Dissatisfied

I wanted to mention that I did finish watching Fruits Basket.  Overall, the series was good, but I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction.  I also watched Ouran High School Host Club and Tsubasa.  I would definitely recomment both anime.  However, I'm beginning to notice a pattern.

In some anime, such as Tsubasa and Tokyo Mew Mew, the creators wrapped up the current storyline, but ended the series in a way that made you believe that there would be more.  And in Tsubasa's case, the story didn't seem done at all.  Yes, the arc was completed, but there was so much that still hadn't happened that would make me believe the story was over.  I found out later, that the Tsubasa manga continues the story, but after that point in the storyline, the characters change dramatically and the lovable, somewhat lackadaisical story you once knew becomes dark and serious, an error on the part of CLAMP writers.  Very dissappointing.  I'm usually a fan of CLAMP.

In other anime, such as Fruits Basket, the overall story has been told, the ending is clear and we are not led to believe that it will continue... However, the ending wasn't conclusive.  What I mean is, very little got solved, the future of the characters wasn't clear, and none of the little sidestories were really tied up, either.

Ouran Host Club and Hetalia, also leave me dissatisfied.  The series stops with no wrapping up whatsoever.  Admittedly, with Hetalia, the story doesn't need to continue for the series to be enjoyed...  But Ouran, at least, should have had plenty more to happen. Instead, it just stopped.

What is with this theme of leaving watchers dissatisfied?  If you're going to end a series, assuredly not coming back to another season, please wrap it up nicely so it doesn't look like an abandoned project.  I mean, really... If I were a teacher and these anime were papers I graded, this is what the grades would look like:

Student: Fruits Basket
Grade: A -
Comments:  Interesting concepts.  Brilliant execution!  Conclusion needs some work.

Student: Hetalia
Grade: B +
Comments:  Interesting concept.  Adaquate execution.  Good use of humorous repetition.  Where is conclusion?

Student: Ouran High School Host Club
Grade: B
Comments:  Good concept.  Body keeps me interested.  Slight repetition.  Where is conclusion?

Student:  Tokyo Mew Mew
Paper One
Grade: A
Comments:  Nice adaptation of old concepts!  Good development.  Transition on page two could use some work.  Excellent conclusion.  I look forward to your next paper on this topic!

Student: Tokyo Mew Mew
Paper Two
Grade: F
Comments: Paper was not turned in.

Student:  Tsubasa
Grade:  B -
Comments:  Interesting concept.  Decent execution.  Introduction could be longer.  Good transitions.  Interesting development.  Conclusion?

Yeah.  Good papers, but not a single student is getting an A + in that class.

I've also started to watch Love Hina.  I've enjoyed it so far, but if this one doesn't have a conclusive conclusion, I'll be really upset.  Part of why this one is so enjoyable is because of the mystery of the ending.  Unfortunately, because college takes up so much of my time, I may not finish watching it for a while, and may actually start over at some point.

In conclusion, good endings can make it or break it for mediocre anime.  Good anime will still be good without a good conclusion, but will never make an A + grade in the class of anime papers.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie