Battle shounens used to run for hundreds of episodes — something we rarely see now.
Otaku don’t want to invest time into long-running series now, as there are more anime to watch and manga to read.
Shounen series now usually get multiple shorter seasons — and that might actually be a better format.
Nowadays, it feels like battle shounens are so much different from what they were years ago. Yes, One Piece is still airing, and the fandom is as strong as ever — but outside of that, we don’t really get long-running series like it, Bleach or Naruto.
What changed over the years, and how are the changes affecting the genre? Let’s look at the facts.
Shounen series used to run for hundreds of episodes
Many older fans remember that back in the day, anime used to go on seemingly forever. Even before the Big Three, Dragon Ball (both original and Z) went on for hundreds of episodes. And the trend continued even into the 2010s, with Hunter x Hunter being over 100 episodes long.
However, it seems like recently we haven’t really been getting any more of those. Yes, there were Black Clover and Boruto — but the latter arguably shouldn’t even count, being a sequel to Naruto. This change in format isn’t exactly random; it’s a result of changing times and our approach to media.
No one wants to spend time on long-runners now
In the modern age, there’s more and more anime and manga being released. As such, there is more competition within the genre — and combined with the fact that there are just more things to do nowadays, less and less otaku are willing to spend time on insanely long series and story arcs.
As such, the plot gets more concise, and the pacing of the manga gets faster. This, in turn, allows for shorter adaptations, usually split into multiple seasons. And multiple seasons aired with breaks mean that normally, you wouldn’t need to pad the anime with unnecessary filler episodes or slow down the pace to fill the airtime.
The shorter seasons are here to stay
Can we see the resurgence of long-running shounen series? Realistically, probably not. A lot of them phased out with the end of the manga for Bleach and Naruto, two of the big three. By the end, it can be argued that the popularity of those who ran on nostalgia, with the last arcs of both being criticized by fans.
Now, adapting a series into a long-runner might be too risky for industry standards — with fierce competition, there are chances it simply won’t be profitable. However, many fans are arguing this is fine: having breaks between seasons isn’t a bad thing, especially with the filler episodes almost being nonexistent because of that.
Yes, they are, but that’s not a bad thing.
Summary:
Battle shounens used to run for hundreds of episodes — something we rarely see now.
Otaku don’t want to invest time into long-running series now, as there are more anime to watch and manga to read.
Shounen series now usually get multiple shorter seasons — and that might actually be a better format.
Nowadays, it feels like battle shounens are so much different from what they were years ago. Yes, One Piece is still airing, and the fandom is as strong as ever — but outside of that, we don’t really get long-running series like it, Bleach or Naruto.
What changed over the years, and how are the changes affecting the genre? Let’s look at the facts.
Shounen series used to run for hundreds of episodes
Many older fans remember that back in the day, anime used to go on seemingly forever. Even before the Big Three, Dragon Ball (both original and Z) went on for hundreds of episodes. And the trend continued even into the 2010s, with Hunter x Hunter being over 100 episodes long.
However, it seems like recently we haven’t really been getting any more of those. Yes, there were Black Clover and Boruto — but the latter arguably shouldn’t even count, being a sequel to Naruto. This change in format isn’t exactly random; it’s a result of changing times and our approach to media.
No one wants to spend time on long-runners now
In the modern age, there’s more and more anime and manga being released. As such, there is more competition within the genre — and combined with the fact that there are just more things to do nowadays, less and less otaku are willing to spend time on insanely long series and story arcs.
As such, the plot gets more concise, and the pacing of the manga gets faster. This, in turn, allows for shorter adaptations, usually split into multiple seasons. And multiple seasons aired with breaks mean that normally, you wouldn’t need to pad the anime with unnecessary filler episodes or slow down the pace to fill the airtime.
The shorter seasons are here to stay
Can we see the resurgence of long-running shounen series? Realistically, probably not. A lot of them phased out with the end of the manga for Bleach and Naruto, two of the big three. By the end, it can be argued that the popularity of those who ran on nostalgia, with the last arcs of both being criticized by fans.
Now, adapting a series into a long-runner might be too risky for industry standards — with fierce competition, there are chances it simply won’t be profitable. However, many fans are arguing this is fine: having breaks between seasons isn’t a bad thing, especially with the filler episodes almost being nonexistent because of that.
