There are many animes that go way beyond their expiration and their episodes go well into the hundreds. But then of course there is the exact opposite spectrum that I think is actually worse. Those are the shows that are, simply put, too short. You get really involved in the plot or the characters or whatever and then it just ends, often with many questions still unanswered and plot points unresolved. It's not uncommon for a show like this to have a continuation series come off of it. That's fine. It's no inconvenience. But often this is not the case. Now, there are shows that are quite short but resolve itself perfectly in the time it has. Death Note is a good example of an anime that matches that description. It never feels rushed and everything comes out without a mystery in the end. But I'm going to talk about the ones that don't. These are the animes that I think most desperately need to be continued, not necessarily because I like any one more than the other, but because it's story line just begs for it. Let's begin. (Spoiler free!)
4. Elfen Lied
If you actually had the balls to watch the horrific 13 episodes that compose this unforgettable show, then you know what I'm talking about. Shocking as though it may be, Elfen Lied had a lot of morals behind it and many intentional deeper meanings. The manga boasted an impressive 107 chapters, but for various reasons, had to be condensed to just 13 episodes. That's leaving a hell-of-a-lot out. The plot of this show is fairly complicated as well as touching and multi-faceted. The ending is a cliff-hanger, which was obviously intentional, but this show is far too interesting to allow those 107 chapters go ignored. Those should be adapted into a new series. I'd love to see Lucy in action again.
3. Claymore
I've talked about this one before. It's one of my all-time favorite animes, and is brimming with the best sword fighting action you can get.
My one and only complaint about this show is the ending, which doesn't conclude much. This series is just begging for a follow-up. Seriously, just search "Claymore: Season 2" into Google to find one of the many online petitions to get one started. The manga ran much farther than the show, so there's no shortage of content or story basis. In the actor commentary on the DVD box-set, they hint-hint at it by saying something along the lines of, "I'll be looking forward to playing this part more in the future." and an interview with the show's creator also included some hints at it. Allegedly, he had said at one point that if an official petition was started in Japan that received more than 10,000 votes, they would make another season. Well, that petition was started in 2009 and has well over 10,000 votes now. The world is ready for more Claymore.
2. Highschool of the Dead
H.O.T.D. was the anime of 2010 that everyone was talking about. It had fantastic acting for a dubbed anime, very well-written and believable characters, a joyously simple plot and it's incredibly addicting to boot. It currently stands at a tragic 12 episodes. The last episode left off with a cliffhanger. Y'see, while the anime was a huge success over here in America, in Japan, the eternal struggle against the undead, just isn't that exciting. Zombies aren't a staple of pop-culture as they are over here. That being said, it's no great surprise that the show didn't do so well. And if a show doesn't do well at home, it's unlikely that it'll be continued. That's a tragedy. All of the anime forums agree, this show is great and it needs to be finished. I hope that we'll one day see those characters in a new episode, but for now, we'll just have to keep crossing our fingers.
1. Deadman Wonderland
The fucked up, sadist's wet-dream that is Deadman Wonderland was to 2011 what H.O.T.D. was to 2010. In other words, amazing. I could easily label this show as the most twisted and bizarre anime I've had the privilege to watch. It's dark, it's gritty, it's gory and it'll make you feel a bit like a crazy person.
This show only has 12 episodes. You might say, "Well, hell that's no worse than H.O.T.D.", but you don't understand how wrong that is until you've watched the show. Cramming everything they did into those 12 episodes was a bad idea. This show needs to be something like 50 episodes long. Not 12. It ended with many questions unanswered, characters, still undeveloped and an extremely continuable storyline. If you've watched this show, you know what I'm talking about. The ending didn't feel finished. They made me leave the Wonderland way before I was ready. I'd love to see more, and I'd be more than willing to return. Matter of fact, I'm desperate to. It's gonna drive me insane.
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