Anime fans hate a story that feels rushed, but as these examples prove, it is possible to drag a good arc on for too long.
A common complaint that anime fans make is when a shonen anime rushes a story arc and condenses it too much, losing crucial time to develop characters or fully explain what’s going on. However, there are a few long-running shows that do the complete opposite of this, stretching an arc over a ridiculous number of episodes to animate every single little detail.
RELATED: Best Isekai Anime Of All Time
While it might sound great to follow a manga to the letter, some of these anime arcs are far too long, dragging out the story and ruining the pacing. The longest shonen anime arcs, along with the lengthiest anime fights in history, can be found in some of the most popular shows still airing. Buckle in for a long binge, because these series are overly generous with their episodes.
Updated March 22, 2023, by Suzail Ahmad: Shonen anime have a history of being long. Many of the shows run weekly, leading to an overall episode count in the hundreds. While some people do not enjoy seeing these long anime series, most fans revel in the fact that they can enjoy multiple episodes of their favorite series. These long-running anime shows have long arcs, which hold several advantages over shorter ones. First and foremost, longer arcs mean more screen time for characters. This helps fans see their favorite characters in action more often. Secondly, more episodes mean more time to explain the events that take place in an arc. Finally, it means the fans have no reason to fret over the show ending soon. Given the fact there are numerous long anime, it is only fair to wonder which shonen anime has the longest arc.
Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia took the world by storm with its gripping storytelling and action sequences. Due to the success of the series, it has received multiple movie titles, video games, and spin-offs. The anime adaptation has six seasons that cover various story arcs. The Paranormal Liberation arc is the longest in the series so far. It has a total of 20 episodes.
The arc sees the heroes receive new information from Hawks and an informant. After getting their hands on the required information, the heroes finally start making plans to take down the Paranormal Liberation Front. Considering the arc has two big factions going head-to-head, there is no shortage of action and entertainment. Due to these reasons, it is easy to rewatch it.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the sequel to the popular Naruto series. It has received mixed reviews from the audience, with many people criticizing its pacing and overuse of fillers. However, there are still many people who like the anime series. It has over 200 episodes, and its current longest arc is the Kawaki arc, which has 33 episodes.
RELATED: Naruto: Biggest Hokage Failures
The Kawaki arc, as the name implies, puts the onus on Kawaki. He comes off as an arrogant kid with an enormous amount of power. As the story continues, more and more details about Kawaki’s past are revealed. The arc also features the debut of many strong characters who play a crucial part in the series.
Black Clover is among the new generation of shonen anime that have amassed a good amount of popularity in the last decade. The series has 170 episodes, and they are nicely animated. The longest arc in the series is the Elf Reincarnation arc, which has 62 episodes.
The Elf Reincarnation arc follows the Royal Knights as they prepare to attack the base of the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Unfortunately, the Royal Knights face a big setback when many of them turn against each other. Studio Pierrot successfully encapsulated the action, making the arc stand out from the rest.
When it comes to long-running anime, One Piece is often the first name to pop up. The anime has crossed the thousand-episode milestone, and it surprisingly has a low quantity of fillers. The Whole Cake Island arc has a total of 95 episodes, making it one of the longest arcs in the series.
The arc focuses on the Straw Hat Pirates‘ journey to Whole Cake Island to retrieve Sanji.
