The medium of anime often feels like it can accomplish incredible things that would be impossible in other mediums of entertainment. There’s so much creativity that’s present in anime, whether it’s the storytelling, music, or visual elements. Anime comes in so many shapes and sizes, but there are a number of series that pride themselves on their extensive lengths and that they’ve been able to keep their audiences engaged for multiple decades and hundreds--or sometimes even thousands--of episodes.

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Long-running anime have their share of advantages and weaknesses, but they’re typically prone to large amounts of filler content. Filler is its own obstacle in the anime industry and there are many ways in which extraneous filler can weaken the entire anime series.

9 It Betrays The Original Manga And Introduces Questionable Canon

Anime Dragon Ball Z Yamcha King Kai Training

Anime series can be full of such twists and turns when it comes to plotting and characters that audiences have enough to keep track of without also needing to question the canon of what takes place in the series. Different anime have different approaches to their filler material, but more often than not there’s an understanding that original filler content is non-canon since it didn’t come from the original creator. Copious filler can leave the audience truly confused over what’s technically a part of the canon and what’s extraneous storytelling.

8 It Dilutes What Would Otherwise Be Strong Storytelling

Anime Naruto Filler (1)

Pacing is a fundamental aspect in any piece of storytelling, but there are anime series that play seriously fast and loose with this element. A manga can work incredibly hard to determine the proper length of a story so that it doesn’t feel too sudden or drag its feet. Filler material can sometimes produce completely original stories, but it can also be used to extend existing material in awkward ways. This process inevitably stretches a narrative for longer than what’s intended, which results in a compromised idea.

7 It Can Inevitably Result In A Revamped And Concise Version Of The Series

Mamoru, sailor moon, and sailor venus meet king endymion

Filler additions can come across as innocuous at the time, but once a series is finally over they can accumulate in a debilitating manner. Certain series even decide that they’re bogged down so much with filler that it’s worthwhile to release a remastered and revamped version of the show that sheds this baggage.

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Series like Dragon Ball Z Kai and Sailor Moon Crystal exist for exactly these purposes. Once these new series improve upon the original, it makes the previous anime come across as irrelevant by proxy.

6 It Can Ruin The Tension From Climactic Fights

Goku fighting Frieza on Planet Namek in Dragon Ball Z

Filler can disrupt the pacing when it comes to a story’s narrative, but it’s also an easy way to completely remove any suspense from a fight sequence. Shonen series are some of the most filler-filled anime, and they’re also programs that focus on kinetic combat. Filler runs the risk of drawing out a tense battle for multiple episodes and ultimately making it boring instead of thrilling. One of the most notorious examples of this is Goku’s fight against Frieza in Dragon Ball Z, which would be a significantly stronger encounter without so much extraneous filler.

5 It Can Reduce Viewership To Such A Degree That The Show Gets Cancelled

Ichigo celebrates ceremony in final Bleach episode

It’s easy to criticize an anime series that’s ripe with filler when it’s already concluded, but this process can be even more painful when a series is still airing. Filler doesn’t just affect an anime’s story and narrative trajectory, but if it suffers too much while it’s airing, then it can negatively affect the anime’s production. Too much filler can lead to a declining viewership, which can ultimately result in cancellation. A cancelled anime might not get to properly finish its story, or rush together an unsatisfying conclusion. Bleach is a prime example of how copious filler can kill a show early.

4 It Can Lead To Out Of Character Decisions

Hamburg, Foxy and Porche in the Adventure of Nebulandia TV special

A natural aspect of filler material is that it’s something that the anime’s production staff creates on their own. This can occasionally have input from the original creator, but it also frequently doesn’t.

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Despite the anime’s best intentions, it’s a common issue that filler episodes or arcs can result in characters who act inauthentically since they’re not penned by the creator. This isn’t always the case, but inconsistent characters are an easy way for an anime to get derailed. The audience should never be left with their favorite characters feeling like imitations of themselves.

3 It Can Throw The Series So Off Course That It Can’t Return To The Original Trajectory

Opening Sequence _ Season 2

One of the more drastic uses of filler is when the original manga is on hiatus or the anime just needs an extended period of time to let the manga’s story develop. Innocent filler sagas can develop in unexpected ways and sometimes leave the characters and storyline so drastically changed that it’s impossible for the series to return to its core story and direction. This forces the anime to continue down the new direction that this filler triggered, which often won’t be as strong as the original story. Fullmetal Alchemist, Tokyo Ghoul, and The Promised Neverland all seriously struggle in this context.

2 It Can Make Episodes Feel More Disposable

The Bount Arc

Filler episodes can yield big results or turn into their own serialized stories, but it’s more common for filler detours to feel extraneous and ultimately unimportant to the anime’s larger story. An anime series with barely any filler turns every entry into appointment television and not a single installment can be missed. Series that regularly indulge in filler create a more apathetic energy where it’s not a big deal if an episode gets missed. It lessens the entire series’ impact and turns the anime into something more pedestrian.

1 It Can Reduce A Season’s Resources And Budget

Goku and Frieza fight in badly animated battle in Dragon Ball Super

Anime can be consumed in such a vacuum that it’s sometimes easy to forget the tight production schedules that they need to adhere to, which can occasionally result in rushed episodes that aren’t up to the series’ standard quality of animation. It’s not easy to properly allocate resources for an ongoing anime series, and filler material is sometimes approached as a solution. The problem here is that if too much time and resources are devoted to a stretch of filler episodes, then what follows might suffer. This makes foresight and planning essential so that important stories aren’t left with insufficient resources.

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