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12 Longest Running Anime That Are Actually Great


Sometimes, when watching a certain anime, we feel attached to the story and characters that we feel sad with the thought that it will be over soon. While there are stories that are meant to end faster than others, there are series that can give you more episodes and seasons.

The good thing about this kind of series, apart from providing you a lot of content, is that you grow with your favorite characters. The story becomes a part of you that when you look back over the years of following a certain show, you will remember it as something that inspired you or helped you get through the hard times (if there are any). With this, we decided to compile the 12 anime that seemed to be never-ending. 

  1. Hunter x Hunter

    Hunter x Hunter has 148 episodes with 30 OVAs. The series is still ongoing with no news when it will make its return. It was first released in 1999 and continued until today. Its popularity gained its movies, theatrical films, audio albums, and musicals, among others. Fans can check out the series on Funimation

  2. One Piece

    One Piece will release its 982nd episode on July 11, 2021. The series is currently on its 20th season. The ongoing season premiered on July 7, 2019, and was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed on June 28, 2020. One Piece started on July 22, 1997, and has continued until now, which explains why it has more than 900 episodes. It also earned a Guinness World Record title of having the most copies published by the same comic book series by a single author. 

  3. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden

    The Naruto series has 220 episodes. The manga itself has over 10,000 pages which is why it was no longer a surprise why it had a lot of episodes. It was then followed by Naruto Shippuden that has 500 episodes, making the total episodes for the Naruto series 720. 

    The Naruto manga sold 250 million copies worldwide (46 countries). Viz Media considered it one of its best-selling manga series with the English translation of the manga appeared in The New York Times and USA Today's bestseller list. 

  4. Pokemon

    If you are surprised that One Piece is still ongoing even after it has more than 900 episodes, you’d be surprised that Pokemon will release its 1162nd episode on July 30, 2021. The show has 24 seasons, as of this writing. Pokemon made its premiere on April 1, 1997, and has not stopped providing fans with amazing content since then. 

  5. Gintama

    Next on the list is Gintama that has 367 episodes. The anime made its debut on April 6, 2006, and had 10 seasons. It officially ended on October 7, 2018. The manga sold more than 55 million copies with its anime and DVD featured in various Top 10 rankings. It also became popular around the globe with its action cinematography and comedy. 

  6. Bleach

    Bleach ran from October 5, 2004 to March 27, 2012, releasing 366 episodes and 16 seasons. The series was broadcasted in different parts of the world that is why the show can be watched in different languages like Tagalog, Portuguese, and German, among others. Japanese fans can purchase the 88 DVD compilations that contain all episodes of Bleach while the English adaptation (32 DVDs) can be bought from Viz Media. 

  7. FairyTail

    Fairytail takes anime fans on a fantasy adventure with its 328 episodes. The show has 9 seasons that ran from 2009 to 2019. As of 2020, the manga sold 72 million copies in print. Intrigued anime lovers can check out the series on Funimation as it acquired a license for the English-language release. 

  8. Dragon Ball

    Another anime classic that fans should consider watching (if they are fans of long-running anime that is) is Dragon Ball. Aside from its original series having 153 episodes, it got a sequel, Dragon Ball Z that has 291 episodes. It was then followed by Dragon Ball GT with 64 episodes, Dragon Ball Z Kai with 167 episodes, Dragon Ball Super with 131 episodes, and Super Dragon Ball Heroes with 25 episodes. All in all, the show has 831 episodes. 

  9. Yu-Gi-Oh!

    Yu-Gi-Oh! is a gaming anime that aired from April 1998 until now. The popularity of the show earned it tons of spin-off anime and manga. It was so popular that a trading card game was released and various video games. If we compile all those, the show has more than 1,000 episodes. The current show is Yu-Gi-Oh Sevens, which is the sixth spin-off series of the whole franchise. It started on April 4, 2020, and still has not announced its end date. 

  10. Sailor Moon

    Anime fans will be surely familiar with Sailor Moon that has over $13 billion in merchandise sales worldwide. The series has a total runtime of 216 episodes from 1992 to 2016. This year, a movie was released on Netflix entitled “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie”.

  11. Inuyasha

    Another fantasy-adventure anime on the list is Inuyasha. The series has a total of 193 episodes. It was divided into two shows, the first one had 167 episodes and the second one has 26 episodes. There are also 4 films and an OVA to further explain the story. If those were not enough, there is a light novel (aside from the manga) and video games. A prequel was released in 2020 entitled “Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon”. 

  12. Slam Dunk

    Sports anime should not be worried about as there is a long-running anime for them. Slam Dunk has 101 episodes that featured basketball. The series aired from October 16, 1993 to March 23, 1996. The episodes are available on DVD for those who wish to have their own copies at home. There are 3 DVDs to compile. 

    RELATED: 12 Anime That Has No Manga

For more articles like this, take a look at our Anime and Lists page.