Why do we still fall for it, anyway?
Cliffhangers are not always well-received, and sometimes they are legitimately annoying, but they are also a good way of making people look forward to the next episode or season. Today, we will take a look at a couple of cliffhangers in hopes of finding ones that are not annoying.
Warning: some minor spoilers ahead!
Haikyuu!!: Season 3, Episode 9
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Haikyuu!! is about volleyball, and episode 9 ends before a decisive moment in the match, when both teams are very close to winning. When you are engrossed in watching the match, the episode's ending is even more jarring, but frankly, they had to cut away at that moment because it was perfect for a cliffhanger.
The Promised Neverland: Season 1, Episode 12
The ending of the first season of The Promised Neverland (Yakusoku no Nebārando) gets a cliffhanger quite naturally, in that it ends with characters successfully escaping the farm/orphanage they were trying to get away from. It is a good ending for a season, but it is also a good cliffhanger because now we wonder where the main characters are going to go and what they are going to do now that their initial aim is achieved. It is not a type of cliffhanger that makes you angry; it is both satisfying and teasing more.
Attack on Titan: Most of It
Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) has a lot of cliffhangers. For instance, right before a great battle that is clearly about to take place between characters, the anime will cut off and leave the viewers hanging. An example is the fight between Eren and the Colossal Titan, which is split between episodes for cliffhanger purposes.
Shy: Season 1, Episode 3
Episode 3 leaves us wondering how Shy will defeat Stardust to keep her status as a hero. We do not doubt that she will win because the anime is called Shy, which implies that she will stay a hero throughout it. However, Stardust looks like he knows how to fight, so we are looking forward to seeing Shy succeed.
2001 Hellsing: Season 1 Episode 13
It can be argued that 2001 Hellsing ended on a cliffhanger. The antagonist is killed off by Alucard, but Integra, it seems, is framed for treason, and Alucard is tempting her to become a vampire. Unfortunately, none of that is in the manga, and while it is not unheard of for anime to invent its own storylines, 2001 Hellsing never got the Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) treatment. Indeed, Black Butler had a whole second season based on the first season and not the manga. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the 2001 Hellsing will be continued, and that is why a lot of fans are dissatisfied with its cliffhanger ending.
Whether or not a cliffhanger is made well is subjective, but we hope that these cliffhangers look like good examples to you.