Crunchyroll Reveals the Top 10 Anime With the Best Endings

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For anime fans, how a series ends can make or break the entire experience. Knowing this, a recent list highlighted anime with endings that, even if not cheerful, still feel narratively complete and worthwhile.

According to the source, the anime series on this list were released from 1972 to 2021. Some titles are still popular today, while others are beloved classics from the 80s and 90s. The selection includes a diverse range of genres, such as historical dramas, cyberpunk sci-fi, fantastical adventures, and even psychological thrillers with magical-girl themes. You can find Crunchyroll’s full top 10 list below.

Crunchyroll’s Top 10 Anime Series with Satisfying Endings Revealed

  • Akudama Drive
  • 86 Eighty-Six
  • Gunbuster
  • Mazinger Edition Z
  • Ping Pong the Animation
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica
  • Sonny Boy
  • The Heike Story
  • Turn A Gundam
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena

Topping Crunchyroll’s recommendations is Akudama Drive, a fast-paced, cyberpunk anime created by Kazutaka Kodaka. The story takes place in a world torn apart by war and follows two criminals, Swindler and Courier, as they navigate a chaotic city. Their mission is to deliver two children, known as “Brother and Sister,” to safety. Crunchyroll praises the anime’s visually stunning presentation and its use of dreamlike imagery. The ending is intentionally ambiguous, showing the children walking into a tunnel in a snowy landscape. Crunchyroll believes this open-endedness actually strengthens the conclusion, leaving viewers with a sense of understanding that goes beyond simple explanation, as one writer puts it: “You don’t need everything spelled out; you just get it.”

Created by the studios behind One Piece and Nausicaa, Mazinger Edition Z isn’t a continuation of the original Mazinger Z series, but a fresh retelling. Crunchyroll notes that the show has a surprising ending that seems harsh at first, but is meant to be understood in connection with the very first episode. The finale sees Baron Ashura teaming up with the hero, Kabuto Koji, to defeat Dr. Hell. However, the story then flips, revealing Dr. Hell to be a protector of Earth against the dangerous Mycanae Empire. Despite this, Koji remains determined to fight on. The series suggests that the first episode actually provides the answer to the questions raised in the finale: how do you deal with losing everything you care about? By choosing to keep living.

Shingo Natsume, the director of Space Dandy, created Sonny Boy, an anime about 36 students who find themselves stuck in a school that has shifted to another dimension. The story centers on Nagara and Mizuho, who gain special powers to navigate this bizarre new world. The season ends with them finding a portal to a place where their friend Nozomi, who they believed was gone, is not only alive but has changed significantly. Nagara also experiences a harsh alternate reality where he’s alone and struggling. Despite this difficult scenario, Crunchyroll praises Nagara and Mizuho’s adventure as profoundly moving, noting that, like the best of Sonny Boy, it uses simple visuals to convey complex ideas in a way that’s perfect for animation.

Set in Japan’s Heian period, The Heike Story is an animated adaptation of a classic epic that recounts the final five years of the Genpei War (1180-1185). The story centers on the brutal conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans, which leads to the near-total annihilation of the Taira family. Only one member, Tokuko, survives, and she initially longs for death. While the anime follows the tragic events of the original story, Crunchyroll notes that it also raises a powerful question: how do you find meaning in life knowing that everything eventually ends? Ultimately, Tokuko chooses to live on as a nun, and the story is retold by the narrator, Biwa, symbolizing the delicate balance between the fragility and enduring nature of life.

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2025-12-01 05:15