Summary
Not too long ago, itwas a common occurrence for many animeseries to fail in seeing out their stories to the end, and quite a few of them faced the grim fate of being canceled after their very first season. Luckily, in recent years, this trend has somewhat diminished, as more successful manga and light novel adaptations, as well as anime original franchises are being given the opportunity to conclude their stories on screen.
Of late, there have been quite a few major titles which have reached their conclusion, with series such asAttack on TitanandMob Psycho 100being the most widely covered among themin recent years. As more and more prominent anime are getting the opportunity to see their stories play out on screen in their entirety, here are a few that may be worth catching up to right before they bid their last goodbyes.
Cast
Based on the bestselling manga by Paru Itagaki,Beastarshas garnered significant acclaim for both versions of its story, with the anime adaptation by Orange having some of the best 3DCG work in recent memory. With the manga having concluded back in 2020, and no new releases from the anime since the end ofBeastarsSeason 2 back in 2021, the time is ripe for new content to hit screens.
The series depicts a world filled with anthropomorphic animals in a high-school setting, exploring thecomplex social interactions between herbivores and carnivoresin this context. Although recent announcements about Season 3 have referred to it as the final season of the anime, there is a considerable amount of content left to adapt from the manga. How this eventually plays out will be quite interesting to see.
Nearing its final few arcs in the anime,Dr. Stoneis a post-apocalyptic science adventure based on the eponymous manga by Riichiro Inagaki. Set in a world where humankind’s dominion over the planet crumbled after most of the population was mysteriously petrified for nearly four millennia, the series follows Senku and his allies as they attempt to revive civilization.
The series' uniqueness among shonen anime lies in how its power system isrooted in actual scientific theory rather thanthe traditional transformation and life force-based power systems in most battle series. Due to the manga having concluded in 2022, there will likely be a gap of only one or two years before the series' final season debuts, which will give new viewers just enough time to catch up before its finale.
Combining elements of time travel with delinquent culture in mid-2000s Japan,Tokyo Revengers’most recent release saw theadaptation of the series' Tenjiku Arcfrom Ken Wakui’s manga of the same name. The anime, which has been helmed by Liden Films for the entirety of its run, now has only the two final arcs from the manga left to adapt, covering the last third of the series.
Looking at how consistently the anime has been releasing new seasons each year, it would not be too much of a surprise for it to definitively reach its conclusion in the next year or two. Currently, there is no news about when Season 4 of the series will begin airing, but there is little doubt in anyone’s mind that the manga will receive a full adaptation, so it may just be a matter of time.
Easily one of the most popular sports anime of the past decade,Haikyu!!has almost reached the conclusion of its narrative in the anime,with manga having ended back in 2020. Season 4 of the anime also premiered and finished airing around the same time, leaving fans with a cliffhanger ending that has yet to be completely resolved.
In the years since, there have been a few announcements concerning the series finale, which is expected to air as a series of films. The first among them is set to premiere in February 2024, and hopefully, it will not be too long before the curtain falls on Shoyo Hinata’s journey with Karasuno High School’s volleyball team.
Koyoharu Gotouge’sDemon Slayerhas taken the world by storm in the years since its release, with the anime adaptation by Ufotable garnering acclaim for its breathtaking visuals. New seasons have consistently been released every other year since the series debuted on screen back in 2019, covering the majority of the manga’s story arcs.
Season 3 ofDemon Slayeradapted the Swordsmith Village Arc, and drew to a close in mid-2023, with the next Hashira Training Arc expected to premiere in Spring 2024. As it stands, there may only be two or three years left until the anime finishes airing, if it continues at its present pace. Thestory of Tanjiro’s struggle to save his sisterNezuko and rid the world of Muzan’s army of demons is finally drawing to a close, with just enough time for newcomers to the series to savor the journey before it ends.
The end of Season 6 ofMy Hero Academiain 2023 was followed by the announcement of the next scheduled release for the anime, which is expected to begin airing in May 2024. In essence,Season 7 will likely adapt the last threestory arcs from Kohei Horikoshi’s manga. The manga is itself expected to conclude soon, as the series' final conflict is currently drawing closer to its end. Deku’s journey to becoming the greatest hero alongside his classmates at UA High School, has been eventful, to say the least, and he is now finally within reach of his goal.
Naturally, as one of the most widely watched shonen series of the past decade,My Hero Academia’sfinale will likely be a landmark event, and as per the current release schedule, it may come in late 2024 or early 2025, if there are no delays in production. With six seasons of content behind it, there will be a fair amount of viewing time involved for those who seek to catch up with the anime before it concludes, although a year might be just enough time to breeze through it.
When the originalBleachanime finished airing in 2012, the series was left in an odd limbo state, being the only member of the original “Big Three” shonen series to not have a complete anime adaptation. At the time, the anime was just about to enter the final Thousand-Year Blood War Arc, which covered the battle between theShinigami of Soul Society and the Quincyof the Wandenreich. Fortunately, fans of the series were given new hope with the announcement ofBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, adapting the last story arc from Tite Kubo’s manga.
The project, animated by Studio Pierrot, who were responsible for the originalBleachanime, has been widely praised for its breathtaking action sequences and a darker visual style to reflect the more serious tone of the manga arc it covers. Scheduled to run for four cours, two of which have already finished airing with a third currently in the works for 2024,Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warmight finally give the series the send-off it deserves.
Continuing on after an immensely successful adaptation of the Wano Country Arc,One Piece’sanime has now officiallyentered its Final Saga with the startof the Egghead Arc. While Eiichiro Oda’s original manga will certainly continue to be serialized for a few more years, given the vast amount of unresolved plot lines left to explore, there is a very palpable feeling that the long-running series is actually nearing its end for good.
On one hand, it may be too early to say thatOne Piece’sanime is nearing its end, especially with regard to how it may outlast many of its shonen peers. However, when looking at the larger timeline of its serialization, the Final Saga will likely be only a fraction of the actual length of Luffy and his crew’s journey, which has been going on for more than a quarter of a century at this point. Lastly, with the sheer volume of content that new entrants to the franchise will have to cover, as well as the announcement of a new adaptation by Netflix and WIT Studio titledThe One Piece, there is no better time for viewers to immerse themselves in this vibrant and absurd world, before theStraw Hat Pirates reach the endof their journey.
