Film

10 Manga Series that Ended Way too Abruptly

21 March 2026

Manga has always been notorious for its divisive endings. For every series that comes to a masterful conclusion, it seems there are another five or so that cause their fan bases to spiral and latch onto another title out of sheer disappointment. Some final acts have become so infamous they’ve forever stained the reputation of once beloved manga series.

Perhaps the most disappointing fate for a manga series, however, is a rushed ending. Fans will often spend years of their lives following a series every week, only for the conclusion to unexpectedly arrive far too soon.

Whether their final chapters arrived far too soon, or their eventual conclusions left far too many plot points up in the air, these 10 manga series reached their endings before fans hoped they would.

Demon Slayer

Written and Illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge, Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump

There may be no bigger name in the anime industry today than Demon Slayer. The stylish sword-fighting series became an instant hit when it arrived in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2016, and later enjoyed a massive boost in popularity with the premiere of its anime adaptation by studio Ufotable.

However, only four years later, Demon Slayer‘s run in the world’s biggest manga magazine came to an end. The series’ final arc isn’t exactly rushed, and anyone who has experienced it would admit it’s an enjoyable read. For many, though, it simply arrived far too soon.

A large section of Demon Slayer‘s fan base expected Tanjiro and company to spend time with each of the Hashira before the series entered its final arc. Doing so would have been a tall task for artist Koyoharu Gotouge, who instead chose to begin the final act quite a bit earlier.

Kaiju no. 8

Written and Illustrated by Naoya Matsumoto, Published on Shōnen Jump Plus

When Kaiju no. 8‘s anime adaptation began airing in 2024, many fans believed that shōnen’s latest major title had officially arrived. For many series, once their anime adaptation becomes popular, the original manga will see a major boost in popularity and sales. However, Kaiju no. 8 came to its end shortly after the anime took off.

The series ran on Shōnen Jump‘s online service for just over five years, which isn’t remarkably short by any means. However, an incredibly large number of chapters leading up to its conclusion were spent on one major confrontation, causing a reading experience that many fans believed to be awkwardly paced before the series suddenly reached its end.

Fans have expressed they feel the series to be somewhat incomplete, and that many might change their minds if a sequel series was announced.

Oshi no Ko

Written by Aka Akasaka and Illustrated by Mengo Yokoyari, Published in Weekly Young Jump

Oshi no Ko burst onto the scene with its anime adaptation’s special 90-minute opening episode, a rare sort of release that turned the series’ premiere into something of a cultural event within the global anime community. While the original manga had a following in its own right, thanks largely to Aka Akasaka’s name being attached to it, it was the anime that truly caused the series to blow up.

A little more than a year after the anime’s premiere, the manga came to a somewhat sudden, largely divisive final act. It wasn’t enough that many fans felt there was more story to tell. Very few readers were satisfied with where Oshi no Ko went in the chapters leading up to its conclusion, giving way to what became one of manga’s more infamous endings in recent years.

Yuyu Hakusho

Written and Illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi, Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump

Yuyu Hakusho was one of the premier anime and manga series of the 1990s. During its initial Weekly Shōnen Jump run, the series competed with the likes of Dragon Ball and Slam Dunk, and often had no problem overtaking either in popularity. Yuyu Hakusho helped to make Yoshihiro Togashi a household name among manga fans.

Unfortunately, Yuyu Hakusho was cut short due to the same issues that have plagued Togashi in his later, arguably more famous work, Hunter x Hunter. The series was rushed to its finale due to its creator’s health issues and overall burnout.

10 Best New-Gen Manga to Read in 2026

The landscape of anime and manga fandom has utterly changed in the post-pandemic years, so here’s what you should check out next!

Though Togashi took a break before beginning Hunter x Hunter, he couldn’t escape the hellish demands of a career as a manga artist.

Fire Punch

Written and Illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Published on Shōnen Jump Plus

In the years since Fire Punch‘s serialization, fans have come to realize that abrupt endings are sort of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s thing. However, while the conclusions to Chainsaw Man‘s first part and a number of his one-shots can seem somewhat rushed, the artist does a pretty remarkable job of tying up loose ends in a satisfying way.

In Fire Punch, however, it seems Fujimoto hadn’t yet quite mastered the art of abrupt endings. The series’ final act isn’t exactly unsatisfying, but it does venture into some philosophical, out-there content while ignoring some of the actual unresolved plot threads, a la Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Fire Punch‘s ending isn’t bad by any means, but the series could have benefited from a few extra chapters.

Psyren

Written and Illustrated by Toshiaki Iwashiro, Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump

While some manga artists bring their works to a close entirely by their own choosing, other artists aren’t quite as fortunate. One of the most unforgiving aspects of a manga artist’s job is dealing with the weight of expectations, and when those expectations aren’t met, a series is often canceled.

That’s exactly what happened with the 2007 shōnen action series, Psyren, which was axed by Weekly Shōnen Jump after 145 chapters. Unfortunately, in such cases, artists aren’t given much a heads-up that they need to bring their stories to a close, and are instead forced to rush towards any conclusion they can manage.

It appears fan opinions on Psyren have changed somewhat in recent years, with the series becoming retroactively popular enough that an anime adaptation was announced in 2025, almost two decades after Psyren‘s debut.

Ayashimon

Written and Illustrated by Yuji Kaku, Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump

No manga is safe from cancellation, especially when it’s being published in Weekly Shōnen Jump. It often doesn’t matter how well-known its author is either, as Ayashimon was axed in 2022 despite it being written and drawn by Yuji Kaku, whose Hell’s Paradise performed rather well on Shōnen Jump Plus throughout its 127-chapter run.

Unfortunately, the supernatural yakuza story wasn’t all that big of a hit with readers, causing Ayashimon to get the axe before it reached the 30-chapter mark. The series had potential and an accomplished artist behind it, but it wasn’t enough to save it from Weekly Shōnen Jump‘s strict expectations.

Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru

Written by Masashi Kishimoto and Illustrated by Akira Okubo, Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump

As soon as it was announced that Masashi Kishimoto would be drawing a new manga scheduled to debut in Weekly Shōnen Jump, fans around the world marked their calendars in anticipation of its release. Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru‘s success was near guaranteed, as Naruto fans wouldn’t dare miss seeing what the artist had in-store in his upcoming work.

It took some time, but Samurai 8 did eventually debut in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 2019, and the sci-fi samurai story displayed quite a bit of promise in its early goings. Unfortunately, the series ran for less than a year, eventually being collected in a total of five volumes.

Despite Kishimoto’s name being attached to the series, Weekly Shōnen Jump canceled Samurai 8 thanks largely to poor reception from readers.

Mx0

Written and Illustrated by Yasuhiro Kano, Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump

Main cast of the Mx0 manga against a blue sky.

Debuting in Weekly Shōnen Jump during the height of the “Big Three” era, Mx0 was a rare comedy action manga series in a sea of One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach rip-offs. The series follows a boy who stumbles his way into a magical school, before setting his romantic sights on a girl he only just prior had blamed for his issues.

Unfortunately, the Mx0 just didn’t quite have the pull to compete with the Big Three, despite relatively positive feedback from readers throughout its 99 chapters. The series ended abruptly, as Shōnen Jump decided to move on in search of the next best thing, giving Mx0 the axe in 2008.

All You Need Is Kill

Written by Ryosuke Takeuchi and Illustrated by Takeshi Obata, Published in Weekly Young Jump

All You Need Is Kill is unique compared to other manga with abrupt endings in that it was based on an already existing light novel. The 2004 light novel was written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and illustrated by Serial Experiments Lain‘s Yoshitoshi Abe, and was a hit among readers.

A decade later, both the manga version, illustrated by Death Note‘s Takeshi Obata, and the Western live-action adaptation, Edge of Tomorrow, premiered. All You Need Is Kill‘s somewhat rushed final act isn’t totally the manga’s fault, as it was working off already published source material, though not diving further into the story and world was still a crime.

All You Need Is Kill was revisited in a 2026 full-length anime film, but its finale still falls somewhat flat the fourth time around.