The End

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]There's a line from an old poem dated back to the 1300s that goes, "But at the last as everything hot and which roughly translates to all good things must come to an end." Regardless of who you are, regardless of what the thing in question is, regardless of how much you like it, all things must end. Just like your favorite stories. That's right. Be it anime, manga, everything in between, all stories end. And some do so better than others. I'm so sorry about that title and thumbnail, by the way. I usually don't clickbait that hard. Anyway, as you can probably tell, this video is all about endings, fictional endings. In it, I'll go over some of my all-time favorite conclusions in fiction and in the process try to uncover what an ending should ideally be. If any of that sounds interesting to you, keep watching. And if it doesn't, keep watching. Also, this is pretty much the only time you'll see me talk about non-anime titles, TV shows, novels, etc., etc. So, if that titilates you, I love that word. again. Keep watching.

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[00:01:23]So, a couple of things. One, while this list isn't ordered, the last ending I'll talk about is in fact my favorite. So, look forward to it, I guess. And two, I'll avoid spoilers to the best of my ability. Kind of look at it this way. If the series I'm talking about is really popular, I'll talk about it in detail.

[00:01:40]And if it's not, I'll avoid referring to specific events and use broad terms.

[00:01:44]Sounds good? Let's go. The first ending I'll talk about is Attack on Titan.

[00:01:49]Let's start with the big one. Now, I won't say much, not because I don't want to talk about it, but rather because I made a longass video about the ending back when it aired. You can check it out if you want. Still, to sum it up, I think the ending did a good enough job of concluding the incredibly complex, layered, ambitious story that is AOT. I won't say it blew me away completely, but it was exactly what it needed to be, and it was presented in as ideal of a manner as possible in anime form. That is, the manga was fairly rushed. There is however one aspect that made it special. one aspect that stood out, one aspect that earned it a spot on this highly important list that's not just a filler video idea I had in the back of my head, that being how open-ended it was. You see, AOT is a compact story. It rarely leaves much room for interpretation, but the ending was the exact opposite. It made the viewer think. I won't go over every story beat, but the scene that best exemplifies this open-endedness is the final one, and I just got chills thinking about it. The scene features this kid walking towards an all too familiar tree. The insinuation is that he'll merge with the hallucenia much like Yir. But what does that mean? Will the entire cycle [music] repeat? Was the entire story pointless?

[00:03:01]Did we accomplish nothing? Is cereal a soup? I say no and fear not. I'll explain the ending part, not the cereal soup thing. You see, Yumir fell into the tree because she was running away from her captives. She was hurt. She was scared. And the hallucinia simply responded to her survival instinct, creating a powerful body that could heal itself. This kid, on the other hand, entered the tree cave out of curiosity.

[00:03:24]He wasn't being chased. He wasn't hurt.

[00:03:26]In fact, he had a dog as a companion compared to Yamir, who was being chased by them. The two scenes aren't similar.

[00:03:32]History won't repeat itself. The kid will merge with the hallucenia, but it won't result in a titan. [music] The outcome will instead be something that helps mankind. something that in my opinion helps humans satiate their insane curiosity. What will it be exactly? We don't know. Isama doesn't tell us. He leaves it up to our interpretations. But it's that idea, one conveyed in a few seconds and without using any dialogue, might I add, that made the ending so special.

[00:03:57]So, what did we learn? That's right. I'm your English teacher now. We learned that endings can be open-ended. They don't need to end with a and they lived happily ever after. They can let the viewer decide what the ever after will be. that's a viable option. And on that note, the next series I'd like to talk about is The Secret Series by Sudonmous Bosch. What is The Secret Series by Sudonmous Bosch, you may ask? It's a somewhat kid-friendly novel series spent by, well, Sudonmous Bosch. And quick sidebar, it played a pivotal role in my growth as a fan of, well, fiction in general. I recall issuing those books over and over again from my school library because I just couldn't get enough fun times. Now, since I know none of you have actually read the series and know what it's about, I won't talk about it in detail. I'll just cover the overall idea of the ending. Basically, this series is a metafiction, meaning it's aware that it's a fictional work.

[00:04:50]The author literally comments on his own writing in real time. That's one of the best things about this series, and it's hard to explain, but it's a very unique reading experience. Anyway, the ending of the series isn't exactly conclusive.

[00:05:02]In fact, in more ways than one, it's an anti-ending, which is a term I just made up, but I hope you guys know what I mean. What Bosch did, that's obviously not his real name, but we'll go with it.

[00:05:11]What he did was rant, literally in writing, rant about how annoying it is when other authors make conclusive endings and decide on the fates of their characters on the fly. According to him, this approach makes a story feel like just that, a story, a lie, a fabrication. If the characters were real, they'd get into all sorts of situations even after the story ends.

[00:05:30]So, it doesn't make much sense to end their stories with a neat little and they lived happily or sadly ever after.

[00:05:36]Interesting, right? Bosch basically just ends the story. He just calls it a day.

[00:05:41]He barely resolves anything. He leaves a lot of questions unanswered, the whole 9 yards, but he does so in a way that works. I won't go into any actual detail just in case like three of you decide to give it a shot, but the idea of an ending being the exact opposite of conclusive was interesting enough to warrant a spot in this video in my opinion. really fun stuff.

[00:06:01]Now, open-endedness is fun and all, especially when executed well, but are endings that do resolve things, not good. Are conclusive endings bad? Well, obviously not. They can be brilliant.

[00:06:12]Look no further than Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Two of the most influential TV shows ever. Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have phenomenal endings. Also, has your unpopular opinion of the day. I think Better Call Saul is significantly better in every way. Go argue with the wall. Anyway, let's start with Breaking Bad, the weaker show. So, the ending of Breaking Bad to me is easily the best part of it.

[00:06:36]The idea of Walter White, Mr. Heisenberg himself, finally being honest for once and acknowledging his own toxic ego and pride was both the obvious and the only choice Vince Gilligan could have made, and it was perfect. I personally don't consider the ending to be a redemption necessarily. Yes, Walt did protect his family from those neoy guys, but the reason why he had to do that was because he got involved with them in the first place. Yes, he did free Jesse, but he was the reason why Jesse got captured in the first place. You get the idea. It wasn't Walter redeeming himself. It was him taking responsibility for his actions and ending his life on his own terms, surrounded by chemistry, a study he had a tremendous amount of admiration for. And there's something very powerful about that. something something that one speech about Adams in a show filled with quote unquote badass moments. I personally find that to be the coolest thing Walter has ever done. Yes, I'm one of those guys. Really cool stuff. On a similar note, Better Call Saul, the better show ended with Saul owning up to his crimes and getting arrested, a decision he made due to a variety of factors. his love for Kim, the influence people like Mike, Walt, and Chuck had on him over the years, and his own, I don't know, guilty conscious doesn't seem acade.

[00:07:49]Unlike Walt, who became Heisenberg, Jimmy was always Saul. He had that in him. Saul, slipping Jimmy, whatever you want to call it. And the ending wasn't just him taking responsibility and owning up to his actions. It was him actively trying to change. I can't stress this enough, that final speech of his still gives me chills to this day.

[00:08:07]Him correcting the judge and referring to himself as James McIll is one of the most powerful moments in television history in my opinion. Not because he became Jimmy. Jimmy and Saul aren't exactly different people, but because he was trying to become James Miguel. It was him listening to Chuck and going back and changing his path. The next title I'd like to talk about is The Time Machine by Edgie Wells. And I hope you like that visual transition because that's the only reason why I made this video. Well, not the only one, but you get the idea. The Time Machine is a science fiction novel published in the year 1895. It's one of the most influential sci-fi titles ever, and it's absolutely worth a visit. With all that being said, it's hard to describe the ending because one, I'm sure most of you haven't read it, so I can't get into specifics, and two, it's very surreal. I think that's the best way of describing it. So far, we have talked about conclusive endings and open-ended ones.

[00:08:58]But this title and a few others I'll talk about in a bit fall into this weird space in the middle where they are neither interpretive nor concrete. I'll try to explain it though. The way the story ends to me is a commentary on how inane life is. It's quite pessimistic but in a way that's borderline haunting.

[00:09:15][music] Very minor spoilers. Near the end of the story, the protagonist travels really far into the future and reaches the point where life on Earth comes to an end. And the way that final landscape is depicted is genuinely unnerving. It's impossible for me to describe it using words alone. You guys have to read it for yourselves. It's worth it, I promise.

[00:09:34]While we're on the topic of surreal endings, the next title I'll talk about is The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria or Hakumari for short. And I just realized this video format has a massive flaw.

[00:09:43]That being the fact that when I talk about unheard of titles like Hakumari, I can't really go into any detail because I don't want to spoil it. Still, here's a brief overview. Hakumari is a disgusting read. It's a painfully real visit look at human nature and the ending of it is genuinely one of the most mindy things you'll ever read. It is a conclusive ending technically speaking, but the path it takes to get there is genuinely ridiculous. I know most of you don't read light novels, but I absolutely recommend it. It's phenomenal.

[00:10:13]Another sural ending, one you guys are actually familiar with, is Fire Force. I made an entire members only review of it in case any of you are interested. Now, battle shonen titles haven't been doing well lately when it comes to endings.

[00:10:25]Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia, Jiujutsu Kaisen, Black Clover, Kaiju8, all of them had endings that weren't exactly wellreceived by the masses. And I think the reason behind that is the fact that they were too safe. They were inoffensive. They were inconsequential.

[00:10:40]They were trying to appease as many fans as possible. And in the process, they ended up disappointing many. Fire Force, on the other hand, decided to go the other way. In a world filled with safe battle shownen endings, Fire Force decided to be batshit insane. And I love that. Like, it takes some serious balls to undo all rules and create a brand new universe that ties into a different series. And it takes some serious skill to do that. Well, hats off to Mangakatsushiubo.

[00:11:05]Absolute insanity.

[00:11:08]And with that, let's get to the visual novel portion of this video. Starting with Fate's Day Night, the Fate route to be more specific. Now, I won't say much because unlike Unlimited Blade Works in Heavensfield, the fate route hasn't been adapted technically speaking. But I will say this, despite being the weakest of the three roots, it has the strongest ending in my opinion. And it only gets stronger when you consider that special ending thing. If you've read the visual novel, you know what I'm talking about.

[00:11:33]And if you haven't, why read it? Anyway, the fate route is obviously Sabre's route, meaning it builds a quite frankly fantastic character dynamic and romantic connection between her and Shido. And the way the route concludes that dynamic and Saber's character is absolutely phenomenal. The fact that the impression of Saber most fans have is Urubochi's Fate Zero and not this is criminal.

[00:11:55]Please read the visual novel. Let that be your only takeaway from this video.

[00:11:58]Read the visual novel.

[00:12:01]The next title is the house in Fatamorgana series or more specifically the main title and a reququum for innocence. Reincarnation has a decent ending too but it's not exactly comparable to the other two. Now Fatamorgana is one of my favorite things ever just of all time and the way the first two visual novels end is absolutely brilliant. The main series has a more surreal ending with notes of the supernatural and it's executed perfectly. It's bittersweet. It's heartbreaking and at the same time it's weirdly uplifting and hopeful. It's a perfect blend of a series of complex emotions each executed flawlessly. The more impressive of the two endings, however, belongs to a reququum for innocence in my opinion. And I'll explain why. You see, Arfy, a reququum for innocence is a prequel that's meant to be played after the main series, meaning the players already know what happens in it and how it ends. They literally know what the ending is in detail, mind you, but somehow it still works.

[00:12:57]Unlike the main series, the ending to Arfy is a pure tragedy. There's no hope in it whatsoever. That's not a spoiler, don't worry. It's a heart-wrenching conclusion filled with nothing but regret to the point where it can come off as a bit much psychologically for the reader, but still, there's an inherent sense of beauty in it. Plus, that fragment section, effectively a postredit scene, gives the viewer a muchneeded glimmer of hope. Really good stuff.

[00:13:22]And finally, with all that out of the way, let's talk about my all-time favorite ending. One so powerful that even to this day, simply looking at a screenshot from it or listening to the soundtrack that played during it destroys me emotionally. Let's talk about Fate Hollow Atteraxia.

[00:13:38]An indirect semicon sequel to Fate's Day Night, Fate Hollow Atteraxia is brilliant in every sense of the word from front to back. But despite that, it's the ending that stands out the most to me. Of course, I can't talk about it in detail because most of you haven't played it. But what I can do is recount my reaction to it when I played it for the first time. So, I played this title several years back and upon finishing it, I just sat there static for like 10 minutes straight just processing [music] what had happened. I'm not making this up. That's literally what I did. And recently, someone on Twitter said they did the exact same thing. So, I'm not the only one. You get my point, right? I absolutely love it. It's brilliant in a way that's hard to describe. Even if I were to delve into spoilers, I doubt I'd be able to explain it well. It's one of those you have to read it for yourself stories. Absolutely incredible.

[00:14:28]And that's it. Tried something different for no particular reason. Hope you guys enjoyed. Also, I know I've been gone for a while, but what can I say? I was busy in real life, but all of that stuff's over. I'm now back. That said, a special thanks to N03, Amir, the Galas 90, Musi Kag, and Eizni. I hope that's how you say it for becoming tier three members.