Poll: Ideal length for an anime series's run?

[Chiefmon]

In the world of anime, there apparently isn't a consensus on how long an anime should last. There are some anime like Hellsing which only lasts 13 episodes, while Case Closed/ Detective Conan has like 570 episodes. Now, I know that some anime are based on manga that run dozens of volumes, while others are made up by a writing staff, but assuming that they are made by a writing staff that doesn't make filler, how long should the optimal run be?

 

[flaming_squirrel]

I'd say all of best non-manga based ones end up around the 26 mark.

 

[DefunctTheory]

12-24 I suppose. Thats enough to get one major story arch.

Otherwise, you become Naruto, with more episodes than Seinfeld and completely impossible to understand unless you started from the beginning.

 

[Outright Villainy]

It depends on how deep the story is, but I would say somewhere between 26 and 51 episodes.

13 isn't enough to flesh out the plot really well in most cases, whereas going over 51 episodes usually means that the show just has a lot of filler episodes that don't contribute anything.

Yeah, exactly this. I'd say Death note had the right amount of episodes, even if the second season was pretty lacking. Stuff like full metal alchemist can do the whole 51 episode thing really well too. I usually want my animes to have at least 20 episodes, the standard 13 just isn't long enough to get into it properly.

 

[zenoaugustus]

Well, of the animes I have watched and firmly enjoyed (and their aren't many, I'm not that big on anime, but I do enjoy some stuff), it has been Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Digimon (seasons 1 and 2). Of the three, the two seasons of Digimon had about 50 episodes a piece, and did it well (IMO) and while I enjoyed DBZ and YGO, 200+ episodes is a little much. So I voted 51.

 

[FreshyQ]

26 seems to fit more types of anime than any other length, but there are ones like Case Closed that can work with more episodes because each one isn't necessary to advance the plot. Anime that can tell a good story with each episode should probably last longer.

 

[imaloony]

I think Fooly Cooly had like 5 episodes or something...

I'll go with 104, since my Favorite anime, Yu Yu Hakusho, had a pretty similar length.

 

[RnAoDm]

I like them to be at least 20 episodes as its always disappointing to have a good series end so soon when you get into it.

 

[The Stonker]

25 episodes if it has any point to continue then season 2 25 episodes.

 

[skittlepie345]

I'm going to say 30-35. It's enough to get the story resolved, without it moving insanely fast.

 

[Gigaguy64]

It depends.

Some series only needed 26 episodes(Vandread)

while some are 200+ and are still pretty good(Bleach, Arguably)

But overall Animes with about 26-51 episodes have usually been good..

 

[Gasaraki]

51 seems about right, it's not too long so it doesn't drag on but it's also not too short so when it ends you're satisfied.

 

[CoverYourHead]

Upwards of 30 or 40 seems to be the best for me, though I do enjoy Bleach, and that's well over a hundred now (or more, hell I don't pay attention to numbers anymore).

 

[Ryuo]

26-51~
While I enjoy some of the longer ones, it can get tedious.
Madlax was perfectly paced, ending at 26.
And a crowd favorite Fullmetal Alchemist, was 51 and it was also quite well paced.
As far as the short ones,
Kara no Kyoukai (my favorite) was 7 but its episodes were movie length. Two of which were 2 hours long.

 

[Generator]

I'm not much of an anime fan, but all of the ones that I do like seem to end around the 26 episode mark. It just seems like the perfect amount to flesh out all of the characters and fulfill the main story arch, as well as give it enough time to tie up any loose ends.

 

[RanD00M]

30 is the max number that I shall stand for.I have Nana a chance.But it proved me right.

 

[Ki11erHyde]

I think Fooly Cooly had like 5 episodes or something...

I'll go with 104, since my Favorite anime, Yu Yu Hakusho, had a pretty similar length.

Fooly Cooly had six eps.
Depends really on the anime, sometimes 12 episodes are enough while other need a full 51, any more than 51 though and the show may start getting some lame filler episodes or worse: flashbacks.

 

[Reboare]

12-26 for most anime. It should rarely go above 50 ever, unless it's something like Monster which was an adaptation of a completed manga. If it's something like Bleach or Naruto which has reached 200+ episodes and doesn't have a well paced singular storyline but merely a bunch of arcs piled upon each other then it's bad.