Anime is one of the most artistic mediums around, allowing creators to go absolutely off the rails in their quest to make their vision as fully realized as possible. There are times when the artistic sensibilities of these progenitors end up ruining the entire experience, but that is a very rare occurrence. More often than not, these wacky minds end up making a good anime even better, especially when the ending allows them to really go ballistic.
The following shows are proof of this, with their endings proving to be frustrating to witness at times... yet adding a ton to the show. These anime are legendary partly because of their ending, which is not something that most people would surmise after seeing fans react to how these amazing shows concluded.
10 Death Note
Death Note is one of the most popular anime of all time. Even its highly divisive ending hasn't stopped people from raving about this absolute masterpiece.
While people wanted L to be the one to catch Light, the anime needed to show him at his cockiest to finally pull him down once and for all. Near might not be the best replacement for Light, but he manages to get the job done and finally catches Kira once and for all.
9 Cowboy Bebop
A masterpiece that more people need to check out, Cowboy Bebop is a brilliant sci-fi anime that's absolutely riveting from start to end. The show builds up its characters brilliantly, with the protagonist Spike Spiegel being the best example to illustrate this.
His rivalry with Vicious expands and elaborates upon their tumultuous backstory. After finally getting his revenge, a fatally injured Spike utters one last bang before passing away in one of the most poetic anime endings of all time... even though there might not be a ton of closure to be found here.
8 Berserk (1997)
It's important to only talk about the 1997 adaptation of Berserk since the later 3D anime adaptations have been nothing short of a disaster. This mid-90s anime is a brilliant adaptation that does justice to the talent of the late great Kentaro Miura.
This season ends on a brutal note with the advent of The Eclipse, which kills almost everyone from The Band of the Hawk while scarring both Guts and Casca for life. It's a brutal event that establishes the central storyline of Berserk.
7 Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul is a manga that has been done pretty dirty by its anime adaptations, with Root A being an absolutely horrid anime. However, the first Tokyo Ghoul anime was actually a blast that generated a ton of hype for this series.
That being said, the anime did end with original story set-pieces that weren't in the manga, with Hide dying and Kaneki willing walking over to his enemies. At the time, these events meshed in quite naturally with the flow of the anime and made for a decent ending, although manga purists thought otherwise.
6 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
This might be a bit of a stretch, but the first part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure can definitely be quite frustrating once people finish this arc. After all, watching the chivalrous Jonathan Joestar die such a wasteful death would've been quite saddening indeed.
However, the anime continues onward from this point and adapts Battle Tendency as well, making the overall conclusion quite satisfying. This was welcomed by the fans of the manga, who had a gut feeling that the anime would be dead in the water from the get-go had it only adapted the first part.
5 Fate/stay Night
The idea of a Holy Grail tournament where Masters summon Servants from different timelines to serve them sounds like a wildly engaging concept. This is precisely what happens in Fate/stay Night, with this franchise absolutely exploding in popularity from its very first adaptation.
Saber is a brilliant character, whose relationship with Shirou feels natural and engaging. It's a shame that both characters need to part ways by the end of the series, but there's no denying that Servants have to disappear after fulfilling their goal in the Holy Grail.
4 Assassination Classroom
Assassination Classroom is an anime that will leave viewers with a ton of mixed feelings by the end of its run. The show starts with Koro-sensei seeming like one of the worst anime characters of all time... before the truth about his intentions comes to light.
Viewers will definitely experience a range of feelings as they try to make sense of the ending, where the students finally kill the enduring Koro-sensei once and for all. It's a bittersweet conclusion, with the students actively mourning a death they had no choice but to aid in,
3 Grave Of The Fireflies
Easily one of the saddest anime on this list, Grave of the Fireflies is bound to make even the hardiest person around shed a tear. The movie takes a brutal look at the aftermath of war and how it affected the lives of many people, namely the two children Seita and Setsuko.
Malnutrition leads to the death of both survivors, who end up reuniting in the afterlife. Their story is deeply saddening and shows why Studio Ghibli is a master of its craft.
2 Your Lie In April
A tragic romance anime that will leave viewers searching for tissues to wipe their tears off, Your Lie in April shows just how emotionally powerful and resonant anime can really be. This show focuses on the trials of Kousei, a man who's lost his ability to see the joy in life. As per the norm, a quirky violinist by the name of Kaori ends up rekindling his passion for music.
However, things take a turn for the worse when Kaori is revealed to be diagnosed with a fatal illness. She opts for a risky treatment to get better but dies during the operation. This leads to Kousei finally finding out that Kaori loved him all this time but didn't want to show her feelings since she thought he would get distracted. It's a heartbreaking ending to a brilliant anime.
1 Devilman Crybaby
One of the most stylistic and engaging anime around, Devilman Crybaby is a show that any anime fan should definitely check out. It only lasts for twelve episodes, but its runtime means that these few episodes are all it needs to tell a story.
By the end of the anime, Akira has seen just how vile humanity really is, with his friends being victims to their evil nature. The show ends with Akira dying at the hands of the man who got him into this mess in the first place, which is a great ending regardless of how unsatisfying it might seem.