Death Note is a popular answer, and I also agree that its ideal stopping point is…
Death Note
L’s death
Bocchi the Rock is another show that I felt would be at its best if it stopped at episode eight. If the upcoming compilation movie stops there, I may consider it superior to the TV series. It’s not unheard-of. Violet Evergarden’s film-length recap stopped at Episode 10.
I want to see more of Bocchi-chan's rock!
The title drop + roll credits is its peak and climax. I hoped its finale would be amazing. However, episode eight overshadowed episode 12. Everything after E8 felt like a lede for an S2.
What are yours?
I am currently on episode 25 of Death Note, and I’m unsure about why I should continue. This is why I agree with you.
The same goes for SAO. After watching the first season, I don’t see any reason to continue. It has a perfectly fine plot, which, in my opinion, doesn’t need any extension.
However, I’m still happy for fans of both of these shows that they got more. At the moment, I’m content with not continuing either. They may not have a proper ending for me, but it’s not like I’m unsatisfied.
SAO is the worst fucking offender. The first half of the first season is top tier, but then the fairy shit is almost unwatchable. And then they keep going back to the awful fucking fairy world in every sequel. It almost felt like it was done out of spite.
Hot take time?
The Office.
I enjoyed the first few seasons immensely, but at some point the characters felt off to me. It’s been a while since I watched it, so I can’t pinpoint when exactly it started to change anymore.
I wouldn’t mind 8 episodes less of Haruhi.
Regarding Bocchi the Rock I have to disagree, all I want is more of that show beamed straight into my eyeballs!
I can’t think of any anime that could be improved with less episodes, because I only continue watching something if I actually like it, and I can’t remember anything I just walked away from. Maybe one of the two versions of Fullmetal Alchemist? That show really didn’t impress me much at the time though, really only watched as much of it as I did because friends were so into it at the time.
Non-anime wise, Dexter, Weeds and Supernatural all should’ve ended wayyy earlier and were kept in life support because of prior successful ratings, off the top of my head.
I want is more of that show beamed straight into my eyeballs!
I can’t complain on more Bocchi content. It’s the presentation that I’m wondering in retrospect. I wonder how would it be like if Bocchi S1 ended in episode eight and the rest becomes something like “Bocchi -piece-” Horimiya style.
