Best Final Arcs in Seinen Manga, Ranked

Summary

• Even long-running manga like Berserk must eventually end, but some are continued by new creators following old notes.
• Seinen manga have better chances of ending on strong notes compared to shōnen counterparts.
• Various manga, like “Spirit Circle” and “Golden Kamuy,” explore themes of redemption, bitter-sweet endings, and life’s complexities.

Everything eventually ends. Even things that seem to go on forever will someday have a conclusion, like manga. Berserk seemed like it reached a premature end when its creator, Kentaro Miura, passed away. But it’s being continued by Holyland’s Kōji Mori and Studio Gaga, following Miura’s old notes and plans for a proper conclusion.

Not all manga get that chance. They can be forced to end their story too soon due to low sales, or keep it going past its natural end due to high sales. Seinen manga have better luck than their shōnen counterparts, as these top examples managed to end on strong notes.

Spoilers Ahead!

10

Delicious in Dungeon

A Culinary Adventurer Finds Defeat in Victory

• Creator: Ryoko Kui
• 14 Volumes, 102 Chapters
• Available in English via Yen Press.

Delicious in Dungeon is comparatively cutesy for a seinen, though it isn’t without its hairy moments. Laios and his party aim to save his sister Falin from being dragon chow by heading back into the dungeon they lost her in. Since they lost their supplies in the dungeon’s depths, they decide to live off whatever they can find inside it.

They come across many issues; however, it’s Laios who ends up with the worst outcome. He saves his sister, becomes ruler of the lost Golden Kingdom, and gains fame (and infamy) as ‘the Devourer’ for his feats. But thanks to the Winged Lion’s curse, he’s left with a perpetual hunger that non-monster dishes can’t fill —and all monsters give his new land a wide berth. It’s fitting that a manga with a culinary edge goes for a bittersweet conclusion.

9

Akumetsu

An Army of Clones Cleans the Swamp But Can’t Refill It

• Creators: Yoshiaki Tabata (story), Yuki Yugo (art)
• 18 Volumes, 162 Chapters
• Fan Translations only.

Sometimes, older media can become relevant at a later time. Take Akumetsu, a manga from the mid 2000s. It’s set in a time when corrupt businessmen and politicians use the law for their own ends, making everyone else suffer. One man, Shou, finds this unacceptable, and figures out how to make the worst of them pay when he comes across a cloning machine.

By producing clones of himself, Shou forms his own army. Each clone is made to target one particular member of the corrupt elite. But this path of destruction only leads to his downfall. All the Akumetsus die in a war with the yakuza, the cloning machine is destroyed, and the corrupt system is maintained. He couldn’t fix the world, but he was able to make people more wary of abusing the system.

8

Sanctuary

A Cambodian Refugee Succeeds in Fixing Japan, But Dies in the Process

• Creators: Buronson (story), Ryoichi Ikegami (art)
• 12 Volumes, 108 Chapters
• Previously available in English by Viz Media’s Viz Premiere Comics imprint

Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami survived the Cambodian killing fields to make it to Japan, but they find the country passive and corrupt. So, the two promise to make the country a true ‘sanctuary’ by making it better through two paths.

Asami takes the light path and becomes a politician, while Hojo takes the dark path and ends up as a yakuza patriarch. In the end, they succeed, with Asami becoming prime minister, and Hojo uniting all the yakuza syndicates under his rule. But Asami falls terminally ill and passes away after one last meeting with Hojo in Cambodia. Without his friend, Hojo feels their victory is a hollow one.

7

Spirit Circle

A Boy Proves a Normal Life is Worth Living By Foiling His Mystical Genius Past Life

• Creator: Satoshi Mizukami
• 6 Volumes, 45 Chapters
• Available in English via Seven Seas Entertainment.

Spirit Circle is an award-winning manga, yet it still feels underrated. Maybe it’s because it hasn’t been animated yet, or because its plot, short as it is, is pretty dense. It’s about Fūta, a boy who can see ghosts, experiencing his past lives to discover why Kōko, a girl with a similar birthmark and spiritual abilities, hates him. It’s a complex plot, as characters change, but they’re all different incarnations of Fūta, Kōko, and their spirit friends Rune and East.

It’s ultimately about appreciating what you get in life, and accepting death. His first incarnation, Fortuna, couldn’t accept it, and his maniacal plot to overcome it by becoming one with the cosmos drove Kōko into a cycle of revenge. But Fūta got to help Fortuna move on, and patch things up with Kōko.

6

Golden Kamuy

Immortal Sugimoto Lives Up to His Nickname to Get the Gold

• Creator: Satoru Noda
• 31 Volumes, 314 Chapters
• Available in English via Viz Media’s Viz Signature imprint

Golden Kamuy begins with veteran soldier Saichi Sugimoto joining forces with Asirpa, an Ainu girl. He’s seeking a legendary cache of gold said to have been hidden in the mountains by escapees from Abashiri Prison. She wants to avenge the death of her father, Wilk. They discovered he was killed by Tsurumi, a former soldier with the 7th Division who aimed to use the gold to create his own military state.

The Hakodate arc sees Sugimoto and Asirpa corner Tsurumi on a runaway train. Asirpa gets thrown to safety, but Sugimoto and Tsurumi are feared dead when their train crashes into the sea. Sugimoto survives, but Tsurumi, with no allies left, isn’t so lucky. Sugimoto uses the gold to secure the land for the Ainu and live with Asirpa. But first, he fulfills his promise to his late war buddy Toraji by giving some gold to his widow, Umeko.

5

Onanie Master Kurosawa

A Bitter Jerk Realizes the Error of His Ways

• Creators: Katsura Ise (story), Takuma Yokota (art)
• 4 Volumes, 31 Chapters
• Fan Translations only.

Some manga, though great, can be really hard to recommend. Onanie Master Kurosawa starts off feeling like a dark sex comedy. Cynical misanthrope Kurosawa uses his method of ‘stress relief’ to save his classmate Kitahara from bullies, only for her to blackmail him into dispensing more of his ‘justice’ on others. Yet as its chapters go on, it takes its topic more seriously.

Kurosawa and Kitahara’s ‘vigilantism’ isn’t presented as a good thing. They’re hurting others to mask their bitterness. Kurosawa realizes this when he loses his crush to another student, and eventually confesses his crimes to his class. He gets rightfully flamed for it. But by gradually earning their forgiveness, he undoes his bitter outlook on life. For a story that started off so grim, its ending is surprisingly optimistic.

4

Oyasumi Punpun

A Boy Learns the Hard Way That Life Goes On

• Creator: Inio Asano
• 13 Volumes, 147 Chapters
• Available in English via Viz Media’s Viz Signature imprint

Oyasumi Punpun is a coming-of-age tale about a bird-headed boy who had a terrible upbringing and becomes a terrible person. He keeps living for his girlfriend, Aiko — but she loved the sweet boy Punpun was, not the bitter, broken adult he became. Fearing he can’t live a happy life so long as she’s alive, she kills herself.

Punpun tries to follow suit, but is saved at the last minute. Coming to terms with the loss years later, he says goodbye to Aiko in a dream, choosing to live on in memory of her. The finale suggests that he has gotten back in touch with his positive traits, but it also feels like he’s resigned himself to his awful life and its consequences.

3

Maison Ikkoku

A Woman Comes to Terms With Her Love and Grief

• Creator: Rumiko Takahashi.
• 15 Volumes, 162 Chapters.
• Available in English via Viz Media.

Rumiko Takahashi is known for her fanciful romances like Ranma ½ and Inuyasha. Yet Ikkoku may be her best work, skipping the aliens and mystical elements in favor of realistic human drama. It follows Yusaku, an unlucky college student, as he tries to get with Kyoko, the widowed manager of the titular boarding house.

Kyoko still has trouble coming to terms with her husband’s death. Nonetheless, Yusaku sticks with her, knowing he can make her happy in his own way. After a night together, Kyoko confesses her own feelings for him, leading the way to the finale where the two head to their new home with their daughter.

2

Lone Wolf & Cub

A Wronged Samurai’s Quest for Revenge is Succeeded by His Son

• Creators: Kazuo Koike (story), Goseki Kojima (art).
• 28 Volumes, 142 Chapters.
• Available in English via Dark Horse Comics.

Even if people don’t know the name Lone Wolf & Cub, they might be familiar with the premise, as it has inspired many series and movies. Samurai Ogami Ittō returns home to find his wife and family murdered, with only his newborn son Daigoro surviving. Then he’s framed for rebelling against the shogun. Suspecting the Yagyū clan, Ogami decides to get revenge while raising Daigoro.

During his travels, he ends up killing all the heirs of the Yagyū clan, until he comes face to face with their head, Yagyū Retsudō. Ogami ultimately succumbs to Retsudō after his sword was tampered with by a Yagyū ninja. On seeing the human cost their blood feud has produced, Retsudō allows Daigoro to kill him, ending the cycle of revenge.

1

Monster

A Doctor Foils A Killer’s Suicidal Plot

• Creator: Naoki Urasawa
• 18 Volumes, 162 Chapters
• Available in English via Viz Media’s Viz Signature imprint

Almost any finale to Naoki Urasawa’s work could appear on this list. Yet the one that struck a chord with most readers was the one for Monster. It saw Dr. Tenma learn that Johan Liebert, a patient he saved years prior, wasn’t just killing people because he saw no value in life. His loveless upbringing as a test subject combined with his nihilism to produce a desire to eliminate all traces of his existence.

All his killings were planned to end in his ‘perfect suicide,’ with Dr. Tenma taking his life for him. But when someone else takes the shot, Dr. Tenma chooses to save him. He managed to stay true to his ideals, and his survivors, like his twin sister Anna, get to make the most of their second chance at life. It’s suggested Johan eventually woke up, as the strip ends on his empty hospital bed. Though it’s also suggested his ideals haven’t changed either, and may continue his plan someday.