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 manga 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 manga 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 pick up the series after the anime. Though, 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 manga. This list does include anime that diverged from the manga series 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 light novels. That’s a separate list.
| Series | Adaptation Notes |
| 3D Girlfriend | Anime leaves out the epilogue chapter |
| Acca 13 | |
| Afro Samurai | Afro Samurai: Resurrection adapts the chapters the original anime skipped |
| Aim for Ace | Watch Final Stage OVA for the end, but the anime had changes from the manga throughout. |
| Air | |
| Akame ga Kill | Diverges and has an anime-original ending. |
| Akuma no Riddle | |
| Angolmois | Fully adapts the original manga, but not the Hakata-hen sequel manga |
| Antique Bakery | |
| Another | The anime is a light novel adaptation, but the manga also adapts the story. |
| Aria | Need to watch the Aria The Avvenire OVA for the ending |
| Ashita no Joe | |
| Assassination Classroom | |
| Astra Lost in Space | |
| Attack on Titan | |
| Azumanga Daioh | |
| Bakuman | |
| Banana Fish | The anime story is pretty abridged and set in the modern day, so the manga is a bit different. |
| Basilisk | Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls and the sequel anime Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls are two different manga series, but both anime adaptations adapt them fully. |
| Big Order | Anime-Original Ending |
| Black Cat | A hot mess of an adaptation. Speeds through content, changes core story elements, features an anime-original ending |
| Blade of the Immortal | 2008 Anime isn’t a full adaptation, 2019 anime is a highly abridged, but complete adaptation. Neither adapt the Bakumatsu Arc sequel manga. |
| Blast of Tempest | Anime ending is a bit different, but not wholly anime-original. |
| Bleach | Thousand-Year Blood War is ongoing, but adapting the final arc |
| Blood-C | Need to watch The Last Dark movie for the conclusion |
| Blood Blockade Battlefront | Changes the plot in the first season, but gets to the canon ending in season 2. |
| Bokurano | The anime diverges majorly and thus ends very differently. |
| Buso Renkin | |
| Captain Tsubasa | |
| Cardcaptor Sakura | Only applicable for the original series. The sequel, Clear Card Arc, is only about half adapted to anime. |
| Chobits | |
| Chrono Crusade | Diverges to an anime-original ending |
| Cross Game | |
| Death Note | The anime ending is a bit rushed and had small changes from the manga ending. |
| Devilman: Crybaby | Small changes to the Devilman manga ending. |
| Dororo | The 2019 anime differs, as in fleshes out, the much older original manga. Dororo to Hyakkimaru Den is a reboot manga, but has a story that differs from both the original manga and the newest anime. |
| Dr. Ramune – Mysterious Disease Specialist | Skips two chapters. |
| Dragon Ball | |
| Dragon Ball Z | |
| El Cazador de la Bruja | The anime fleshes out the original one volume manga quite a bit |
| Elfen Lied | Story Diverges into an anime-original ending |
| Erased | A hot mess of an adaptation. You get the full story, but it condenses the second half and skips a bunch. |
| Fairy Tail | |
| Food Wars | The final season of the anime sort of zips through the last portion of the manga. |
| Forest of Piano | Highly condensed version of the story. |
| Fragtime | |
| From The New World | The manga adapts and changes the novel source. The anime is adapted from the manga. |
| Fruits Basket | Only the Fruits Basket (2019) anime fully adapts the story, the old anime drifts into an anime-only ending. |
| Fullmetal Alchemist | Only Brotherhood fully adapts the manga, the original FMA drifts into an anime-only ending. |
| Full Moon o Sagashite | The anime expanded on the ending, but it has the same basic end. |
| Fushigi Yuugi | Need to watch OVA 2 for the ending. |
| Future Diary | |
| Gintama | |
| Good Night World | |
| Gosick | Anime is more adapted from the light novels, the manga is more light-hearted. Both have roughly the same story fully adapted |
| Handa-kun | Prequel to Barakamon, but Barakamon is not a full adaptation |
| Hatsukoi Limited | |
| Haven’t You Heard, I’m Sakamoto | |
| Heaven’s Lost Property | Pretty spotty adaptation overall. You need to watch Eternal My Heart movie for the ending. |
| Hellsing | Only Hellsing Ultimate adapts the full manga, the Hellsing (2001) anime drifts into an anime-original ending |
| High Score Girl | Has an unadapted sequel manga, High Score Girl Dash, but its not necessary reading. |
| Honey and Clover | |
| Horimiya | Adapts the main romance fully, but abridges many side character stories. Upcoming Horimiya: Piece anime will cover what it skipped. |
| Initial D | |
| Inuyasha | Inuyasha (2000) drifts into filler by the end. Inuyasha: The Final Act reins it back in to conclude the series canonically. |
| Inuyashiki | |
| Jormungand | |
| Jyu Oh Sei | |
| K-on | |
| Kaiji | |
| Kakushigoto | The anime leaves much out, adapting select chapters from every volume, but does adapt the ending |
| Kamisama Kiss | Kamisama, Shiawase ni Naru OVA ends the series, but skips many chapters. |
| Kids on the Slope | Anime kind of speeds through the manga ending. |
| Kimagure Orange Road | Need to watch the OVA and Movie for the ending |
| Knights of Sidonia | Knights of Sidonia: Love Woven in the Stars movie adapted the manga ending, but poorly. |
| Koi Kaze | |
| Koikimo – It’s Too Sick to Call This Love | Anime skips quite a few chapters. |
| Kokkoku | |
| Kuroko’s Basketball | |
| Laughing Under The Clouds | Adapts the main series and has some side story movies, but doesn’t adapt the prequel manga. |
| Level E | |
| Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer | |
| Maison Ikkoku | Skips quite a few chapters |
| Magical Girl Ore | |
| Major | “Major” is fully adapted, “Major 2nd,” the sequel, is an ongoing adaptation. |
| Maria the Virgin Witch | |
| Masamune-kun’s Revenge | Skips the last side story volume and has a unadapted sequel manga |
| Midori no Hibi | Anime is the basic story, but condenses events heavily. |
| Migi and Dali | |
| Mischievous Kiss (Itazura na Kiss) | The manga ended when the author died, but the anime followed the pattern of events where it left off to a satisfying conclusion. |
| Mob Psycho 100 | |
| Monster | |
| Mushishi | Need to watch The Next Chapter – Drops of Bells movie for the ending. |
| Naruto | |
| Natsuyuki Rendezvous | |
| No. 6 | Manga adapted the light novel, anime adapted the manga. Has an ending different from both in the anime. |
| Non Non Biyori | Skips tons of chapters. |
| NTR: Netsuzou Trap | |
| O Maidens in Your Savage Season | |
| Orange | The Orange: Future sequel manga is covered in the Orange: Future movie. |
| Paradise Kiss | |
| Parasyte | |
| Peach Girl | Has a short sequel manga called Peach Girl Next about married life. |
| Pet | |
| Ping Pong | |
| Planetes | Diverges majorly to an original ending that many agree was actually better than the manga. |
| Platinum End | |
| Pluto | |
| Prince of Tennis | The original Prince of Tennis manga is fully adapted, Shin Prince of Tennis, the ongoing sequel manga, is not. |
| Pupipo | |
| Recovery of an MMO Junkie | The manga was cancelled and ended where the anime ends. |
| ReLife | Kanketsu-hen OVA concludes the series |
| Requiem of the Rose King | |
| Ristorante Paradiso | The anime adapts the original manga, and because it is one volume, adapts the Gente manga sequel as well. |
| Romantic Killer | |
| Sacrificial Bride and the King of Beasts | Adapts the full base manga, has a sequel series following their kid |
| Saikano | |
| Sailor Moon | The 1992 anime adapts all the manga, but does so poorly. Sailor Moon Crystal (2014) is faster paced, but more faithful. You need to watch the Sailor Moon Crystal Eternal AND Cosmos movies for the ending. |
| Saint Seiya | Ends in the Hades Chapter – Elysion OVA |
| Scum’s Wish | Abridges the ending of the manga. Short sequel manga, Scum’s Wish Decor, wraps up the open nature of the ending better. |
| Seven Deadly Sins | |
| Shaman King | The 2001 anime was a messy adaptation, the 2021 anime moves through the material quickly, but is a complete adaptation. |
| Shiki | Manga is adapted from the novels, the anime adapts the manga. The last two chapters of the manga expand on the anime ending. |
| Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju | |
| Silent Mobius | The anime changes the manga story, and also the manga has several sequel and prequel series. |
| Sing “Yesterday” to Me | |
| Slam Dunk | Ending adapted in The First Slam Dunk movie, but skipped chapters to do so |
| Sola | |
| Somali and the Forest Spirit | The manga was discontinued due to the author’s health and the anime changed some parts of the story. |
| Soul Eater NOT | This Soul Eater spin-off got a more diligent, complete adaptation than the actual Soul Eater manga. 🙁 |
| Summertime Render | |
| Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale | For more, check out the Showa Maiden Fairy Tale sequel manga. |
| Teekyuu | |
| The Disastrous Life of Saiki K | |
| The Law of Ueki | |
| The Rose of Versailles | |
| To Love-Ru | The Original To Love Ru is fully adapted, though skips many chapters. To Love Ru Darkness is partially adapted. |
| Tokyo Ghoul | Terrible Adaptation. Root A gets to the canon ending, but the season was mostly anime-original. :Re, the sequel, had many changes in the anime. |
| Tomo-chan is a Girl | |
| Touch | Features pretty minor differences throughout. |
| Umibe no Etranger | Has an ongoing sequel manga, Harukaze no Etranger |
| Urusei Yatsura | 1981 is a full-ish adaptation that skips bits, the 2022 anime is a more compact version of the manga story but is ongoing. |
| Ushio and Tora | 1992 anime diverges. 2016 anime adapts the full story, but skips many chapters. |
| Wanna Be The Strongest in the World | |
| Working | |
| Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl | Ends in the Zutto Kimi no Koto ga movie |
| Your Lie in April | |
| Yugioh | Fully adapts the base Yugioh manga, the spin-offs tend to diverge early and often. |
| Yu Yu Hakusho | Got to the canon ending, but changed many parts along the way. |
| Zetman | Adapts the ending of the series, but abridges the story a lot |
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.
The reLife anime doesn’t adapt the prologue/epilogue chapter, which was rleeased the year after the anime
Also there are some bonus chapters that were released years later (2021), i’m not sure what happens in them yet. I should get around to it.