Some anime need over 100 episodes to tell an incredible story, or at least over 50. Attack on Titan needed all that time to develop its world and character arcs, and My Hero Academia deserved a full eight seasons to tell the tale of Deku and other heroes. Meanwhile, other anime overstay their welcome and feel bloated with their episode counts. These anime have plenty to offer as great series, but there's also too much padding.
Such anime are better off either watched in chunks or skipped altogether. In some cases, it's a better idea to read the original manga to get the whole story in less time, and the manga might even have better art, too. Other lengthy anime are too repetitive to watch all the way through, with only the most diehard fans wishing to see the same thing in hundreds of episodes. These ultra-long anime ask for a lot -- to much, actually -- and anime fans are advised to budget their time to watch something else in less time.
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One Piece is Too Hefty to Attract New Viewers
The Manga, One Pace, and the Netflix Version Are Strong Options
More than almost any other anime, the legendary series One Piece comes up in discussions about how much material is too much. This is a problem with the story's presentation, not its actual content, since One Piece is part of shonen's "big three" for a reason. The character arcs and worldbuilding across the islands of the Grand Line are all incredible, but it takes too long to develop in anime form. The manga is more manageable and lacks filler, though even that will test some readers' patience.
It's well known that some arcs in One Piece move at an unacceptably slow pace thanks to the series' refusal to stop and let the manga stay ahead. That results in ludicrous cases where some episodes adapt perhaps 10 pages of the manga, filling the rest with repetitive scenes while hoping fans don't notice. It's telling how the fandom felt the need to make the shortened One Pace project, though newcomers might actually be better off with Netflix's live-action adaptation.
Bleach's Anime is Bloated With Filler and Iffy Animation at Times
Tite Kubo's Original Manga is the Definitive Soul Reaper Experience
As another member of the shonen "big three," the Bleach franchise will only have deal-breaker problems with its presentation, not its lore. The actual story does have some holes or weak moments, but as a whole, the lore and characters of Bleach are stellar. For that reason, new fans are urged to bypass the original Bleach anime and check out the manga. That manga has sharp pacing and features some of the most impactful art in all of shonen, surpassing what's found in Naruto's and One Piece's own pages.
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The original Bleach anime may have some great voice acting and iconic music, but the constant filler, dated animation, and sluggish pacing make it a real test of any viewer's patience. One approach is to read the original manga all the way through the Fullbringer arc, then switch to the anime to enjoy the stronger pacing and production values of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. That part of the anime franchise should definitely be watched, while the rest of the anime is far more optional.
Pokemon Has Been Doing the Same Thing Since the 1990s
Fans Might Pick an Era and Skip the Rest in Favor of the Pokemon Games
As a whole, the Pokemon franchise 100% earned its global popularity as a pop culture phenomenon for kids. Above all, it's the games that have kept the world of Pokémon relevant all this time, with the original fans in the late 1990s now having their own children who can dive into the world of these colorful creatures. The card game and collectible merch are also worth the money and time, while the anime is a more mixed bag.
The most die-hard Pokemon fans will probably watch every minute of the anime and the movies, and that's great for them. Most other anime fans will be far more hesitant to sink so many hours into such a repetitive adventure, and that's understandable. New fans might choose one generation or era of Pokémon's anime and skip the rest. The seasons and eras do have their differences, but as a whole, if a fan has seen one generation, they have effectively seen them all. The rest of the time ought to be spent on a wide variety of other fantasy anime.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Keeps Repeating Itself as a Card Game Anime
Other Game-Based Anime Are Worth Watching, Too
Not unlike Pokémon, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Is an impressive and creative blend of gaming and anime -- up to a point. Any fan will be delighted to both play the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card game with their friends and see Yugi Muto's team of heroes do the same on the small screen. Older, nostalgic fans will likely stick to the earlier anime seasons in the good old days of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and younger fans might like Yu-Gi-Oh! May be drawn to the GX or 5D's eras.
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Any phase of Yu-Gi-Oh! Is a delightful experience to watch, but fans aren't advised to watch the entire franchise. Even if the cards and characters are regularly rotated in and out, it gets seriously repetitive after a couple of hundred episodes at most. Only the most devoted fans wills tick around for all that, while most anime viewers are best off mixing things up with other game-based anime. Titles such as Kakegurui and Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor may come to mind.
Fairy Tail's Good Moments Are Too Few and Far Between
The Power of Friendship Doesn't Save Fairy Tail
If the Fairy Tail anime was half the length and twice the quality it actually is, then this anime could properly challenge the shonen "big three" the way it was clearly meant to. Fairy Tail has its fans, and not without reason, but non-fans may not get their money's worth from watching so many episodes of Team Natsu's adventures. Even cutting out the filler arcs doesn't make Fairy Tail worth the time it takes to finish this magical adventure.
Fairy Tail does have its moments and some cool character designs, such as Erza Scarlet and Mavis Vermillion, but the best parts are stretched too thin among the countless mediocre or derivative sequences. It's too much work for too little payoff, especially in the modern era where "short and sweet" is clearly the rule. Fantasy junkies are better off with Demon Slayer and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, and those seeking the next Naruto can't go wrong with My Hero Academia.
Dragon Ball Z is Loaded With Filler and Has Horrendous Pacing
Akira Toriyama's Manga is the Real Saiyan Magic
For legions of established Dragon Ball fans, it's no sweat to sink dozens of hours into rewatching the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime series. Also, for other anime fans, it may indeed be worth the time to watch all of these episodes and even march their way through Dragon Ball Super, but most anime enthusiasts are advised to try something else. Dragon Ball Kai is a strong option, and reading the original manga is an even finer idea. The manga features far superior pacing and wonderful art that makes the action easy to parse every time.
No one can blame a new shonen fan for wanting to watch a legendary classic like Dragon Ball Z to feel more connected to anime history, but that's not nearly as mandatory as the fandom would want new viewers to believe. Dragon Ball Z earned its place in industry history, but then again, it's a long haul with quite dated animation and famously bad pacing in sequences such as the Namek Saga. So, anime fans who are pressed for time are best off watching the shorter, sweeter anime that builds on what Akira Toriyama's creation built.