While there are a lot of great anime shows left unfinished, there are some that have proper and concluding endings. Let’s check out some of the best anime with true endings.
Mainstream anime is ruled by massive series that go on for years with hundreds of episodes. Shows like Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto are still going on after years and don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. While these anime are certainly popular and always in demand, they also make us appreciate those anime series that have true endings.
Having a true ending means the story has reached its natural conclusion with no potential sequel or spin-off following it. For some anime, even when the main series is finished, the franchise keeps going on with one spin-off after another. We’ll ignore those anime for our list of the 10 best anime with true endings and will only pick those that have ended for good.
10) Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul made a huge splash on its anime debut, thanks to its dark world-building and gratuitous violence. Adapted from the horror manga of the same name by Sui Ishida, the story focuses on a race of humans who are biologically cannibals, known as ghouls. The protagonist, Ken Kaneki, is an average university student whose life turns upside down when he goes on a date with a mysterious woman.
Tokyo Ghoul manga has been concluded. The anime adapted the entirety of the manga, though left out many character arcs of some side characters. While the first season of the anime was adequately good and became quite popular, the following seasons failed to leave a mark. The anime ended after four seasons, concluding Kaneki’s story with a true ending.
9) Terror in Resonance
Losing oneself in the fantastical worlds of anime sounds very nice but there are also some anime with such hard-hitting realism that it leaves viewers both shocked and awed. MAPPA’s original anime, Terror in Resonance, is a good example of that. The anime focuses on two teenage boys who decide to take matters into their own hands after years of being oppressed by the system.
Starting by orchestrating a terrorist attack in a nuclear facility, they threaten to blow up the whole country, leading to a goose chase with the police. At first glance, Terror in Resonance may just seem like a normal terrorist anime. But seeing it through the eyes of a shy school girl caught up in all these, the manipulation and failure of the society becomes clear.
8) Banana Fish
There are very few anime that show the ugliness of the real world like Banana Fish does. Adapted from Akimi Yoshida’s 1985 manga of the same name, the anime follows Eiji Okumura, a young Japanese photographer who goes to America and finds his life forever changed when he meets the young gang leader, Ash Lynx, and is caught up in an investigation on the mysterious Banana Fish.
This anime features many hard-hitting real-life issues like various kinds of abuse and mental illness. But at the core of it is the poignant and humane relationship between Ash and Eiji. It makes the ending of Banana Fish all the more hard-hitting. Though fans fervently want another ending that is happier, they’re about to be disappointed because the story is finished.
7) Erased
Speaking of endings, many anime fans consider that Erased has one of the most depressing endings of all time. That’s a shame because the rest of the anime is so good and suspenseful. It’s a psychological thriller with a twist of the supernatural. The anime centers around Satoru Fujinuma who discovers he has the ability to go back in the past.
When he’s wrongly accused of killing his mother, he goes back 18 years in the past and learns that his mother’s murder is linked to the kidnapping of a girl 18 years ago. Now Satoru must prevent the kidnapping and find the real perpetrator. The story is concluded with 12 episodes and even though its ending is controversial, it’s still a great anime and can be counted as one of the best anime with true endings.
6) Fruits Basket (2019)
Many expect shoujo anime to be sweet and lovely with heart-pounding moments between the main characters. Fruits Basket breaks every such expectation and delivers a gut-wrenching story of familial trauma, existential crisis, and loneliness, mixed with supernatural elements. Tohru Honda, a kind orphan girl, changes the lives of the Sohma family when she starts living with her classmates, Kyo and Yuki, and their cousin, Shigure.
Fruits Basket had an anime adaptation back in 2001 but at the time the manga wasn’t finished. Thus, it had an anime-only ending. Thankfully, the manga got a reboot in 2019 and faithfully adapted the whole story. The manga has a definitive conclusion and so does the anime. There was a spin-off movie after the last season, focusing on the story of Tohru’s parents. With that out of the way, Fruits Basket is complete for good.
5) Serial Experiments Lain
It’s almost scary how Serial Experiments Lain predicted the future. This avant-garde anime was released back in 1998 and needless to say, it was way ahead of its time. The story revolves around an introverted teenager, Lain Iwakura, who one day finds mysterious emails from her dead classmate. As the story progresses, Lain finds the world around her as she knows it.
With just 13 episodes, Serial Experiments Lain tells an intriguing tale full of mystery and suspense. It’s a masterpiece through and through and the best part is that it doesn’t drag the story with sequels and spin-offs, keeping the mystique alive. The anime will forever be remembered as one of the best psychological anime with truel endings.
4) Death Note
There are hardly any anime fans who haven’t heard of Death Note. The massively popular psychological thriller follows Light Yagami, a brilliant high school student, who finds a mysterious notebook on one fateful day. Discovering the notebook’s ability to kill anyone by just writing their name, Light sets out to kill various criminals around the world by the name Kira, attracting the attention of the world-famous detective, L.
Released back in 2006, it’s been years since Death Note ended. Though the ending of the series was quite controversial and many even found it disappointing, the story ended for good. There have been a few spin-offs of the series, focusing on L, Near, and Mello, but the story is finished and there won’t be any more additions to it in the future.
3) Attack on Titan
Arguably one of the best anime of all time, Attack on Titan ended with a bang. The story of the series is set in a dystopian world where humanity lives within three massive walls to protect themselves from the man-eating titans. But when the outermost wall breaks one day, humanity is forced to a battle of survival, and it is the same day when young Eren Yeager vows to kill all titans in the world.
Hajime Isayama finished his manga back in 2021 and the anime faithfully adapted it. The story ended on a positive note, though it still retained its characteristic darkness. The ending of Attack on Titan was the end of an era and fans can now rest assured knowing the conclusion to Eren, Mikasa, and Armin’s story.
2) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
There are many reasons why Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood retained its position as one of the top-rated anime on MyAnimeList for such a long time. Apart from the brilliant world-building and characters, it’s also how compact the entire story is. Without hundreds and hundreds of episodes, it tells a powerful story and ends at just the right moment without dragging.
The series follows the Elric Brothers, Edward, and Alphonse, who look for a way to regain their bodies after losing them when trying to perform human transmutation to revive their dead mother. They soon discover there are more sinister things happening in their nation under the peaceful reign of the army. The series ran for 64 episodes and ended for good with an amazing finale, solidifying its position as one of the best anime with true endings.
1) Monster
2004’s Monster is a grossly underrated anime that all anime fans need to check out at least once. The anime is adapted from the manga of the same name by Naoki Urakawa and revolves around Dr. Kenzou Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon whose decision to save a child over the governor would change his life forever. Years later, Dr. Tenma has to face the ramifications of his act of kindness when the young boy turns out to be a sociopathic killer.
The story of Monster is contained and full of suspense. It might seem a bit slow to those who prefer fast-paced thrillers like Death Note. But the pacing of the story also contributes to the tone of the series and neatly ties up the story at the end. There are no spin-offs, no sequels, just one brilliant story concluding in the perfect way possible.
That was our ranking of the 10 best anime with true endings. For more such listicles and rankings, check out the smartest anime characters of all time and the top 10 best leaders in anime. And if you’re looking for the latest anime news, visit Animeking.