Best Unfinished Manga Cancelled Before the Ending

I’m always amazed by how much effort goes into creating manga! It’s not unusual for a mangaka to really pour their heart and soul into just one or two series – it can take over their life! What’s fascinating is that manga teams are usually pretty small, often just the writer/artist and their editor. Even with a small team, they work on incredibly tight deadlines, so mangaka really need to take breaks now and then to recharge and deal with things outside of work. It’s a demanding job, but the passion really shines through!

This situation also creates a major problem when the main artist or writer of a manga becomes unable to continue working. Unlike animated shows, which have a whole team and studio to support them, manga relies heavily on a single creator. As a result, many excellent manga series have been left unfinished, and it appears they may never get the endings they deserve.

Dragon Ball Super’s Endgame Is Uncertain After Akira Toriyama’s Death

Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball, was always heavily involved in the series. Stories without his direct input, like Dragon Ball GT and the movies made during Dragon Ball Z, weren’t considered official parts of the story. Sadly, Toriyama passed away unexpectedly in 2024 at age 68 while still working on the manga for Dragon Ball Super.

Following Akira Toriyama’s passing (aside from one extra chapter), we likely won’t have closure on ongoing storylines until 2026. Luckily, Toyotarou is a dedicated Dragon Ball fan who skillfully captures Toriyama’s unique style. His continued work on the manga offers a promising direction for the series’ future.

Many fans believe Toyotarou will likely conclude the remaining storylines, especially the one involving Black Frieza, in a final arc rather than letting the series go on forever. However, even if Toyotarou does a great job, some dedicated Dragon Ball fans will likely be unhappy that the story isn’t being finished by its original creator, Akira Toriyama.

Vagabond’s Creator Stepped Away For His Mental Health

Takehiko Inoue’s manga Vagabond is a reimagining of the life of Musashi Miyamoto, a famous Japanese swordsman, and is inspired by Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel about him. The series ran for an impressive 17 years and included a total of 327 chapters.

The manga Vagabond faced several long breaks before being put on indefinite hold. At first, these pauses were due to the author, Inoue, experiencing health problems. Later, he openly discussed needing a break from the story’s heavy and challenging themes. Inoue explained that deeply immersing himself in Vagabond‘s world significantly impacted his mental well-being and was emotionally draining.

Inoue increasingly felt the need to move on from the Vagabond series. While he’s stated he’d revisit it if he felt inspired, it’s been over ten years since the manga ended unexpectedly in 2015. Since then, Inoue has focused on Real, a basketball manga that better aligns with his creative passions. Vagabond was a fulfilling but demanding project that pushed him creatively, though ultimately proved to be overwhelming.

Hunter x Hunter’s Ending Keeps Getting Further Away

Yoshihiro Togashi first gained recognition with his popular manga series, Yu Yu Hakusho. He then created Hunter x Hunter in 1998, which is now considered his greatest work, even though ongoing health issues have sometimes made it difficult for him to continue the series.

The manga Hunter x Hunter has faced many breaks in publication, resulting in new chapters being released to fans at a slow pace. Its longest break lasted from 2018 until October 24, 2022, after which it paused again in late December. The series returned nearly two years later on October 7, 2024, but stopped publishing once more on December 9th, coinciding with the release of its 410th and final chapter.

Yoshihiro Togashi, the creator of the manga, has shared updates about his work on chapters up to 416, but fans are still waiting for them to be released. He even revealed a possible ending he’d created as a backup, in case he wasn’t able to finish the story. Although this isn’t his ideal ending – he has four potential conclusions in mind – it would at least provide some resolution for dedicated readers.

Nana’s Characters Got Left Behind By the Creator

Ai Yazawa’s Nana is often praised as essential reading for people in their twenties who are feeling lost or unsure about the future. The story follows two friends, both named Nana—Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu—as they grow up and face challenges in their personal lives and careers.

The manga series Nana ran for 84 chapters before taking a break in 2009 when its creator, Ai Yazawa, became ill and was hospitalized. Though she was released in 2010, Yazawa is still recovering and doesn’t feel ready to resume working on Nana. Over the past 15 years, she’s focused on illustration work and smaller, less demanding projects instead of continuing the manga.

Nana continues to be popular, and its main characters, Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu, will likely be remembered as classic manga and anime heroes. It’s a shame fans might never find out how their stories end or if they can recover from their recent struggles. Hopefully, the author, Aizawa, will eventually be inspired to finish the series, even if it’s just with a single, final chapter.

Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force’s Temporary Hiatus is Still Going

Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force, sometimes called Magical War Chronicle Lyrical Nanoha Force, is the fourth installment in a larger series.

The manga series Nanoha Force represented a bold new direction for the franchise, ultimately spanning 31 chapters across six volumes. Set six years after the events of StrikerS, the story centers on a captivating mystery and investigation into the Eclipse Virus—a magical illness that causes those infected to become dangerously violent.

The series Nanoha Force proved divisive among fans, leading to a pause in production in 2013 that has lasted until now. The series concluded with many plot threads and character developments left unfinished, and the dangerous Eclipse Virus still poses a threat. While the Nanoha magical girl franchise likely isn’t over, it’s doubtful this specific storyline or timeline will ever be completed.

Highschool Of The Dead Ends at the Climax

Highschool of the Dead is a horror-action series created by Daisuke Sato (writer) and Shoji Sato (illustrator). The series, which consists of seven volumes and thirty-three chapters, faced several delays due to Sato’s illness, with the final chapter published in 2013.

Four years after Daisuke’s death, Shoji made it clear he wouldn’t continue Highschool of the Dead without his co-creator, effectively ending any possibility of the series resuming, even though it wasn’t certain it would have anyway.

Despite leaving its story unfinished during a thrilling climax, Highschool of the Dead followed high school students struggling to survive a rapidly escalating zombie apocalypse.

Freezing’s Interdimensional War Was Left In Flux After a Creator Dispute

First published in 2007, Freezing is a manga series that became a major force in the action and science fiction genres aimed at young adult men (seinen). Created by writer Dall-Young Lim and artist Kwang-Hyun Kim, the story centers around humanity’s fight against…

Freezing is a series about a world where women are genetically modified into elite fighters called Pandoras, each linked with a male partner known as a Limiter. It initially gained popularity as both a manga and anime, but the series was unexpectedly put on hold and concluded in 2018.

Most fans believe the manga Freezing ended early due to a disagreement between its two creators, leaving the story on a frustrating cliffhanger and the main characters’ fate unresolved. While fans are disappointed they won’t see Kazuya and Satellizer finish their battle against the Nova, there are three spin-off series continuing the story in the Freezing universe.

Phoenix’s Sprawling Saga Couldn’t Match Its Creator’s Vision

Osamu Tezuka, known as the “Godfather of Manga,” created many famous series including Astro Boy, Black Jack, Dororo, and Kimba the White Lion. Although he produced an enormous amount of work during his career, he considered Phoenix his most important project, even though it was never fully completed.

The manga series Phoenix is a grand, sweeping story told across 12 volumes, each featuring a unique tale set in a different time period. The series travels from prehistoric times to the future, and explores every era in between. Osamu Tezuka worked on Phoenix for more than 30 years, until his death in 1989.

As much as I adore Phoenix, it’s a bit heartbreaking to admit it never quite reached its full potential. Osamu Tezuka had so many ideas, and while each story is incredible, they feel a little unfinished and don’t quite tie together the way I think he intended. But even though we didn’t get the complete Phoenix experience Tezuka envisioned, it’s amazing how many different adaptations there have been! From anime series and OVAs to movies, video games, and even a live-action film, so many creators have found ways to celebrate this truly powerful and moving work.

X/1999’s Unexpected Hiatus Never Ended

CLAMP is known for magical girl series like Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Chobits. However, they also demonstrate their ability to tell more mature stories with X/1999, which follows Kamui Shirou as he returns home to fulfill his destiny and decide the fate of humankind.

Kamui finds himself in an epic fight between people with incredible powers, where the future of humanity is at stake. The manga X/1999 captivated readers for 158 chapters before taking a break in 2003 due to difficult circumstances and real-life events.

X/1999 tackles daring and complex themes that weren’t always easy for viewers to accept, but the creators remained committed to their artistic vision, with both positive and negative results. Unfortunately, the story has remained unfinished since 2003, even though the creators have expressed a desire to complete Kamui’s story.

Berserk’s Manga Ending May Never Come

Many consider Berserk to be the best dark fantasy series ever made. Created by Kentaro Miura, this intense story centers on a man driven by revenge against a former friend, and his path is filled with terrifying demons and gruesome challenges.

The stunning artwork is what truly makes Berserk special. That’s why previous attempts to adapt it into an anime haven’t quite captured the same feeling. Similar to the work of Junji Ito, the illustrations are just as crucial to the story as the plot itself.

When Kentaro Miura passed away in 2021, chapter 364 of his manga Berserk became his last completed work. The series has continued with a total of 383 chapters, overseen by Miura’s close friend, Kouji Mori, and his team at Studio Gaga. Mori was hesitant to continue without Miura, but he was encouraged by the detailed story outline Miura had shared with him. While fans appreciate this dedication to Miura’s vision, the continuation has been slow, and Studio Gaga hasn’t been able to fully replicate Miura’s unique artistic style.

2025-11-25 04:18