A second season is quite an elusive beast in the world of anime, at least, when it comes to most series. While some cannot move past a single cour of 13 episodes, others seem to last for years on end, producing hundreds upon hundreds of chapters.
Time is a valuable commodity, and quantity does not equate to quality. Even if these anime proved popular enough to warrant all of the episodes in the universe, that does not necessarily mean they justify their length. Here are five long anime worth watching, along with a few series that are not.
Disclaimer: To qualify, an anime must have at least 50 episodes.
Updated June 18th, 2020 by Mark Sammut: Anime is a medium that never rests. With each season welcoming a few dozen new shows and a couple of continuations, audiences should nearly always be able to find something that suits their needs. While juggling multiple shows at once can be exhilarating, there is something especially appealing about starting an anime that spans years, especially when a conclusion happens to be in sight. As anime is always evolving, this list also needs to be updated so it can keep up with the industry.
14 Worth It: World Trigger
As a season 2 has been confirmed for World Trigger, this is the perfect time to start Toei Animation's anime. Based on a manga by Daisuke Ashihara, World Trigger envisions an alternate reality where a gate appears linking humanity to a world filled with monsters called "Neighbors." The anime follows the National Defense Agency's attempts to protect humanity while also trying to learn more about this strange world.
World Trigger has an infamously slow and unsatisfying start, as the anime takes a while to properly establish its characters and universe. However, things pick up significantly after approximately 20 episodes, specifically once the Large-Scale Invasion Arc commences. From there, World Trigger just gets better and better.
13 Not Worth It: Fairy Tail
Fairy Tail is junk food. Now, there is nothing wrong with enjoying something like that, but there are better meals out there. As far as shounen series go, Fairy Tail starts strong but loses a great deal of momentum as it goes along. Although always present, the anime eventually begins to focus too much on fan service while seldom providing much in the way of consequences for the characters' actions.
Fairy Tail hits a couple of high points but it becomes very inconsistent after the first hundred episodes. While not the worst show out there, Fairy Tail gets old pretty quickly.
12 Worth It: Attack On Titan
With a fourth and final season expected to drop by the end of the year, Attack On Titan looks set to come to an end. It has been an incredible ride that has only gotten better with each new twist. A dark fantasy series about humanity's attempts to survive in a world with massive creatures known as Titans, Attack On Titan started out as a relatively straightforward action series with Eren, the protagonist, seemingly fulfilling the role of a "chosen one."
However, the subsequent seasons dispelled this cliche while also adding political intrigue into the mix. Even if the first season ends up leaving something to be desired, it is worth sticking with Attack On Titan for just a bit longer.
11 Not Worth It: Detective Conan
Making its anime debut in 1996 and still ongoing, Detective Conan is approaching its 1000th episode, which is quite an impressive feat for an episodic series. It should be said that Detective Conan is generally well-written and watchable, but this is an anime that almost completely ignores its overarching narrative in favor of weekly mysteries.
While the anime has hundreds of entertaining storylines, a lot of Detective Conan's content is disposable. As such, it is the type of series that is good for the occasional watch when someone is looking for something short and to the point. As a long-running anime, Detective Conan is hard to recommend.
10 Worth It: Reborn!
Putting aside a terrible opening 20 episodes, Reborn! eventually blossoms into a brilliant shonen series that makes the most of its mafia-themed premise. Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada is a timid boy who learns that he is the heir to the Vongola Family, a mafia group based in Italy; to prepare Tsuna for the role, a hitman who resembles a baby is sent to serve as his mentor.
Once the Kokuyo Arc starts around episode 20, Reborn! maintains its momentum for the remaining 180 odd episodes.
9 Not Worth It: One Piece
With each passing year, One Piece's anime adaptation becomes harder to recommend. Despite its endearing characters and sense of adventure, One Piece moves at such a grueling pace that every arc post-Enies Lobby feels drawn out. Along with its slow pacing, One Piece's animation is quite inconsistent, which is a shame considering Eiichiro Oda's manga has such fantastic art.
While the later sagas overstay their welcome, One Piece is still a fun ride up to the timeskip, which happens during episode 517. After that point, it is best to stick to the manga.
8 Worth It: Gintama
An adaptation of Hideaki Sorachi's manga, Gintama is primarily a parody of shonen anime. Focusing on the Odd-Jobs crew who are willing to do anything to make a quick buck, at its best, Gintama is possibly the funniest anime of all time, with a cast of characters that are iconic in their own right.
With over 350 episodes, Gintama is quite a massive undertaking, especially since it does have a somewhat slow start. However, this is one journey that is worth taking. Even when the anime begins to focus more on action rather than comedy, Gintama remains fantastic.
7 Not Worth It: A Certain Magical Index
If A Certain Magical Index ended after its second season, it would just about earn itself a recommendation. Unfortunately, the third season does such an awful job of adapting one of the light novel's most crucial storylines that it retroactively diminishes the value of the entire series. After two seasons of build-up for a potential war between magic and science, season 3 rushes through the conflict at such a frantic pace that familiarity with the novels is required to properly follow along.
A Certain Magical Index's anime is only worth watching to provide some context to A Certain Scientific Railgun, which is a far better series.
6 Worth It: Hajime no Ippo
Sports anime tend to have better luck than most genres when it comes to earning sequel seasons. Along with typically being quite accessible, the genre's greatest offerings tend to mix gripping action, hilarious comedy, and lovable characters. Hajime no Ippo represents the very best the genre has to offer, and it does not matter whether someone is a fan of boxing or not.
The only negative about the anime is that it mainly serves as an advertisement for the manga, so it might be a while before the full story is adapted.
5 Not Worth It: Pokémon
With over a thousand episodes under its belt, Pokémon sits alongside the likes of One Piece and Detective Conan as an anime institution. In some ways, it will be a strange day when Pokémon ends; that said, this is one long-running anime that is not worth watching in its entirety.
As Pokémon basically resets after each season, it is better to just pick a couple of iterations and watch those instead of trying to sit through the entire franchise.
4 Worth It: Natsume's Book Of Friends
Split into six seasons lasting roughly 13 episodes each, Natsume's Book of Friends is a quaint supernatural slice of life anime that centers around the titular boy's attempts to free the spirits who are subservient to The Book of Friends.
Although there are a handful of intense moments, Natsume's Book of Friends primarily strikes a relaxing tone and focuses mainly on character development rather than action. Each season improves on the last, which is saying something since the anime is never anything less than good.
3 Not Worth It: Bleach
Bleach has some fantastic arcs, but the anime constantly stalls its momentum through filler arcs that are not only excessive but tend to be of pretty low quality.
The characters and story arcs are also quite static, with Ichigo arguably being the worst offender. That's not to say the anime's protagonist does not have his share of awesome moments, but Ichigo is a bit too reactive to be a strong lead character, and most of his growth centers around transformations and new attacks rather than character development.
2 Worth It: Monogatari
The Monogatari series is the definition of an acquired taste and should be tried by anyone looking to experience a different type of anime. An adaptation of Nisio Isin's light novel series, Monogatari is split into separate seasons revolving around Koyomi Araragi's run-ins with supernatural-themed cases typically involving high school girls.
Boasting gorgeous animation and inspired dialogue, Monogatari is one of those anime that leaves a lasting impression. It should be noted that the first season, Bakemonogatari, is something of an oddity, as it serves more as an introduction to most of the characters rather than a proper standalone season.
1 Not Worth It: Dragon Ball Super
Dragon Ball needs no introduction. The original anime and Dragon Ball Z are rightfully hailed as classics, but the subsequent series are far more divisive. Somehow, Dragon Ball Super is even more of a mixed bag than Dragon Ball GT, as the former fluctuates in quality so frequently that it is simultaneously awesome and awful.
While the anime does improve as it goes along, even the best arcs are not without their significant flaws. The Universal Survival Saga starts strong but lacks enough substance to justify its 54 episode run, and the "Future" Trunks Saga fails to stick the landing. When Dragon Ball Super is bad, it is also laughably bad.