As anime is often used as a promotional tool to boost source material and merch sales, to fall in love with an anime and expect a complete story is to usually set yourself up for disappointment. Unless your light novel series is short, already concluded, or the anime series is particularly popular (in Japan), you’re probably not going to see the series fully adapted into anime.
Who can say as to why that is, other than the easy answer – money – but a good number of your favorite anime based on light novels won’t ever be fully adapted to the screen. This is okay if you do actually enjoy going to read the source material, and pretty good for me, a person who run this website telling you where you can go to pick up the series after the anime. Although, it is not great for closure.
If you are sick of picking up anime series that are never going to get a conclusion, I’ve compiled this big list of anime that do end conclusively.
Now that said, these anime don’t always end the same way as the light novel. This list does include anime that diverged from the light novel it was based on, but I have marked those series with helpful notes.
When applicable, I have also linked to articles I wrote with more information on how and where it diverges. That said, I’ve not done all of the series that have diverged on this list yet, but I will start to make them a priority and update this list with links as I go.
If you notice errors or series that aren’t on here, you are encouraged to leave a comment and I will make appropriate updates to try to keep this as up-to-date and accurate as possible.
This list does not include anime adapted from manga. That’s a separate list.
| Series | Adaptation Notes |
| A Certain Magical Index | The ending seems rather shit due to it having a sequel light novel series, A Certain Magical Index New Testament, that continues the story. |
| Allison and Lillia | |
| Another | Was adapted to manga, the anime is more based off that. The light novel has many differences from the anime |
| Bakemonogatari | Does have several not adapted side/short story volumes |
| Beatless | |
| Beyond the Boundary | |
| Chaika the Coffin Princess | Does not adapt the last volume of side stories |
| Dragon Crisis | |
| Durarara | Adapts the original light novel series, does not adapt the ongoing sequel series, Durarara SH |
| From The New World | |
| Gankutsuou | Changes the setting of the original classic literature novel, keeps most else true to form. |
| Garden of Sinners | The sixth movie (Oblivion Recording) is different from its corresponding sixth novel. |
| GJ-bu | |
| Golden Time | Skips the side story light novels |
| Gosick | Has a complete manga as well, The anime sticks closer to the novels than the manga |
| Higehiro – After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway | |
| Japan Sinks 2020 | Based on a literature novel from the 70’s, thus the anime takes many liberties modernizing and futurizing the story |
| Juuni Taisen | |
| Katanagatari | |
| Kaze no Stigma | 6 volumes are main story, 6 volumes are side stories. The anime adapts the main story, but the author died so the series is unfinished. |
| Legend of the Galactic Heroes | Only the 1988 anime adapts the four Gaiden volumes |
| Love, Chunibyou, and Other Delusions | The anime diverged from the light novels. The anime was more “inspired by” the light novel than adapting it. |
| No. 6 | Has a manga that adapts the novel, but has a different ending. The anime more adapts the manga, but also has a different ending from both the manga and novel. |
| Oregairu – My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU | Skips some side story volumes |
| Oreimo | Main story ends at Novel 12 where the anime does, the remaining volumes are What Ifs. |
| Requiem From The Darkness | Adapts the The Wicked and the Damned: A Hundred Tales of Karma anthology novel. |
| Run With The Wind | |
| Saekano – How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend | Ends in the movie. |
| Sakurada Reset | |
| Scrapped Princess | Leaves out some side story volumes |
| Shakugan no Shana | Each season gets worse at adapting the light novel than the last, but it does get to the end. |
| Strike the Blood | Skips some novels, adapts later novels earlier in the show, jumps all over, but gets to the end and does indeed give a whole season to adapting the last novel. |
| Student Council’s Discretion | |
| The Book of Bantorra | |
| The Eccentric Family | |
| The Familiar of Zero | Leaves a few parts of the last volume out of the anime. |
| The Fire Hunter | |
| The Great Passage | |
| The Mystic Archives of Dantalian | The anime is very different from the light novels. |
| The Perfect Insider | |
| The Record of Grancrest War | Anime adapts 10 light novel volumes, so zips through content. |
| The Tatami Galaxy | There is also an anime for the Tatami Time Machine Blues sequel novel. |
| Toradora | Light novel ending offers more closure. |
| Violet Evergarden | Changes the story throughout – sometimes majorly. Also adapts the Gaiden novel. |
| Welcome to Irabu’s Office | |
| Welcome to the NHK | The anime differs from the novel with the addition of some arcs, is more often more similar to the manga, but the manga diverges majorly from both. The ending akin to the novel. |
Didn’t see an anime that fully adapted its manga series on here? Leave a comment! I’ll validate the information and add it. If it is based on a light novel, that’s a different list!
See a mistake? Leave a comment! I’ll look into it further and update it.
