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6 Anime Series Longer Than One Piece

Published Feb 14, 2026, 6:30 AM EST

Rei is the Deputy Lead for TheBestWarGames's Anime Team from Kashmir, situated in Beirut. He's an avid fan of anime and manga. Rei grew up watching anime and had a knack for writing ever since he was a kid, and combining his two passions was rather easy for him. Rei worked as a Staff Writer for CBR for over two years before moving to TheBestWarGames, where he's gained tremendous experience for about 5 years now, and has risen to become the Deputy Lead Editor of the Anime Team. Rei is the author of some of the articles here that you liked, and others that you didn't. When he isn't writing, he often re-reads One Piece.

In the world of anime, when speaking of long-running series, the mind immediately goes to One Piece. After all, One Piece is one of the biggest and most mainstream anime series of all time, and at the moment, has 1155 episodes after the conclusion of the Egghead Island Arc in December. One Piece is absolutely massive in terms of episode count, and for it to maintain great quality with so many episodes is truly an achievement in and of itself.

While One Piece is very long, it certainly isn't the longest anime series out there. There are many Japanese anime series out there comparable in length, or even double the size. In comparison to these series, One Piece might even seem like a rather short anime series, especially now, with the change in release schedule, which will greatly impact its length.

6 Detective Conan: Case Closed

Case Closed Anime Series Longer Than One Piece

Number of Episodes: 1190+
Status: Ongoing

When it comes to the longest-running anime series of all time, most of them tend to be comedic series or slice-of-life. The likes of One Piece can be an anomaly among these as a Shonen, but it isn't the only one around.

The longest-running shonen series of all time is actually not One Piece. It is another popular series known as Detective Conan, or Case Closed. Detective Conan is a mystery-solving series that has been going strong since 1996. This series has not been running this long just for the sake of it. Its story has kept the excitement going, and its popularity remains strong in Japan, and even overseas. Conan’s story is still far from over because even its manga is still ongoing. It definitely seems like Detective Conan will remain the number one longest-running Shonen anime series, at least for the foreseeable future.

5 Crayon Shin-Chan

Crayon Shin-Chan Anime Series Longer Than One Piece

Number of Episodes: 1300+
Status: Ongoing

Crayon Shin-Chan is undoubtedly one of the most iconic anime TV series to ever air in Japan. This anime series is based on a manga of the same name, by creator Yoshito Usui, and it follows the main character Shin on his rowdy day-to-day adventures.

Crayon Shin-Chan is, for the most part, a series all about comedy. Shin’s day-to-day life with his family is showcased, and this series has gone on to become one of the longest-running anime series of all time, ahead of even the likes of One Piece. Currently, Crayon Shin-Chan is technically still ongoing since 1992. Right now, the series has surpassed the 1300 mark, with episodes of the same length as One Piece. Overall, Shin-Chan is the 12th-longest-running anime of all time.

4 Soreike! Anpanman

Anime Series Longer Than One Piece Anpanman

Number of Episodes: 1700+
Status: Ongoing

Anpanman is not a character or series that has really caught on in popularity outside of Japan. However, in Japan, this series is one of the most iconic around, being known by everyone, adult or child. Even One Piece's own creator Eiichiro Oda, was actually a big fan of this series and based some elements of One Piece off of it.

Nevertheless, Anpanman has become a huge part of Japanese anime fans’ childhood because of how long it is. Right now, the Anpanman anime is still ongoing and has already surpassed 1,700 episodes, which is no small number. It seems impossible for Oda's One Piece to ever surpass this anime in the number of episodes. Anpanman is the kind of series that will run on for generations more.

3 Doraemon (1979)

Doraemon Anime Series Longer Than One Piece — Doraemon looking happy

Number of Episodes: 1787
Status: Concluded

Undoubtedly, Doraemon is a series that has become a household name not only in Japan, but all around the world. Doraemon is one of the most recognizable anime characters around, on the same level as the likes of Luffy, Naruto, or Goku. With that in mind, it's unsurprising to see just how long an anime Doraemon is. Doraemon's longest-running anime series was the one that started in 1979 and reached its conclusion in 2005.

That anime had a total of 1,787 episodes, a figure that by far surpasses that of One Piece. Of course, it should also be remembered that while the Doraemon anime from 1979 is the longest, it is not the only one. Doraemon received another anime adaptation in 2005, and even that is already closing in on One Piece's numbers with almost 900 episodes. What’s more is that the anime is still ongoing. When combining the two, Doraemon’s numbers are even more impressive.

2 Nintama Rantarō

Anime Series Longer Than One Piece Nintama Rantaro

Number of Episodes: 2500+
Status: Ongoing

Nintama Rantarō, also known by its English title, Ninjaboy Rantaro, is, by far, one of the longest-running Japanese anime of all time. It is a comedic ninja series from 1993. Before the likes of Naruto emerged, Nintama Rantarō was perhaps the most popular ninja story around.

Overall, Nintama Rantarō is actually the second-longest-running anime of all time. Right now, it has already surpassed 2500 episodes, which is significantly higher compared to One Piece’s 1100+, however, there is a catch. Unlike One Piece’s 20-minute-long episodes, Nintama Rantarō is only 10 minutes long. Nevertheless, even when that is accounted for, Nintama Rantarō still has more content overall.

1 Sazae-San

sazae-san Anime Series Longer Than One Piece

Number of Episodes: 2839+
Status: Ongoing

When it comes to the longest-running anime of all time, fans might have previously thought it to be One Piece. The truth is, One Piece is nowhere near that spot. The longest-running anime of all time is Sazae-San. While One Piece is still hovering around the 1100-episode mark, Sazae-San is now close to hitting 3000 episodes. It is, by far, the longest anime of all time.

This episode count isn’t due to short episodes. Sazae-san’s episode length is the same as One Piece’s. Like most long anime series in Japan, it is also a Slice of Life. Sazae-San revolves around housewife Sazae and her day-to-day life with her family. The Sazae-San anime started all the way back in 1969, and technically, it is still ongoing. It’s unlikely that any anime will be able to surpass it in episode count anytime soon.

TV-14

Anime

Release Date: October 20, 1999
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

9 Images

Cast

Mayumi Tanaka

Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
Kazuya Nakai

Roronoa Zoro (voice)

One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.

Studio: Toei Animation
Creator: Eiichiro Oda
Streaming Service(s): Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV

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