It seems that newer anime watchers are hesitant to watch 100+ episode anime.
The Big 3 are as popular as ever, but they have to compete with newer, shorter shows now.
There are reasons for and against getting into long anime.
With the seasonal discussion culture on the rise, it seems that a lot of newer viewers picked up the mindset for it. Watch a show weekly (or after it’s finished, if it’s not too long), discuss it. Liked it? Sweet! Didn’t like it? Well, it was only a few hours of my life anyways. This is perfectly understandable, however, it also makes modern otaku hesitant to pick up longer shows.
But the Big 3 didn’t lose in popularity at all!
At first glance, Naruto and One Piece are as popular as ever. The former, despite ending years ago, still retains a steady fanbase, as well as gets newer watchers. The latter has been going for 20+ years now, and, after accumulating over a thousand episodes, still consistently shows up on discussion boards and social media. Even Bleach, which had a first season over 300 episodes long, and only got a sequel years later, didn’t seem to lose in popularity. It would seem that modern otaku are as willing to pick up longer shows as ever, but it’s not actually that simple.
Looking a bit deeper
One must remember that with the aforementioned Big 3 retaining their popularity, a lot of other long shows didn’t. Fairy Tail, which ended recently, seems to have lost quite a few followers. D.Gray-man and Reborn! (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!) are barely mentioned by modern fans. These shows didn’t get less popular — not by much, at least — but being “just as popular as before” isn’t actually enough. Remember, the anime fandom is expanding at great speed, and these shows have to compete with newer, shorter anime, which only the Big 3 and some other franchises like Dragon Ball are capable of doing.
Why watch long anime anyways?
Not wanting to pick up a longer show is perfectly understandable. It’s a daunting task, with no end in sight, and if you don’t like the show, it feels like a chore. Yet if you’re far enough, you might fall victim to sunk cost fallacy and stick with it anyway. It makes sense that people don’t want that, and would rather pick up safer options of watching shorter anime. However, longer series have something shorter anime doesn’t, which is magnitude. It just feels great to immerse yourself into a large, detailed world, engage with an epic story, experience tons of different emotions. It also feels great to finish — or in the case of One Piece, to catch up to — an extremely long anime. Some people opt for watching fan edits like Naruto Kai or One Pace instead, which cut down on repeating content, scenes that are way too long and fillers. These have their pros and cons, and the choice of whether to watch them or not ultimately lies with the viewer.
Is this why one-cour seasonals are so popular?
Summary:
It seems that newer anime watchers are hesitant to watch 100+ episode anime.
The Big 3 are as popular as ever, but they have to compete with newer, shorter shows now.
There are reasons for and against getting into long anime.
With the seasonal discussion culture on the rise, it seems that a lot of newer viewers picked up the mindset for it. Watch a show weekly (or after it’s finished, if it’s not too long), discuss it. Liked it? Sweet! Didn’t like it? Well, it was only a few hours of my life anyways. This is perfectly understandable, however, it also makes modern otaku hesitant to pick up longer shows.
But the Big 3 didn’t lose in popularity at all!
At first glance, Naruto and One Piece are as popular as ever. The former, despite ending years ago, still retains a steady fanbase, as well as gets newer watchers. The latter has been going for 20+ years now, and, after accumulating over a thousand episodes, still consistently shows up on discussion boards and social media. Even Bleach, which had a first season over 300 episodes long, and only got a sequel years later, didn’t seem to lose in popularity. It would seem that modern otaku are as willing to pick up longer shows as ever, but it’s not actually that simple.
Looking a bit deeper
One must remember that with the aforementioned Big 3 retaining their popularity, a lot of other long shows didn’t. Fairy Tail, which ended recently, seems to have lost quite a few followers. D.Gray-man and Reborn! (Katekyo Hitman Reborn!) are barely mentioned by modern fans. These shows didn’t get less popular — not by much, at least — but being “just as popular as before” isn’t actually enough. Remember, the anime fandom is expanding at great speed, and these shows have to compete with newer, shorter anime, which only the Big 3 and some other franchises like Dragon Ball are capable of doing.
Why watch long anime anyways?
Not wanting to pick up a longer show is perfectly understandable. It’s a daunting task, with no end in sight, and if you don’t like the show, it feels like a chore. Yet if you’re far enough, you might fall victim to sunk cost fallacy and stick with it anyway. It makes sense that people don’t want that, and would rather pick up safer options of watching shorter anime. However, longer series have something shorter anime doesn’t, which is magnitude. It just feels great to immerse yourself into a large, detailed world, engage with an epic story, experience tons of different emotions. It also feels great to finish — or in the case of One Piece, to catch up to — an extremely long anime. Some people opt for watching fan edits like Naruto Kai or One Pace instead, which cut down on repeating content, scenes that are way too long and fillers. These have their pros and cons, and the choice of whether to watch them or not ultimately lies with the viewer.
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