The world of anime is expansive, with countless series waiting to be explored. Whether it’s action or mystery, there’s something suitable for every fan. While the industry has now popularized short, seasonal series, anime has no shortage of incredible long-running series that often span across hundreds of episodes. No doubt watching these series from start to finish requires quite the commitment, but some of them make it worth your while. Long-running series have quite a few perks as well since fans can get memorable character arcs, compelling stories, and multiple plot lines that short anime can’t have.
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Instead of stretching the narrative just for the sake of longevity, the right long-running series would reward the viewers with emotional payoffs, unforgettable battles, and character development that simply isn’t possible in shorter shows. Although watching an anime series with hundreds, or even over a thousand, episodes can be overwhelming, it’s also part of the appeal. If you’re looking to begin an epic adventure, these five anime will be just perfect for you.
5) Detective Conan
The award-winning manga by Gosho Aoyama, Case Closed, known internationally as Detective Conan, made its debut in 1994 and released its anime adaptation by the TMS Entertainment studio in 1996. Over the years, Detective Conan has released 107 volumes, over 1150 anime episodes, and 28 movies. Thanks to its longevity, it’s easily one of the most addicting series ever that you just can’t stop watching once you get hooked. The story centers around Shinichi Kudo, a 17-year-old high school student and a renowned detective who gets turned into a 7-year-old child due to a mysterious poison.
Struggling to accept this major change, Shinichi has no choice but to hide his identity and investigate the organization responsible for creating the poison. He adopts the alias Conan Edogawa and moves in with his childhood friend and her father. In order to continue working as a detective without causing others to be suspicious around him, he needs to hide his identity and give the credit to someone else. Throughout the journey, he comes across several strange and unique cases that no one else can decode.
4) Gintama
Gintama is one of the Shonen classics and still has a major global fanbase for all the right reasons. Even almost two decades since the anime debut, hardly any series can match Gintama’s blend of absurd comedy and action sequences along with its emotional depth. As a parody, the anime is also famous for being a love letter to Shonen, as it includes several Shonen appreciations, which is why it’s incredibly rewarding for veteran fans. The story takes place in an alternate setting of the late Edo period where Japan has been taken over by powerful aliens known as the Amanto.
The once proud land of Samurai has now banned all swords in public, while the influential shogunate is rebuilt to serve as a puppet government for the alien invaders. The story centers around Gintoki Sakata, an eccentric wavy-haired man who carries around a wooden sword and does all kinds of odd jobs to make ends meet. Accompanied by Shinpachi Shimura, a son of a Samurai, and Kagura, a young girl from another planet with superhuman strength, Gintoki runs into all kinds of bizarre incidents to make ends meet.
3) Naruto
Even several years after its ending, Masashi Kishimoto’s classic Shonen series Naruto is still loved among global fans. The manga began serialization in 1999, and not long after that, Studio Pierrot’s anime series in 2002 turned it into a global phenomenon. Naruto raised an entire generation of anime fans as his journey from an underdog to a Hero is something that continues to inspire fans to this day.
Whether it’s his motivations, dialogue, or his ideals, he created an example by breaking the cycle of hatred that’s still one of the best qualities of his character writing. The story centers around Naruto Uzumaki, a young orphaned boy who was ostracized by everyone around him without ever knowing why. The series follows his journey as he strives to become the Hokage, the leader of the village, so he could be accepted by those around him.
2) Dragon Ball
Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is one of the most influential anime and manga franchises of all time, and it continues to inspire several mangaka to this day. The series popularized several Shonen tropes, especially transformations, which are still famously used in many series. While the original Dragon Ball anime set the foundation of the story, the sequel anime, titled Dragon Ball Z, played a crucial role in popularizing the series in the West. The anime adaptation, which was released in 1986, became a global phenomenon over the decades. Since then, the franchise has released multiple spin-offs, sequels, anime series, films, and even video game adaptations and continues to return with new projects even now.
The original anime adapted the first 194 chapters of the manga, laying out the foundation of the story. It introduced viewers to the incredible world created by Akira Toriyama, where Bulma, a 16-year-old, is on a quest to find the magical Dragon Balls. She meets Goku, a young orphan who possesses one of the seven Dragon Balls. However, since the boy refuses to give it up, Bulma offers him the chance to tag along with her on a journey if he lets her borrow its power.
1) One Piece
Both the anime and manga of One Piece are still ongoing, which is one of the reasons its popularity keeps rising through the charts. Two years after the manga’s debut, Toei Animation released the anime series in 1999 and aired weekly episodes until 2025 before changing it to a seasonal format. Luffy’s journey has continued for almost three decades, and the story is currently in the Final Saga. The series keeps unraveling the mysteries of the world while taking the Straw Hat Pirates one step closer to their goal.
One Piece is one of those shows that keep getting better the more you watch it. It’s longetivity is its biggest strength since it allows this epic journey to take the characters through several islands as they slowly keep getting closer to their goal. Since the story is so long, it also allows room for character development, the fan-favorite backstories, and layers of mysteries, which is the biggest appeal of the show.
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