Why do so many overtly action-based/shonen anime end with a weepy ballad as their credits song?

I first noticed it in DragonBall's original credits theme, but there are so many anime that are about punching, kicking, biting, and clawing your way through opponents and your own limitations, and they seem to think the best way to sum up an episode and tease further adventures is...a woman who sounds on the verge of tears singing over a gentle harp?

Is it meant as intentional juxtaposition? Is it a ham-fisted and sloppy way to try and appeal to a wider viewer demographic? Is it a cultural thing I don't know about?

Because they're trying to give you the feels, much like how Naruto X Sakura shippers got butthirt when he finally wised up and kicked that worthless pink-haired bitch to the curb and chose Hinata.

...I've never watched Naruto. I'm just merely channeling Woolie.

I mean, It's probably better to have an upbeat episode lead into a dramatic song than a dramatic episode lead into an upbeat song.

My thought was it was like a cool down of sorts. You just had what was most likely an anime that started with an uptempo song to get you going, followed by adventure and action. Instead of keeping that energy throughout it was kind of like a feeling of "goodbye, for now. Until next week."

I kind of prefer the slower ending themes and the ending for the OG Dragon Ball that the OP mentioned is one of my favorites actually.

It's to calm down the viewer (usually kids) after experiencing an adrenaline rush on screen. Japanese studios are pretty intentional on a lot of what they do.

To give the illusion of depth, maybe? ;-)

But I think what several people have said already is correct. And it doesn't just apply to action anime. The closing credits is supposed to be a cooldown from the show, a gentle exit ramp. When I think of my favorite intros, they tend to be snappy and fast and high-energy, but when I think of my favorite closings, they're usually slower and simpler, with fewer cuts, and focus more on character than action. The ending sequence is looking to contextualize the action rather than add to it... that's the next episode's job.

Sometimes it isn't even in the ending credits.

^ This song was the... second? Third? opening for Naruto. I thought it was a great song when I was 16.

It's a pretty common thing in Asian shows to put sad/romantic tracks in the credits, not just anime. We just like that shit.

I think I have to agree with this one mostly, like in Kdrama's and Cdrama's this happens, also a lot of shōnen anime OP songs, have huge contrast with the ED song. Basically normal, but I can't really do a breakdown for as to why, as I'm not equipped for that. 😅

I personally think it's like unwinding to process the episode. I like it