I just finished this after starting and restarting it on numerous occasions. My fears were entirely validated with this series. I knew that the odds episode number (26) meant that I was going to be gravely dissatisfied with where they put a stop to the show.

Yep. What could have otherwise been a great series with a poignant ending, they instead stop on a backstory episode that more or less amounts to shit. Fuck everything about Anime's terrible conclusions. I honestly think I am going to have to stop watching Anime because apparently no one can into satisfying conclusions. It is just either cliff hangers, series cancellations, or a lack of new canon so the Anime runs into fluff before finally being canned. Oh, and instead of having a few hundred episodes of this we get a couple thousand episodes of Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece.

Yes, I very mad.