Cliffhanger endings

[turkishproverb]

"Good Ending"?

Its not a dating sim, Zero.

Is there another name for an "alternate ending that puts things in a positive light"?

I knew what you meant, I just wanted to try to lighten the mood before I explained why I disagreed with the comments that zeta gundam was incomplete.

[wing zero alpha]

Eh, don't worry about it, didn't mean any offense by that. But then with all the wierd relationships going around in Zeta, you might be onto something with the Love Sim comparison.

[turkishproverb]

Eh, don't worry about it, didn't mean any offense by that. But then with all the wierd relationships going around in Zeta, you might be onto something with the Love Sim comparison.

And yet, no matter how many times I play "Away to the newtype" I can't get the four ending...

[Recon 5]

Ahem. Back to the topic. Have you at any time felt that an anime you were watching or a manga you were reading should have had a cliffhanger ending rather than the rushed/ watery/ whatever ending it already had?

[Antares]

How about Berserk the anime?

[wing zero alpha]

How about Berserk the anime?

Man, that had to be the worst place to end any form of media. If I didn't know any better I'd say Berserk got cancelled right at the end judging by how it's 25 episodes instead of the usual 26, and thus left off right where the Skull Knight was supposed to charge in and save Guts and Caska.

[Sabersonic]

How about Berserk the anime?

Man, that had to be the worst place to end any form of media. If I didn't know any better I'd say Berserk got cancelled right at the end judging by how it's 25 episodes instead of the usual 26, and thus left off right where the Skull Knight was supposed to charge in and save Guts and Caska.

If I remember correctly, I don't think the Berserk Manga series advanced much in terms of storyline by the time that particular gore fest aired. Though then again I also remember something about the creators wanting that particular part of the overall Berserk saga to be self contained and not go beyond that (which *bleep*-ing sucks, even if it was a good idea if you think about it long enough.), can't really remember which.

As for animes with cliff endings that leaved more for me to be desired, nothing really comes to mind immediately. Probably mentally blocked it out or something....

[Alastor]

Does this count?

Be thankful for your reprieve, Makoto.

[Gai Daigoji]

nadesico: great movie but the ending........

[Hyakushiki]

This thread brings to mind the series Spiral not only does end on a cliffhanger, it never resolved any of the questions it raised namely what happened to Ayumu's brother Kyotaka? That alone made the show a complete and total waste of time, even though it was good right up to that point.

[Akuma_Blade]

Sorry friends : What is the Cliffhanger ending?

[Ascension]

A "cliffhanger ending" is an ending that leaves major issues unsolved, usually ending with the main characters in some sort of deadly peril. It comes from the old "Perils of Pauline"-style movie serials because they would not infrequently end with the hero quite literally hanging from a cliff. Another great example I can think of is the ending of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. "Fuego! Fuego! Fuego!"

Basically, if you come away from an ending feeling as if it didn't actually end anything, and that there really ought to be more... it's a cliffhanger.

[Tafumi]

nadesico: great movie but the ending........

Tell me about it. Aside the small snipet of events years down the road provided by The Prince of Darkness, it really never addressed any of the questions that Ruri spoke of in the last sequence of the series. Who built the original boson cube, what was the deal with the plate that Ai gave to... herself... etc.

Of course, maybe some (or all) of that was addressed in some assorted manga. Unfortunately, I've never gone after any printed material related to the series.

[Kavik Ryx]

This may just be me, but it seems like that NMR Gundam Wing had a disappointing cliffhanger. While the series resolved the war, I remember on the last episode when the five mad scientists go to destroy Libra, Quinze makes a remark about them attempting to thwart Operation Meteor. While this is finally explained in Endless Walz, this self contained series leaves so much history and plot development out that it feels incomplete. I did get some information from Anime News Network on the subject, and I hope I'm not spewing out bull plop. Apparently about half way through, the series writer, along with director Masashi Ikeda, both quit the project, which resulted in two simultaneous recap episodes, that were originally intended to explain the story from Episode Zero. And poor Shinji Takamtsu was left with a incredibly weak story. He never had a chance. It's a shame that his very own Gundam X was canceled, but that's a different story.

[Chris]

Basically, if you come away from an ending feeling as if it didn't actually end anything, and that there really ought to be more... it's a cliffhanger.

No, that's incorrect. Poor resolution/lack of resolution =/= a cliffhanger. Many series have disappointing endings, and Kavik's example of Gundam Wing doesn't fit the mold of a cliffhanger. A real cliffhanger involves the story just stopping. An example of a current cliffhanger is Code Geass, with the shoot off between Lelouch and Suzaku. Obviously, the series isn't over, but if that WAS the end, it would be a cliffhanger. Just because a story isn't wrapped up properly or have all plotlines resolved, that doesn't mean it's a cliffhanger.

[Mwulf]

Right. Stories generally follow a certain formulae, and all stories involve some sort of climax followed by resolution. A cliffhanger ends with the climax, and no resolution.

Sort of like getting punched in the face halfway.

I'm not sure I've seen many anime that end with cliffhangers... to a degree, Twelve Kingdoms, but the format of that show lessens the impact a lot.

In fact, the only anime I'd say ended with a cliffhanger (that I've seen) would be Code Geass. Twice. (Yes, I'm still peeved about the whole "lulz, we're stopping at 23" thing.)

[Kavik Ryx]

Aren't there also some endings that have a climax and resolution, but leave a door open to continue the series? What exactly would that be? An example of this would probably be Crest of the Stars. The story was resolved, but ended in such a way that it could continue with Banner of the Stars.

[Mwulf]

Yeah, but they're not cliffhangers.

Look at the word. Cliff, and hanger. If you're running along (like a story would) and come to a cliff, what happens?

[assault gundam]

well,there was one near the end of Gundam SEED where they were in spacea missiles got shot at Kira/Freedom. It ended with the missiles being a hairs breath away from kira. The next episode, though,they seemed to have moved the missiles back so Freedom had enough time to dodge.....