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Bookends / Anime & Manga

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For when you most likely have seen things twice before.

Please remember that some Bookends can be spoilers.


  • In Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, the next-to-final scene is a recollection of the first, but from a different viewpoint.
  • In the second volume of Accel World, Yuniko "Scarlet Rain" Kozuki tricks Haruyuki "Silver Crow" Arita's mother into giving her a key to the house by posing as a child of a relative, in order to recruit Haru's help. At the end of the arc, Niko tricks Haru's mother once again, pretending to be the daughter of one of her coworkers, to tell Haru some news about what happened since they last met.
  • Aggretsuko: The Cold Open of the first episode of the Netflix series has Retsuko (then a enthusiastic and idealistic new hire at the company) triumphantly leap into the air, only to sprain her ankle on the landing. Near the end of the final episode of the season, Retsuko decides she can still look forward to the future even after five years at a Soul-Crushing Desk Job and does a similar leap into the air, only this time she nails the landing.
  • In Ah! My Goddess the story kicked off when Keiichi asked that a goddess like Belldandy stay by his side forever. The story ends when he repeats those words after the two are married.
  • In the first chapter of Ai Kora, Maeda clobbers the guy who burned down the boys' dorm and was trying to do the same to the girls' dorm when he takes Sakurako hostage. The same guy shows up in the very last chapter, trying to burn down the girls' dorm again. He takes Sakurako hostage again, this time at gunpoint, and Maeda (who had been missing for four months after accidentally taking an airplane to England) makes his triumphant return by kicking the guy in the head and rescuing Sakurako.
  • Aldnoah.Zero:
    • In the last episode of Season 1, Saazbaum taps his forehead as if to say, "You should have shot me here" after surviving being shot repeatedly by Slaine. At the very end of the series, as Inaho holds him at gunpoint, Slaine does the same thing.
    • The first episode ends with two children mistaking the falling Landing Castles for shooting stars. In the final episode, two children (likely the same two) mistake Inaho and Slaine's falling Kataphrakts for a shooting star.
  • Are You Lost? begins with the girls drifting at sea after their plane crashes, and since they can't drink the salt water around them, Homare is forced to come up with some creative measures to keep everyone hydrated. The last episode of the anime has Homare and Shion taking a raft back to the island after Shion drifted away and found herself on a nearby smaller island, and they also end up having to take extreme measures to keep themselves hydrated.
  • The last scene of the ARIA series depicts Akari embarrassing her new apprentice by happily staring at her, just like Alicia did to Akari at the beginning of the series.
  • The Opening Narration of the first few episodes of Ashita no Nadja gets reprised at the end of the final episode, as a way to signify that Nadja's story is now complete.
  • Assassination Classroom:
    • The series begins with Koro-sensei taking a roll of Class 3-E while they're firing at him. The final arc has a double-bookend: Chapter 177 / Season 2 Episode 24 has him roll-calling the class one last time before they finally assassinate him. Then the whole series ends with Nagisa, now a collegiate intern working part-time teaching to a classroom of delinquents, designated Class 3-5 (a subtle nod to his old class also being the fifth third-year class of Kunugigaoka), calmly confronting his students before taking a roll-call.
    • Both the first chapter and the final Extra Chapter involve attempting to kill Koro-sensei with a grenade.
    • To a lesser extent, Season 1 is bookended with class bully Ryouma Terasaka's interaction with Nagisa, displaying the former's Character Development. The series began with him coercing Nagisa into becoming a suicide bomber against Koro-sensei. Episode 22 ends with him warning Nagisa against going into a murderous rampage against Takaoka.
  • Asteroid in Love begins with a young Mira meeting Ao, looking up at the stars with her and promising to find an asteroid that they can name after her. In Episode 12 of the anime, Mira and Ao, now second-years in high school, once again look up at the stars, renewing their promise to find an asteroid together after failing to do so at the Shining Star Challenge.
  • The introduction of the Survey Corps in Attack on Titan has them returning from a failed mission. Erwin noticed a young Eren happily watching them before Erwin turned away in shame. Five years later, after Eren's first mission ended in failure, he noticed a brother and sister watching him with the same excited expression. He immediately looked away while fighting tears.
    • After the conclusion of Eren's fight with Annie/the Female Titan in Episode 25, Mikasa asked Eren to eat to keep up his strength, just as she did in Episode 2. This time, he does so willingly.
    • The first episode began with the narration of "That day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by them ... the humiliation of being kept in a cage", referring to how humanity became complacent living within the Walls and how the destruction of Zhiganshina and the subsequent fall of Wall Maria reminded them of their fear of Titans. The final episode repeated this phrase, only this time humanity remembered and humanity is pissed.
    • Near the start of the series, after Eren's Titan transformation comes undone, Kirz Worman and a squad of Garrison soldiers point their guns at him and his friends, demanding that he prove whether he's a human or a Titan. The situation is resolved when Armin makes an appeal to the commander. At the end, after Eren is killed, and everyone loses the power of the Titans, soldiers from Marley point guns at the survivors, who'd lost their Titan forms, and demand that they prove whether they're humans or Titans. The situation is resolved when Armin steps forward and claims credit for killing Eren.
    • Mikasa is the first character to kill a Titan in the series, in order to save a crowd of people that were about to be run down. She's also the one to make the final Titan kill of the series — namely Eren himself — in order to stop the Rumbling and save humanity.
    • The series itself uses bookends: the final scene of the manga is Mikasa watching over Eren underneath the same tree as in chapter one. Only, this time, Eren isn't asleep — he's dead. Likewise, Eren and Mikasa's relationship itself counts, since one of their first interactions is when Eren rescues Mikasa and he drapes a scarf around her neck because Mikasa's talking about how (metaphorically) cold it is. The manga ends with a bird, implied to either be (dead) Eren's spirit or be controlled by Eren (using his titan powers), draping Mikasa's scarf around her one final time.
  • The first episode of the first season of Bakugan begins with Dan going out to be a cocky Jerkass. The last episode ends with a similar scene (even down to the same dialogue being rehashed), only this time, he is going out to see a girl.
  • The first chapter of Bakuman。 has Moritaka Mashiro, the main character, convinced to go into manga by his classmate, Akito Takagi, and summoning the courage to essentially promise to marry Miho Azuki once they succeed as a mangaka and voice actress, respectively, meeting her outside her house to make the promise. The last chapter has him meeting with Azuki again, in the very same place, after they fulfill both their promises. Both the first and the last chapters share the same title — "Dreams and Reality".
  • Betterman begins and ends with Keita and Hinoki on a deserted island. The beginning is Keita's dream. The ending is real.
  • The series finale of The Big O repeats the first part of the driving scene and opening narration from the first episode. The difference is that Angel and Dorothy are standing nearby and the road is smoother. It is open to interpretation, but this might indicate that this iteration of Paradigm City's reality may go more smoothly than last time.
  • Bleach:
    • So far, most of the major arcs end with Ichigo and Rukia parting ways.
    • The Aizen Myth Arc dominated the story significantly. When it was closed in the anime, the opening sequence featured images from the first season playing in reverse, closing on the first scene from the anime. This also foreshadowed Ichigo's (temporary) retirement.
    • The final chapter featured Ichigo's son first meeting Rukia's daughter in a similar way Ichigo and Rukia first met in the first chapter. The final chapter shares its title with the first: "Death and Strawberry".
  • Blood+: The first and last episodes have Saya talking to Julia while getting blood transfusions, Kai and Saya on a motorcycle, and Kai seeing Haji and Saya kiss
  • Blue Drop starts with a man and a woman talking on a shuttle in orbit around Earth. In the last scene of the show it becomes clear that the woman is Michiko on her way to a peace talk with the Arume, 30 years after the events that are depicted in the series.
  • Blue Ramun begins on protagonist Jessie's 15th birthday, the age at which Blue Ramun tribe members finish their training in the healing arts and are assigned their first posting as a Blue Doctor of the Silkdeep Empire. The last chapter takes place on Jessie's 16th birthday, with Eagle (her love interest) and Randy (her roommate) promising to prepare a home-cooked meal for her to celebrate the year she's spent in the Lezak District and all the hardships they three have overcome.
  • Boarding School Juliet's first chapter ends with Romio Inuzuka finally making a Love Confession to his lifelong crush Juliet Percia in front of Dahlia Academy's fountain. At the end of the manga (the last chapter before the Distant Finale) he proposes marriage to her in the very same location.
  • Bokurano:
    • The manga ends with children from another Earth being introduced to Zearth's cockpit by Kokopelli and Dung Beetle, just the same as the protagonists were in the beginning. The first and last pages also have the same monologue.
    • The anime begins with Kodama using a sparkler to burn a crab to death, rationalizing his action by saying that people kill and eat animals. At the very end, an embittered Santa uses the same excuse for a similar act of cruelty to animals, only for Kana to give him a firm rebuttal.
  • Call of the Night: In the anime's first episode, Yamori meets Nazuna for the first time when the latter surprises the former at a beer vending machine. In the last episode, after a momentary lapse in their friendship, Yamori eventually reunites with Nazuna at the same vending machine, while playing the same trick on her.
  • Case Closed:
    • Many arcs tend to end with scenes similar to their beginning scenes.
    • In the special named Episode ONE, the special starts with Shiho Miyano a.k.a. Sherry entering her laboratory office, making coffee and watching the test results of APTX 4869 on rats, with one of them being de-aged instead of dead. The special ends in her office again, with Sherry declaring Shin'ichi Kudou as dead despite she has figured out that he de-aged and she's apparently going to make some new coffee.
  • Code Geass: Lelouch's statement in the first episode of the first season, echoed in the second season's Grand Finale, Foreshadowing his choice of death by Heroic Sacrifice.
    Lelouch: The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed.
    • Also, Season 2's first episode has him announce himself as Zero, the man who will "destroy the world and create it anew". The last episode has him repeat a variation of this with his last breath, except he frames it as he has symbolically destroyed the old world of hate and prejudice, and created it anew as a world of peace and equality.
    • The show's bookends are even in a meta sense: the first OP and ED of the first season are done by FLOW and Ali Project, respectively. The second OP and ED of the second season are also done by the two respectively.
  • Cowboy Bebop:
    • The series does this subtly. The first episode, "Asteroid Blues", begins with just Spike and Jet as the crew of the Bebop, along with Chief Laughing Bull making one of his trademark cryptic predictions, as well as Spike commenting on how he died once before because of a woman. By the end of "Hard Luck Woman", Faye, Ed and Ein are gone, leaving Jet and Spike alone on the Bebop and completing one bookend (though Faye briefly returns). The final episode, "The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)", ends with Chief Laughing Bull making a cryptic prediction on Spike... who attacks his old syndicate and dies because of a woman (though not before taking his nemesis Vicious with him).
    • Also happens in Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, with Spike calling a criminal out on their threats to hurt people. Spike's dialogue at the beginning and end of the movie is identical.
  • The Daily Lives of High School Boys anime ends with a small variation of the Late for School scene in the beginning, showing not much has been different in their lives, Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
  • Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School: The Tragedy both begins and ends with the cover-up of a Killing Game and Izuru taking the blame. In the former case, he's just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and in the latter case, he willingly accepts the burden.
  • Darker than Black begins with the police trying to catch Louis, a Contractor with gravity-cancellation powers. He gets away, only to run into Hei, who, despite Mao's protests, kills him. The first season ends with Hei sparing someone who really deserved to die thanks to Kirihara's protests, then shows the police chasing a Contractor with the same gravity-cancellation ability Louis had- but this time they catch the guy by entangling him with cables shot out of a fancy new upgrade to their handguns.
  • Death Note:
    • The first and last chapters of the manga have echoing sorts of scenes on the streets. The anime takes it a step further by having post-Kira Light passing his younger counterpart.
    • Ryuk is the first character we see in the first episode, and the last character we see in the last episode. The same music also plays both times (the "Kyrie" theme).
    • Some might consider it a bookend that when L dies, Light is shown standing over him, and in the anime ending, Light sees an apparition or ghost of L standing over him when Light dies.
    • The Japanese titles for the first and last episodes both utilize the kanji 新, which means "new". The first is titled 新生 (Shinsei, "Rebirth", literally "New Life"), while the last is titled 新世界 (Shinsekai, "New World"). The latter is also a nod to the last words Light said in the first episode, that he would become "The God of a New World".
  • The Devil is a Part-Timer!:
    • The first food Maou and Ashiya encounter upon their arrival on Earth in Episode 1 is katsudonnote  (hilariously mispronounced by them as "khatsu-dum"). At the end of the season in Episode 13 when Maou and Ashiya eat out at a restaurant, they both ordered khatsu-dum.
    • Maou and Emi meet in the human world for the first time when it starts to rain on the sidewalk and he gives her his umbrella and bikes to work in the rain. After the credits in the last episode, Maou is unhappily facing the rain again, but this time Emi appears, and offers him her umbrella, which he accepts.
  • Digimon Adventure 02 begins with Takeru explaining what's happened with his fellow Chosen Children from Adventure since the end of the series. It ends with...Takeru as an adult explaining what's happened with his fellow Chosen Children from Adventure and 02 since the end of the final battle.
  • D.N.Angel begins with a reporter speaking into a camera as police run towards a building, then cuts to Dark and Krad charging at each other. The last episode of the series shows this scene again, indicating that in reality that scene was a flash forward.
  • Episode 31 of Doki Doki! PreCurenote  begins and ends with Bel sucking on a lollipop; in the beginning just because he has it on hand, and at the end after killing Leva and Gula and absorbing their energy into the sucker.
  • Doraemon:
    • Doraemon: Nobita's the Legend of the Sun King begins and ends with the main characters rehearsing for their upcoming school play, Snow White.
    • Doraemon: Nobita and the Robot Kingdom starts with a Robotic Reveal and ends with an Unrobotic Reveal. The gang saves Poko, a child attacked by a Robot Dog, early on only to realize Poko is a machine when his ears falls off. They then locate Poko's home to be the titular planet and tries to send him back, kickstarting the adventure, before the story ends with them defeating the Tin Tyrant villain, Dester, which they assume is a robot until cracking Dester's mechanical helm and finding a human inside.
    • Doraemon: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King have one that doubles as a fun Brick Joke. Near the start, Doraemon is sent on a shopping errand by Tamako because Nobita isn't around. Half-complaining over his chores, Doraemon suddenly realize the shopping list contains "Dorayaki for Doraemon", which makes him exclaim "Thanks mom, I love you!"... at the end of the film, Nobita and Doraemon are both not around, so Tamako sends Dorami on another shopping errand, only for Dorami to realize the shopping list include "Melon buns for Dorami", making her exclaim "Thanks mom, I love you!"
    • Doraemon: Nobita and The Space Heroes starts with Nobita showing off his cat's cradle skills to a bunch of neighbourhood kids, before realizing his favourite toku show is about to start. In the final scene, Nobita's showing his skills to those same kids again, and to his delight two of those kids are shown to have mastered the cat's cradle trick Nobita taught them at the start of the film.
    • Doraemon: Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi begins with a Distant Prologue where the new charactrers, Carla and Professor Hyakkoi, escapes a rampaging monster 100,000 years ago but Carla losing her magic bracelet in the process. The opening credits is set in the present, with Doraemon and friends travelling to the past to return Carla's bracelet (after it was found by Nobita). Cue the adventure, and the film ends with a fast-forward to 100,000 years and one week later with Nobita and Doraemon.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • The second arc (and the first major storyline) of Dragon Ball is about Goku training for and competing in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Several later arcs revolve around the tournament. The anime is renamed Dragon Ball Z after Goku finally wins the tournament and the story changes tone, and the manga ends right in the middle of a new tournament.
    • The first two major characters introduced in the series were Goku and Bulma. Appropriately, the title page of the 42nd and final volume of the manga features just Goku and Bulma.
    • Dragon Ball Z begun with Goku introducing his 4 year old son Gohan to his friends. Dragon Ball Z ends with an adult Gohan introducing his 4 year old daughter Pan to the Z-Warriors.
    • Back when Akira Toriyama had just started the series out, he was at one point planning to go up to only the Fortuneteller Baba arc, and as a result put a few notable bookends in it. Namely, Goku winds up encountering the soul of Grandpa Gohan, the man who gave him his dragon ball and unintentionally set him out his adventures in the first place, and once again fights his first enemy Emperor Pilaf. Of course, thanks to its popularity the series would continue long after that wrapped up.
    • The concept of Power Levels within DBZ has an element of this too. Both the first and the last Power Level reading given in-series are 5: the first is Raditz scanning a human farmer, while the last is one of Frieza's minions scanning Future Trunks (who's suppressing his Ki in order to deceive them).
    • Most of the main villains have some element of their introduction that returns to bookend their final moments:
      • Mercenary Tao is introduced curbstomping General Blue with ease. His final appearance in the manga sees him get similarly curbstomped by Tien.
      • King Piccolo is introduced blowing up the electric rice cooker he was sealed in. After being fatally wounded by Goku and producing one last egg, he dies and explodes.
      • King Piccolo was killed trying to stop an attack from Goku, leading to the birth of his final offspring/reincarnation Piccolo Jr. Piccolo Jr is killed stopping an attack from harming Goku's son.
      • Vegeta is introduced eating the arm of a felled opponent. His second death has him fall against an enemy that kills people by eating them.
      • Frieza is introduced sitting in his hoverchair with only the top half of his body visible. By the time he's put down for good by Goku, he only has the top half of his body left. Also, he's introduced as he's in the midst of an invasion that ultimately failed and is finally killed in the midst of another failed invasion.
      • In the manga, Dr.Gero is introduced squeezing the head off of a random man's body. He's killed when his own head is forcibly removed and shattered by Android 17.
      • Cell introduces himself by firing a Kamehameha and exits the series firing a Kamehameha.
      • In his introduction, Babidi brutally makes Spopovich explode with magic. Later, Majin Buu brutally makes Babidi's head explode with a punch, then blows up his headless body.
      • Majin Buu is reborn when he emerges from a giant spherical cocoon. He's destroyed for good when he's consumed by a giant sphere of ki. For Buu's primary forms:
      • Fat Buu is introduced turning Dabura into a cookie and eating him. His temporary exit from the story sees him getting turned into chocolate and eaten by Evil Buu.
      • Super Buu turns himself into goo and pours himself down a man's throat shortly after his birth. His Death of Personality at the hands of Vegeta sees him melt away into a puddle of goo as his mind and body revert back to the original Kid Buu.
      • The first thing Kid Buu does upon his rebirth is destroy the Earth by blowing it up. He's finally killed when he himself is blown up by a Super Spirit Bomb made from the ki of every person on Earth, completely eradicating him.
    • Dragon Ball Super ends with Goku and Vegeta facing off in the same mountainous region where they fought for the first time back in Dragon Ball Z — except this time, it’s not a Duel to the Death but a friendly (sorta) sparring match. They even assume the same battle stances they used back in DBZ before charging each other.
    • The Battle of Gods adaptation at the beginning of Super changed some details so that Bulma’s birthday party is hosted on a massive cruise liner called Princess Bulma. The Princess Bulma yacht makes a return in the final episode as the big boat that Android 17 uses to tour the world with his family, lent to him as a reward for his contributions in the Tournament of Power.
  • Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan:
    • The prologue sees Hisone in a high school setting filling out a career survey where she decides to enlist in the JADSF. The epilogue begins with a high school setting where Natsume and her fellow miko are trying to decide their future careers, with Natsume choosing to become a florist. The chalkboard message in both scenes is even identical.
    • In Masotan's first on-screen appearance, he suddenly appears behind Hisone, to her surprise, and swallows her whole. He does the same in the epilogue, this time with Okonogi, where he suddenly charges down the mountain to greet him.
  • The main story of Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure begins when Mitsuki accidentally triggers the dimensional transfer device and ends when she accidentally triggers the detonation that merges the two dimensions. The events before and after those actions are simply the prologue and epilogue.
  • The first season of Durarara!! begins and ends with the same narrator, Mikado, saying the exact same words. The second special ends with an insecure and excited teenager arriving in Ikebukuro, just like Mikado in the first episode: only now the roles are reversed, with Mikado giving the newcomer reassurance.
  • The first episode of Excel♡Saga has Excel being given the mission of assassinating Koshi Rikdo. The last episode (if you don't count "Going Too Far") ends with Excel sneaking up on Nabeshin in the same way, grinning evilly and saying "One more time..."
  • 'Eyeshield 21'': The entire last chapter echoes the first one in many different ways.
    • The first chapter has a two-page color spread with Sena running, Hiruma pointing, Kurita ready to charge, Mamori holding a football and smiling, and a few other characters. The final chapter has a two-page color spread with those characters in basically the same positions (but still showing their growth over the series) and all the other important characters that have been added to the story.
    • Sena enters a new school (college this time) gets headhunted to join the football club, and even plays the sister team of the same team he played in his first high school game. The difference is that this time his team's lineup is different, and it's implied that his chief rival in college ball will be Hiruma, who led Sena and the Devilbats to the national championship.
  • Failed Princesses: Fujishiro and Kurokawa's first real conversation occurs at the top of the stairs, and they return to the spot at the end of the series, with Fujishiro crying both times. The first time is just after Hiro broke up with Fujishiro while admitting he never loved her, while the last time is when Kurokawa tells Fujishiro that she loves her.
  • In Fairy Tail, the first and last fights of the Fighting Festival arc end the same way: with Gajeel Taking the Bullet to save someone from a fatal attack from Laxus.
    • Lucy's (the Supporting Protagonist of the series) first and last scenes of importance in the Tenrou Island both involve her taking a bath with Cana. Also, during both bath scenes, Cana is somewhat depressed because she cannot bring herself to tell Gildarts that she is his daughter; in the first scene, it's only hinted at, though, and in the second scene, Lucy knows what Cana feels, and they discuss it off-screen.
    • The very first chapter and episode of the series ends with a shot of Natsu taking Lucy with him to flee from the Royal Army soldiers that came after him for destruction of property. When Natsu comes to Crocus after the second Time Skip, he unsurprisingly causes another commotion with a side of property damage, and the mini-arc ends on the same shot as Natsu, Lucy and Happy head out to reform Fairy Tail.
    • Fairy Tail's first encounter with Acnologia has them only surviving with the spell Fairy Sphere while holding hands. To defeat Acnologia's dragon body, they use Fairy Sphere while holding hands with each other and their numerous allies—and with Meredy's help, the entire continent magically "holds hands" with them through Sensory Link: a magic that works through the bonds people have with each other. What's more, the final battle also takes place in the same place as the first battle of the series- the port of Hargeon.
  • The last song played in Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] is a remixed version of Deep Slumber, the first song players will listen to if they play the Réalta Nua version of the Visual Novel.
  • Final Fantasy: Unlimited: The series begins when a Gun Dragon-controlled Chaos fights a Sword Dragon. It ends when a Sword Dragon-controlled Chaos fights a Gun Dragon.
  • The last chapter of the Fist of the North Star manga has Kenshiro wandering the desert, exploding thugs. It brings a tear to one's eye.
  • FLCL:
    • Near the beginning of the first episode, Mamimi offers Naota the rest of her canned juice, but he protests "You know I don't like the sour stuff," and eventually tosses it aside. At the end of the episode, after all the craziness with the giant robots coming out of his head, he gets another offer of sour juice, and this time takes a reluctant gulp.
    • The series opens and closes with narration by Naota saying "Nothing ever happens around here. Everything is ordinary", even though during the series we have clearly seen that it's anything but ordinary. This line is also accompanied both times with a short scene where Naota has put money in a vending machine and a girl (Mamimi before, Ninamori after) pushes a button for a drink he didn't want first.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • The first confrontation with a villain features Ed announcing that he's going to show Cornello why he's a third-rate charlatan nowhere near the Elrics' level. At the end of Chapter 107, after punching the crap out of an Eldritch Abomination that just ate God, he tells him to get up because "it's time you learned why you're not in our league!"
    • Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) does this as well, when Alphonse starts reciting the "Humankind cannot gain..." speech from the first episode; after the first two sentences, the speech is changed to reflect what they've learned from the events in the series.
    • The manga starts with a quote, and ends with a longer version of the same quote: A lesson without pain is meaningless...because gaining anything worthwhile requires sacrifice.note 
  • In Gaiking: Legend of Daiku Maryu, both the first and the last fights end with Gaiking firing a Hydro Blazer point blank at the enemy to the Anime Theme Song playing in the background.
  • Gakuen Alice's plot is kickstarted when Mikan leaves her hometown and arrives at the titular academy to meet up with her best friend, Hotaru. The story ends with Mikan setting out on another quest to find Hotaru after the latter and her brother sacrificed their existence to save Natsume's life.
  • In GaoGaiGar, the Betterman's happier counterpart and "king of all bookends", Mamoru and Galeon come to the Planet Earth seeking protection from the Zonders. After the last episode Mamoru and Galeon leave the Planet Earth to protect it's people from the Zonders.
  • The first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex begins and ends with Major standing on a rooftop, and Batou appearing in a helicopter rising past it.
  • The Panzer IV from Girls und Panzer ends up in the same condition it was found at the beginning of the series. During the tournament it is upgraded several times, first with a high-velocity cannon and later with armor "skirts". During the Final Battle against Maho's Tiger, the extra armor is shot off, the cannon is shot in half (reducing it to the size of the low-velocity gun it started with), and the right track is torn off (that track had been missing when the Panzer IV was first discovered).
  • Golden Kamuy: The first real enemy Asirpa and Sugimoto have to fight against is a bear. In the final battle, a bear suddenly appears again.
  • Godannar's first season begins with glimpses of a giant robot fight and an interrupted wedding ceremony. Its second season ends with an interrupted wedding ceremony and glimpses of another giant robot fight.
  • In the final scene of GTO: The Early Years, Eikichi and Ryuji lampshade that what they just did (Faking the Dead) is similar to what they did at the start, when they faked being kicked out of their old high school to transfer to Tsujido. Ryuji asks So What Do We Do Now?, and Eikichi responds "Let's check out some tropical island!", just like they did in the first chapter.
  • In Guilty Crown, Shu's first void is Inori's sword, the last void use against Gai in the final episode is Inori's.
  • Gunslinger Girl opens with Jose taking a walk with Henrietta, overlooking the city as the bell tower rings. The final shot actually reuses those frames, albeit without the dialogue.
  • GUN×SWORD begins with Van walking into a church looking for food. He finds a young girl in trouble and rescues her. She buys him lunch. The series ends with him walking into a house looking for food. He finds the girl a few years older and ready to cook him a meal just the way he likes it. In both episodes, he comes in looking for food and finds Wendy instead.
  • Haibane Renmei begins with Reki discovering the cocoon that houses Rakka, and she rushes off to inform everyone else with the words, "This is big!" It ends one year later, with Rakka finding two new cocoons. She also rushes off to tell the others and also calls out, "This is big!"
  • Lampshaded in Hanaukyō Maid Team La Verite. In Episode 1, when Taro first meets Mariel he sees her upside down (he just fell down and she walks up from behind him). In Episode 12, the last episode of the series, it happens again. Taro points out that it's the same as when they first met.
  • HappinessCharge Pretty Cure!'s Couch Gag segments began and ended with Futari wa Pretty Cure - the first was Cure Black, the last Cure White.
  • This trope is used in The Movie Hayate the Combat Butler (Hayate no Gotoku! Heaven is a Place on Earth). It opens with Nagi getting her hands sticky, causing Hayate to wet a handkerchief to wipe them off. It ends with Nagi getting her hands sticky, causing Hayate to wet a handkerchief to wipe them off.
  • Higurashi: When They Cry:
    • This is done somewhat in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, though not at the very beginning and end. In Matsuribayashi-hen, we see Takano Miyo walking through the woods in the rain, trying to escape from her Orphanage of Fear. In the last episode, she's again walking through the rain in the woods, this time running from her former subordinates who've turned against her. It also clearly shows her missing a shoe in both scenes, in case the audience didn't put it together.
    • Onikakushi-hen's sound novel and manga also do this so long as you don't count the police review of the crime. In this case, both end with the repetition of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The first time, it's a disembodied voice that Keiichi thinks he hears. At the end of the arc, it's Keiichi himself doing the repeating.
  • The anime series of Hikaru no Go starts and ends with the same song. At the beginning, the lyrics apply to Sai and Hikaru, while in the end, the song is about Akira and Hikaru.
  • I Found A Neet Girl, a Yuri Genre one-shot, begins with Mito, an office worker, returning from drinking with coworkers to find Kie, a NEET passed out in the street from drinking over being evicted, and takes her in. It ends with Mito refusing an invitation to go drinking with her coworker and finding a sober Kie, who'd quit her job.
  • I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up begins with Machi talking with her male coworker about being married. While he hopes to marry his girlfriend and have her welcome him home every day, Machi is uninterested in marriage. Near the end, the same coworker invites her to go drinking with him, but she refuses, saying someone's waiting at home for her — her "wife," Hana.
  • In Interviews with Monster Girls:
    • Episode 8 both starts and ends with the girls checking out the list of top scorers at an exam, with Hikari commenting on Himari's rank and later going Colour Failure over Machi's.
    • The series ends like it began, with Hikari meeting Takahashi outside the school entrance, and even lampshading that this is where they first met.
  • The first volume of I Think Our Son Is Gay starts with the Aoyama household having a dinner of curry that contains corn kernels. The last chapter of the same volume, ends with Tomoko making the same food for dinner. The message is that, Hiroki might be gay, but that didn't change anything.
  • The first and last chapters of I Want Your Mother To Be With Me! both have Ryo proposing to Yuzuki at the same place. The second time, he asks both her and Asahi to let him join their family, and she says yes.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
    • Both the first and final battles of Phantom Blood take place in locations covered in fire.
    • At the beginning of Battle Tendency, Joseph beats up a pair of Dirty Cops, with him shooting one of them with the bottle cap of a Hamon-infused coke bottle. At the end of the Part, he defeats Kars by using Hamon to cause a volcano eruption, with the force of the eruption shooting Kars into space.
    • The first and final battles of Stardust Crusaders end the same way, with Jotaro at a disadvantage until he uses his rage to overcome his opponent.
    • Battle Tendency ends with Joseph playing The Beatles on his walkman as he boards a plane to Japan to see Holly and Jotaro. Stardust Crusaders ends in a nearly identical fashion, with Joseph playing a Beatles song on his walkman as he and Jotaro board a plan to return to Holly in Japan.
    • Diamond is Unbreakable:
      • Both the Starter Villain and Final Boss of the Part are Serial Killers.
      • At the beginning of the Part, Josuke's grandfather Ryohei is killed by Angelo, despite Josuke's best attempts to heal him. During the Part's final battle, Okuyasu gets lethally injured by Kira, but this time, Josuke is able to save him in time.
    • Joseph is introduced in Battle Tendency getting his wallet stolen by Smokey. In Diamond is Unbreakable, his final appearance has him getting his wallet stolen by Josuke. At the end of JoJolion, the alternate-universe version of Joseph, Fumi, is introduced by having his wallet stolen.
    • Golden Wind:
      • The first battle of the Part has Giorno using Gold Experience to cause Bruno to have an Out Of Body Experience. At the Part's midway point, this happens to Bruno again when Diavolo uses King Crimson to make him see himself in the future. This comes full-circle by the end of the Part, when Giorno causes Diavolo to have one by using Gold Experience Requiem on him.
      • The anime adaptation of the Part begins with Giorno looking at his surroundings as gold sparkles fly around him. The Part ends the same way, with Giorno looking at his surroundings as gold sparkles fly around him.
      • A character arc example with Narancia, whose criminal life both started and ended with him unwittingly taking the blow for a blonde friend while being blonde himself explained .
    • Phantom Blood, the first Part of the series, shares a few similarities to Stone Ocean, the Grand Finale to the series' Original Universe.
      • Phantom Blood revolves around the battle between adopted brothers, Jonathan and Dio. In Stone Ocean, a major plot line is the battle between the Part's Big Bad, Pucci, and his brother, Weather Report.
      • Phantom Blood begins with Mary Joestar, a female Joestar, sacrificing herself to protect an infant Jonathan. Stone Ocean ends with Jolyne, another female Joestar, sacrificing herself to protect Emporio.
      • Phantom Blood ends with a shot of the faces of the main cast in front of a clear, blue sky. Stone Ocean ends with a similar shot, only this time, it's raining with grey clouds, and only the heroes who died to Pucci are seen, fitting the bittersweet nature of the ending.
      • The anime version of Phantom Blood (and Battle Tendency for that matter) use "Roundabout" by Yes as the Ending Theme. So does the final episode of Stone Ocean, the final part in the original timeline.
      • The first shot of the anime OP of Phantom Blood is panels from the manga being shown off in rapid succession, beginning with Stone Ocean and ending with Phantom Blood. One of the last shots of the final Stone Ocean OP is panels from the manga being shown off in rapid succession, beginning with Phantom Blood and ending with Stone Ocean.
      • Additionally, both the intro to Phantom Blood and the penultimate intro to Stone Ocean involve a shot of the main JoJo clenching their empowered fist and then walking towards the camera before bursting into a full sprint, yelling out as the camera zooms in on their flaming eyes. Then the final intro of Stone Ocean takes it a step further by ending with a shot of the main JoJo and the main villain floating in the middle of an endless staircase. JoJo punches the villain in the chest as the camera pans above them, exactly like how Phantom Blood's intro ends.
    • Steel Ball Run:
      • Gyro's first appearance has him daring a random mook to pick up his gun if he's going to fight him. Near the end of the Part, Johnny asks Valentine to do the same thing, though is this case, he's asking him to do it to show that he won't fight him.
      • Johnny first learns how to use the Spin by mounting his horse. At the end of the Part, he has to do the same thing to cancel the Spin.
      • Chapter 2 of the Part ends with Johnny giving a speech about how this Part is his Coming of Age Story. The final chapter ends with him giving a very similar speech.
  • Kaguya-sama: Love Is War has quite a bit of this.
    • The cover for Volume 10 has the student council taking a group photo. The final chapter of the volume ends with the student council using Kaguya's cell phone to take a different photo (and the stinger has them getting ready to take the one on the cover).
    • The first season begins and ends with a couple being surrounded by a large group of people.
    • The second season begins and ends with Kaguya facing Shirogane while mentally resolving to make him confess.
    • The first non-anime original segment of second season is an adaptation of the first half of Chapter 30. Fujiwara's last line in the season was "Sky Burial", a reference to the second half of that same chapter (which had beeen skipped in favor of an anime-original segment).
    • The manga begins with Kaguya and Shirogane trying to force the other to confess to them as their secretary approaches them with movie tickets. The manga ends with their successors, Iino and Ishigami, trying to force the other to confess to them as their secretary approaches them with movie tickets.
    • The very first time we see Kaguya and Shirogane, they're walking side by side towards the reader. The final time we see them, they're walking side by side away from the reader.
    • Karen and Erika's first focus chapter in the main series ends with Karen pretending to narrate about an ongoing plot event passing down into school legend. Naturally, the final chapter of the spin-off ends with the exact same joke.
  • The final song played by Kaoru and Sentaro in Kids on the Slope is the jazz standard "Moanin'", the first song they played together eight years earlier (in-story) in the pilot episode. The final scene then has Kaoru and Sentaro laughing and playfully running down a hill, just as they do in the opening credits.
  • K-On!:
    • The first season of the anime begins with the main character Yui waking up late for her first day of high school, slipping and falling before heading out the door, where we see her jogging along her route to the campus. The last episode of the first season ends with a repeat of this before the ending concert, grabbing her guitar and running back, starting to slip, but catching herself before falling.
    • The very first episode has Mugi, Mio, and Ritsu attempt to recruit Yui into the club with an improvised song. The last chronological episode of the second season (three years later) has these four play a farewell song to Azusa. The reactions of Yui and Azusa to their exclusive performances were almost exactly the same: *solo applause*, remarks "You guys really aren't that good!", and wants to join in next time.
  • The Kotoura-san anime both opens and ends with Haruka going to school. The opening was Deliberately Monochrome, people are avoiding her, and she has Dull Eyes of Unhappiness. The ending was colourful (if not overexposed), and with her friends saying hi to her. No guess about what the symbolism is.
  • The Laid-Back Camp anime opened with Rin cycling up to Koan Campground and setting up her gear before settling down, and concludes with Nadeshiko biking along the same route, setting up similar gear and settling down the same way Rin had.
  • In the manga adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle Games, the first volume begins with Link's grandfather explaining their family history and pointing to a portrait of Sir Raven. The second volume ends with Link's grandfather bringing up their family history again and Link looks at the portrait of Sir Raven. However, as a result of Link's time travels, the portrait of Sir Raven has changed to look more regal.
  • Both the beginning and end of the Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions! anime (which is an Alternate Continuity to the novels) has Rikka roping down to Yuuta's balcony and asking if he wants to see (her eye). In the same outfit, no less.
    • This also mirrors the scene with Rikka and Yuuta in the infirmary with her asking Yuuta if he wants to see her eye.
    • Each end also has Norio Wakamoto narrating to the audience about the nature of chuunibyou.
  • Love Live! has this all over the place.
    • Songs from the beginning of the show's run are brought back at the end of both seasons in different contexts.
    • Two episodes are titled "First Live" (Season 1, Episode 3) and "Last Live" (Season 2, Episode 12), referring to the first and final performances made by the protagonist idol group. To emphasize the previous point, the song used for their final performance was Season 1's opening theme, making it a Call-Forward.
  • Lyrical Nanoha:
    • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS begins with a young Subaru shouting for help while she's trapped in a burning airport, and Nanoha coming to save her in the nick of time, congratulating her for doing well to survive and assuring her that she'll bring her to a safe place. Subaru's "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue has two young children (who look suspiciously like blonde versions of Subaru and her sister) shouting for help while trapped on a sinking ship, and Subaru saving them in the nick of time while echoing the same words Nanoha told her many years ago. Bonus points for the fact that Subaru's Barrier Jacket was based off of Nanoha's. Even earlier, Subaru gets another bookend when she and Teana extract Nanoha herself from the falling Cradle — while Nanoha would have probably found her way out on her own, the fact that she got a chance to return that debt is incredibly catharthic for Subaru.
    • At the beginning of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection, Kyrie brings up a story that Amitie used to read her when they were little, which featured a magician that helps girls who are sad. Amitie brings it up again at the end of the movie, pointing out that Nanoha is playing that role. Also, Reflection began with Amitie talking about her family farm as a child. The final scene of Detonation is Amitie talking about her family farm as an adult.
  • Macross Frontier introduces us to the main protagonist, Alto Saotome, while he's training in his EX-Gear and flying within Island One's domed city, with him wishing to fly in an endless sky. The series ends with him ejecting from his Valkyrie and flying in his EX-Gear, in the endless skies of their new planet.
  • Madlax effectively opens and ends with the titular Action Girl receiving a call from her liaison who informs her about a new mission. Only that in the first episode, she is alone at the time while in the last one, she is accompanied by a deserter army sniper who previously killed her best friend and possible love interest and who is also her possible love interest. It got a bit complicated along the way, indeed.
  • Makura no Danshi: The twelfth and final episode has the viewer return to a situation with Merry and run through his day, and after wishing the viewer sweet dreams, he turns into the sleeping sheep the viewer saw in the beginning of the first episode. The only real difference here is that he greets the viewer as a Vague Age young man in the first episode, and as a child in the last. Either way, the viewer ends up falling asleep with him in his adult form.
  • Mazinger Z: Episode 47 starts and ends with the same scene: Ashura and Brocken clashing blades as insulting each other. The only difference is in the first scene Dr. Hell broke the fight, and in the last scene he is trying and ignoring them as he has dinner (groaning about being Surrounded by Idiots).
  • The first and last episode of Michiko & Hatchin begin in the same way with Hana cooking omelettes.
  • Millennium Actress opens and closes with the same sequence showing Chiyoko taking off for the stars. Also, earthquakes seem to play a similar role in Chiyoko's life.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00's first season ended with a letter from Setsuna to Marina. The second (and final) season ended with a letter from Marina to Setsuna, narrated over the final battle.
    • Also, this seems to be the case for many characters' background stories. Lockon, for one, lost his family in a terror attack caused by the KPSA, and in the end, he turned out to become a terrorist himself (at least according to publicity). Setsuna started out being a member of a guerilla warfare squad, and later became a member of Celestial Being, who employs this kind of warfare to a great degree.
    • In the first season, Setsuna pilots Exia. In the last episode of Season 2, 00 Raiser is compleely destroyed, and Setsuna changes to Exia. Also, in the first episode, we see 0 Gundam, later revealed to be piloted by Ribbons. in the finale, Ribbons changes over to the 0 Gundam, after his Reborns Gundam/Reborns Cannon is destroyed.
    • By the end of Season 1, Lockon takes a hit for the disabled Tieria Erde. In the end of Season 2, the other Lockon takes a hit for the disabled Tieria.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam Wing:
    • The anime has a twofer: the first and last episodes both fall on Relena's birthday, and both end with a letter relating to said birthday getting torn up without being read. In the first, it's Relena giving Heero an invitation to her party; in the last, it's inverted as Relena tears up an envelope Heero left with his present to her.
    • The series began with the Gundams being sent from space to Earth. The war ends with the Wing Zero Gundam flying from the atmosphere back to space after destroying Libra.
  • Monster ends when Tenma saves Johann from dying via gunshot to the head, an event that bears pretty obvious similarity to what started the whole thing. Urasawa really likes this trope.
  • Muhyo and Roji begins and ends with a female client walking into the duo's office. What's more, Rie, the client in the first chapter, makes a brief cameo in the last chapter.
  • Moriarty the Patriot: Part One features a couple of bookends with William's relationships with his brothers:
    • In chapter one, Albert takes a piece of William's food in a carriage on their way home to show they're accomplices. In chapter 76, William breaks a snack in two and offers it to Albert.
    • In chapter three, William is seen in Durha in pajamas and a dressing robe while reading the paper and Louis, fully dressed in a suit, brings him tea. In chapter 76, Louis is the one in pajamas and a robe reading the paper while Louis brings him tea.
  • My Hero Academia: Izuku's dream of becoming a hero came from watching a video of All Might saving hundreds of civilians from a burning building. The climax of the Final Act Saga, Izuku fighting Tomura Shigaraki to both stop him and save him from himself, is being filmed by an U.A. Business student, ensuring that Deku will become the source of inspiration for the next generation of heroes.
  • My Lovely Ghost Kana:
    • The first volume starts and ends very similarly on the surface, but also shows how much things have changed in a few short months. In the beginning, Daikichi is buying food and beer at a convenience store and overhears the occult-obsessed owner talking to his assistant about how someone finally moved into an apartment building rumored to be haunted. Daikichi walks back to the apartment he just moved into and is welcomed energetically by Kana, the resident Cute Ghost Girl who excitedly goes through his grocery bags looking for beer, which she hasn't had in years. In the end of the first volume, Daikichi is buying food and beer at the same convenience store, and the occult-obsessed owner is talking to his assistant about the strange circumstances by which Daikichi miraculously survived being buried alive. Daikichi walks back to the apartment he's come to call home and is welcomed energetically by Kana, who hugs him affectionately, having developed from Pretty Freeloader to Magical Girlfriend.
    • The story as a whole opens and closes in the spring, one year apart, with the Cherry Blossoms outside the apartment in full bloom.
  • My Monster Secret: The first chapter of the manga ends with Asahi Kuromine walking into a classroom and seeing Youko Shiragami spreading her wings, revealing herself as a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire. The last chapter ends with Asahi and Youko walking into their college classroom together and seeing another female student spreading her wings.
  • Naruto:
    • The Hidan & Kakuzu arc begins and ends with Shikamaru playing Shogi and discussing Konoha's Chess Motifs with his opponent.
    • Both Part I and Part II end with a battle between Naruto and Sasuke in the Valley of the End.
    • The very first chapter of the series starts with Naruto vandalizing the Hokage monument. In the epilogue chapter, Naruto's son does the same.
    • On a more literal level, the first page of the first chapter shows a mural detailing the Fourth Hokage's battle with the Nine-Tailed Fox. The last page of the final chapter shows a similar mural detailing Naruto's battle with the Ten-Tailed Beast.
    • One for the Part II anime. The first episode, which contains a Flash Forward of the 51st episode, has a scene where Naruto and Sakura spot light at the end of a dimly lit corridor, which they run towards, both being uncertain of what lies ahead. The last episode's final scene is Naruto and Hinata walking out to a brightly lit corridor to commence their wedding and begin their future together. As a bonus, Sakura was Naruto's one-sided shallow crush, until the events of Chapter 469/Shippuden Episode 206.
    • For the entire anime, with both parts. The very first episode of Part I ended with Naruto receiving his Konoha forehead protector from Iruka, with the former reacting with stunned silence (as Iruka had put it on Naruto as a surprise). In the last episode of Part II, when the credits have finished rolling, an extra scene shows an older Naruto taking off his headband and giving it to his son, Boruto, who puts it on happily.
  • Both the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion and the ending of End of Evangelion have what are colloquially known as the "bookend Reis," which appear in the distance for about 5 seconds while Shinji is looking, then disappear without a trace. As with nearly everything else in NGE, no explanation is forthcoming.
    • Similarly, Rei's bandages and wraps in the first episode (when she's trundled out in a gurney in front of Shinji) and Asuka's set of bandages and wraps in the last moments of EoE are identical.
    • Rebuild of Evangelion has a reversed example of this. Remember one of the last things we see in End? Red water rising and sinking on the beach. The very first thing we see in Rebuild 1.0 is this exact same clip. Followed soon by a picture with an outline of an MP Eva... Fridge Brilliance and Reverse Bookends much? The same shot is played again near the end of the final movie, Thrice Upon a Time, but with blue water to signify that Shinji has restored the planet.
  • New Game! begins with Aoba, the protagonist, starting work for a gaming company called Eagle Jump. The last chapter has Sophie, the youngest character in the cast, starting work at eagle Jump.
  • The anime series Nichijou begins and ends with a section about motivation, complete with a shot of cherry blossoms popping up spontaneously.
  • The final scene of Now and Then, Here and There takes place at the twin smoke stacks where Shu first met Lala Ru.
  • The anime for Nurse Angel Ririka SOS starts with Ririka turning ten. It ends on her eleventh birthday. She makes a Heroic Sacrifice and dies on her birthday.
  • The first and final episodes of Oh, Suddenly Egyptian God have Medjed accidentally destroying a huge chunk of Egypt using his Eye Beams.
  • Chronologically in One Piece's tenth movie Strong World, the crew's adventure began with receiving a tone dial from Shiki. At the end of the film, there were some silly antics by Luffy, Usopp and Nami concerning the same tone dial.
    • At the beginning of the One Piece – Thriller Bark Arc, Sanji is recalling the legend of the Florian Triangle and how a hundred ships disappear there each year. At the end of the arc, as the crew is finally leaving Thriller Bark, the narration tells the legend once more, and adds that these disappearances were happening even before Gecko Moria showed up.
    • In One Piece Film: Z, the movie begins and ends with a fight scene between Z and the Marines to the song of Ocean's Guide.
    • "The Pirate King" Gold Roger was executed in the city of Loguetown, where he was born and raised. It's for this reason that Loguetown is called "The Town of the Beginning and the End". To top it off, the last arc of the East Blue Saga has the protagonist's "execution" (attempted murder) upon the very execution stand where Roger died twenty-two years before, and as the blade comes down to end his life, he smiles, echoing Roger's death. At which point he is saved by dumb luck (lightning strikes his would-be executioner), and his actions spurn a Marine Captain who witnessed Roger's execution decades before to chase after him, starting the adventure of the next Pirate King.
    • The Skypiea arc begins with a ship falling from the sky, and shortly thereafter, giant figures appear in the fog (who are actually people on the sky island above). The arc ends with Luffy appearing in the clouds in the same way just after defeating Eneru, thereby giving Noland the answer he'd sought for much of his life, and some time later, the Straw Hats' ship falls from the skies, landing safely in the sea below with some help from the Skypieans.
    • Near the start of the series- Chapter 2 of the manga and Episode 1 of the anime- Coby finds the courage to tell off Alvida, the cruel pirate captain who pressganged him after he accidentally boarded her ship, calling her the ugliest person on all the seas. This enrages Alvida, resulting in her nearly killing Coby if not for Luffy taking the hit for him. Near the end of the Marineford arc, the last major story arc before the Time Skip, Coby, now a Marine, yells at all the Marines, saying that they've accomplished their objective and any further bloodshed would be pointless. As a result, Admiral Akainu, one of the top-ranked Marines, nearly kills Coby on the spot before Shanks intervenes.
    • Luffy, carrying an injured Pekoms, leaves Zou to rescue Sanji. During the climax of the Whole Cake Island arc, both Pekoms and Sanji get their turns to carry an injured Luffy to safety.
  • Ouran High School Host Club:
    • The story ends with a little spiel about the host club that opened the first couple of episodes.
    • The first chapter begins with Haruhi opening a door to a room, and the Host Club greeting her. The final chapter ends with her opening the door to a hallway, and the rest of the club greeting her. The final chapter also has her being Mistaken for Gay yet again much to her dismay, much like in the first chapter.
  • The end of the final episode of Paranoia Agent repeats several shots from the opening of the first, showing people trying to avoid responsibilities and obsessing over insignificant things. The implication is that nobody's learned anything from the events of the finale, and it could easily happen again.
  • Persona 4: The Animation opens with Yu visiting the Velvet Room and then arriving in Inaba by train. The series finale has him leaving Inaba on a train and then visiting the Velvet Room one last time, bringing his journey full circle.
  • Persona 5: The Animation:
    • Like with the previous game's anime, the story begins with Ren arriving in Shibuya, and then ends with him leaving Shibuya.
    • Episode 13 begins with Akechi coming to Leblanc as a news report plays about him playing a role in the arrest of a politician and his son, before playing chess with Ren. The Stinger shows the two playing chess as the story about Kawanabe's assistant being arrested (again, because of Akechi) plays on the TV in the background.
    • Near the start of Episode 14, the Phantom Thieves fight Shadow Mogami. Near the end of the episode, they fight Shadow Tsukasa.
    • Episode 20 begins with Ren waking up and briefly imagining that Morgana, who'd ran away in the previous episode, is there. It ends with him going to bed, now that Morgana's back with him.
  • In Pokémon: The Series, the last episode of the first season can be taken as a bookend in two ways. The episode features Ash encountering a Fearow that evolved from the Spearow which he hit with a rock in the first episode — both episodes feature the same Pokemon being defeated as their climax (albeit evolved). However, the fight featured in the last episode specifically takes place between Ash's newly evolved Pidgeot and the wild Fearow — a battle shown in the show's opening credits in every episode of the season (at least, in the original Japanese version), and, as the opening changed the following episode, that battle would not be shown in animation again.
    • An example played straight if you span out to include the entire original series: Ash seeing Ho-Oh before leaving for Hoenn, presumably the same Ho-Oh he saw in the very first episode.
    • The first and last episode of the Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl arc both begin with Dawn waking up in her bedroom.
    • The first episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White begins with Ash arriving from the Kanto region in an airplane, while the last episode of said series ends with Ash leaving Kanto in an airplane.
    • The first episode of Pokémon the Series: XY has Ash staring his Kalos journey in Lumiose City, while the final major story arcs (the Kalos Pokémon League conference and Team Flare's plot) take place in Lumiose. Extending it further, the first place Ash visits in Lumiose is the Gym, where in the end Team Flare sets up shop and launch their plot against Kalos.
    • A series-wide one: the very first episode of Pokémon had Ash and Pikachu encounter Ho-Oh as it goes through a rainbow, signifying the start of Ash’s journey. In the final regular episode of Pokémon Journeys, after becoming World Champion, Ash and Goh ride on Lugia and encounter Ho-Oh, leading them to a rainbow, signifying the end of Ash’s journey.
    • Another series-wide one: When Ash lost his first ever league, the two Pokemon on the field were his opponent's Pikachu and his Charizard. 23 years later, Ash won the Masters Eight, his final main series tournament, with his Pikachu defeating his opponent's Charizard.
  • Pokémon: The First Movie begins and ends with a shot of Mew flying away into the sky.
  • Pokémon Zensho has the second chapter start with Satoshi waking up the day he starts his journey. The last chapter of the manga starts this way too, the exact same page until the last few panels.
  • The end of The Prince of Tennis has Ryoma asking some arrogant bullies if they could teach him tennis.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
    • The very beginning and the very end of the series are set to the sound of a projector running, and then the sound of it abruptly shutting off.
    • Madoka's mother chooses a pair of ribbons for her in the first episode, which she wears throughout the rest of the series. Near the end, Homura tries to give one of them back to Madoka's mother; she doesn't take it because she's too old to pull off that look, but says that if she had a daughter, she'd make her wear it.
    • Kyoko announces her intent to kill Sayaka in her first appearance, and they both try to kill each other in their first encounter. Eventually, they become somewhat friendly. After Sayaka becomes a witch, Kyoko kills herself and Sayaka simultaneously.
    • The first time Homura sees Madoka about to go and sacrifice herself, she yells "Miss Kaname-!". The final time this happens, she yells "MADOKA-!" instead. Both incidents also feature Homura being ripped from her forcibly; first by not having Magical Girl powers, second by a rewrite of the universe itself.
    • In the first episode, Sayaka teases Madoka about acting like an anime character. In the last episode, Madoka has been erased from existence, but her kid brother Tatsuya is seen drawing her as an Imaginary Friend. When Homura seems to recognize the drawing, Madoka's mother asks Homura if Madoka is an anime character.
    • In the first episode, before the opening credits, Homura is fighting alone against overwhelming odds, in an alternate timeline. In the last episode, after the closing credits, Homura is again fighting alone against overwhelming odds. The difference is that Homura is smiling in the final fight, because she knows that Goddess!Madoka is watching over her.
    • For the sequel movie, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion, there are examples within the movie, as well as the original anime and movie together:
      • The opening scene prior to the opening credits plays the song "Made dame yo" ("Not yet"). The post-credits scene at the end features a wordless, accordion-only version of said song titled "not yet".
      • The entire film begins with Homura and her allies trapped in a dream world (actually a witch's barrier) by Homura, albeit unintentionally, due to Kyubey's actions. By the end of the film, Homura intentionally traps them in a new, dream world where Everyone Lives, all out of her desire to make Madoka happy.
      • Homura is involved in another classroom introduction at both the beginning of the movie and the end of the movie, with the end of the movie reversing their roles, with Madoka as the new student, rather than Homura. It can also apply to the original anime, as Madoka's journey began with the introduction of Homura as a student.
      • At the very end of the anime, Madoka presents Homura with her red ribbons. Now, Homura gives them back, while also citing Madoka's mother's opinion (from Episode 1): that red suits her better.
      • The movie closes with the exact same sound of a projector running that bookended the entire series.
  • RahXephon: The first scene after the title is of Ayato working on a painting before going off to school. The final scene of the show before the credits is of him finishing the painting at age twenty-nine before he shows it to Haruka. And the after-credits final scene is a flashback to the original inspiration of the painting.
  • Revolutionary Girl Utena has various scenes around the Academy, including Utena's meditative reverie being interrupted when she is glomped by Wakaba. The last episode has those very same vignettes, replaced with Wakaba's meditative reverie being interrupted when she is glomped by another girl. The implication is that as far as the bulk of the student body is concerned, the previous year and everything that the main characters went through never happened. Only Anthy and her brother seem aware that anything took place.
  • In the anime of The Royal Tutor, it starts and ends with Heine greeting the younger princes in the same study room. The difference is that in the first instance, the princes were cold and dismissive of Heine, openly wanting to chase him away. In the last instance, they've become very fond of him, actively wanting him to be their tutor.
  • Saikano begins and ends with Shuji describing Chise. The circumstances of the first description are light-hearted, while the circumstances of the second one constitute one of the most crushing examples of a Downer Ending in all of anime.
  • The first episode of Sailor Moon begins with Usagi saying "I'm Usagi Tsukino, 14-years-old, junior high student. I'm clumsy and a bit of a crybaby. That's it." She then becomes Sailor Moon in that episode. The last episode ends with her saying "I'm Usagi Tsukino, 16 years old, high school student. I'm clumsy and a bit of a crybaby, but I'm actually the agent for love and justice, Sailor Moon." Adding to that, the original Anime Theme Song, "Moonlight Densetsu", is heard.
    • Also, the closing episode of the first season repeats scenes from the first episode to show life going on after Usagi's wish resurrected her friends.
    • The first chapter of Codename: Sailor V, the manga Sailor Moon is a spin-off of, has Minako deal with her first love, a revelation about her past life and being a Magical Girl, and discovering her beloved sempai is a youma, killing him after asking him to stop, and crying in mourning after killing him before embarking on her fight against Dark Agency. The last chapter has Minako deal with her "5000th First Love" (and true love) Ace, fully remembering her past life and having a power-up thanks to it, and discovering Ace is actually Danburite, the Dark Agency's leader and Kunzite's Dragon, killing him after begging him to stand down, and crying in mourning after killing him before returning to Japan to join the other Sailor Senshi against the Dark Kingdom.
  • At the beginning of Sakura Quest, Yoshino Koharu arrives in the town of Manoyama to serve as its "queen." Upon her arrival, she realized they had asked for the long-dead Yoshino Tsubaki, and Kadota and his staff argue over who was responsible for writing Yoshino's name incorrectly. At the end of the series, Yoshino leaves by train, and sees Kadota holding a banner. Yoshino tears up for a moment, then says, "You wrote my name wrong again!"
  • Sakura Wars: The Movie: In her first appearance in the series, Sakura Shinguji walks in Ueno Park as the cherry blossoms are blooming. In the final scene of the film, Sakura takes a stroll in the park while the cherry blossoms bloom once more.
  • In the beginning of the first episode of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, a short black-and-white clip is shown where Nozomu is hanged, with all the students grabbing on to him and each other to form some sort of human pyramid and it turns out that the rope is attached to a giant Meru's cellphone. This clip is played again at the end of the very last episode of the second series.
  • Sazanka begins and ends with Tatsuki spacing out while talking to her friends, one of whom jokingly calls her an "aspie." In the beginning, she considers telling someone she has Asperger's, but decides not to, and thinks about how she hates herself. In the ending, Aoi, who's since learned that Tatsuki has Asperger's, tells the other friend off, and Tatsuki realizes she isn't alone.
  • Sekirei (the manga) begins and ends with Musubi falling on top of Minato. Their first encounter throws Minato into the Sekirei Plan, starting the story; the final encounter is their joyful reunion one year after the finale, as Musubi is finally released from her obligations as the new Queen.
  • Sgt. Frog: The third movie open with a recap of important anime scenes like Keroro being discovered by Fuyuki and Natsumi; then ends with Dark Keroro being discovered by Space Fuyuki and Space Natsumi.
  • Shattered Angels opens and ends with the lead girl meeting a "prince" in a flower field who offers her to come with him.
  • Shelter: The short opens with a voiceover by Rin that includes her stating that she doesn't feel alone despite her solitary existence. She repeats this assurance at the end, only this time it's clear that she actually believes what she says.
  • Show by Rock!! begins and ends with the main character Cyan (Hijirikawa Cyan) attempting to join her high school's band club, she did so successfully in the end.
  • SHUFFLE! has two:
    • The scene in the first episode where Kaede gives Rin his lunch while forgetting her own is replicated in the last episode, where Rin is replaced by Primula.
    • The first and last episodes both show Kaede wrapped in a green towel after a bath.
  • Sing "Yesterday" for Me: Haru first met Rikuo when he was running for the bus. At the end of the series, they get together after Rikuo runs up to her while she's waiting for the bus. Likewise, at the start of the series, Haru visits Rikuo at his convenience store job, and at the end, he visits her at the Milk Hall.
  • Sola begins with Yorito setting up his camera to take a picture of the sunrise and ends with Aona, Mana and Koyori doing the same thing.
  • Someday's Dreamers begins and ends with Yume at Shibuya in Tokyo, one of the most crowded crossings in the world—with the marked difference that in the end she has gained courage to cross it by herself.
  • The first episode Space Patrol Luluco starts with the opening theme, Luluco giving a monologue about how much she hates the weirdness of her town, and her having breakfast with her father. The last episode (disregarding The Stinger) ends with Luluco having breakfast with her father, her giving a monologue about how much she loves the weirdness in her town, and the opening theme played over the credits.
  • Suicide Club begins and ends with a mass suicide of teen schoolgirls, all under the influence of an entity called "Mitsuko".
  • Summer Time Rendering: The story begins with Shinpei returning to Hitogashima to attend Ushio's funeral. The final chapter has Shinpei returning to the island to visit Ushio, who is alive in the new timeline.
  • Super Atragon: The opening battle and the final battle both pit the Ra against the Liberty; both battles ended with a head-to-head drill ramming action.
  • Sword Art Online: The second season begins with Kirito and Asuna wondering in Tokyo's imperial park if they will one day be able to take Yui, the AI persona they saved, into the real world with new VR technologies. After the credits of the last episode of the season, Yui looks out into the imperial park with a camera on Asuna's shoulder, where Yui always is in ALO.
  • Symphogear:
    • The series begins and ends when Miku visits a graveyard while reciting a poem, but the circumstances are the opposite. In the beginning, the dreary and in-despair Miku grovels on Hibiki's grave alone, lamenting her (supposed) loss. In the end, Miku visits the Kazanari clan graveyard along with everyone in S.O.N.G to give Tsubasa emotional support as they begin the first step into a new beginning.
    • The first song sung in the series is Gyakko no Flugel sung by Tsubasa and Kanade, the last song sung in the series is Ashita e no Flugel, a remix sung by all of the wielders in S.O.N.G.
    • In both the first and final seasons, defeating the Big Bad isn't enough to save the world, and the Symphogear wielders must go on a near-suicidal mission to prevent it from being destroyed.
  • Tamako Market:
    • Episode 5 starts and ends with a scene when Tamako, Kanna and Midori comes out of Tamaya to go to the pool, and Tamako waves to Mochizou who was boringly sitting at Ricecake Oh!Zee's counter.
    • The series both starts and ends with Dera's Crash-Into Hello.
  • The first storyline of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee had Gauche deliver Lag to Cambel Litus, then say goodbye to him after affirming that they became friends on the dangerous journey. The end of the anime has Noir (Gauche's post-amnesia persona) say goodbye to Lag to live with those who could not become spirit, reaffirming that they're friends despite the fact that Noir lost all of Gauche's memories.
  • Tenchi Universe begins and ends with Tenchi heading off to school, thinking back to the crazy adventures he had, though the first time was the start of the series-long How We Got Here. Both episodes also have Tenchi running into Ryoko, though the first time was in danger, the second time after the danger had long passed.
  • In the prologue of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, a character on the bridge of what appears to be Super Galaxy Dai-Gurren remarks "All the lights in the sky are our enemy now, huh?" In the epilogue, old Simon says, "All the lights in the sky are stars."note 
    • Also, the first song that you hear in the series (after the opening sequence) is also the last song played and the very end of Lagann-hen. Both of the lines above are also said when this song plays in the background.
    • The phrase "who the hell do you think I am!?", although it gets said so often that it's also a Catchphrase and Arc Words.
    • This series start with younger Simon as nobody and older guy who have "Who you think I am?" as Catchphrase, and end with old Simon as nobody who have that Catchphrase and a younger guy.
  • In Tiger & Bunny, Barnaby flies in from nowhere and catches a falling Kotetsu in both the first and the last episodes. The former's Character Development and the improvement in their relationship is obvious in how he treats Kotetsu after the fact: casually tossing him aside vs. gently setting him down. The scene is also mirrored in the final scene in the series.
  • A Timid Woman Longing For Her Delivery Girl begins and ends with Takase getting a package from Rinko. The first time is an In Medias Res scene from after Takase warmed up to Riko, and the last time is when Takase returns to delivery work, having briefly transferred to look after her grandmother.
  • The first episode of Tokyo Mew Mew has an aura of an Iriomote cat entering Ichigo Momomiya's body after she is injected with the cat's DNA by Ryou Shirogane. At the end of the last episode, we see the same aura of the Iriomote cat leaving her body when she (and the other Mew Mews) temporarily lose their animal-based superpowers.
  • At the end of the first episode of Tomica Hyper Rescue Drive Head Kidou Kyuukyuu Keisatsu, Gou rescues a dog. The final scene of the last episode involves he and the other drivers rescuing a cat.
  • In the Toradora! anime, one of the first scenes when Ryuuji meets Taiga is when she falls out of a locker. At the end, Taiga and Ryuuji meet again. Guess where.
  • The first chapter of the Touhou Project Comic-Book Adaptation, Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth opens with the narration "This is Eientei. The place where rabbits live." and ends with a strip with the title "The rabbits' night is long". When the manga reached its final chapter, those lines from the first chapter were used again to serve as the closing narration.
  • In the Tower of God anime adaptation, the first season's first and last episodes both contain the narration about the Tower and how this is the story of Bam and Rachel; the line "Welcome to the Tower of God"; the Black March's line (the second time as a flashback) "Even if you're reunited, things will never be exactly as they were" (etc.) and Rachel's line "I'm sorry, Bam." While they all gain at least slightly different meanings in the last episode, this also highlights the fact that the first season was really just setting up the beginning of The Epic of Tower of God. The last episode also contains a Perspective Flip flashback from the first.
  • Tsuritama ends with Haru returning to school and announcing to his classmates that he is an alien, just like he did in the first episode. This time, however, the fact that he's an alien is already known by everyone on the island, and the other kids are all overjoyed to see him. Yuki lampshades the similarities between the scenes with a short "Here We Go Again!" speech.
  • Twilight Star Sui and Neri: Chapter 1 shows Sui and Neri fishing at an abandoned fish farm facility, where the duo then leave the facility. Chapter 15, the finale, also shows the duo fishing at the exact, same spot of it, where they also leave in the same area as it was in the first chapter.
  • The Uta∽Kata TV-series begins and ends with Ichika narrating how much the autumn mornings remind her of summer, when she still had a chance to be with Manatsu.
  • Vampire Knight: The story begins with an amnesiac Yuuki waking up as a human in a blizzard, and it ends with an amnesiac Kaname waking up as a human in his tomb.
  • In the anime version of Welcome to the NHK, one of the first scenes shown is a nightmare of Satou's. At the end of it, he runs along a snowy cliff towards a physical manifestation of the "conspiracy" with a "bomb" in hand, and leaps off of the cliff towards it. In the final episode, Satou is once again at that snowy cliff, this time in reality. He once again runs towards a physical manifestation of the "conspiracy", or the NHK, with a "revolution bomb" in his hand. However this time, Misaki is running after him, trying to stop him from jumping over the cliff.
  • The Wind Rises: Near the start of the film, Tokyo burns after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Near the end, we get a brief scene of Tokyo burning again, this time after an American air raid.
  • The first episode of Wolf's Rain begins with Kiba the white wolf lying in the snow. Most of what follows is apparently a flashback. The scene is repeated in the final OVA episode, though it's not quite the end.
  • Yes! Pretty Cure 5 begins with Nozomi running around a corner and crashing into Coco, who catches her. The second season ends with Nozomi running to deliver a letter to Coco via Syrup, only to run around the same corner and into Coco himself, who again catches her in his arms.
  • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou begins and ends with the titular shopping trip to Yokohama by Alpha, and both conclude with a scene of Alpha being greeted upon her return from Yokohama.
  • Your Lie in April does this in both the anime and manga, but in somewhat different ways.
    • The very first page of the manga shows Kousei and Kaori standing on opposite sides of train tracks, with a black cat on Kousei's side, while one of the final scenes in the manga is Kousei and Tsubaki near train tracks, with the two of them noticing a black cat on the opposite side of the tracks.
    • The first scene in the anime has Kaori walking along a sidewalk and noticing a black cat and running off to chase after it, while one of the final scenes has Kousei walking along the very same sidewalk and seeing a black cat in the same spot Kaori first noticed it.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!:
    • Invoked: Yugi's winning card in the last duel of the series is the Golden Sarcophagus, which looks just like the box that held the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. Anzu/Téa observes that the box that brought Yugi and the pharaoh together would be the very thing to bring them apart.
    • For Dark Bakura's involvement in the overall story, though it only applies in the manga: both the first and last games the Pharaoh plays against him are RPGs with the souls of his friends at risk.
    • Also, the manga volume 31's cover is a recreation of the first volume's with Atem's egyptian clothes
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds: In the first episode, Yusei wins the Duel by Synchro Summoning Junk Warrior. This is also how he wins in the Duel of the last episode of the series.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL:
    • The conflict for the "Number" cards begins in a battle between Yuma and Shark. It ends in the same way, with Shark even choosing to play older cards he hadn't used in ages in reference to the earlier duels.
    • The conflict also starts when Yuma opens The Door and frees Astral, starting the series. It ends with Yuma Dueling Astral, with Astral playing a card that summons The Door to the field, so Yuma must destroy it.
  • In the first episode of Yuri!!! on Ice, Victor skates his "Stammi Vicino" program at the World Championship, while simultaneously in Japan, Yuri skates the same piece for his friend Yuko. In the final episode, Yuri performs "Stammi Vicino" as his exhibition at the Grand Prix Final, and then Victor joins him on the ice, turning the routine into a pair skate. Even the aria has been changed from a solo to a duet.
  • Zombie Land Saga:
    • The first episode begins and ends with shots of a bird flying in the sky..
    • The eighth episode begins with Lily Hoshikawa's father walking out and having lunch by himself when his coworkers turn on the TV, having been traumatized by his child's death. At the end of the episode, he, having come to terms with the loss, watches Lily and the other Franchouchou members performing in a commercial.
    • Episode 1 is "Good Morning Saga," while Episode 12 is "Good Morning Again Saga." The first storyline of the series is Sakura dying and losing her memories of her life, while the end of the season involves her regaining her memories of her life, and (temporarily) losing her memories of her time as a zombie.


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