Ask John: Why do Many Anime Shows Have Unhappy Endings?

Question:
Why do most animes (Dragonball, Sailor Moon, etc.) never have happy endings? I mean, from what I’ve read about the final episode of Dragonball GT, that was no happy ending. Sometimes animes end with the main character either dying or going somewhere and never coming back, a team of good guys splitting up permanently, etc.

Answer:
It’s an exaggeration to say that “most” anime shows don’t have a happy ending, but it is true that the tragic, unresolved or otherwise depressing ending is unusually common in anime relative to Western movies. Apart from the two examples you’ve provided, I can think of several more examples that have endings that vary from being dark to terribly depressing:

Char’s Counterattack, Gundam 0083 and Gundam ZZ
Megazone 23
Dangaioh
Princess Mononoke
Angel’s Egg
Ima Soku ni Iru Boku (which was thoroughly depressing throughout)
the Nadesico movie
Key the Metal Idol
Pom Poko
and the king of depressing anime films, Graveyard of Fireflies

Many of these endings, especially Key, Dragonball, Sailormoon, Pom Poko and Princess Mononoke depend on one’s personal interpretation of what exactly constitutes a happy ending. In many cases, the ending is merely a natural progression of the entire story. For a film like Princess Mononoke to end differently than it did would be to contradict San’s carefully constructed personality and characterization. Films like Pom Poko and Graveyard of Fireflies concluding in any way other than the way they do would be a contradiction of reality.

Now I’d like to present a totally amateur anthropological explanation. The commonality of the depressing ending may be an intrinsic element of Japanese culture. Historically Japan places a great valuation on personal sacrifice and the value of gain through hardship. Death before dishonor was the motto of the samurai. Hard work and personal sacrifice leads to success is the mantra of the contemporary salaryman. Also involved in this is the Japanese concern with the natural cycle. Life is based on death, and death results in new life. A purely happy ending may seem superficial or too easy if there’s no tragedy or sacrifice involved in it. A tragic ending carries more weight and significance because it involves sacrifice. A happy ending is easily forgettable, but a sad ending resonates with the viewer for a long time. It may be that the Japanese psyche naturally enjoys the occasional sad ending because such an ending provides weight and significance to the conclusion of a favorite show, as well as a spring board for the imagination. When an anime has a happy ending, few people consider what happens next. The heroes live happily ever after, and the show is over. When a show has a sad ending, the viewer is left pondering the ending and creating his/her own explanations and sequels. A happy ending leaves little room for further development while a sad ending opens the potential for growth.