Introduction

Sometimes anime are given anime original endings so that their stories wrap up within one season despite the source material continuing on. Other times anime simply never finish adapting their source material and are left, forgotten.

There are a variety of reasons why an anime would be left unfinished, or have its ending changed to wrap up the story early, but there are some which I believe deserve a second chance to finish their story. While I won’t say the four anime on this list are the best, I think they have the potential to be good if done right.

Oreimo had an anime original ending after the first season, but it was so successful that the first OVA rewrote the ending so that the second season, and true conclusion, could be made. If Oreimo deserved to finish, I see no reason why these four anime shouldn’t finish as well.

1. Fuuka

Fuuka is kind of in the same boat as Oreimo once was. The anime adaptation goes in a different direction from the source material and because of that, a second season following the story of the manga isn’t really possible at this point without some episodes being remade.

I’d say it’s still possible for Fuuka to get a second season that follows the events of the first season, but I don’t think anyone really wants that. Instead, Fuuka deserves to be adapted properly so that it can finish telling its story.

You may be thinking, “isn’t the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime basically the same thing?” No. Fullmetal Alchemist did break from the source material, but it did so because the source material wasn’t complete yet. It also actually finished the partially anime original story once it committed to that route, unlike Fuuka.

For those who aren’t aware, the Fuuka anime is essentially the prologue of the manga, but altered. In the manga, the titular Fuuka is hit by a truck and dies, while in the anime she stays around for longer and eventually decides to leave the band to pursue her solo career.

Fuuka’s departure is where the anime ends, but in the manga she’s actually replaced by another girl, also named Fuuka, after her death. So, it could really be argued that the “titular” Fuuka in the anime isn’t even the titular Fuuka; the one we never got to meet is.

So how could this be remedied? Alternate episodes would have to be released which set the record straight. Fuuka would need to get hit by the truck that she wasn’t in the anime, and then the new Fuuka needs to take her place as the lead singer of the band.

Once those changes are made, a second season could continue the story as it was originally intended. On the other hand, the current anime plot could be continued with Fuuka being replaced after leaving the band to go solo, but either way the anime doesn’t yet have an end.

2. Gunslinger Girl

While Fuuka didn’t go in the same direction as the source material, Gunslinger Girl was simply never fully adapted, probably because the anime wasn’t all that good to begin with. Yes, I rated both seasons of Gunslinger Girl at 4/10, but the story was good, the execution just wasn’t.

It looks and feels like a low-budget anime, and that’s the main reason I think it was never fully adapted. Unfortunately, only one or two of the girls in the series had their arcs completed, and these endings are what I enjoyed the most from the series.

Gunslinger Girl is a compilation of bittersweet tragedies, and those are probably my favorite kinds of stories. None of the girls get a what we would consider a happy end, but as far as they’re concerned, most of them do get happy endings to their arcs.

Everyone dies by the way. I’ll spoil that much because the anime never actually gets to that point. I think only one girl is dead by the end of the second season, but based on how good of an ending her arc was, I can only imagine how great the rest of the series could have been.

Needless to say, not only does Gunslinger Girl deserve to be completed, but it deserves to be well-made this time around. It was originally animated by Madhouse, which is kind of a big deal as far as studios are concerned, so I think they’d be able to give this series a proper adaptation if they picked it up again today.

3. Sakura Trick

The final series I think deserves a second chance is Sakura Trick. Honestly, I don’t even remember how this anime ended, but I’m pretty sure it had one of those ambiguous endings that leaves it open for future content, which makes sense since the manga continued for at least three more years after the anime.

I’d actually like to rewatch Sakura Trick at some point because I think I’d rate it higher now than I did when I first saw it. It’s a yuri romance anime about two girls who decide their friendship isn’t special enough, and so they kiss each other in secret because what else would they do?

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I found this anime to be strangely stressful to watch. Now that I’ve had more time to reflect on it though, I think that means it was actually a good anime. It somehow got me so invested that I got stressed every time Yuu and Haruka were almost caught.

The thing about continuing this anime is that it’s based on a four panel manga, and so I’m not entirely sure how much plot there was in the source material to begin with. Since I haven’t read it, as far as I know, the whole plot was anime original.

However, even if this is the case, the fact that there were at least three more years in the run time of the manga after the anime means there’s the potential for more content to be adapted. So, unlike the previous two anime, Sakura trick doesn’t necessarily need to be revived, but I’d really enjoy if it was.

Conclusion

As a special bonus, Highschool of the Dead is another anime that probably deserves a second chance. Unfortunately it will likely never be finished because the author died last year, but there is enough material to make a second season at least.

However, with the author no longer around, it’s probably difficult to get the rights to make a second season and so it will probably go unfinished in that regard as well.

I didn’t officially add Highschool of the Dead to this list because I haven’t actually seen it yet, so as far as I know, maybe it doesn’t actually deserve a second season. It’s on my PTW list though, and I know what it’s about and how popular it is, so that’s why it’s here as a bonus.

So what anime do you think deserve a second chance? Do you agree with any of my choices? Do you think Highschool of the Dead should get a second season? Maybe you think Akame ga Kill needs a more complete adaptation? Let me know in the comments.

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