What are some of the best endings you've read or watched?

[TomSawyer]

I thought the ending fit the series

Train moves on
Eve stays with them
Rinslet gives them another mission
Granted. Some plotlines were unresolved

But it was still pretty good for what it's worth
Plus I'm still hoping that the author creates a sequel

[Cielle]

I agree with @insomniascrawl, the Samurai Champloo ending was pretty perfect. Also agree with @joannekwan about Pan's Labyrinth, that was all I could ever ask for in an ending. I also really liked the ending of Stranger Things. I thought it wrapped up enough to be a satisfactory end, but left enough ambiguity to leave room for a season 2.

As for endings I did not like...the ending of Ao No Exorcist (the anime) was pretty meh to me. I pretty much stopped watching it after it deviated from the manga mid-season, but when I sucked it up and finished it I was pretty disappointed. I disliked the ending of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I also wasn't a huge fan of the ending of Friends (what was Rachel thinking?! She should have gone to Paris!).

[joannekwan]

Aarrgh, sorry bout the Pan's Labyrinth thing, It's just the movie's 10 years old and I don't think of putting bold warnings for stuff that's older than 5 years. My bad!

[El_Psy_Congroo]

No worries. I only mentioned it because I didn't notice the spoiler warning before reading that bit.

I've put off watching that movie for so long - every time I start I never make it past the first 5 minutes. One day. One day...

Anyway, technically, this whole thread needs a spoiler warning so its to be expected haha.

[keii4ii]

I FORGOT THIS MOVIE

Jacob's Ladder. (1990 film) The entire movie is amazing, and the ending continued the excellence in a way that was unexpected, yet still made perfect sense.

[acealmansoori]

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - I really loved the ending, and was completely blind-sided. Whenever I find myself blindsided by an ending then i know it's good.

The Final destination movies - Contrary to many, I find the ending in these movies amusing to watch.

Sherlock Holmes season 2 a scandal in Belgravia - had one of the best endings, and acting I've ever seen. Beautifully done.

Pan's Labyrinth - so the main character dies, but in her death she is now a princess of a fantastical realm far removed from her unhappy reality set in the Spanish civil war.

One of my all time favourite.

[donathinfrye]

@joannekwan already mentioned Pan's Labyrinth, which is one of my all-time favorite endings to a story. Here's a few others, though (no spoilers!) ...

Spring
A Lovecraftian Romance/Horror film that takes the anticipation of "will they/won't they" to terrifying new levels and ends just perfectly.

Magnolia
One of my all-time favorite films -- maybe my favorite. The entire story builds tension as disparate characters become desperate characters ... and it culminates in a scene that ties everyone together so powerfully, so perfectly, it really goes beyond words for me. Plus, some of the best ensemble acting ever.

The Office (American)
Most people have probably seen The Office by now and know whether or not they love or hate it. In my mind, The Office writes the book on creating a perfect slice-of-life comedy with enough silly and enough heart to get you fully invested into its characters. And, even after 9 seasons, it nails the "flash forward" ending in such a way that you really value all of the time you spent watching the entire series.

The Watchmen
You make comic books/read comic books but haven't read The Watchmen? Probably not. I'll still avoid spoilers, but Alan Moore's climax and epilogue is all at once rational, sickening, heart-breaking, rewarding, vengeful, hopeful and hopeless. It's so twisted up in its own uncertainties while deftly reminding you that life goes on, and isn't that beautiful and terrible thing?

That's at least a few of my things with favorite endings! : )

[mintycanoodles]

I think moulin rouge's ending was perfect. horribly sad, but perfect. it felt right, like everything in the movie was pointing towards it. it felt like the only possible thing that could happen and I think that's how endings should feel.

[HNLEE]

I agree with TG, FMA & ATLA. Both had really good final fight scenes all leading up to the perfect ending.

Also loved the gravity falls ending mostly for the most last part with uncle Stan. Watching GF ending really feels like a punch to the heart.

But for me the best ending ever was from FUTURAMA! Granted that they did get cancelled (again) but with an ending like that... how can I get mad. Really amazing how they were able to top everything off considering they've ended multiple times haha
The very last ending with Fry and Leela, I can remember just being completely speechless for the whole montage with the tears rolling slow-mo off my face. I have no words.
Most times I forget the answer to these kinds of questions but that ending left a big impact. Unforgettable.

[TheVoidchildProject]

MY favorite ending though HAS to be the ending to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. YES YES YES! It has everything that makes a good ending

It's the one I was going to mention. This ending wraps up As perfectly and nearly as it could l, convincing me that the author knew exactly what she was doing the whole time.

[Potoh]

I loved the ending of the manga Chrono Crusade.

I know it's a thread about endings, but I warn anyway:
SPOILER

It was one of the saddest endings I have ever read, but it was also a consequent one. From the beginning you knew the fate of the main character Rosette, and she also is aware of it during the whole story. You kinda keep hoping that there is some sort of back-doorish escape for Rosette, because that's what often happens when a main character faces a lethal fate. Some miracle or explanation that the curse is broken by certain actions. But there isn't. Which was shocking, but also very compelling.

[Shanny8]

@El_Psy_Congroo you're not the only one. I have Pan's Labrynth in my movie collection and STILL havent watched it yet.

[NickRowler]

The endings to each of the Phoenix (Hino Tori) mangas by Osamu Tezuka. (Minus Early Works...that one was awful)

I think the ending of Spirited Away was done well. Not being able to look back but also giving the sense that "was it real?".

[J.Z.Castillo]

This ending wraps up As perfectly and nearly as it could l, convincing me that the author knew exactly what she was doing the whole time.

It's funny because Arakawa knew how the series were going to end but she didn't know how the characters were going to get there. She let all the inbetween story develop as she wrote it and as the characters grew.

[TheVoidchildProject]

Eiichiro Oda of One Piece has explained that he has a similar style. He knew how the series starts and how it's going to end. He's then pieced together the middle parts with other ideas for storylines that he wanted to include. It's a fascinating way of writing a letter narrative that I'm waaaaay too chicken to try myself. :x

[J.Z.Castillo]

Really? I actually think it's way easier to write a story that way! It makes it feel looser and organic. This is how I am making my comic, I have about 12 major arcs ready to go, but the stories that are told are pretty much up in the air. I know where I wanna take the story but I don't know how to get there. It's much less stressful knowing that you can fidget with your story if you have to and that it's not set in stone.

[insomniascrawl]

I agree! I write like this too. If I plan too much, the second I decide to change something, I'd have to rewrite the whole thing all over again, especially if I made a major flaw in the plot. It's easier for me to write more freely without a set plot, but that just means I really have to keep in check with what I've already written to keep it in proper order. @TheVoidchildProject The writer of One Piece Must have some pretty intense notes if he writes like that too, because there is sooo much story with that series, but it's all been pretty good, so I'm sure his ending will follow suit.

[TheVoidchildProject]

Well it may be case of how the story plays out. My comic is basically divided into an overarching season (which needs a beginning and an end) and separate chapters/story arcs (that also needs a beginning and an end while at the same time tying together the overarcing plot). To get these to tie together nicely, I'm not sure I'd be able to connect the dots as neatly as I'd want.

That said, everything starts at that sort of organic level that you mention, mine did in th script writing process where I only started out with an idea for a beginning and an end for the "season" and chapters and just started writing. Now that I'm in the drawing phase though, I don't have to spend as much time thinking about the plot in that sense because it's basically complete. ^_^

Loving these narrative discussions on this forum! ^_^

@TheVoidchildProject The writer of One Piece Must have some pretty intense notes if he writes like that too, because there is sooo much story with that series, but it's all been pretty good, so I'm sure his ending will follow suit.

Oh, I'm sure he does and he's probably some sort of savant at the same time. I don't see how else he'd manage to keep everything so connected if he wasn't. =D

[donathinfrye]

Eiichiro Oda of One Piece has explained that he has a similar style. He knew how the series starts and how it's going to end. He's then pieced together the middle parts with other ideas for storylines that he wanted to include. It's a fascinating way of writing a letter narrative that I'm waaaaay too chicken to try myself. :x

This is how I write in all mediums (comics, plays, prose, etc)! The strength in this approach is that you can really control what you're trying to say with your story (you can never get too side-tracked or off message), but still find the right notes and meat and new ideas organically as you work your way through. I do also outline every individual issue/section for the whole story before I start writing the first issue's script, but nothing in the middle is in stone for me. The beginning and the end, though, that's what I don't allow myself to change.

[J.Z.Castillo]

Now that I'm in the drawing phase though, I don't have to spend as much time thinking about the plot in that sense because it's basically complete. ^_^

Oh yeah! That's definitely a plus! Sometimes I take a couple of days off thinking about the story and how it's going to go, so yeah, having it written down is way more effective time-wise!