Cliffhanger is generally a situation in which a piece of media stops an episode before a resolution to a conflict or situation is made. A story can end with a cliffhanger, too, for the season or in the very end, but it can also have cliffhangers between episodes to heighten anticipation for the next episode.
For example, in an ongoing anime Shy, the latest, third episode ended on such a cliffhanger.
Spoilers ahead!
Shy is about to fight Stardust, and while it is supposed to be training, if she loses, she will have to give up her career as a hero. This is both a good and a bad cliffhanger. It is good because the stakes are significant, especially this early in the show.
It is bad because the anime is named Shy, and we would not be surprised to see Shy win or, at least, get the right to proceed being her heroic self. In the end, though, we wonder how Shy manages to win, which is why it is a good cliffhanger, and it definitely makes one wish that the next episode comes out sooner.
Another cliffhanger took place in an ongoing anime Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange (Megumi no Daigo Kyūkoku no Orenji).
Spoilers ahead!
The second episode in Firefighter Daigo ends with the characters trapped inside of a training building full of fire, with the door unavailable. However, it was barely a cliffhanger because in the beginning of the first episode, in a flash-forward, we can see at least two of the trainees being alive and working as firefighters. Besides, it was training.
One could expect the people involved in it to stay alive. As a result, cutting away while the trainees were still inside the building did little to increase anticipation. Given Firefighter Daigo's decision to make extensive recaps, this situation could also be avoided by including more new animation and fewer recaps. It is not the best cliffhanger, and it could have easily been avoided.
Fans have a love-hate relationship with cliffhangers because while they improve interest in the series, it is also something of a bad form on the part of anime. Cliffhangers are easy; it is a cheap way to gain engagement. Of course, sometimes, cliffhangers occur naturally because the time runs out, but anime-makers are in charge of that time, and they could have planned better. Still, some cliffhangers are done well, for example, like that in Shy, and others less so, such as the one in Firefighter Daigo. Therefore, cliffhangers are not created equal.
Game of Thrones did it best, so why even bother?
Cliffhanger is generally a situation in which a piece of media stops an episode before a resolution to a conflict or situation is made. A story can end with a cliffhanger, too, for the season or in the very end, but it can also have cliffhangers between episodes to heighten anticipation for the next episode.
For example, in an ongoing anime Shy, the latest, third episode ended on such a cliffhanger.
Spoilers ahead!
Shy is about to fight Stardust, and while it is supposed to be training, if she loses, she will have to give up her career as a hero. This is both a good and a bad cliffhanger. It is good because the stakes are significant, especially this early in the show.
It is bad because the anime is named Shy, and we would not be surprised to see Shy win or, at least, get the right to proceed being her heroic self. In the end, though, we wonder how Shy manages to win, which is why it is a good cliffhanger, and it definitely makes one wish that the next episode comes out sooner.
Another cliffhanger took place in an ongoing anime Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange (Megumi no Daigo Kyūkoku no Orenji).
Spoilers ahead!
The second episode in Firefighter Daigo ends with the characters trapped inside of a training building full of fire, with the door unavailable. However, it was barely a cliffhanger because in the beginning of the first episode, in a flash-forward, we can see at least two of the trainees being alive and working as firefighters. Besides, it was training.
One could expect the people involved in it to stay alive. As a result, cutting away while the trainees were still inside the building did little to increase anticipation. Given Firefighter Daigo's decision to make extensive recaps, this situation could also be avoided by including more new animation and fewer recaps. It is not the best cliffhanger, and it could have easily been avoided.
Fans have a love-hate relationship with cliffhangers because while they improve interest in the series, it is also something of a bad form on the part of anime. Cliffhangers are easy; it is a cheap way to gain engagement. Of course, sometimes, cliffhangers occur naturally because the time runs out, but anime-makers are in charge of that time, and they could have planned better. Still, some cliffhangers are done well, for example, like that in Shy, and others less so, such as the one in Firefighter Daigo. Therefore, cliffhangers are not created equal.
