Anime that were canceled before they could finish

It's heartbreaking that an anime is canceled before it can tell its entire story, leaving fans in a cliffhanger that will never have a solution. Sometimes, only one season of an anime is made, which ends on a cliffhanger and never has a second season. Other times, an anime is canceled mid-season and ends without the season reaching its conclusion.

For better or worse, anime is a business. As frustrating as it may be, it has to make money or it doesn't make sense to extend it. But that has left many anime in the lurch and desperate for a proper conclusion.

Gangsta

"Gangsta" was an anime that had a lot of potential, but it fell short in execution. The story follows two "handymen", Worick and Nicolas, who do jobs for the mafia and the police that no one else can carry out.

"Gangsta" was quite popular in its premiere, and even continues to have a dedicated fan base that remains hopeful for a second season. Fans are highly unlikely to get a second season, as the first was abruptly canceled when Manglobe Inc, the studio responsible for animating "Gangsta," filed for bankruptcy, leaving the story unfinished.

Highschool of the Dead

"Highschool of the Dead" follows a group of high school students and their nurse who try to survive in a zombie apocalypse. But zombies aren't the only thing the cast has to worry about, as they also have to deal with the ramifications of a total social collapse, as crazed survivors with no morals.

Both the manga and anime of "Highschool of the Dead" were well-received and very popular. Unfortunately, the series has been left unfinished after the death of its screenwriter, Daisuke Sato, in 2017, so there will be no new material for either the manga or the anime.

Prison School

In "Prison School," Kiyoshi Fujino and his four friends find themselves as the only male students at Hachimitsu Academy, Tokyo's strictest girls' academy, after the school decides to start admitting boys. When boys are caught spying in the school's bathing area, they are given a choice: spend a month in the school's prison or be expelled.

While the "Prison School" manga was able to conclude properly, the same cannot be said for the anime, which only lasted one season. The anime has not been officially canceled, but has not been renewed for another season, so it is in a limbo from which it will probably never emerge.

Konjiki no Gash Bell!!

"Konjiki no Gash Bell!!" was one of the many forgotten shonen anime series of the early 2000s. It followed the adventures of a prickly teenager named Kiyomaru and his young friend, Zatch Bell. Zatch came from an alternate world known as the Mamodo World, and was one of a hundred children sent to Earth to fight for the right to become King of the Mamodos.

Although "Konjiki no Gash Bell!!" was very popular in Japan, with a series of 150 episodes, it was not popular enough to get an ending. Once it reached the level of the manga, the series was canceled and never had a proper ending. Zatch and Kiyo defeated the powerful Faudo, but they lacked time to win the tournament. Unfortunately, there likely won't be a new series anytime soon, although the manga already has a sequel.

Deadman Wonderland

"Deadman Wonderland" is the perfect example of an anime adaptation gone horribly wrong. After Ganta Igarashi, a high school student, witnesses the murder of his entire class, he is accused of the horrific act and sent to Deadman Wonderland, a prison that doubles as a theme park.

Although the "Deadman Wonderland" anime had great animation, it rushed into many plot points and completely eliminated important characters from the story. This didn't sit well with fans of the manga, and even those who hadn't read it didn't enjoy the anime. To make matters worse, the series was canceled after ending the first season with a frustrating cliffhanger that would have made a second season difficult anyway.

Code:Breaker

"Code:Breaker" was a popular shonen manga that ran in Weekly Shonen Magazine for several years before getting an anime. Even though the anime premiered when the series was coming to an end, Kinema Citrus only did one season and never returned to the series.

"Code:Breaker" follows a young girl named Sakura Sakurakouji, who meets a group of beings known as Code:Breakers, assassins with special privileges from the government. The series balances Sakura's optimism with the pessimism of the Code:Breakers, who see her existence as a mere necessity. Although the series is beautiful to watch, the plot changes too drastically to be worth watching.

Bubblegum Crisis

Inspired by films like Blade Runner and Terminator, "Bubblegum Crisis" is as eighties as an anime can be. The series focused on the adventures of the Knight Sabers, a group of female mercenaries dressed in motorized exoskeletons to fight robots that had become rebellious. It had a good dose of cyberpunk and rock & roll.

"Bubblegum Crisis" was very well received by fans and critics, who praised its story and characters, but it was canceled due to a contractual dispute between the two companies that produced the series. Of the 13 planned episodes, only 8 aired before the cancellation, leaving fans without any conclusion to the story. This anime needed one more season, if only to finish its plot, but it seems unlikely that that will ever happen.

Arslan Senki (The Heroic Legend of Arslan)

"Arslan Senki" is a series of classic novels by Yoshiki Tanaka, creator of "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes". The series follows a young prince named Arslan who loses his kingdom of Pars after his father's betrayal. Arslan is forced to flee for safety, creating an army to retake his country from Lusitania's forces.

Arslan saw an anime adaptation in 2015 based on a more recent manga adaptation. At that time, the series of novels had not yet ended. The final novel was published in 2017, two years after the anime's inception, but the series ended in 2016.

Magi: Labyrinth of Magic

"Magi" seemed like the next big shonen battle series when it launched in 2012. With a unique setting that referenced Arabic mythology, the story was different enough from most shonen anime to stand out in the midst of a sea of similar series with their classic shonen tropes.

"Magi" was one of the first shonen anime to adopt the season model, with a first season in 2012 and a second in 2013. The seasonal approach should have allowed the manga to stay far enough ahead that the series could continue to run. The popularity of "Magi" was even great enough to get a spin-off anime centered on Sinbad, one of the cast members of the series. However, neither series was able to come to a proper conclusion, as both stopped long before their heat ended.

Baccano!

If any anime can be considered a "cult hit", it is "Baccano!". The series is narrated from multiple points of view and is mainly set in the United States during the Prohibition era. It follows many seemingly unconnected events that end up merging together to create a much larger story about alchemy, survival, and immortality.

Although "Baccano!" received rave reviews, the series was underrated by many fans who may not have enjoyed the off-sequence narration. Be that as it may, Baccano! It was canceled after only 16 episodes, leaving many plot threads unresolved.