Cut Short: Difference between revisions

The polar opposite of a [[Grand Finale]]: a series ends abruptly, without resolution of its basic premise, due to some unplanned event such as [[Cancellation]] or [[Author Existence Failure]]. The story does not end, it simply stops ''in medias res'', possibly with a [[Cliff Hanger]]. In a few lucky cases, [[The Resolution Will Not Be Televised]], but goes directly to DVD. In even luckier cases the series will be able to [[Wrap It Up]] with a miniseries or theatrical film. More often than not, however, there is no final resolution.

 

 

 

 

{{endingtrope}}

{{examples}}

* ''Yamato Gensouki''.

* The anime version of ''[[Ranma ½]]'' abruptly ended about two-thirds of the way through the story. The manga continued to [[No Ending|the Grand Non-Finale]].

* The anime version of ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]'' ended at volume 12 or so of the manga, leaving the "Kaoru and Aoi" plot thread unresolved. (The manga ran for 17 volumes and did have a proper ending.)

* ''[[Gantz]]'', or rather the anime version: due to the very slow updating of the source manga, only the first three arcs were adapted before a [[Gecko Ending|confusing filler ending]] concluded the series.

* ''[[Rozen Maiden]]'', whose anime [[Overtook the Manga]] and whose manga tragically ended (but now it's starting again) with a [[Deus Ex Machina]] (and an apology) following a dispute between the producers and the publishers.

* The ''[[Pretty Face]]'' manga was also cut short. While the ending was clearly intentional, only one of the major plot points was resolved on screen, and a whole additional year passed with the basic premise, with no clear reason why that didn't deserve to be shown, whilst the year we did see did.

** Ditto ''[[Mx0]]''. How the guy was able to continue illustrating after those is an incredible feat altogether.

* ''[[Double Arts]]'', a [[Shonen]] manga,had just finished setting up its premise, characters, the [[Big Bad]], even debuted the titular fighting style,and it was really starting to distinguish itself from its generic beginnings... [[I Should Write a Book About This|when the person writing the tale closed the book saying, "I may continue it... some other time"]].

** Even though the story has taken a rather drastic change in tone and major characters, it has seemed to successfully subvert this trope and is now continuing.

** Now Kentaro Yabuki might try to fire back at his ex-wife with ''[[Mayoi Neko Overrun]]''.

* The ''[[Galaxy Angel (anime)|Galaxy Angel]]'' anime parodies this. At the end of every single season, a huge cliffhanger is set up, and the next season makes absolutely no mention of it whatsoever.

* ''[[Pet Shop of Horrors]]'' only had FOUR episodes made, there's no introduction of the plot from the manga or any explanation of why Count D does what he does, for a ten volume Manga (which is complete and with a sequel in progress) it is very disappointing that the anime didn't get into any of it.

** That's because there was a large petition (or something of the sort) from parents in Japan who thought the show was offensive, stupid, [[Comedic Sociopathy|and encouraged bullying.]]

* The ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' anime ended this way, right after the Future Arc when they come home, all they do is say that Tsuna needs more training before coming a boss and just stare at the sky right when the credits roll. The manga is still ongoing.

* The ''[[Aoi Hana]]'' anime cuts off right at the crucial moment at which {{spoiler|Fumi realizes Akira was her first love}}. Originally more seasons were planned, but due to disappointing DVD-sales it's highly unlikely any more will be produced.

* The ''[[SWOT]]'' manga ended rather abruptly at chapter 20, right after the conclusion of a fight that would've been building up to a [[Tournament Arc]].

* The anime of ''[[Kare Kano]]'' got cut off after one season for several reasons, among them Studio Gainax having the usual Studio Gainax problems and, rather more importantly, the manga's author reacting ''very'' badly to the direction the anime took and pulling the rights.

* The anime of ''[[Psychic Academy]]'' ends after the [[Beach Episode]], barely a third of the way through the manga storyline. Not only does it not resolve the love triangle, it barely managed to finish defining it!

* ''[[Zombie Powder]]'' ends without a conclusion or resolution to the story. Rumor has it that [[Tite Kubo]] had a [[Creator Breakdown]] that led to its cancelation.

* A new addition is ''[[Domina no Do]]'', where the manga just suddenly ends with no [[Character Development]] and nothing resolved.

* The anime version of ''[[Souten Kouro]]'' stops suddenly after a minor battle in a new war that was only getting really started. The rest of the story is dealt with in a few screens of white text on black background right where the preview for the next episode would have been, for a very low value of "dealt with".

 

* The collapse of Dreamwave Comics cut several ''[[Transformers]]'' comics short; none of the titles were picked up by IGN.

* The second volume of ''[[Batman Adventures]]'', which had taken comic book tie-ins to cartoons to a new level; it was set in the [[DCAU]] after ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' and during(ish) ''[[Justice League]]'', acting almost like a sequel series with well-written stories that averted the original [[Status Quo Is God|status quo]] while also bringing closure to various characters and foreshadowing new ones. It was canceled after only 17 issues to make way for ''[[The Batman]]'''s tie-in comic. Before going out, they were able to resolve some plot threads: {{spoiler|revealing the truth behind the Penguin's mayoral election, having Penguin quit as mayor, making a major revelation about Poison Ivy which acted as her exit from the series, providing closure for the stories of Clayface and Mr. Freeze, and having Batman confront Joe Chill without even knowing it.}} But that also [[Left Hanging|left various plot threads unresolved]]... {{spoiler|The identity of the DCAU's new Red Hood who was only able to make one full panel appearance, the Phantasm's motivations for allying with him, the Riddler being left in a coma, Talia's reactions to being abandoned by Batman after taking a bullet for him, Eel O'Brien was introduced but never got around to becoming [[Plastic Man]], and so on...}} On message boards creators Dan Slott and Ty Templeton have spoken of much more awesome sounding ideas for future issues which would tie DC Animated Continuity together in new and awesome ways... they had planned for up to their 40th or so issue!

* ''[[Quantum and Woody]]'' was <s>canceled</s> suspended after issue #17, then resumed eleven months later with issue #34 as a meta [[Time Skip]]. The comic then resumed at #18, building towards the events in #34, but was canceled for good before that could be shown.

* ''[[X-Men|X-Men Forever]]'' was intended to be an ongoing series that was cut short due to lackluster sales. it was an attempt for [[Chris Claremont]] to wrap up long simmering plot points from his original legendary run with X-Men from '74-'91. While some of the plot points were wrapped up, the comic was cancelled just as a ''whole new set of plot points had been introduced.'' However, while for most comic writers, this is a severe annoyance, for [[Kudzu Plot|Chris]], [[But for Me It Was Tuesday|it was just Tuesday]].

* The ''Maggie the Cat'' mini-series, a spin-off from ''[[Jon Sable Freelance]]'', was cancelled after two issues with no resolution.

 

* "Woody's Roundup," the ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story 2]]'' [[In-Universe]] children's show. The final episode featured Woody and Bullseye attempting to jump the Grand Canyon to rescue their friends the Prospector and Jessie from imminent destruction. The next episode never aired as the show was cancelled due to the launch of Sputnik.

* An [[In-Universe]] example is found in ''[[Galaxy Quest]]''; the original TV show the actors were in was cancelled, but the final episode ended with the words "Activate the Omega 13.". Fans had spent years trying to figure out what the Omega 13 might do, since there were no further episodes to show its use or effects.

 

* ''[[The Mystery of Edwin Drood]]'', [[Charles Dickens]]'s last novel, was Cut Short when Dickens died halfway through writing. What made it even worse was that ''Drood'' was published serially, like all of Dickens' novels, thus frustrating his readers.

* This appears to be the fate of the [[Erast Fandorin]] series of Russian mystery novels, at least for English-speaking readers. Thirteen books have been published in Russia but book #10, ''The Diamond Chariot'', is the last to be translated into English.

* [[.hack|.Hack//Zero]] A series of novels set in the main .hack canon that tells the story of a (female) Heavy Axmen named [[Gender Blender Name|Carl]] and her encounter's with Aura and Skeith/Sora. The series abruptly ended with no real resolution after it's first volume relegating Carl's story to side materials (She ends up Data Drained by Skeith apperntly) and since the .hack series as a whole has moved on a good number of years in the timeline(Being on the 3rd version of The World no) it shows no signs of ever being finished. It's also a case of [[No Export for You]] likely due to it's unifinished nature.

 

* ''[[Dear John (British series)|Dear John]]'''s star Ralph Bates died in 1991, so plans to continue the series were scrapped.

* ''[[American Dreams]]''

* ''[[Lois and Clark]]'' ends with them finding a baby that does not belong to them. There was going to be more explanation of the baby's origins had the show continued.

** This was the same episode where they were told that Kryptonians are genetically incompatible with humans (or, at least, Clark and Lois aren't), destroying their hopes of starting a family.

* ''[[Marker]]''

* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'': One of the lucky ones. The Ori [[Arc]] is concluded with ''[[The Ark of Truth]]'', a direct-to-DVD movie.

** They also averted it as they were able to wrap up the major, major plot points of the entire series by the end of Season 8. The Ori Arc was subsequently introduced as part of a [[Retool]] at the beginning of the ninth season.

* ''[[Tru Calling]]'' is (sadly for its unluckily small cult fanbase) an ''excellent'' example of this. Not only was the final episode [[Missing Episode|never actually aired]], but even the network's ''initial'' episode order for the second season turned out to be only 6 episodes... when the writers had not only obviously been settling in for the long haul by setting up an epic-level [[Myth Arc]], but, according to the writing staff, they had already planned through episode '''''eight''''' of that season. ''Ouch.''

** Not to mention, the series was cut ''directly after'' the episode with extremely important plot lines - namely that Tru had just learned that others have her same powers... that other being her own father {{spoiler|and Jason Priestley's character, although they both try to do the opposite of what Tru does i.e. make sure people stay dead.}}.

** Although, in the words of series creator Shaun Cassidy, "we saw the ending coming soon enough to wrap the story up," the last episode of ''[[American Gothic]]'' left a lot of unanswered questions: what did Merlyn's disappearance mean? Was her {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice]] a failure, or not? Was she absorbed into Caleb? Does he now possess her powers and innate goodness with which to fight Buck's sinister influence?}} Will Gail still be under Buck's thrall, or will she snap out of her [[Chickification]] and bite him in the balls again? Will Selena ever stop going through that [[Heel Face Revolving Door]]? Is Buck going to succeed in corrupting Caleb or not? Even for a mystery show, and one which by its very nature is cyclical, not much makes sense here.

* ''Profiler'' ended on a cliffhanger.

* The 2002 sci-fi series ''[[Odyssey 5]]'' ends with astronaut Angela Perry abducted by the AI's and scientist Kurt Mendel being arrested on suspicion of killing her. Plus the mysterious Cabal, which the team assume have something to do with the AI's and the impending destruction of the Earth, turn out to be a government force trying to ''stop'' the AI's and who believe that the Odyssey 5 team are the traitors.

* ''[[Kyle XY]]'' ended with Kyle uncovering a nefarious plot and discovering {{spoiler|the identity of his mother}}. It's left at a Cliffhanger with Kyle only partially stopping the plot. It's left unresolved who his true love interest is. [[Word of God]] described the rest of the series in broad strokes. Very annoying as the series was cancelled halfway through the season and no moves were made to provide even the slightest of a better resolution.

* [[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|The original ''Battlestar Galactica'']] got cut short after the final episode "The Hand of God", although it did get a follow up of sorts with ''[[Galactica 1980]]'', which original series fans [[Fanon Discontinuity|prefer not to talk about]], and which itself was canceled after only ten episodes. Then it got [[Remake|re-imagined]] into the [[retool]]ed [[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|2004-2009 ''Battlestar Galactica'']].

* The last episode of ''[[Carnivale]]'' left multiple plot threads unexplained, as well as introducing a [[Heel Face Turn]] and a resurrection in the last few minutes.

* ''[[Riget]]'' ended after two seasons with many loose ends due to a rare TV case of [[Author Existence Failure|Key Person Existence Failure]]: two leading actors died, the risk of this having been heightened due to the lengthy gaps between seasons and the advanced ages of several characters.

* ''[[Nowhere Man]]''. Ended on a huge cliffhanger. Gets extra points since it was one of UPN's most-watched and most critically-acclaimed shows. Was replaced by a show that was so horrible that it didn't even last 10 episodes.

* Being a [[Sketch Comedy]], ''[[The Amanda Show]]'' itself didn't suffer from this after its abrupt cancellation, but [[Show Within a Show]] ''Moody's Point'' had ended the final season on a huge [[Cliff Hanger]] in which the main character learned that she'd been [[Switched At Birth]] and that she wasn't who she thought she was. Even creator Dan Schneider doesn't know what would have happened next, because he never got a chance to write it.

* ''[[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]'' ends abruptly due to this shortly after Angsty Teen!John Conner gets himself sent to a future where no one recognizes his name due to being pulled out of the timeline.

 

* ''[[Little Orphan Annie]]'' ran as a serial strip in newspapers for 86 years until it was unceremoniously cancelled in 2010. The final strip inexplicably did not resolve the ongoing plotline, but instead [http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/06/14/little-orphan-annie-ending/ ended on Annie being held in South America by a serial murderer and Daddy Warbucks staring hopelessly into the distance believing his beloved daughter to be murdered by gangsters.] The sun ''won't'' come up tomorrow in this universe...

 

* ''[[Shenmue]]''. The second installment ended with Ryo finally meeting Shenhua and discovering that the mirror he's been carrying does indeed have some sort of supernatural power. Then Yu Suzuki got the plug pulled on his series, so we'll never know the significance of this, nor Lan Di's ultimate role in the story. Then Suzuki quit at Sega, guaranteeing that we'll ''really'' never know how it all would have turned out.

* The 1999 PC [[Survival Horror]] game ''Nocturne'' ended on a positively agonizing cliffhanger, which over a decade later has yet to be revisited thanks to the game's storyline morphing into ''[[BloodRayne]]''. All is not lost, though: an interview with the developers stated that ''Nocturne'' is not [[Canon Discontinuity]], and that they created ''Bloodrayne'' specifically to have an intellectual property they could relinquish to Majesco if and when they severed ties with the company. They still hope to release a true sequel to ''Nocturne'' someday.

* It would be easier to list multi-part modules for ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]''/''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' that managed to finish their plot than ones that don't.

 

* ''[[Elf Only Inn]]'', twice.

* ''[[RPG World]]'' made it all the way up to the final battle before the [[Creator Breakdown]] the author had over people wanting him to finish the story before moving on to side projects finally made him give up on the whole thing.

* It seems traditional for ''[[A Modest Destiny]]'' to be cancelled just as some sort of epic climax is about to occur (or, is in fact, occurring), only to be once again resurrected. Only to be cancelled again. Then resurrected. Then cancelled. There's a pattern here, is what we're saying.

 

* Many roleplays on ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' end short of the planned climatic grand finale.

* Not quite an episode itself, but ''Smash Kingdom'' had the ''Sonic vs Mario'' clip, which ended with a cliffhanger as Super Sonic and Super Mario resuming their fight. However, it was not resolved in the last episode of the series.

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SIxQmwca5U&feature=g-u-u&context=G213b43eFUAAAAAAAAAA Episode 9's first scene did get released, though.] Unfortunately, it leaves it on a bigger cliffhanger with Mario and Luigi squaring down with Basilisx and Shadow with Mecha Sonic... On the other hand, the ending of the trailer, as posted on Alvin Earthworm's [[Deviant ART]] account, does have the words "The End?", implying the possibility that he might consider restarting the series at a later date.

 

* The two American-made [[Humongous Mecha]] [[Animated Series]] from [[The Nineties]], ''[[Exo Squad]]'' and ''[[BattleTech]]'', both end with unresolved [[Cliff Hanger]]s.

** The last episode of ''[[Exo Squad]]'' ends with JT Marsh watching in horror as strange alien ships appear out of nowhere, steal Mars (yes, the whole planet), and disappear again.

* ''[[Clone High]]''. At least it was some kind of resolution since it was supposed to be the season finale, but it was a [[Cliff Hanger]].

* ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' seems to have fallen victim to this. Due to its abrupt cancellation, it ended with many unresolved plotlines and unexplored characters. The final episode itself only resolved a ''fraction'' of the many plot points introduced earlier in the season.

* ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'' had a very resolving ending...until the last 10 seconds, where they pull a cliff hanger on the audience. The show was [[Screwed by the Network|promptly cancelled after that]] because it was beaten in the ratings by the [[Merchandise-Driven]] ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]''.

* ''[[Sonic Underground]]'' got screwed for the [[Dreamcast]][[Retool|-driven]] ''[[Sonic Adventure]].'' In some cases, it was cancelled in MID-BROADCAST, leaving the audience hanging.

* ''[[Wolverine and the X-Men]]:'' The last episode ended with a scene in which Apocalypse rules in the future leaving no clue as to what's going to happen next. The show only lasted one season.

* Obscure 1980s cartoon ''[[The Bluffers]]'' centered around a [[Gang of Critters]] trying to find out the secret of a villain named Clandestino. It got canceled before they could say what his secret was.

* ''[[King Arthur and the Knights of Justice]]'' was unexpectedly cancelled after two seasons and 26 episodes, with its premise (collecting all the [[MacGuffin]]s and freeing the original King and Knights) far from resolution.

* ''[[Sym-Bionic Titan]]''. The conflict was building up, the show was gaining fans, and the staff was all set to make a second season. Then the show got canceled because it failed to secure [[Merchandise-Driven|any key toy deals]]. Attempts to get the second season made were fruitless, and [[Genndy Tartakovsky]] was so displeased with the way [[Cartoon Network]] handled his series that he left them to form his own studio under Sony.

* The last episode of ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' ends with all the villains gathering together for a last Xiaolin versus Heylin Cosmic Clash Showdown.

 

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[[Category:Depressing Tropes]]