Finishing a long-form story is a challenge in any medium, and manga is no exception. The manga being canceled abruptly is one thing, but even when a manga is allowed to run its course, sometimes it will have a pacing that resolves its various plot threads poorly, if at all, and can be so bad that it completely ruins the story. story for some people.
It's always difficult to find a manga that ends its story perfectly, and this discourse has probably reached its peak in the 2020s. The 2020s saw the end of incredibly popular mangas like Attack on Titan, My Hero Academy, Jujutsu Kaisenand Oshi no Koand, unfortunately, The controversial endings of popular manga in the 2020s have revived the discourse on whether or not manga can have good endings. As always, the discussion is full of exaggerations and various false criticisms, but there has probably never been a better time to discuss the topic than now.
Why Some of the Newest Manga Endings Are So Controversial
The worst manga endings of the 2020s
Many important manga endings in recent years have been controversial, and it's important to understand why. In many cases, some recent manga endings have been controversial for how quickly they end without adequately wrapping up the characters or the world they inhabited, which makes their endings feel unsatisfying because of how many loose ends were left behind. My Hero Academy, Jujutsu Kaisenand JoJolion There are several noteworthy manga that have recently ended without properly tying up their lingering plotsand that's been a huge hurdle for fans and critics alike.
Another problem with some recent manga endings is how they sometimes prolong the gradual decline in the quality of their stories. The manga, like any long-running story, will often see a drop in quality in later years, and as bad as it is, an ending that does nothing to rectify the drop in quality, possibly even making the situation worse, will just make things right. seem. even worse than they were before. Tokyo Avengers, The Promised Neverlandand Domestic Girlfriend are all examples of manga with lackluster endings to end years of declineand its reputation is unlikely to improve anytime soon.
Sometimes, though, the pacing of a manga will be great and the ending will come after a largely well-received arc, but some specific details about the ending will abruptly ruin whatever goodwill the series has garnered, to the point that people will feel like they wasted their time. time investing in the stories, for starters. Platinum End, Attack on Titanand Aka Akasaka Oshi no Ko are all excellent examples of manga that did one specific thing to abruptly ruin what could have been acceptable endings at worstand overall, it's hard to argue with the problems people have had with them.
Are some of the most hated manga endings of the 2020s as bad as people say?
Why Some Manga Endings Deserve Better Reviews
Many manga endings from the 2020s have been criticized for one reason or another, and this, of course, calls into question whether these criticisms are justified. While many criticisms about manga endings are valid, many of them can seem disingenuous when they are less criticism about how a manga ended and more criticism about widely disparate elements, especially when someone's main criticism revolves around the shipping. A lot of criticism of manga endings is false because it's mostly about a manga not ending the way someone wanted it to end.and ignoring this can often make endings seem much better.
Another point worth considering are the behind-the-scenes issues that often appear in manga endings. Not only do many manga rush their endings due to their authors' health, but even when a manga is successful enough to last up to a decade, authors often have to plan their endings a year or more in advance, and even that There isn't always enough time to wrap things up properly. Many manga end badly for reasons beyond the authors' control.so in that regard, some endings like My Hero Academy and Jujutsu Kaisen justifies a little more leniency.
Which manga had the best endings in the 2020s?
The best manga endings of recent years
Reasons why some criticisms of recent manga endings are exaggerated, there are many manga that ended in the 2020s and managed to have great endings simply because they were well written. Call of the Night and Ayakashi Trianglefor example, they both had somewhat open endings, but because of how well they closed out their main arcs, they didn't overstay their welcome enough. In the same vein, manga like Fire Force and Hell's Paradise: Jigokurakualthough a little uneven, it managed to bring everything together to achieve largely satisfactory conclusions, which is nothing but commendable.
There were also many manga that ended in the 2020s after having consistently great showings from start to finish. Haikyu!!, Kamuy Douradoand Delicious in the dungeon were all consistently great from start to finish before ending in the 2020sas each one did a great job of being consistent with their stories and character arcs and wrapping up their narratives in the most satisfying way possible. These stories and others are excellent examples of manga that are still capable of having good endings, and that's great to see in place of so many bad endings in recent years.
If there's any recent manga ending that really stands out, it's the ending of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Demon SlayerThe ending has all the same problems of rushed pacing and bad closure, but because of the sincerity in Demon SlayerIn its writing, combined with its genuine sincerity, its shortcomings aren't as glaring as other manga that ended with similar problems while trying to do much more with their stories. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no YaibaThe ending works by being average among a series of bad manga endingsand this, surprisingly, is something a lot more manga need to strive for.
Manga fans have hated endings for years
The problems people have with modern manga endings are largely valid, but as previously stated, they're nothing new to the manga community. Manga like naruto, Bleachand Fairy tale were, and still are, criticized for their endings, and even manga that are 30-40 years old like Ranma ½ and Fist of the North Star are criticized for having lackluster finishes after great races. The problems people are having with recent manga endings are no different than the problems people have had for decades.the only difference is that social media allows people to speak more openly about their complaints.
Lackluster manga endings have been around for decades, and if the last few years are anything to go by, there will only be more in the coming years. That said, there were still plenty of great manga endings in the 2020s, and the fact that there were a lot of good manga endings in the 2020s among the multitude of bad endings means that people can expect a lot of great endings in the years to come. The next few years will probably not be easy for the manga community, but I hope there is still a lot to look forward to.