From One Piece to Detective Conan, here are some beloved anime with hundreds upon hundreds of episodes.
Anime is a lot of things--and thanks to streaming services like Crunchyroll, it's more accessible than ever. But you might need more than just a little free time to make it through or catch up on these particular shows. Whether you're a completionist looking to watch every Gundam or Dragon Ball show ever made or just someone hoping to undertake the monumental task of starting from the beginning with a currently airing show like One Piece, you're in for a major challenge.
Of course, that's not to say it won't pay off. Some of the most beloved anime of all time have episode counts numbering into the hundreds--and these shows last that long for a reason. The time you spend working through every season will undoubtedly pay off--you'll just need to figure out how much you need to invest in the first place. For example, a show like One Piece will take you 16 full days where you leave it on constantly, not pausing to eat or sleep.
Another notable monumental undertaking would be the current Guinness World Record holder for longest running animated show, Sazae-san, which is still on the air with over 7000 episodes--but don't worry, it's actually not even available in its entirety and was never licensed out for western audiences. Meanwhile, shows like Gintama and Bleach, which clock in just under 400 episodes, seem positively breezy by comparison.
What's the longest anime you've ever watched? Are you all the way caught up on One Piece? Let us know in the comments below.
1. Dragon Ball (et all)
~800 episodes across 5 shows
To date, there are five official Dragon Ball TV shows, and only one of them--Dragon Ball GT--has under 100 episodes. If you add the total for Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Z Kai, and Dragon Ball Super, you've got nearly 800 total episodes to work through.
2. One Piece
987 episodes and counting
One Piece holds a legendary spot in anime history, and for good reason. The manga it's based on has been running for 24 years, longer than some of its fans have been alive, and the anime isn't far behind. It's pushing 1000 episodes and still on the air. If you've watched every single episode of One Piece start to finish, congratulations, you've put 16 full days of your life into the show.
3. Gundam (et all)
600+ episodes across 16+ shows
On their own, the various Gundam shows aren't anything to write home about, length wise. Sure, there are a lot of them--nearly 20 different series if you just count the ones that had proper TV show broadcasts (so not the titles that were just OVAs or movie anthologies)--but those shows all max out at around 50 episodes. If you ever wanted to power through every piece of Gundam anime, you're in for hundreds upon hundreds of episodes before you even scratch the surface.
4. Crayon Shin-Chan
1068 episodes and counting
While the shonen genre typically gets the most credit in terms of insanely long-running shows for western fans, comedy anime also has a rich history of creeping into quadruple digits. Raunchy, slap-stick Crayon Shin-Chan is still being made, despite being almost 30 years old, and has passed 1000 total episodes.
5. Naruto (et all)
720 episodes for Naruto, 210 episodes and counting for Boruto
There are three main Naruto tv shows--Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. But even if we didn't include that last one since it's technically a sequel, you'd still be in for 720 episodes if you wanted to watch the first Naruto series and Shippuden. Oh, and Boruto has officially hit 210 episodes and it's still in production, so there's that, too.
6. Yu-Gi-Oh (et all)
1000+ episodes across 9 shows
There are nine different Yu-Gi-Oh TV shows to consider here, and five of them have episodes numbering into the hundreds. Duel Monsters, GX, 5D's, Arc-V, and VRAINS have 120 or more, so if you're a completionist, set aside an appropriate amount of time.
7. Detective Conan
1015 episodes and counting
Beloved mystery series Detective Conan has been on the air since 1996, and currently sits at 1014 episodes--with more on the way. In America, the show was known as Case Closed, so depending on where you're located, that might be the name to search if you're looking to tackle them all.
8. Gintama
367 episodes
Sci-fi samurai epic Gintama blends Edo era Japan with aliens. It actually has multiple anime adaptations but the one we're interested in here is the first, which lasted from 2006 to 2018 with a total of 367 episodes. The other series get a bit confusing to differentiate with titles like Gintama' and Gintama°, but you can be sure you're watching the right show if you see the episode numbers push triple digits.
9. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
152 episodes and counting
Chances are, if you exist on the internet in any capacity, you've seen some reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, whether it's the outlandish costumes, wacky names, or the often memed trend of "JoJo posing." The good news is, if you want to get in on this anime, you'll be joining a massive and lively fandom--the bad news is that the show is already at 152 episodes with more on the way, so the sooner you make your move the better.
10. Bleach
366 episodes and counting
With the manga currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Bleach anime has gone back into production, adding to its already impressive episode count--366--with a brand new arc after being officially over since 2012.
11. Yo-Kai Watch
214 episodes
Many of us will be familiar with the Yo-Kai Watch video games and their many collaborations with popular franchises like FFXIV, but there's also a long-running anime to go along with the various game installments. It's so long running, in fact, that it has over 200 episodes.
12. Fairy Tail
328 episodes
Popular fantasy series Fairy Tail ran for over a decade in manga form, and its anime adaptation lasted for 328 episodes--which would take you a little over five consecutive days of doing nothing but watching to power through back to back.
13. Pokemon (et all)
1100+ episodes over 7 shows
Spread out over seven official series and several side stories, the Pokemon anime is prolific to put it mildly. If you add every show's episodes together, you'll get over 1100 episodes total--which doesn't include any of the movies (there are 23 as of right now), miniseries, or OVAs. The first series alone had nearly 300 episodes through its five year run.
14. Sailor Moon
200 episodes
The original run of Sailor Moon ran from 1992 to 1997 and clocked in exactly 200 episodes, which is a feat all on its own. But you can also add to that the live action TV show, the multiple movies, and the 13 episode revival, Sailor Moon Crystal, if you want to really be thorough.
15. Sazae-san
7000+ episodes and counting
If you're someone who isn't from Japan, there's a good chance you've never heard of Sazae-san, which will make what you're about to read even more baffling. It's currently the Guinness World Record holder for the longest running animated TV show and is also one of the longest running scripted TV shows in history. It's been in production since 1969 and currently has over 7000 episodes, but it has never been completely licensed or distributed outside of Japan--so if you're looking for an easy way to watch it in another country, you're unfortunately out of luck.
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