Vagabond

 

[DavidianMillerian]

Usotsuki Satsuki wa Shi ga Mieru

and I'm not alone on this

 

[undeed]

Usotsuki Satsuki wa Shi ga Mieru

and I'm not alone on this

haha, I dropped this series once about 2/3 of the way through when I felt like the story got so convoluted and my brain couldn't keep up with the nonsense. and then finished after it got completely translated just because

Do you still believe the "It's the journey that matters, not the destination" saying, or was the ending really so crappy it spoilt the entire series?

hmm, I don't know, it depends
I think that expression only applies when you have someone who has had the same experience to talk to about it
like, no matter what the ending is, if it's good, you'll have a great time talking about it,
if it got a shitty ending, you'll have a fun time shitting together about it
because chances are you will still remember most of that journey

to me, the spoiling part is about when I want to relive the journey
like when I really want to reread some of the moments, but then I'll always be reminded of the inevitable crappy ending that I don't want to experience again

another manga that I really enjoyed, and then ended with really WTF moment is cage of eden

 

[Basic_human]

because in manga, most shitty endings happen because of the termination, right?

Ohhh you can feel the rush author trying to tying end knot together as fast as possible


Btw for me i can't remember any manga ive finished

Many series i read, but sink due to: in busy reading other title, no TL, or simply not interesting enough for me to continue

 

[whotookmyuser]

One that sticks out in my memory is Magi: (I forgot the subtitle)
And, it isn't like the ending was horrible, but the last ~30 chapters give or take felt pretty rushed, and when you finally reach the last chapter the feeling was like "So that's it?"
Not horrible, but definitely unsatisfying and a big let down..
I mean, it was mostly just a fun to read shounen, but a good ending would have really made it feel like one of the distinctive stories within the genre.

 

[PantsMan]

Sakuranbo Syndrome is really good, but those last eight chapters always make me think twice before I recommend it in good faith. Still well worth a read, though.

 

[Szaal]

I haven't finished it, but I'd put up A Returner's Magic Should be Special. It was quite a roller coaster ride, very high adrenaline and lots of stakes (typical action fantasy manhwa), but the character development is something I'd consider quite special. However, nearing the ending, when the protagonist "offed" the main antagonist, the story went (kinda spoiler-ish, so I will blur it from now on) ackhually, that is not the main antagonist. In fact, the main antagonist is this one random friendly NPC that doesn't often get a spotlight. Oh, also the main support character dies from this actual main antagonist. Drove me "wuh" and mad from that point on.

The thing is, taking a step back and looking at its exceptional (though too loaded) worldbuilding, it makes sense. The reason why the main antagonist like that, and the reason why there is an even greater main antagonist. But the reason I'm upset about it is because that twist literally deconstructs all the character relationship we have with that person, and fwiw, there's zero foreshadowing that hints us to that twist. It makes sense for the twist to happen, but it's as if the story intentionally side-stepped the issue and avoid talking about that future twist.

It felt like being told by a friend, "ackhually, if you listened and understood my world, it should've been obvious", but that's the thing! You avoid talking about that particular twist and everything you've told me is upside-down to what the twist is going to be!

 

[UnnamedPlayer]

Call of the night also named Yofukashi no uta, is a very strong manga with a very good story, at lkeast for the start and the middle, but it have a very bad ending. It made me stop buying the physical version of the manga at the 10th tome and i've sell all the tomes i've buy.

Same with UQ Holder !, the final arc was a stupid useless mess. I've also resell the physical tomes of the serie just for that. The serie was good, and had a great start, the first arcs were good, the middle ones were clearly not bad, but it has one of the worst ending i've ever seen. What a waste ! At least the mangaka have become a senator, so he can't do any harm now.

 

[K.Angel]

Boy's Abyss! It had such a great start!! It becomes too complex by the middle and the ending is just.... bad, it delivered nothing...no conclusion to the story..

 

[Cubicle255]

I've just finished reading the Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka light novel. Without spoiling anything, let's just say our dear author pulled a deus ex machina out of his ass, which contradicts everything that has led up to the final moment.

Wait the LN ended, and it's bad? That's so sad. I followed since the WN and it was obvious that part way through the WN became an ad for the LN so despite it's lackluster ending I was hoping for retribution in the LN.... Mind spoiling me a bit? I'm on volume 15 of the LN

Any story written by the author Jee Gab Song has great stories and garbage endings. He's pretty notorious in that respect with titles such as The Novel's Extra and A Villain's Will to Survive under his belt. I don't know how many people here read WNs but if you don't want to be ruthlessly betrayed after a blissful buildup then never read his works

 

[Robinisback]

Anything by Aka Akasaka, the master of grand openings and the shittiest endings.

 

[BakedBanana]

I've just finished reading the Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka light novel. Without spoiling anything, let's just say our dear author pulled a deus ex machina out of his ass, which contradicts everything that has led up to the final moment. And I can't even begin talking about the mountain of romcoms that end 1 microsecond after the confession (450 chapters led to this point).

This 100%. I'm still disappointed to this day about how awful both the LN and WN endings were, especially after how long we had to wait for it.

 

[Manko-sensei]

The (hi)story of the Japanese Empire since they wasted time in giving a response for the ceasefire and it ended just asking that they wanted to keep being subjects of the same emperor's cabinet even if the country was devastated by them (yes, there are manga adaptations in this site about it).

 

[Angry_Panda]

Titanic.

(No, not the boat sinking. That was cool. The 'let's drop this impossibly expensive necklace overboard' bit.)

(Oh, right - spoiler: the boat sinks. Sorry to anyone who didn't know.)