Endings

I just finished up the main 75 chapters of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Suffice to say I was impressed. It goes on my remarkably short list of fictions that end right. So, so very right. It's one of those works that leaves you feeling empty shortly after you've finished because it felt so fulfilling as it ended.

So I wanted to ask, what makes a good ending for you?

Sandman, In Bruges, American Beauty, Shawshank Redemption, Seven Psychopaths, Bill Watterson's last Calvin & Hobbes strip. These are some favorite endings that come to mind. They are melancholic yet life-affirming. They are full-circle. Delightfully full-circle. The endings are microcosms of everything that makes the whole a whole. Characters come together. Seemingly inconsequential details are pulled into a grand scheme. Beauty. They make me sad, on the verge of tears. But I can't cry, because deep-down, the characters are satisfied. They've found... something. Maybe not what they sought, but there is a peace.

What do you guys like? Boisterous, happy conclusions to a fun roller-coaster ride? Something dark, a "bad end"? Complete ambiguity? Hopefully without too many spoilers.

The end of Lost really got to me. While I did find the ending to be a masterpiece of filming, music ect, what really got to me was the fact I had been watching the show for around 6 years, all of my teenage life, I'd speculated and really gotten involved into the show.

 Ending Details

The way that the series came full circle with Jack dying in the same place that the series began, in the exact same way, with his eye closing rather than opening was just really brilliantly done. Everyone meeting together in the afterlife was just absurdly touching.

I'm a fan of emotional endings. The characters have been through a journey, they've lost, they've fought, they might have died, all leading up to this moment. Thats the kind of ending I like

i don't read much anymore, but the stories that always get me are those that at the end make you look back and think "it was a long journey, but it was worth it, both good and bad" this mainly reflects on my favorite anime. as razmos said, the more emotional the ending and the more it makes you reflect both in the journey that took you to that ending, and also on yourself as a person, the better, what did YOU learn from this experience?

One series that really left an impression on me was Monster, by Naoki Urasawa. Urasawa's a champion when it comes to weaving flashbacks and plot twists into his stories, and his best works usually include introspective commentary on the human condition. I make a habit of never explaining the ending to anyone who hasn't watched/read Monster yet (If you're into Monster and you come upon spoilers I guarantee you'll die a little inside cause his plot twists just are that good) so all I'm going to say about the ending is that it was brilliant.

I read that some people didn't like it because they thought it was inconclusive, but I thought that it was perfect given the particular struggles and inner conflict of all the characters before that final confrontation. Monster gives you a lot of food for thought, and I was glad that the fate of the characters wasn't set in stone because it let me imagine the rest of it for myself.

One series that really left an impression on me was Monster, by Naoki Urasawa. Urasawa's a champion when it comes to weaving flashbacks and plot twists into his stories, and his best works usually include introspective commentary on the human condition. I make a habit of never explaining the ending to anyone who hasn't watched/read Monster yet (If you're into Monster and you come upon spoilers I guarantee you'll die a little inside cause his plot twists just are that good) so all I'm going to say about the ending is that it was brilliant.

I read that some people didn't like it because they thought it was inconclusive, but I thought that it was perfect given the particular struggles and inner conflict of all the characters before that final confrontation. Monster gives you a lot of food for thought, and I was glad that the fate of the characters wasn't set in stone because it let me imagine the rest of it for myself.

Another person that's read Monster! I loved the ending because it lets you think about what actually happened while still providing enough of a resolution for the characters, while I didn't like this ending type as much in A Series of Unfortunate Events because there was far too many questions that needed answering and there wasn't much substance to go by.

Another person that's read Monster! I loved the ending because it lets you think about what actually happened while still providing enough of a resolution for the characters, while I didn't like this ending type as much in A Series of Unfortunate Events because there was far too many questions that needed answering and there wasn't much substance to go by.

I agree, ambiguous conclusions don't work for every story. It's another reason I have so much respect for Urasawa's writing - he manages to pack so much detail and suspense into his stories and yet still resolve all the conflicts by the end. In Monster's, I feel like he left us with an open-ended question for each of us to answer individually. There were so many richly developed characters with so many of their own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses - so it makes sense that each reader would have a different opinion of who deserved what and whether Tenma's actions were, in the end, justified.

20th Century Boys and PLUTO were also equally compelling, I'd have to say. ;>

I agree, ambiguous conclusions don't work for every story. It's another reason I have so much respect for Urasawa's writing - he manages to pack so much detail and suspense into his stories and yet still resolve all the conflicts by the end. In Monster's, I feel like he left us with an open-ended question for each of us to answer individually. There were so many richly developed characters with so many of their own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses - so it makes sense that each reader would have a different opinion of who deserved what and whether Tenma's actions were, in the end, justified.

20th Century Boys and PLUTO were also equally compelling, I'd have to say. ;>

I have read both of those too. He is who I regard to be the best in mature manga writing as the themes he introduces are issues we're struggling with at present and also the future (Think sentient robots, as in Pluto) and the way he writes and draws the scenes reads more like a good novel than simply a manga. His characters also have interesting facets that both outline their roles and yet also makes you think twice before pigeon-holing them which is difficult to achieve to say the least.

Another kind of ending I like is the one that throws the whole story on its head, or one that causes you to watch/read/play the whole thing again to pick up on clues.

The shock twist ending of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei had clues from the very beginning and made all of the opening videos and a lot of random things suddenly make sense throughout the entire series. It pretty much snuck up behind the anime community from behind like in a prison shower. seriously.

One series that really left an impression on me was Monster, by Naoki Urasawa. Urasawa's a champion when it comes to weaving flashbacks and plot twists into his stories, and his best works usually include introspective commentary on the human condition. I make a habit of never explaining the ending to anyone who hasn't watched/read Monster yet (If you're into Monster and you come upon spoilers I guarantee you'll die a little inside cause his plot twists just are that good) so all I'm going to say about the ending is that it was brilliant.

I read that some people didn't like it because they thought it was inconclusive, but I thought that it was perfect given the particular struggles and inner conflict of all the characters before that final confrontation. Monster gives you a lot of food for thought, and I was glad that the fate of the characters wasn't set in stone because it let me imagine the rest of it for myself.

Monster was spoiled for me :<

Monster was spoiled for me :<

:B I'm sorry. I'm not normally such a stickler for spoilers but learning even one thing too early in Monster will ruin a whole chain of events afterwards, haha. It's why I marathoned Monster without looking up anything about it till I was done.

Full metal alchemist brotherhood ended just right for me.

My favorite book, The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney, has my ideal ending. It's hard to describe, unexpected... there will be no series of this book, but the author uses some of the characters in his other books, so it is somewhat connected.

Also, it coincides with another book (The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ) that has different "codes" hidden within it that one of the protagonist uses to communicate to the outside world, as well as other ways to communicate through algorithms and such. These codes hidden within the second book would pretty much go unnoticed if you were to read it without reading the first book I mentioned.

the Teen Titans ending. Wow. that might have been the most emotional iv ever been for an ending

 Ending info

Although it left me teary, I dont quite understand the point. Terra wants to go to school? dafuq? The message of times change is a sad, teary, truthfull message, but i fail to see how it applied to the cast of TT. Dont get me wrong, I felt incrediablly emotional and sad, but I wish more lead-up had been done

I'm a bit of a sucker for anything that feels real. Goodwill Hunting and Perks of Being a Wallflower (my two favorite movies respectively) and their endings are two that come to mind. Things that don't end necessarily good or bad, but just end with understanding that things will be alright.

In keeping up with my username, allow me to say I love the ending of Tales of the Abyss as it leaves certain issues open (Energy crisis, who's that person at the end) and yet each character also gets a resolution to their conflicts that will be with them forever and guide them onto their new paths. It's also made absolutely beautiful by the ending theme that depicts how each character was back in the past and the ending shows them older and changed, revisiting the first playable area of the game hoping to see an old friend return. What makes it extraordinary though is that each character gets an ending of their own, which includes the villains. Even though they pretty much all die you get a lot of supplementary material that tells you why this happens and extra materials also cover the gap between the game's ending and the final scene of the game which is honestly something I don't ever expect to see from games these days.

Side-note: Alternative retellings are another thing I love about Abyss even though they come from fans, as there's solid info for them to fall back on. If you're interested in seeing an alternate take on the ending do check out a doujin called Kostnice but I'll warn you first that you might bawl afterwards.

Besides ToA, I will always adore how the Lunar games ended. Though the second game is the one I like more it just brings a smile to my face thinking of how a small-town peasant boy saves the world, saves the girl and becomes a legend beyond that of his childhood idol with little more than a song, memories and true love in the end, and of course the second game's ending is even more awesome because there's this guy basically going to the moon because to accompany the girl he loves, never mind that it's freezing there, she's immortal and he isn't. All of these are endings I like as every character had an individual story but that's not the end since I've more to re-visit when it's not 4:05 am.