While the majority of anime series are 12 to 26 episodes long, some could extend to 50, 70, or even hundreds of episodes (not to mention titles with a continuing story across multiple seasons). I’ve heard fans complain when a series is too short. I’ve heard fans complain when a series is too long. But is there really a “perfect” number of episodes for anime?
When I first got into anime about eleven years, most late 90s/early 2000s titles I watched were 26 episodes, the standard number at that time. Only OVAs would go below that number and most of the anime that went beyond it were kids series such as Cardcaptor Sakura at 70 episodes and Digimon at 50 episodes. There were, of course, some exceptions with regular anime – Utena had an odd 39 episodes, and Fushigi Yuugi and Magic Knight Rayearth had about 50 episodes each. But for the most part, the number 26 became somewhat synonymous with the length of anime series at that time.
As I discussed in a previous post, TV anime became marketed in a vastly different way starting in the mid-2000s, resulting in the average length of anime also changing. With the introduction of the one-cour series, the standard length of TV anime decreased, with Nointamina’s 11 episode length being among the smallest. Nowadays, 12-13 episode series far outnumber 26 episode series. Even the two-cour length has decreased, with 22-25 episode lengths being more common in anime of the past few years than the old standard 26 episodes. Anything more than 26 episodes is still rare and reserved mostly for mainstreamed kids anime, but it does happen for regular anime occasionally.
With all this in mind, is length a huge factor in determining how much you could like an anime, or even if you’d watch it at all? For me, length is not a big deal. Most of the anime I watch/have watched are a variety of lengths, from the regular one-cour and two-cour to 300+ episode shonen titles I’ve been watching for years. I recognize that both short 11-13 episode series, average 26-50 episode series, and long-running 100+ episode series, all have advantages and disadvantages due to their length.
The advantage one-cour 11-13 episode series have is, obviously, with fewer episodes they’re less time consuming for the creators and the viewers, and cheaper to buy in terms of BDs/DVDs. However, the complementary disadvantage is that with so few episodes, there’s limited time to develop story and characters, as well as tie up loose ends by the finale. If done right however, the shorter length doesn’t hinder an anime at all. If the right amount of characters are introduced and the pacing of the episodes gives ample time to their development, as well as the development of the story, everything can tie up fine, as I feel was the case for Madoka Magica, Air, Sola, and AnoHana. But if not handled right, there can be a great sense of lacking by the end, such as too many underdeveloped characters in Angel Beats! and a rushed ending in No.6. Basically, I don’t have any preconceptions about an anime based on its one-cour length – it just depends on how it’s executed with such a length.
The two-cour length of 22-26 episodes has the advantage of having more episodes and thus more time to flesh out plots and characters. But what could happen is that it spends too much time on filler-ish episodes that, by the time the ending is in sight, it ends up rushing it. There’s a huge variety of two-cour anime however, so it’s really hard to make generalizations about how their length affects their quality. I actually think two-cour is the best in terms of telling a solid story with solid characters and delivering a satisfying ending. The rare 50-ish to 70-ish episode length is great in this way as well, as I felt with Blood+, Eureka 7, Digimon Adventure, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kemono no Souja Erin, and Cardcaptor Sakura. One could even say that anime with multiple seasons following a continuing story fall into this “two-cour+” category, such as Code Geass, Darker than Black, Hayate no Gotoku, and Shakugan no Shana. But again, when it comes to quality in terms of length, it just depends on the anime.
The 100+ length anime, mostly reserved for long-running kids shonen anime, is a very different beast from other anime. I know some fans who would never even touch one of these series for various reasons. Usually they just don’t have the time and motivation for something so long, and the fact that they’ll never catch up if the anime is still ongoing could be an annoyance (not to mention the impossibility of completely owning these titles on video). But some people feel that a story just shouldn’t go on for so long – with so many episodes, it loses its original direction, quality decreases, or having no ending in sight makes it lose any sense of narrative flow. Since I’m watching three such anime – Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece (Pokemon doesn’t count since its 90% episodic) I’ll say that such a length has advantages too. These series have tons of time to completely flesh out the worlds they’re set in, develop huge casts of characters, and follow through with a variety of fun subplots. And, after watching these characters in adventures for so many years, there’s this sense of attachment and nostalgia that shorter anime can’t mimic. They become like old friends in a way. Sure, these anime take a ton of commitment and could take a long time to “get good” – my favorite character in One Piece wasn’t introduced until the episodes hit the 60s, and I didn’t get really into Inuyasha or Naruto until the episodes hit the 30s. But I feel the payoff they give is often worth the time (and filler is very skip-able).
To conclude, episode length is hardly a factor for me in determining whether I’ll watch an anime or not, nor how I’ll judge it. Whether a series is done well in 11 episodes or 50 episodes, I’ll be satisfied. My only aversion to watching longer anime is simply not having enough hours in the day! XD I can recognize when length may be advantageous or disadvantageous to an anime’s quality, or if it’s mismatched with the kind of anime it is (i.e., “It should have been longer”). But for the most part, length alone isn’t a big issue for me.
Length doesn’t matter much to me. It really all depends on how well the time is used. Four of my top ten series are two-cour, two are one-cour, and and four have an ‘unusual’ amount of episodes (Utena (39), Monster (70), Yuyu Hakusho (112), and FMA:Brotherhood (64)).
It’s cases like No. 6 where I wish noitaminA didn’t always have to limit itself to eleven episodes. It would’ve been great of No. 6 could’ve been 13-14 episodes instead. Same thing with Jyu-Oh-Sei, another Bones noitaminA show that had a rushed ending. (And of course Black Rock Shooter is getting an unusual length of eight episodes.)
I respect Katanagatari for being a little daring and making each episode 50 minutes. Even if it did seem a little slow at some points.
I’m currently only watching two long running series: the new Hunter x Hunter and Gintama. HxH is very enjoyable and it’s definitely one of the better shounens out there, and Gintama is consistently funny.
On another note, I have to say that I much prefer marathoning one-cour anime over two-cour. And I always have put off watching really long series like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, even if I have heard magnificent things about it. It always seems a little daunting.
I agree that No. 6 should have been longer. Also, all of Katanagatari’s episodes being 50 minutes gives it 24 episodes worth of material despite only being 12 episodes long, huh? =P
At this point, since I tend to watch many series each season and am constantly watching four “never-ending” titles (the shonen trio and Pokemon) I too am hesitant to start a series that’s longer than two-cour (like Monster, which I’ve been planning on watching for a long time). It just depends.
I’ve always preferred watching shorter anime series over longer ones, but lately I’ve been warming up more to longer series. Even though I always told myself I like series that were around 13 episodes, I recently took a look at some of my favourite series and realised they were all around 25 episodes. With that said, between those two lengths, I think I’m actually happy with both. Basically for me, it doesn’t make too much a difference. Even if at 13 episodes you may not always find the best character/story development (besides the exceptions you already mentioned), at 25 episodes it can still be lacking in both those things too.
As for the longer series, I’ve recently been trying to check out a few of them. I finished Hunter x Hunter recently, which I thought was very good and I’ve also tried to watch D. Gray-Man and Gintama. D. Gray-Man has turned out to be pretty disappointing actually, which is one of the problems I have with longer series. I’m now 76 episodes through, so it’s not like I would drop it now, but I’m now stuck finishing a series I don’t really like. I guess it depends on the type of anime watcher you are. I try my best to never drop a series, so watching an anime with more than 100 episodes is quite a commitment. This is why when it comes to series that are really long, its tough for me to actually decide to watch them.
So I guess when it comes to the length of an anime, it depends on a lot of things. I’ve even met some people who only like series that are super long because they don’t like the idea of a series ending! I respect everyone’s choice because even I see my own way of watching (ie. never wanting to drop something) as a little limiting. I think you have the right idea in mind with just seeing the length of an anime as something that isn’t too important.
I’m sort of like you in that I try not to drop any anime unless I’m really not motivated to continue watching it. Out of 300+ titles I’ve watched, I’ve dropped less than 15. But despite that, my favorites come in a variety of lengths and I only tend to watch one or two-cour series because there’s more of them out there and they’re less time consuming.
Your feelings towards D. Gray-man are similar to my feelings towards Bleach. Despite watching it for years I’m still just “okay” with it. As for why I continue to watch it? I guess I still derive enough enjoyment from it to continue and not give up on it after such a long commitment. I really want to see the day it ends!
ALL television shows should end after one season. No exceptions.
LOL, can’t say I agree with that…it depends on the title in question and how long one season is to you (and if that length can vary out of necessity).
Length is a minor factor for me, but the shorter something is the more likely I am to watch it, for obvious reasons. It’s no coincidence FLCL is my most-viewed anime – with just six episodes, I can watch the whole thing in a couple sittings. On the other hand, I’m generally reluctant even to start any series longer than twenty-six episodes or so unless I have some strong recommendations for it. I’ve never been convinced to start a 100+ episode show.
You didn’t mention this in the post, but the same is true of films. I’ll watch a short, 90-minute film any time. A three-hour epic can languish on my shelf or my Netflix queue for ages before I get around to finally watching it.
You’re right that shorter series are certainly easier to rewatch. I’ve been meaning to rewatch things like Eureka 7 (50 episodes) but just finding that time can be difficult, especially when I figure I could use that time to watch a long anime I haven’t yet watched. One-cour or less titles on the other hand, can be finished in just a few afternoons. With my favorite longer titles like Inuyasha and Cardcaptora Sakura, I’ll more likely rewatch episodes I like rather than a full rewatch.
I didn’t mentioned films since I really don’t watch many films that are longer than two hours or so. But the few times I did, my limit before taking a break is usually about three hours.
I used to dislike short 11-12 episode series. I always thought they just did not have enough time to handle everything in it. That has changed lately with the release of some really good 1 season anime titles. I still kind of prefer the 2 season anime titles, with 24-25 episodes. I think those are not too long, and not too short. 24 eps. is a really good number for me.
I’m one of those people that has a problem with really long anime series :S I watched Sakura and loved it all the way, and the longest series I’ve watched is Inuyasha. And I have to say that Inuyasha is really good, but by the time the last chapters were coming up, I was already starting to lose interest in it. Simply because it was too long, and they kept going around the same plots.
So while I still prefer a nice 24 ep series, it has been proven that a good story can be told in as few as 11 eps.
I think the first one-cour anime I watched that wasn’t an OVA was Air. Since it made good use of that time, I never developed any kind of “prejudice” towards one-hour anime XD Another of my early one-cours was Pretear, which made the mistake of having too many characters and no time to develop them. Usually, as long as there aren’t too many characters and the plot/setting isn’t too vague that it can’t be explained in 12 episodes, a one-cour anime can do fine.
Similarly, Inuyasha was my anime obsession (before Haruhi) when the first 167 episode anime aired, but by the time the final season aired SIX YEARS LATER I had already finished the manga and wasn’t nearly as into it. Still liked it of course but it just came too late.
For the most part, I prefer shorter series. I’d much rather finish a series hungry for more than to watch a series that drags on and on. 13 episodes, if executed correctly, can make some of the best shows, like Air, or Highschool of the Dead. However, 26 episode series can be even better, assuming they can keep the quality consistent. That is by far the hardest part about those series, quite a few series start out strong but begin to flag halfway through, which is even worse when your watching a show on a week to week basis. For example, I loved Mawaru Penguindrum in the beginning, but it’s becoming a chore to watch every week thanks to its novelty factor wearing thin.
I usually don’t watch 50 episode series, unless their divided up into multiple series, aka Clannad, or Gundam 00. I don’t have as much time to watch anime as I used to, so 50 episodes can be a daunting task. Anything over 50 is an automatic “no” for me.
Honestly, I wish in a way that series could have whatever episode counts the creators desired. The system involving the individual seasons makes this difficult, but it’d be refreshing if they could simply make as many or as few episodes as the story needed. For example, I feel that Angel Beats could have used a few more episodes than it had, but 26 feels a bit much. Just adding 3-4 more episodes to flesh out the supporting cast would have worked miracles for the story without sacrificing much of the pacing.
Good points. I agree that it’s not usually effective for a series to drag on too long, which is why 100+ lengths are thankfully mostly reserved for the long running shonen/family series marketed towards the average Japanese audience rather than “late night otaku.”
Your mentioning of only watching 50 episode series if they’re divided into seasons reminded me that I tend to do the same if the series is airing. It feels less overwhelming because I have no choice but to watch the series once per week and I don’t feel that sense of “falling behind” as I would starting a 50 episode anime that’s already finished.
It is too bad that anime can’t be more lenient with how many episodes a series can have. But with the strict time/seasonal slots and companies not wanting to risk money on many episodes of a series that may not be popular, we have the system we have now.
By the way, I’m totally with you on Penguindrum. It was refreshing and interesting in the beginning but by halfway through, the show is so overwhelmed with symbolism and vague subplots, I don’t even know what it’s about anymore. Right now my rating of it depends mainly on how it ends.
I tend to agree with Kal above that I used to have a stronger dislike for 12/13 episode series, and felt that they tended to be rushed and bite off more than they could chew (typically demonstrated by the sudden rushed ending). But more recently I’ve encountered more shows that seem to have a better handle on just what they can do in the time allotted. So perhaps I’m just getting used to the time constraints and the resulting pacing, or perhaps the directors and writers have also become more accustomed to it and what makes the most sense (or both). So now I guess I would say my main hope is that they pick the right duration for the material they intend to animate, whether that’s one cour, two cours, or more. The most important thing to me is how they spend the time they have. In general I tend to stay away from long-running shows, but mostly out of interest/genre moreso than principle.
I also think that companies are getting a better handle on how to effectively portray characters and story in such a small number of episodes, perhaps out of necessity with the influx of one-cour, late-night anime we’ve seen over the past several years.
I suppose we all hope that anime creators pick the right duration for the series they’re animating. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t, and unfortunately it can be a big factor in determining the overall quality of the series.
Length only matters to me when it’s unsuited to the story the anime is meant to convey. Too few episodes or too many – it doesn’t matter. Although hearing there are 50 episodes is a definite barrier, it’s really only because of the fear of filler and the potential of a tiresome, wasteful journey to a non-ending.
Frankly speaking, I like the idea of splitting a story into “seasons” or “series” or “cours” and ending each one on a logically nice note. But the screenwriters don’t always seem up to the task. They don’t know what to remove, what to keep, or how to end things even when the story isn’t all that great to begin with. Not that it’s particularly their fault, of course, but they’re the easiest targets for me to blame.
However, this whole “it must be 12 or 24 episodes” thing really has to go. It’s a relic of a bygone era that’s starting to really screw up the quality of anime. If the show needs 17 episodes, don’t make it 12, don’t make it 24. I know it’s unrealistic and unreasonable to expect this to change, but it’s honestly upsetting to see stories pace themselves into oblivion because of the need to fit into some arbitrary time block.
And that’s my childish rant for the week.
I actually haven’t seen much filler in any 50+ series I’ve watched. Maybe because I welcome it at times because it’s a nice break for character interactions and humor before the plot gets moving again. I only associate “filler” with 100+ episode titles, in which case all I do is skip the non-manga material and all is well.
I totally agree with you that the strict time slots need to loosen up and allow an anime to be as long or as short as it needs to be. It does happen occasionally, like the new Fullmetal Alchemist anime going for 64 episodes. I’m hopeful that it may eventually become more common than not some day.
One-cour length is usually perfect for slice-of-life type anime, since there’s really no point dragging it out for over 20 episodes. It’s also perfect for simple plots with a small cast – a recent example is Madoka, which has a main cast of 5 distinct characters and a plot that clearly knows where it wants to go. Like you said, series such as AB! with large casts and less clear storylines are severely disadvantaged by their short length and leaves the viewer thoroughly dissatisfied.
Series over 100 episodes (or similar) can indeed be daunting – I remember having to split my LoGH marathon over 2 summers because I’d put it off for so long and then didn’t have time to watch it once uni started. However, it’s probably also rare for such a long series to have no fillers, which can often be a source of annoyance for many. LoGH happened to be a tale of epic proportions and the plot went on at all times, but it’s most likely an exception rather than a rule. I can understand why people would avoid them.
Personally I prefer one- and two-cour length anime. They’re just easier to fit into my schedule and I don’t lose steam or interest as easily as I would with a longer series. I’m much more likely to take a gamble and watch a random unknown anime with ~26 eps or less because even if it ends up being mediocre, I didn’t waste too much of my life on it. With longer series, I almost always only watch highly-rated series or series that come with high recommendations from friends (e.g. Monster, FMA, LoGH) since it requires a serious time investment that I can’t afford to waste.
Good thoughts. Now that you mentioned it, plot-less slice-of-life anime like Lucky Star and K-ON can go on for as long or short as they want and usually not feel unsatisfying since they had no plot to begin with. So if you have something great like Azumanga Daioh, no problem letting it go on for 26 episodes instead of 13 even if it doesn’t really have a plot.
I also only watch highly recommended anime if they’re 100+ episodes, which is why I’m just watching the big shonen trio and am reluctant to pick up another one. Ultimately you have to decide whether the commitment is worth it for your time spent, though that can be tricky since a lot of long-running series take a while to “get good.” So you also have to decide how long you want to “test out” the series to see if you want to stick with it for so long =)
I know how some people complain about the size of a show when they feel like part of the plot got ruined because it was either rushed or dragged out. Like the anime that is the title picture of your your blog entry, Ano Hana, for instance. It ran a short 11 episodes which seems standard for Noitamina shows. Some felt that show should have been 12-13 episodes because the final shrine and secret base scenes seemed way too rushed and made the drama seem a bit “hokey”. I sort of agree with that thought myself.
On the flipside, the recent series Hanasaku Iroha was a 24 episodes. There are people, myself included, who felt it should have been only 18-20 episodes. They felt there was complete episodes and arcs that did very little in the way of developing the overall story and could have been left out. The entire school beach trip seemed like nothing more than to showcase Yuina, a flat side character, and show off some fan service material. It didn’t seem to have that much to do with Kissuiso Inn and could have been left out of the series and nothing would have been lost.
To me, the only that would matter about series length is what the producers do with the time they are given. It would be nice if they had the flexibility to either cut out episodes or add episodes to a show if it makes the pace of the show run smoother. But we all know it’s not going to happen given the anime industry standards these days.
Another point I have is that I’ve seemed to have grown an aversion to 12 episodes announced series. I’m much more apt to latch onto a show if it is slated to run 22+ episodes from the onset. I didn’t even watch Magica Madoka until after the series was over and I heard the rave reviews. A lot of recent 12 episode shows seem to lack any real plot and some of them are open ended stories which I can’t stand. I know it’s done to promote the manga and merchandise of the show and that if the series sells well they’ll continue it. But I think it’s leading the industry in a bad direction and it turns people off.
I can somewhat agree with what you said about HanaIro and AnoHana. I tend to feel that having more episodes is better than having too few episodes, so for HanaIro I felt that even if some episodes were just filler-ish, I’d rather have that than making it only 12 episodes and rushing it too much. For the long-running shonen titles, I’d rather they just keep on going with filler, which I can just skip, rather than end with a makeshift conclusion and force you to read the manga. But you’re right, ultimately it would be great if the industry standards weren’t so strict for how many episodes anime can have.
I was thinking of doing a similar post myself! :D
The length isn’t that important to me, but there is one part where it becomes important. The longer the show, the less motivation I feel to watch it. If it’s just one- or two-cour, I can just blaze through it. And if it’s very long, I really have to feel that it is worth it, or else I wouldn’t bother finish it. I have only seen two 50 episodes-shows (Eureka Seven, FMA 1), but motivation is a big part of it. Even if it’s good, you don’t feel like watching another episode!
But anyhow, the length is up to the directors. Use your given episode-count well, and make something amazing. Two of my favorite shows are single episodes, one being the standard 24 minutes and the other about 12. In that short amount of time, it tells a story that much longer shows haven’t.
I feel the same way in that I have to hear good things about a 50+ episode series in order to start watching it, especially if it’s already finished airing. Back in the early 2000s when I was a new fan and didn’t watch anime seasonally, I had a lot more time for longer titles like Cardcaptor Sakura and FMA. Not so much nowadays =P
Personally, I don’t think one episode is enough for me to get really attached to characters and story (at least a movie’s length worth of episodes would be sufficient I think). I could certainly like and respect a really short anime like that though.
You should try watching Pale Cocoon or Tsumiki no Ie! :)
There is only one answer to this question: As long as necessary to tell the story.
I don’t mean to be cryptic, but that’s the only thing I think about when it comes to how long or short a series is. Good characters with a good story told skillfully are all that matter, not “page count”. Length shouldn’t matter at all: a superbly crafted haiku can be every bit as fulfilling as an epic like the Song of Roland.
One must also be careful to remember it is what is necessary to tell the story from the creator’s point of view and not the viewer’s. Not how much more of the story YOU want to see; how much YOU think the characters need “developing”; how much the anime differs from the manga, etc.
At least, that should be the test, and great shows usually meet that criteria. In the end, though, anime is created to make money. Long shows especially are long because they want to continue making money whether or not they are still interesting/artistic/good stories–they just have to be popular. In addition, these shows are written for a Japanese audience with a different set of cultural and social values and predispositions that may not precisely mesh with our western ways of thinking. And one more thing: the shows are for the most part watched in “first run” on broadcast TV with episodes once a week on average and not marathoned with a box of DVDs like we typically do, and that is a very different viewing dynamic.
Having unloaded all that philosophical mumbo-jumbo, the length doesn’t matter for me as much as the characters/story/concept. Though I must admit that sometimes I’m hesitant to begin a mega-series because I know it will require a serious commitment on my part! ^_^’
I too care more about the characters/story rather than length. Even if something is as long as One Piece and Inuyasha, if I continue to derive enjoyment from them I don’t mind if they keep going. It’s when they saturate and seem to lose direction (like the latter part of Inuyasha) that I start wishing they would end. Of course, with so many episodes I don’t expect to like every single one. But if there’s more good than bad, that’s fine. Likewise, for series like Madoka Magica and Air which I felt told complete stories in just 12 episodes, I don’t have any desire for more.
Letting anime have as many episodes as needed to tell the story the creator intended is great, but unfortunately rare. With few anime being allowed more than a one-cour or two-cour length, and popularity determining how long they get to continue past that, it can be tricky. It takes a good talent to tell an anime story, especially one based on other source material, in a limited number of episodes. But as we’ve seen, it can be done =)
It all ties into the two basic types of storytelling; world-building stories, which immerse you in a fictional world until you care about it and don’t care much about ending, “all about the journey”, and stories about something, which draw parallels about things in the real world you care about, and have a clear idea of where they’re going, “all about the destination”. 1-2 cour series are generally of the latter type, unless they’re based on some larger original work and only adapt a portion of it, longer shows tend to be of the first type.
This affects me since I find it difficult to take world-building stories all that seriously. Nothing in them can possibly be really important, because they’re fundamentally about entirely made-up stuff. This isn’t a problem if it’s not the sort of thing you watch particularly seriously, like Hayate or (for an adult) CCS, things which you’re watching for fun and entertainment, but it’s a restriction; all of my favourite works which draw a large part of their appeal from serious issues are shorter.
The other issue longer stories can have is repetition and formula, since the more time you have to fill, the more difficult it is to find new things to fill it with. Which is probably why a lot of the really long shows are aimed at children; they’re far more tolerant of repetition and formula, and can even demand it. For the two longer shows I mentioned, I’m amazed Hayate has managed to produce six cours of its content without really repeating itself, and I think that’s a huge accomplishment. But the ‘resolution’ with CCS is very different; that does repeat itself a fair bit, but it’s OK, because the show appeals to me in quite an unusual way. It’s rather like visiting a nicer world. Of course you’re going to want to go there again and again. K-ON has a similar appeal, I’m sure it could run and run and continue to take most of its fans with it.
On the other hand, I don’t really understand why long shows should be intimidating to start at all. This “I’ve watched the first episode, now I’m obliged to watch the remaining 102 even if I don’t enjoy them” principle baffles me. If I start a long series and start getting tired of it 10 or 15 episodes in, I’ll just stop watching, why put yourself through it if you’re not enjoying it? It’s supposed to be entertainment, not a chore.
But generally, I find appealing long series to be rare, and feel that there’s a “sweet spot” for your average anime story of about 20 episodes, since one-cour stories have a tendency to feel squashed, and two-cour stories have a tendency to feel stretched. But the best length does very much depend on the story.
Excellent thoughts, especially about there being two different kinds of lengths in the “journey” stories and the “destination” stories. But I do feel that, if done right, long-running titles can have many “destination” stories within one long, overarching “journey” story. For example, the main story of Naruto and One Piece are Naruto wanting to become a great ninja and Luffy wanting to become Pirate King. But within their journeys are many individual story arcs that deal with particular characters and themes that very well have beginnings and resolutions (sometimes integral to the overarching plot, sometimes not). These can be just as important as making the setting engrossing and building it up to be believable.
But yes, they do fall victim to formulaic concepts, which I can forgive until a point. If even the canon material starts to make me lose interest, I’ll have to consider whether to stick with the show or not.
Overall, I prefer one-cour and two-cour since there’s more of them and they take up less time. But like I said, length doesn’t mean a whole lot to me.
A lot of it depends on the genre. For example, something like Monster is completely story-driven and takes how long it needs to in order to get where it’s going. Sometimes ideas get stretched too thin and outstay their welcome – the best example I can think of being Demashita! Power Puff Girls Z. But equally, strong character-based humour can sustain a lot of episodes: I’ll definitely be watching the new Minami-Ke and you can bet that if Azumanga Daioh randomly got commissioned for 200 new episodes, I’d watch every one.
The relationship between manga and anime is also a factor. Often a popular manga will get an anime at the wrong time, and we’ll end up with 26 episodes that don’t go anywhere because they were made too soon. Claymore was a prime example, and it happened with NaruTaru at only 13 eps. That’s one reason visual novels tend to work well as properties to adapt.
Taking something of an average, though, I’d say the typical 26 episodes, once such a fixture, was strongest because it allowed good character development first, then a decent storyline on a grand scale, and then a strong conclusion. Sunrise tend to do this best.
I agree with just about all you’ve said ^_^ It does depend on the genre and what kind of story, if any, is being told. The original source material is also a factor. I remember watching Claymore at my university’s anime club and everyone getting mad when it ended the way it did. Some went on to read the manga while others didn’t. In that case, the anime kind of seemed like an ad for the manga.
I got used to 26 episodes in the early 2000s but now I feel like I’m getting used to 12-13 episodes in recent years. I wonder if a new standard episode count will ever spring up one day.
Pretty sure it’ll stay more or less the same, because that’s how the TV companies in Japan commission seasons – in blocks of 13, give or take a few. noitaminA is probably as much innovation as you’re gonna get!
Years back, episode length in an anime had an odd substance to it. It meant that I was entertained longer or had more material to watch so I may vicariously live in those worlds. Of course, most anime I saw was around twenty-six episodes in length and I didn’t actively follow a specific anime at the time. I was following Bleach but that is a different story.
As I have gotten older and into the schedule of watching anime every week, I have paid a certain amount of attention to episode length of an anime. Although a preferred length for anime would have to be looked upon for something that was originally written to be an anime and not the adaptation of a book or manga.
When it comes to manga, especially manga I enjoy, I don’t care for the length of the anime. What I care for is that the anime is as faithful to the manga as possible without having to end early and hurt the name of the work it is adapting (Ao no Exorcist left me in major pain after episode 16 as I realized what was happening).
But for an original work I would say that an anime should take as long as possible for it to flesh out its character, world, and ideas. It shouldn’t attempt to rush to the end or stay on the air as long as possible. It should attempt to flesh itself out in a proper amount of time necessary.
Visual Novels to my knowledge are iffy to work with. Since a VN work tends to have multiple routes to go through, it lends itself to say three to ten stories to adapt. In Lunar Legend Tsukihime case, they attempted to take many different routes of the VN and put them together into one plot while focusing on one main part. This was a horrible idea as many parts had nothing to do with the others. Where one route was about hunting down a specific vampire, another was looking into the history of the Tohno family and completely avoided anything to do with hunting down that vampire.
This said, I don’t fully think there should be a predetermined episode length for anime, at least anime that isn’t an adaptation of anything.
You have a point that the original source material is a big factor. I’ve heard some people, however, actually prefer when an anime doesn’t follow the source material exactly, since it offers and new perspective of the series and they can see something different rather than a precise regurgitation of the manga. Some believe the anime can be better for this (the original FMA series was liked by many despite being so different from the manga). But most fans are like you and prefer faithful anime adaptations. I don’t really have much of a preference since I’m rarely familiar with the original source material and judge anime in its own right. But when even I can tell that an anime adaptation didn’t do justice to the source material, that’s bad.
Whilst I do prefer faithful anime adaptations, I also enjoy it when a studio is also faithful to the material they use and treat it with decency. To put simply, when they are gonna end a series early, they should at the very least make the way they are ending the series bearable.
The original FMA Anime adaptation is very well executed, there is no doubt about that. What it as an adaptation does is justice to the source material and faithfully builds from it it’s own story. It doesn’t attempt to rush to the end at all but instead went on to flesh itself out as an anime.
There was an odd filler episode for Ao no Exorcist in which Rin makes friends with the demon that cooks in the kitchen. It was an oddly fitting episode despite being filler and I didn’t notice until much later when I had to think about all the filler. Yes it was a useless episode doing nothing to progress the plot but yet it just seemed to work as an episode.
I’d love to look into why certain anime fare well despite not being close to the manga but I can only conclude two things: an excellent writing staff and some help from the mangaka. In FMA’s case, Arakawa, as I have been told, went and told Studio BONES to work on the series as they saw fit for the reason that the anime would run of material real fast. He provided them guidance for the most part as the series went on as I recall.
As I myself look back at all the anime I have watched, I can’t help but feel a certain vast disappointment in many adaptations I have previously seen. Yet there are of course adaptations that don’t fully follow the manga (they ended early) but they ended up becoming considered classics in this day and age (Trigun comes to mind).
I don’t have much to add on this topic that hasn’t been said already. Length-wise, I think the odd ball series-length (60ish episodes, like FMA:B) is my favorite vessel for a good story. Ample space to flesh out a really great universe and characters. Also, HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
I agree that ideally anime should be as long as it needs to be.
And happy belated turkey day to you, too =)
I think it depends because an example of it is school days, when the end was going to be good the Sekai killed Makoto and Kotonoha Sekai, and just 12 episodes for that, I wantedto know what happenend with Kotonoha….
dude what anime is the picture of above?
The full name of the anime is Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai…but people call it Ano Hana for short.
BTW what is your favourite character in One Piece at the moment?
I am a huge One Piece fan – it is my favourite Anime of all time.
The only real problem is that you have to wait a really long time for episodes to be released. I prefer watching an arc once it is finished and then wait till the next one is done. in between this I watch other anime so it is not so bad.
One Piece is definitely one of those animes with a Nostalgic feel to it. I frequently re-watch old episodes instead of starting new anime.
I just feel that the whole series is really well done.
It basically covers every genre possible and has various storylines while still remaining epic on a whole.
I have to admit that initially i was not so interested in it till i got past episode 40 – It took me a year to get to episode 50 and then i finished up to episode 550 in another year. That’s how addictive it was