The gaiden side story's final chapter came out translated, so this manga is now officially over. I don't feel like the gaiden added much to the original, but it wasn't terrible either. The nice part is we get to see something genuinely ending for once, in an industry where popular works never end. For instance, even Rurouni Kenshin is restarting in 2017.
Hayate no Gotoku may be ending this December. Odds are Hata Kenjirou won't be able to tie up all the loose ends nearly that quickly though. Bleach ended, but it was a total trainwreck because it was cancelled, it didn't actually get to tell its full story.
Angel Beats: Heaven's Door ended, but it hasn't been translated, so it's no use to us in the USA. The same is true of Bokukoku no Brynhildr and Squid Girl. On top of that, Angel Beats is getting a new manga anyway, so it's not even done in Japan.
Akame ga Kill! may be ending this December, but its prequel isn't over so the franchise as a whole is still going strong -- and it will be quite a while before the prequel is fully translated even when it does finish in Japan.
When you add it all up, it turns out the only other manga that ended in 2016 and was translated in full was Assassination Classroom, but it's unnecessary to read that manga because the anime adapts it fully. Of course, the same is true of Boku Dake, aside from the gaiden, which means of all things the only useful manga that came out this entire year is this very Boku Dake gaiden. Assassination Classroom isn't even over, so long as the Q spinoff continues, so again we're left with Boku Dake as the only manga series that reached an actual conclusion as far as the USA is concerned in all of 2016.
It's possible a good manga premiered in 2016, but it's too early to know about it even if that has happened. Manga takes many years just to get rolling and reach noticeable levels of popularity. As things stand right now, no good manga premiered in 2016, and only one really ended. That's manga for you, a dangerous habit that's even less reliable than anime in the end.
Meanwhile, as mentioned in passing last post, I finished Hataraku Maou-sama! volume 12 and Idol Mahou Shoujo Chiru Chiru Michiru. Another long term project finally put to rest. Next up, alongside Majikoi S of course, is Osananajimi wa Daitouryou's Fandisk. This visual novel franchise is my tenth favorite so I'm glad I'm finally finding the time to enjoy it.
Even if I received nothing else in life, if I just got to read/watch/play through to the ending of all my favorite series, I would be content. That's fulfilling enough right there. I don't even need any new series to be created ever again. I just want to see the conclusion, the translated conclusion, of everything I've fallen in love with over all the years. There's already enough stuff floating out there to spend a lifetime on, what needs to be focused on now is the discipline to actually finish what people have started. For instance, we're on Final Fantasy XV right now. How many more really need to be made? How many Da Capo games do they intend on making by the end? We're already at 30 or something! As nice as another 'middle extension' may be, a thrilling conclusion to the storyline, that has the answers to all the original questions, is worth a lot more. Before we're bogged down in endless filler, can't we just have all the most brilliant and sweetest moments laid out before us? I think long time fans deserve that, before they die of old age.
Berserk has been going on for 30 years, One Piece for 20, and so on. Star Wars will soon be reaching its 50th anniversary. When is enough enough? You'd have to be a lucky fan to see the whole story of this franchise.
Artists need to decide what message they are trying to get across with their work of art, convey it, and close the tome once and for all. Like J.R.R. Tolkein did with Lord of the Rings. There's a proper ending to every beginning, and no story is worth more than mush until it reaches that proper ending. It's time to turn the page, and focus on the ending, not more excitement, more developments, more money and more entertainment. Fans have devotedly followed these authors for decades, and they deserve to reach the peace of mind that is the resolution of all these sagas before they die. People love these characters oftentimes more than anyone else in real life, and have formed lasting bonds with them and their worlds that have spanned decades, longer than most any marriages. It's time to start thinking of them, instead of how things can be stretched out and embellished any further.
It's also time for google translate to perfect its AI translation program, so that properly finished works like PapaKiki can be read outside of Japan. Or Solzenitsyn's Red Wheel series. Or any of the other classics that lay rotting in dusty attics around the world that most of the world has never gotten a chance at yet. They announced their breakthrough months ago, and then radio silence. Let's get a move on Google, not everyone lives forever. There are fans of PapaKiki dying every day who will now never get a chance to see the ending. Every day. Just like the author suddenly died at age 43, fans are also dying left and right. Every one of them was passionately praying for a chance to read books 4-18 before that moment, and then bam, heart attack, cancer, car accident, murder. That's a tragedy that can never be undone. Dying once you've resolved everything in your mind and resigned all worldly ties? No big deal. Dying before the ending of PapaKiki? That's a big deal. We all deserve better than that hellish scenario.
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