Ending an anime well can be difficult to pull off, but some of the smartest conclusions make viewers rethink the entire series after they’re through. Anime finales that stick the landing are impressive in their own right, but there’s something truly special about ones that reframe their stories. These anime typically use mind-blowing plot twists to do so, flipping everything viewers believed about the characters and narrative upside down.
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Looking back at the series after such endings can force a reckoning, making fans reconsider everything from character motivations to the true meanings behind individual scenes. Series that accomplish this make prime rewatch candidates, as you’ll often pick up on new things a second or third time around. From a series that initially seems like a standard hero’s journey but becomes a tragedy to an anime that unveils a masterful plan, these stories are brilliant to look back on.
4) Attack on Titan
For its first three seasons, Attack on Titan is undeniably tragic — but it’s still unclear whether the anime will be a full-blown tragedy when it’s through. When we’re introduced to Eren and his friends, it seems like their story will be about overcoming the Titans, following a more traditional setup. However, the series goes off the rails as it continues, with its many plot twists proving its world and narrative is more complicated than that. And Eren becoming the villain — and revealing that future memories from the Attack Titan are behind many of his choices — makes the series look completely different on a rewatch. Viewers will pick up on new things the second time around, and they’ll also view the story in a much bleaker light.
3) Odd Taxi
For the majority of Odd Taxi, we follow cab driver Odokawa as he becomes wrapped up in a missing-persons investigation. And the main character and everyone around him are depicted as animals, something we later find out is only true from his point of view. The anime’s lead has a condition called visual agnosia, which makes him unable to recognize people as they truly are. This reframes the entire series from a visual standpoint, and it also makes his encounter at the very end far more sinister. Odd Taxi cements itself as a standout thriller in this regard. It’s an underrated series everyone should watch.
2) Steins;Gate
Because it’s so focused on time travel, it’s no surprise that Steins;Gate‘s ending makes viewers rethink the story after it’s done. The anime opens in a way that makes you question everything that’s happening, and the conclusion brings us full circle, solving the many mysteries raised by the show’s confusing beginnings. In this way, it’s a satisfying anime to revisit, as it makes far more sense the second time around. Knowing the outcome also makes the journey a more emotional. And Steins;Gate 0 adds further context for understanding the series. It renders the conclusion a greater win, as it shows us firsthand what the characters stand to lose.
1) Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
The ending of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 reveals that the title character is responsible for planning his own turn to tyranny and death, proving how far he’s willing to go for his cause. Lelouch’s “Zero Requiem” plan forces viewers to reconsider his actions leading up to the anime’s conclusion, much like Eren’s revelation at the end of Attack on Titan. It explains why Lelouch does everything he does, and it recontextualizes him as even more of a mastermind. Even 18 years after Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 concluded, this is still considered one of the most surprising twist endings in anime history. There’s a reason people look back on it so fondly, and it’s because it changes everything in a genuinely clever way.
What’s an anime that you look at differently after knowing the ending? Leave a comment and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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