It’s tough reading a story that isn’t fully complete and hoping that eventually, it’ll reach its natural conclusion. It feels like a big risk, considering that an unfinished story almost feels more unsatisfying than never reading the series at all.
And, sadly, this does happen from time to time with anime adaptations of popular manga series. Thankfully, most of them start the adaptation when the manga has a large number of chapters already out, and some of the currently ongoing anime even stem from a manga that is already complete. So, let’s take a look at some of the best examples!
Updated November 5, 2021, by Jacob Buchalter: There is a lot of anime that get released each season, and most of them are based on either a manga or light novel of some sort. Now, for the most part, these anime try and capitalize on currently running manga that are popular in the hopes that it’ll draw both readers and anime fans alike for a large viewer base in total. But, along the way, a lot of these stories end in the written format long before their animated adaptations get to that point. So, let’s take a look at some of the most popular ongoing anime that fans might not know have already reached their conclusion in the manga.
14 Haikyuu
It’s sad to say, but the adventures of the Karasuno Crows have already ended in the manga. It’d be a spoiler to say how far from the current events of season four (which is starting back up again) the manga actually ends, but there is a conclusion to their story.
In fact, the last chapter is already more than a year old at this point, first released back in July of 2020. That said, for fans who can’t handle the story ending, there is a spin-off series called Haikyubu that’s released a few chapters, but output has massively thanks to the obvious strife of 2021. Still, it is nice to see a sports anime actually end things, as both it and the Shonen Action genre always struggle from being told by their editors to keep the story going forever and ever.
13 Platinum End
Hopping on while the iron is hot, the Platinum End anime just recently started airing this Fall 2021 season. And, for those who feel like this dark and oddly nihilistic series has a lot in common with something like Death Note, that’s a good guess, as both mangas were written by the same person, Tsugumi Ohba.
Although, compared to the world of Death Note, Platinum End has a lot more supernatural stuff going on, as it has people competing to replace God, guardian angels, and so on. That said, while Platinum End’s quality is something that is always being debated on, especially compared to Death Note, the story itself is actually already over, as it finished in its fourteenth volume back in February of 2021.
12 Chainsaw Man
Now technically, this is a bit of a cheat, since the Chainsaw Man anime isn’t quite out yet (at the time of writing this), but it’s very close. And, with a trusted studio like Mappa at the helm, this is sure to become an instant hit similar to all the other shows like it. Chainsaw Man comes from the brain of Tatsuki Fujimoto, the eccentric who wrote and illustrated a series called Fire Punch not long before it.
And, for those who have read either Fire Punch or Chainsaw Man, they know that this upcoming anime is about to be off the walls in concept, gore, and raw dark humor. And, there’s quite a lot of content for the anime to cover (likely more than one season can do), as the manga itself is already “finished”. Thankfully, the ending was sure to make itself clear that this is just the end to one part of the story, so there will be more coming at some point.
11 Jojo Part 6: Stone Ocean
Ah, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the cult classic turned worldwide phenomenon written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. JoJo is a unique story in a myriad of ways, but in terms of its actual composition, the story is especially creative in that each “story” is separated into separate “parts' ' detailing the adventures of another member of the Joestar family line.
- Part one, Phantom Blood, has Jonathan Joestar.
- Part two, Battle Tendency, had the hilarious Joseph Joestar
- Part three, Stardust Crusaders has the stoic Jotaro Joestar as the lead.
- Part four, Diamond is Unbreakable had the flower-child Josuke Joestar/Higashikata.
- And Part five, Golden Wind, took a slight turn with Giorno Giovanna (AKA GioGio).
But, in the upcoming Netflix-backed anime adaptation, the next Joestar to take center stage is Joelyn, the daughter of Jotaro Joestar. Stone Ocean is a trip and is the favorite part of many of the JoJo fanbase since it has some of the best side characters and one of the strongest villains. Although considering Part 8 of the JoJo manga (titled Jojolion) just ended rather recently, it’s pretty obvious that Joelyns story has already long reached its conclusion in the manga format before the anime has even started airing.
10 Attack On Titan
Attack On Titan began its manga run back in 2009. It wrapped up its final chapter in 2021. Once published, the series will have thirty-four volumes of manga material.
The anime started a few years after the manga, which is traditional for Japan, in 2013. Between seasons the anime has taken years off in order to keep pace with the manga. The series directors did not want to add in filler like other anime series. The final episode of Attack on Titan is supposed to debut in early 2022 so if one can’t wait that long, the manga is out there.
9 Bleach
Bleach began its manga run in 2001. The manga lasted fifteen years, producing seventy-four volumes. The anime started in 2004 and ended eight years later in 2012. The odd thing about this is the fact that the anime never finished the final arc of the manga. It came so close and then just didn't continue. Then, a few years later, Tite Kubo started working on Burn the Witch, his next series.
For whatever reason though the anime never came back until almost a decade later. Technically then this anime is still ongoing or at least it will be once the season starts presumably during one of 2021’s anime seasons.
8 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba had the shortest manga run on this list. The manga started in 2016 and ended in 2020 with twenty-three total volumes collected. The anime started in 2019, had one season, just premiered its movie in 2020 in Japan and now the second season of the anime just started airing this Fall 2021 season.
In any case, it's rare for a shounen series to end this quickly, especially since Demon Slayer was actually giving One Piece a run for its money in sales, but it did sadly come to an end. That, of course, won't stop the tsunami of Demon Slayer-related media from flooding the market over the next couple of years. But, if all of them are of comparable quality to the Hinokami Chronicles game, then it's a welcome flood.
7 Dorohedoro
The Dorohedoro manga started in 2000 and ended in 2018. The anime on the other hand started last year with a half-season run that premiered on Netflix in North America. While Netflix hasn’t officially come out to say they’re working on helping bring a new season out, it seems inevitable.
Hopefully, it does come out soon because there is still a lot of material left in the manga to cover and the half-season they did show already garnered quite a lot of diehard Dorohedoro fans.
6 Rakudai Ninja Rantaro
Rakudai Ninja Rantaro is like The Simpsons of Japan. It’s actually one in several anime shows that can be likened to this Western hit as they are long-running. Firstly, the manga started in 1986 and ended in 2019. The total amount of volumes collected was sixty-five. The anime started quite a few years later in 1993 and is still going with over two thousand episodes.
It’s a very obscure anime and or manga for Western fans as there is no official ongoing translation. That might be because it’s a comedy ninja anime where the jokes are very much of the time and specific to Japan. Translating it would be tricky. There are fans helping out there but whether one can read Japanese or not the fact remains that this is a finished manga.
5 Shaman King
Shaman King shares similarities with how Bleach’s anime run ended up. The manga began in 1998 and ended in 2004. It went through many hiatuses in that time period and when it was finished, some fans felt its ending was a bit rushed. Later on, three more volumes were added.
Additionally, in 2001 there was an anime adaptation for the series that eventually ended without telling the full story. Thankfully, there’s a more recent adaptation that premiered on Netflix, so hopefully, the full Shaman King story will be told this time.
4 Sazae-san
Sazae-san began in 1946 and lasted until 1974. It was a comic strip about a Japanese family that focused on punchlines rather than telling a fluid story over time. The closest thing one could liken it to in terms of popularity in the West might be The Peanuts.
The anime started in 1969 and has over 7000 episodes. It has never been picked up officially but there are fan translations out there for both.
3 Anpanman
Anpan is a red bean paste pastry in Japan. Anpanman then is an anthropomorphic version of that but as a superhero aimed at kids. There are other various food-based heroes and villains in this world.
The manga started in 1973 and lasted until the death of the writer, Takashi Yanase, in 2013. The anime began in 1988 and has over 1,400 episodes, but was never fully brought over to the west. Some of the movies can be seen on Tubi though.
2 Doraemon
Doraemon began as a manga in 1970 and lasted until 1996. Almost a decade later a new manga began, Doraemon Plus, which started in 2005 and ended in 2014. There have been various anime adaptations about this time-traveling cat over the years but the latest, also in 2005, is still ongoing. Some of these episodes were even translated around 2014 for a Disney XD block on TV.
1 Lupin The 3rd
Lupin the 3rd’s first manga began in 1967 and ended in 1969. The second part began in 1967 and lasted until 1981. There have been many adaptations for this gentleman thief through anime and movies with the latest show, Lupin the 3rd Part V, airing in 2018. There is a sixth installment of this newer series called Lupin the Third Part 6 that has been airing since October 2021.