The last few episodes were disappointing, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. Would be cool if they decide to remake this into a 48 episode series though. Maybe then it won't be as ridiculously rushed as this.
Even the anime shows that they meet again. So, yes, they got a happy ending.
Saladofstones said:
If you want your bittersweetness, just imagine it to be a dying dream.
For a given value of "happy" depending on your point of view. No starting a happy family for them, no more happy times in their current lives, and no more time with their friends and comrades-in-arms as they knew them, since almost everyone they knew is likely decades or even centuries dead. So yeah, the ending was plenty bittersweet to me already (maybe someone on the production team was channeling Maeda Jun's writing from his work on Angel Beats! and his other famously tragic/bittersweet series?).
OMGkillitwithfire said:
The last few episodes were disappointing, but it was a fun ride nonetheless. Would be cool if they decide to remake this into a 48 episode series though. Maybe then it won't be as ridiculously rushed as this.
@OMGkillitwithfire I heard rumours that the series was originally supposed to be longer than just 24 episodes, but most animation companies normally can't get the funding for a 48 episode run, with the exception of some kids' series or certain Gundam series. I do agree that the later episodes felt rushed and disappointing though. You can really tell that Episode 15, with all its flaws and rushed drama, was the point after which Studio Trigger largely pulled out of the production.
@OMGkillitwithfire I heard rumours that the series was originally supposed to be longer than just 24 episodes, but most animation companies normally can't get the funding for a 48 episode run, with the exception of some kids' series or certain Gundam series. I do agree that the later episodes felt rushed and disappointing though. You can really tell that Episode 15, with all its flaws and rushed drama, was the point after which Studio Trigger largely pulled out of the production.
Au contraire. Every, and I mean EVERY animes begin production with an episode limit in mind, be it 12/24, or in some rare instances, 36 or 48. That's a contract they have to sign with the TV station even before the very first frame is drawn.
Exceptions are as you said, kids animes, some Gundams, or Shounen manga adaptations which can run on and on and can have an ending episode that doesn't quite fit up with the rest of the cour.
What is not decided, however, is the planned plot of the entire anime itself. You can see this in even many big productions like Eva or TTGL where the writers pitched and started the series having no goddamn clue where it will go, leading to the story being potentially led in a completely different direction from what was originally planned, or in the most case, either a half-assed ending or out of left field ending when they don't know how to wrap things up.
Or in this case, an extremely rushed second half when they realized just how much they screwed up estimating the pacing for the plot and in hindsight maybe should not have wasted 5 eps on slice of life shenaningans. Think Charlotte. Even Gundams are not immune to this, with characters prone to being derailed, having their character arc wrapped up haphazardly, or ending with tons of plot threads left hanging. For a western equivalent, think Samurai Jack s5.
Unless you're talking things like Marchen Madchen where they literally ran out of money to animate the episodes, funding hardly is ever the explanation to why endings of original animes are often wonky.
It's not that they don't have the funding to create more episodes, the contract they sign just didn't allow them to make more episodes in the first place, regardless of the money it made during airtime. In most cases, it might just be better to save your story for a potential 2nd season and just end your first season on a cliffhanger.
