One major point of contention withmangahas always been the quality of their endings, especially in recent years. Some of the biggest manga around, likeMy Hero Academia,Jujutsu Kaisen, andOshi no Ko,all ended recently, and their endings have been highly criticized by fans and critics, with some people even feeling their endings ruin their entire stories.
Manga endings will always be contentious, and 2025 is no different. Even though the year’s not over yet,2025 has delivered plenty of manga endings that range from middling and bad to absolute masterpieces. A few of those endings especially stand out, and that’s true for both the great ones and the ones people would sooner forget.
In Naoya Matsumoto’sKaiju No. 8, after finally defeating Kaiju No. 9, Kafka was ready to accept his death, but Isao’s spirit used the last of his strength to keep Kafka alive. With the worst Kaiju event in history behind them, everyone went back to their regular lives, and Kafka was finally the soldier he’d always wanted to be.
Kaiju No. 8had been on a downward spiral for years, with bad pacing and lackluster plot developments making it increasingly contentious, and unfortunately,Kaiju No. 8’s endingwas largely unsatisfying for its incredible anticlimax and how little of the story was resolved. The series started with great promise, so it’s a shame that it fell so low.
9Astro Royale
Manga By Ken Wakui; Ended On July 23, 2025
At the end ofKen Wakui’sAstro Royale, Hibaru learned that his brother, Tsubasa, destroyed Japan with the Daybreak Ore as payback for the experiments done on their sister, Sora.
Nevertheless, Hibaru didn’t give up hope of bringing peace back to the world, and in an epilogue set 10 years into the future, Hibaru finally accomplished that as the new head of the Yotsurugi family.
Despite its initial promise,Astro Royale’s pacing and writing continually struggled to leave a mark, and it all led toAstro Royale’s ending having all the hallmarks of a manga canceled before it had time to properly wrap things up.Tokyo Revengersremains a modern classic, but unfortunately,Astro Royalejust couldn’t live up to that level of prestige.
Undead Unluck
At the end of Yoshifumi Tozuka’sUndead Unluck, after a long and arduous battle, the Union finally defeated God and freed the world from the tyranny of the rules. Even better was how, despite some initial conflict, Fuuko and Andy finally got together. The series ended with the two getting married and beginning their new lives together.
As rushed and anticlimactic as the ending was,Undead Unluck, despite the fast pacing of its ending, still ended on a high note because of how cathartic it was to see everyone get their happy endings. The fact that the last volume had an extended epilogue also helped make things click, resulting in an ending that worked surprisingly well.
In Hitsuji Gondaira’sMission: Yozakura Family, after many trials and tribulations, Taiyo finally defeated Asa Yozakura and freed the Yozakura family from his influence forever.
Thanks to that, the family was free to go back to their regular, chaotic lives as spies, although the series ended on a surprising bombshell of Mutsumi being pregnant with her and Taiyo’s third child.
An anime adaptation ofMission: Yozakura Familyfrom studio Silver Link has been airing since April 2024.
WhileMission: Yozakura Familywas never one of the biggestShonen Jumpmanga, it always succeeded at a fun and competent action comedy, and sure enough,Mission: Yozakura Familymanaged to end in a largely satisfying way, albeit in a way that didn’t particularly stand out.
Yozakura Familyis the perfect embodiment of wonderfully unassuming, and fortunately, it kept to that right up until its ending.
At the end ofShinichi Fukuda’sMy Dress-Up Darling, Gojo and Marin finally confessed their feelings to each other and became a couple. The last few chapters then focused on the two going through the beginning of their relationship before skipping to the future, where they were married, they achieved their dream jobs, and even had a daughter, Nichika.
What little was shown of Gojo and Marin’s relationship was fun after so many years, and overall,My Dress-Up Darlingmade the conclusion to its central romance as satisfying as possible.My Dress-Up Darlingremains a generational anime romcom, and withMy Dress-Up Darlingseason 2finally here, there will be more to see of it for years to come.
At the end of Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kota Sannomiya’sBlue Lock: Episode Nagi, everyone was training for the exhibition match against the U-20 team. Once again, Nagi and Reo contemplated their positions in life, and the series ended with them ready to continue to embrace their egos as they moved further through Blue Lock.
While the final arc didn’t end with the most action-packed story, the main point ofEpisode Nagiwas always the introspection into Nagi and Reo’s characters, and sure enough,Blue Lock: Episode Nagiended on a great note for how well it kept to the heart of the series.
There was plenty more story to tell, but at the very least, the ending it went with was plenty great to behold.
By the end ofTomohito Oda’sKomi Can’t Communicate, Tadano succeeded in getting into the same school as Komi, and Komi achieved her goal of making 100 friends. A year later, Komi and Tadano were still a couple as university students, and their relationship was stronger than ever as Komi was becoming increasingly aggressive whenever they had some alone time.
As contentious as the series got later on,Komi Can’t Communicatewas always great at selling itself as a heartwarming romcom, and as such,Komi Can’t Communicateending with everyone getting the happy endings they spent years striving toward was nothing but satisfying.Komi Can’t Communicateis a romcom unlike any other, and its ending perfectly illustrates why.
InMakoto Yukimura’sVinland Saga, with Einar’s death and the destruction of the village, Thorfinn’s mission ultimately ended in failure. However, Thorfinn could return home with the knowledge that he knew what to do to avoid his past mistakes, and with the Lnu adopting his agricultural techniques, it’s clear that he managed to spread something other than violence.
There’s a definite sense thatVinland Sagacould have gone on longer to better conclude certain stories, but in the end,Vinland Saga’s quick and bittersweet ending perfectly encapsulated the best parts of its thoughtful and mature narrative.Vinland Saga’s ending was one of the best a person could expect from the series, and it will surely cement it as a legend for years to come.
In Yoshitoki Oima’sTo Your Eternity, after defeating the Nokkers once and for all, Fushi’s friends were ready to live and eventually die permanently. However, they all decided to wait 300 years after seeing how much March’s decision to die upset Fushi, and by then, Fushi was okay with being alone as he set off on a new adventure.
As messy and inconsistent as the series could be,To Your Eternity’s ending really brought its story full circleas its narrative about Godhood and the importance of human connections resolved. It was a truly unique experience from start to finish, and while it wasn’t always the best read, its ending more than made up for its shortcomings.
At the end of Yugo Kobayashi’sAoashi, after a long and arduous match, Esperion defeated Barcelona Youth and ultimately took second in the international tournament. Ashito and his friends quickly skyrocketed to the senior team and other professional positions, and Ashito was confident that he was finally on his way to becoming a true professional.
Aoashi’s strong writing and phenomenal artwork made it one of the best sports manga around, and sure enough,Aoashiperfectly ended its story with all the great closure and intensity one would expect from the series. There’s never been a manga quite likeAoashi, and it’s easy to see why it had the best ending for a manga in 2025.
