10 Best Long-Running Anime That Will Keep Fans Busy For Years

While it used to be common for anime and manga to run for years and years at a time, nowadays, it’s much more common for even successful manga to have relatively short runs, and most anime will only air 26 episodes a year at most before going on break, with even One Piece adopting that model in 2026.

Anime and manga getting shorter is great for consistent production and for prioritizing the health of creators, but there’s something to be said about an anime that can keep someone busy for years. That’s especially true for a few select franchises, as they’re all so good that it’s easy to see why they’ve gone on as long as they have.

10) My Hero Academia

In Bones Film’s My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya dreams of becoming a hero, despite being born without any powers, and after a chance meeting with his idol, All Might, Izuku will finally get a chance to prove that he has what it takes not just to be a hero, but to be the greatest hero of them all.

While My Hero Academia adopted seasonal releases from day one, with over 150 episodes across eight seasons, four movies, and a prequel spinoff, it’s a fairly lengthy anime to get invested in. Even so, the great action and character writing still make it plenty of fun, and it’s easy to see why it’s such a major part of modern anime.

9) Gintama

Sunrise’s Gintama takes place in an alternate Edo-period Japan where aliens took over the country and outlawed samurai. Gintoki, a former samurai who fought in the war with the aliens, is now living as an eccentric freelancer, and after unwittingly taking on an apprentice in Shinpachi, his freelancing becomes a full-fledged business known as the Yorozuya.

The Gintama manga ran for 16 years, and sure enough, the anime is also fairly long, with almost 400 episodes, three theatrical films, a new Gintama movie coming in 2026, and a slice-of-life comedy spinoff streaming on Crunchyroll. Comedies are perfect for providing stellar entertainment for years on end, and the absurdist stylings of Gintama perfectly exemplify that.

8) Love Live!

Sunrise’s Love Live! is an anime spinoff of the multimedia franchise of the same name. Just like the games, each series follows a group of high school girls who come together to form idol groups, with their respective journeys often informed by their personal struggles and the realities of trying to make it in the idol industry.

Love Live! is one of the biggest franchises in Japan, and that’s led to six different anime and three movies following different characters with unique personalities and arcs. Love Live! has a lot to keep track of, but so long as the characters are fun and the music is great, there will be plenty to enjoy for years to come.

7) Bleach

In Studio Pierrot’s Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki is given the power of a Soul Reaper to protect his loved ones from bloodthirsty monsters called Hollows, but it isn’t long before Ichigo is dealing with more than just simple monsters, with most of his biggest conflicts squarely putting him as the only person who can save the world.

Even without Bleach’s filler arcs, there are still over 200 episodes and four movies to watch, so it’s hardly something a person can get through in a single sitting. That being said, Bleach’s great action, artwork, and overall writing have long since made it one of the best action anime around, so it’s an all-around must-see anime, despite its length.

6) Naruto

Studio Pierrot’s Naruto stars Naruto Uzumaki, an aspiring ninja ostracized by his village for being the vessel to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Naruto seeks to become the next Hokage and earn everyone’s respect, and his quest to do so puts him at the center of one major conflict after another until it falls on him to save the entire world.

With hundreds of episodes and 11 feature films, Naruto is almost infamously long, but it more than justifies its length with its perfect balance of stellar action and heartfelt writing. Despite being on hiatus, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is looking to be just as lengthy, and while it makes Naruto an even bigger commitment, it’s still plenty worth it.

5) Pokémon

OLM, Inc.’s Pokémon is an animated adaptation of the iconic video game franchise of the same name. Most of the anime’s story follows Ash Ketchum on his journey to become a Pokémon Master, but the anime was recently retooled into Pokémon Horizons, a soft reboot centered around a new protagonist, Liko, and her adventures with the Rising Volt Tacklers.

At over 1300 episodes, Pokémon is one of the longest anime around, but the easy accessibility of Pokémon’s writing and how it continuously reinvents itself visually always make it fun to watch. Pokémon Horizons is a great starting point for newcomers intimidated by its length, but with how fun the original series is, it would still be worth their time.

4) The Nasuverse

The Nasuverse is the unofficial name for the collective works of Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon. The works of the Nasuverse encompass a wide array of stories centered around the supernatural, with some taking place in wholly separate continuities from each other, although they all tend to involve themes of humanity and heroism to varying degrees.

With dozens of anime for the Fate franchise, Tsukihime, The Garden of Sinners, and even the upcoming Witch on the Holy Night film, the Nasuverse is a franchise with an incredible amount of content to keep track of, but with how great the writing and visuals typically are, there’s always something to love, no matter how confusing it might get.

3) Detective Conan

TMS Entertainment’s Case Closed, better known as Detective Conan, stars Shinichi Kudo, a teen detective turned into a child by the mysterious Black Organization. Now living as Conan Edogawa, Shinichi must uncover the truth of the Black Organization to both take them down and get his life back, all while solving any other crime he runs into along the way.

Detective Conan is one of the longest anime around, with almost 2000 episodes, 28 movies and counting, and an endless array of spinoffs, and despite all that, the series shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Nevertheless, Detective Conan’s clever writing always keeps it from getting old, and it’s sure to remain a thrilling mystery for years to come.

2) Dragon Ball

Toei Animation’s Dragon Ball tells the story of Son Goku, a boy with a monkey tail who goes on adventures with his friends, often in search of the titular wish-granting Dragon Balls. While Dragon Ball began as a martial arts fantasy story, the series slowly evolved into a massive sci-fi epic, with the action similarly jumping up in massive scale.

In addition to 21 films, Dragon Ball has amassed hundreds of episodes across five different anime, and with how well the writing and animation sell even the weakest entries as a fun action anime, it’s still fun to watch decades after the fact. Dragon Ball has been keeping anime fans entertained for decades, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

1) One Piece

In Toei Animation’s One Piece, the world has entered a Great Age of Piracy following the death of Gold Roger and the hunt for his legendary treasure, the One Piece. That, of course, includes Monkey D. Luffy, and even with a rubber body, Luffy will gather a crew to travel through the Grand Line and become King of the Pirates.

With over 1100 episodes, 15 films, and a live-action Netflix series, One Piece is one of the biggest anime franchises around, and with some of the best action, writing, and worldbuilding around, it’s more than worth that level of commitment. One Piece, surprisingly, isn’t the longest anime around, but there’s no better long-running anime to keep someone busy for years.

No More Excuses, It’s Time to Watch One Piece