Pros and Cons of Long running and short running anime

[Guernsey]

It ultimately comes down to the reader and the work in question but there are pros and cons for long running anime/manga and anime that ends in 26 episodes.

Long Runners

Pros

+ You can develop characters slowly
+ You can create more stories
+ You can create a huge world
+ You can flesh out the world, story and characters better
+ It is often cool to follow what is going on in the particular series

Cons

- Due to the nature of long runners, it is possible to drag things out too long.
- It is possible to have too many characters to follow
- Both Readers and Writers can grow tired of staying in the same world.
- There can be continuity problems especially when you have so many volumes that go in chronological order.
- The work in question can 'jump the shark' when it is pass its prime.


Short Runners

Pros

+ These stories are self contained and have a definite end
+ You don't have to stay commited to one story for long.
+ You don't have to worry about continuity.
+ It is easier to structure the setting without dragging things out.
+ If the story in question is not up to par, you can always try antoher one for the challenge.


Cons

- Self contained stories does not better, it is possible to cause continuity problems.
- You get one shot and you may have to make sure that everything is structed right.
- Some stories are forgettable.
- It is somewhat easier to see plot holes and inconsistencies.
- some stories do not warrant a sequel.

It is all subjective of course and it all comes down to the work in question but what do you think about this?

[Ithekro]

Wasn't 26 the standard for a long time? For a season I mean.

[SilverSyko]

My favorite series is a long runner (One Piece), and I personally believe these kinds are the ones that have a greater chance of success on an international level. I also love huge developed worlds and lots of fun and unique characters which a lot of shorter series' lack. The only problem I have is catching up to them a ways after they've started, which can take quite a while. (*Hasn't been working on Soul Eater and Fairy Tail* )

I dont mind short-runners either, but you listed the number one problem I have with them:

- Some stories are forgettable.

My god how many series' I have watched and then just have nothing to say about them ever after they're over. I realize that anime adaptations usually don't cover everything a series might have to it, but due to being a foreigner I can't always follow the source material, which really hurts the series' impact in my eyes.

So a lot of short-runners are considered "time-passers" to me, and really have no purpose but to help me pass time and keep me entertained.

[Ithekro]

Logn runners are more like older American cartoons in that they seem to be setup to be daily shows....Monday-Friday. They often aren't, but they can be put on American television after a while as a daily show because there are hundreds of episodes to use. A roughly 110 episode show fills up a lot of weeks. (Sailor Moon was 200 by the way)

[Gamer_2k4]

I much prefer short-running series. If you can't tell a complete story in 50 episodes or less (and you don't have a reason to go further, like in the case of a comedy), you're being too long-winded and you need an editor. I've only seen three animes that go that far or farther: Yu-gi-oh! (Duel Monsters), Eureka 7, and Code Geass. YGO was pretty much entirely filler (the duels), E7 had pacing problems as well, and Code Geass probably could've been trimmed down without losing too much. Heck, even some 26-episode series feel like they take much too long to get to the point (Samurai Champloo and even Neon Genesis Evangelion come to mind), and the original season of Haruhi somehow manages to feel bloated even with only 14 episodes.

I don't know; maybe I'm just an impatient guy. At the same time, I do have an appreciation for tight, well-paced storytelling, and I recognize it in animes like Gurren Lagann and Elfen Lied, so I doubt it's just me. It's just that long running-works (novels, TV shows, etc.) simply don't feel technically sound.

[Kyuu]

I gave up on every series longer than 70 eps. If broken down into separate seasons, then I'll make exceptions.

Things like Bleach. I dropped it. Naruto. Never gave that a chance. And WTF is One Piece? LoL.

[TurkeyPotPie]

I've never really been able to maintain interest for long running (over 50) episode shows. The longest I have ever watched is Urusei Yatsura (around 200), and it took many years before I watched all of that.

For me the older 24-26 episode series was just about perfect, and a full year (50-52) was also watchable. I also liked the OVA format of 4-6 episodes for those series that didn't have enough material for 26 episodes. The current standard where most shows are one cour is the worst of all possibilities in my mind. Too short for most series to be properly developed, yet too long for those smaller scale series that used to be fine when done as an OVA.

[Marcus H.]

Due to the nature of long runners, it is possible to drag things out too long.

I think the biggest victim of this is Detective Conan/Case Closed. Ever since Episode 01, we have witnessed how Shinichi Kudo shrunk into Conan Edogawa, but after 614 episodes, there is still little to no progress in his own case.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

I think super long series would be better if each season was a complete contained storyline you could almost watch standalone and didn't drag out over 3-4 seasons, and subsequent seasons only referenced them in passing but still had all the characters. Like with Bleach, the first couple seasons up to the end of the SS arc wasn't to bad, but the Aizen stuff seemed to drag on into eternity though.

[Master_Yoma]

I think short anime are 26eps or less and the good part about them is they got to the point faster as well watch them in a day or so. But the bad part of it is that when you start to get into it it over and they do end in they mite get some more episodes down the road.

Long animes any thing more then 50eps and up well there are a lot of fillers and is a little straining to watch some time when the story goes slow. But at less there all way there every week and rewatching from ep1 takes a lot of time and not to think of what anime to watch next

[Taufiq91]

Okay, here's my thoughts:

Shows that deserve long runs:

-Gintama, because it's a gag series that also has an expanded universe, and thus a long run helps showcase that

-One Piece, because it's also like Gintama in a way that it has a universe of it's own that needs to be showcased like in Alita.

Shows that don't deserve long runs (but still do):

-Detective Conan/Case Closed. Seriously, What the Fuck? 600+ episodes and you're still stuck in that body without aging?

I have no complaints about Naruto or Bleach, because i don't watch those two. But there are limits to episodes based on a story. if the story ahs an expanded universe of it's own, then you're okay to make an anime ongoing. But if it's simple and basic like Case Closed, then why bother have it go one for 600 episodes?

[Kameruka]

^As it sells, why kill it? Yes people just too afraid to kill gold-laying goose because they know nothing can be found inside of it.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by Gamer_2k4

Heck, even some 26-episode series feel like they take much too long to get to the point (Samurai Champloo and even Neon Genesis Evangelion come to mind)

I guess the difference between someone like you and someone like me is that I don't need the anime to have a point to enjoy it,I could have done with even more random episodes of Samurai Champloo just showing their adventures in a village they cross.

[Guernsey]

THe whole 26 episode is perfect for EVA and even the EVA manga isn't that much of a long runner. The reason why it is so long is because pf Sadamoto mostly.

[Gamer_2k4]

Originally Posted by totoum

I guess the difference between someone like you and someone like me is that I don't need the anime to have a point to enjoy it,I could have done with even more random episodes of Samurai Champloo just showing their adventures in a village they cross.

I don't mind anime that doesn't have a point as long as the awareness is there that that's the case. For example, Azumanga Daioh knows it doesn't have a point. It's a comedy, so it's funny. That's all there is to it.

Samurai Champloo, OTOH, arguably does have a point. The characters have goals they strive for, conflicts they need to resolve, and so on. However, the anime can't figure out what it is. It uses comedy as a crutch to compensate for poor pacing. "Oh, we're not going anywhere for a while? Let's make this episode a ridiculous one!" "Oh wait, we have a story to tell? Time to make this episode serious."

Don't get me wrong, comedy is comedy and humor is humor. I enjoyed the jokes in Samurai Champloo, but the rest of the anime kind of left me hanging. That's why I probably won't watch it again just for the sake of doing so, while I can easily see myself making another run through Azumanga Daioh.

[ddwkc]

Overall I prefer the 24 ~ 26 episodes format. Original stories seem to fare better in shorter runs than based on manga stories, specially with lotsa volumes.

Claymore could have one more season (although the manga was lagging behind). Shigurui was obviously way to short. WTH was with Blade of the Immortal length. Monster is 76 episodes long and it was perfect fine IMO. Pet Shop of Horrors should be way longer than 4 episodes.

FLCL is only 6 episodes long and it was fine. .hack//SIGN actually could be shorter. It was too dragged out for 26 episodes long series. I could see it condensed in 13 episodes without much problem.

Actually for those vacuous fan-service series (which I enjoy), 13 episodes format is the ideal. More than that is just torture.

In the end it depends on the material. Some series will need more episodes to develop properly and some will not take that long to be on the point.

[j0x]

its also the animation quality, long running series animation quality is mostly bad compared to short running series that are mostly have good quality animation

i like short running series because they also have fast pacing, im bored of long running series because of fillers and dragging the story with unneeded flashbacks and excessive drama

[Stiletto]

Cons

- constant recycling of character development and plotlines.
- constant killing off minor and opposing characters so heroes can progress.
- No conflict, no erupt feeling of when a hero dies.
- reliant on insta powerups and deux ex machinas.
- Lower quality than a well-budgeted 12 episode anime.
- Fans generally consider it overrated and will hate on sight.

So darlings, did I miss anything?

[Triple_R]

I think that the problem with a lot of the long running anime shows is that they're long running primarily as a consequence of their popularity, rather than by Day 1 creator design.

What I mean by "Day 1 creator design" is when the creators and producers of a show plot out a comprehensive vision for where they want to go with a show for the full run of its airing. In other words, before the show even airs, they piece together an idea of how long the show will be, and hence of how best to pace the plot in the show.

In watching some of the older Gundam shows, I get a distinct impression that these are carefully and methodically paced, and that the creators and producers behind these shows have a very good idea of where they intend to go with the narrative and how it will all end off.

To a slightly lesser extent, I even get this sense with Sailor Moon.

And so, I never really get a sense with these anime shows that the plot is starting to lose itself, or that the writer is flying by the seat of his or her pants.

In contrast, though, I think that a lot of the big shounen titles are created with no clear "end game" (i.e. conclusion) in mind (probably because the manga that they're based on isn't either), and hence creators just keep pulling ideas out of thin air as it's going along and trying to milk the franchise for all it's worth. Commercially speaking, it's hard to argue with that, but from a viewer perspective, it can make these particular anime shows seem slow, plodding, and aimless.


12/13 episode anime shows can be very effective as long as writers "budget" well for them. And what I mean by "budget" well for them is that you need to be fairly economical with your characters and plot when you have 13 episodes or less to work with. Unless the show is primarily or purely a comedy, there's little to no room for superfluous scenes, and certainly no room for entire superfluous episodes. But then that's the strength of such short anime shows as well - very little fluff, and very little distraction from the main plot of the anime. So a greater sense of momentum can build up, as viewer focus isn't broken.


Speaking personally, I find that I like shows that are at least 24 episodes long when I marathon anime, but I've actually grown quite accustomed to 12/13 episode long shows when I'm watching on a week-by-week basis.

It's also been a long time since I've watched an anime that ran longer than 52 episodes.

So my preference would be 13 episodes or less if I'm watching on an episode per week basis, but 24-52 episodes if I'm marathoning.

[DonQuigleone]

I like Short run Anime myself. I've only found two anime that were longer then 50 and good.

FMA: Brotherhood, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. neither of them fall into "long running traps" and it would be difficult to imagine them being shorter then they are.

Generally speaking, if the series has been designed with that length in mind it usually turns out well. With a few exceptions, the series needs to have a beginning, middle and end to turn out well. A lot of Anime can nail the beginning and middle, but the ending is often a downfall. Either too open, or it's tacked on.