A recent discussion on a Reddit forum caught the attention of the anime fan community, focusing on an interesting question: “Which anime would have benefited from having fewer episodes?“The discussion generated a large number of responses and opinions, highlighting one of the most common concerns among followers of Japanese animation.

Many users have argued that the excessive length of some series can negatively affect the overall quality of the narrative. This opinion is based on the idea that certain anime, by lasting longer than necessary, tend to introduce filler episodes or stretch out the main plot, which can result in a loss of focus and a decrease in dramatic tension. The repetition of situations, the appearance of irrelevant subplots or the inclusion of episodes that do not contribute to the development of the story are some of the problems that often arise in these circumstances.

Another point highlighted in the discussion is that, in some cases, the unnecessary length of a series can dilute the emotional impact it seeks to convey. Fans have commented that when a story drags on too long, the emotional connections made with the characters can lose intensity, and moments that should be meaningful end up feeling forced or lacking the emotional power they would have in a more condensed version.

What is more, Many participants pointed out that extending a series too much can lead to a loss of audience interest. When an anime passes its sweet spot, it's common for viewers to gradually lose interest, which can result in the series' popularity declining as it progresses. This phenomenon not only affects the fan experience but can also influence the series' critical and commercial reception.

In contrast, some forum users mentioned that while certain anime could have benefited from a shorter episode count, the appropriate length depends on the type of story being told. Not all anime are created equal, and while some may thrive with a shorter, more concise narrative, others require more extensive development to properly build their worlds, characters, and conflicts.

• «Darling in the Franxx».
• «Naruto – They could remove a lot of fillers».
• «There's no way One Piece needs 1115 episodes».
• «World Trigger Season 1. A remake in the style of seasons 2/3 would be great.».
• «Probably Stardust Crusaders. I still love it, but many episodes could easily be cut or turned into optional OVAs or something similar. I can understand the counterargument, which is that more adventures together strengthen the group's bond in the end, but I also think Golden Wind showed me that it doesn't take that many episodes to achieve that.».
• «The Promised Neverland, 11 episodes shorter and ending in the first season».
• «Dragonball Z. Multi-episode fight scenes are terribly boring.».
• «Undead Unluck, I didn't notice at first because I was binge-watching, but there were tons of flashbacks in every episode, and in one episode there were even flashbacks to the same episode. I can understand this in One Piece or any long-running series because they require filler, but why this series, and also because it's a seasonal anime? While the show was very good, it definitely would have benefited from fewer episodes.».
• «Fairy Tail (much of the story is simply repeated to send the same message)».
• «FLCL Progressive and Grunge could have been made with 6 fewer episodes».
• «Revolutionary Girl Utena. There was no need for so much repetition».
• «Honestly, in my opinion, One Piece is loved for a good reason, but 1000+ episodes is too intimidating to even begin with.».
• «Surprised the obvious hasn't come to light yet. The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya would have been much better if it had been 5 or 6 episodes shorter.».
• «Maybe .Hack // Sign? I remember liking the series, but sometimes it drags on a lot.».
• «Code Geass. Too many side stories that lead nowhere. Many supporting characters could be eliminated (especially their class) and serve no purpose other than to fill time. Code Geass could easily be reduced from 50 to 36 episodes. It would have much better pacing and fewer moments that feel arbitrary and out of place.».
• «Apparently (?) Blue File. I can't blame the creators because I know I can't even draw an episode, but it really feels like the anime itself is focused on other things rather than the original story.».
• «Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. There was an entire episode where the characters just sang about what they'd been through while the animation simply replicated scenes we'd already seen. Furthermore, many episodes are padded, and the animation constantly drops throughout the show.».
• «Blasphemy, I know... But, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I'm not a fan of the series because of the constant war flashbacks, which get very repetitive to the point where it feels like "we need to extend the episode by 2-3 minutes, let's just make any of them stop and think about it." war again." The show feels very slow for the most part, I think I would like it more if it were 1/2-2/3 the length.».
• «Monster could be finished much, much sooner».
• «The original Macros. Just delete the last 9 episodes.».
• «Macro. Episode 27 (if I remember correctly) ended everything and it should have ended there.».
• «I hate to say this about my favorite anime, but... One Piece has a lot of filler and unnecessarily long fights. I almost didn't survive the Whole Cake Island arc, Jesus, that was bad! I still love anime and hope it's less painful in the future.».
• «It's time for a slightly controversial opinion: Horimiya falls quickly and shows why so many anime end with the confession or drag it out for so long. The first 4-7 episodes are great, but does anyone actually remember anything from the second half of the series (not counting the missing parts)?».
• «Death Note. The premise was so elaborate that it diluted the intelligence of the two predominant forces in the cat-and-mouse game.».
• «I'm not sure if this counts exactly, but I'd be interested in seeing Katanagatari presented in a "typical" format. I couldn't say exactly which, but some episodes simply didn't need to be 50 minutes long. I'm not sure about that, though.».
• «As much as I love the series, Bleach really needs a remake with far fewer episodes. One of the biggest complaints I see, at least among anime-only viewers, is that Bleach, like the other Big 3, takes too long to get into, mainly because of the sheer amount of filler.».
• «Ao no Exorcist Season 1. Delete the entire ending from the anime only».
• «A cautious hero for me. I found the first few episodes very funny and the last few good, but in the middle the jokes got too old for me and dragged on. If this show were a two-hour movie, I think I'd love it.».
• «Definitely One Piece, so I hope the new anime fixes that. The series could have half as many episodes if they weren't so bloated.».
• «Black Clover. We get that Asta's trying to be the Wizard King, but damn, how does preparing for world events take so long?».
• «Demon Slayer 😅 I know it's an unpopular opinion, but for me, they could have skipped the blacksmith village and gone straight from Hamlet to training. Many episodes, in my opinion, kill the excitement, even if it's a good thing, a necessary thing. For example, I had the same feeling with SNK: it took too long to finish, it killed the excitement. However, the last episode was incredible, even though everyone knew what would happen a year in advance.».
• «The first 6 episodes of Players! They're legitimately absurdly funny. After that, it's still pretty good, but there's an obvious drop-off.».
• «I'd say Naruto. It's a masterpiece and the pinnacle of anime, but I remember watching an episode on AdultSwim and it was just people saying how much they love Naruto. No exaggeration, 22 minutes of people paraphrasing "I used to hate Naruto, but then he helped me stop hating him." A few episodes could have been removed without affecting the story. And most of the filler happened at the end, which made it a horrible read. Except for the original (before Shippuden), I think it should remain intact.».
• «Tokyo Revengers. Every time I thought the story was moving forward, I took a step back.».
• «Gurren Lagann. I first saw this show a few weeks ago. Overall, I enjoyed it, but in my opinion, the final act felt rushed and drawn out at the same time. My main issue was that I felt the final fight didn't need to last four episodes. I feel like the final fight could have been wrapped up in one or two episodes, and it wouldn't have really changed the story.».
• «Tokyo Revengers, the creator of the story, seems to have run out of ideas halfway through and just made the main character do the exact same thing in each season/arc. I was genuinely interested and tremendously excited by the end of the first season, but it became very repetitive. The anime isn't finished yet, but I read the manga all the way through, and there was a clear point where I wished it had ended sooner, but I kept repeating it over and over. It's a real shame because many of the characters are ICONIC, and I don't find the MC that boring to watch.».
• «The Reincarnation of the Strongest Onmyouji from Another World and Nameless Memories would be much better without the last episode».
• «Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon has a lot of boring filler».
• «Machine Robo, I don't know why they added the last three episodes, they're basically a recap. Also, the fourth egg is just weird, there are no mechas in a mecha show, they just used the show's female lead and a random detective to deal with a monster on a plane.».
• «Reincarnated as a Slime could definitely eliminate some of the pointless reunions that do nothing but extend the episode count. You could also remove the final episodes of Season 1, which serve no purpose other than to tie into the movie.».
• «Sorry, but Haikyuu felt really tense, in my opinion, and it was part of the reason I couldn't get into the show.».
• «Bleach and One Piece could do this without all the damn filler».
• «My answer to all of this is One Piece, it's 100% unnecessary for it to last this long».

Source: reddit