Anime Episode Impact

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What am I talking about? I'm talking about the number of episodes in an anime. We all know anime has a certain number of episodes. There's the 12-13 episodes kind of anime, there's 22, 24, 25 and 26 episodes, and other than that there's the 50+, 60+ and even reaching to 100+ and more episodes! What I'm trying to say is... the number of episodes make an impact! By impact; how does it affect your commitment to watch an anime? How?

Let's check out some samples first.

Anime with 11-13 Episodes

I guess we can start with Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (example no. 1). It consists of 11 episodes. It has 1 season. So, after watching the show, did you feel you wanted more? Or was it enough?

For me, I had enough. The show ended with a seal and I'm satisfied. Not to mention the amount of feels it gave me. It struck hard, and the storyline is long enough to expand into a season but not exaggerated to the point that it kept extending and the impact of the 'feels' is not reduced to a cheaper 'feels' or marked down. A good one, huh? They started a show, with a bit of mystery then a brief investigation as the reunion goes then little by little the truth comes out then BAM! the show ends! The development is wonderful, just the right amount of laughter, the right amount of crying.

Let's try another one. So surely most of you have seen Another (example no. 2). It's one freakin' anime with a good amount of twists and blood and gory deaths. It comprises 12 episodes (but 13 episodes in total if we include the OVA). Either way, its short, isn't it? And after watching it... were you satisfied? Did you want more? Had enough? How did the show end? Well, for me, it ended well! Better than the other 12-episodic shows out there.

Our questions were answered at the end of the season, we found out who the dead one is and (SPOILER ALERT) witness the deaths of many characters in the series, including major character deaths. I wanted more actually, I felt like I did not get the chance to know the characters more, see more of them in action or have more screen0time with them before their deaths, but to think about it, the show itself is already great. They filled the episodes with great content. No second wasted. Another anime where the episodes felt enough to complete the story.

Black Blood Brothers (example no. 3), it has 12 episodes only, and this is one of those kinds of anime that left us h a n g i n g. I want more!!! Well, anyway, it's about vampires. It has cool characters and the story itself is clouded with mysteries about vampires and the characters involved. We have vampire lore to explore here, the mystery of Jiro's lover's reincarnation, and background stories behind each character, vampire and human alike. The way they ended it... the last fight. Jiro lost, kinda, Cassa got away, whatever plan Cassa set up, I didn't get. But I know the ending is a c l i f f h a n g e r. This is the kind of anime that made me want more.

Other anime example? Let's try Charlotte (is the name of the comet). Charlotte has 12 episodes as well. Okay so the show started well, got a good kick-start. I fell in love with the characters, the powers, the interactions, the backstories, the sweet little things going on in the story. It was all nice, but as the story goes, probably after Yu Otosaka's sister's death, things took a darker turn. The plot thickens. Yes, we learned that all along they were in an alternate timeline. Everything after that felt rushed and that destroyed everything they started with! They didn't balance it or keep the content equally phased. I could say this was one of the anime that compressed the entire story in 12 episodes or failed to keep the expectations up. The kind of anime that I did not enjoy (especially the second half). Try Baccano for an example of good compression of episode content.

Baccano is one of those 13-episodic anime that I really love. Although it's got a bonus of 3 more episodes, making it 16. I still want it to count as a 13-episodic anime. It's like an anime version of the movie Vantage Point and Hoodwinked but better. We have one scenario and perspectives of each character in the story.

Did you have enough of Baccano? Did they finish everything perfectly? I read in some forums that the reason the anime stopped despite the ongoing LN is because people should buy the LN. It's like the anime is a sample. It's short but if you miss one episode, you'll miss out a lot! This is an example of anime that I am both satisfied but at the same time I want more.

Last example. Mekaku City Actors only has 12 episodes as well. It's quite confusing like Baccano, on first watch, it's difficult to understand. It is kind of hard for me to explain the storyline of this one. But I know the characters are characters to be loved and are easy to fall in love with. Re-watching it twice or more, I finally got the gist of it. This is the kind of anime where it makes me want more. Like a season 2-more.

In conclusion, how do you feel? Is 12 episodes enough? Is 13 episodes enough? It's both a yes and a no. There is always a story to follow and characters to love, but how are the episodes executed up to the end makes the anime a satisfying series.

Anime with 12 + 12 = 24 Episodes

This is still under the 11-13 episodes though, but I just want to separate it since it has a "sequel".

Black Lagoon. When I watched it from episodes 1 to 24 (+5 for Roberta's blood trail), because I thought it was 1 season so I watched the whole thing but actually, that was seasons 1 and 2 (both of which has 12 episodes). Finally, anime that does not have superpowers. Here we have guns and action!

This anime was exceptional! If you've watched it yourself, whaddya think? Want more of Revy? More of Shenhua? More of Eda? Roberta? Or Balalaika? I love the girls in this series; they are all so OP! The boys were cool as well, but not as much as how the girls were highlighted. Well, for me it's just about enough finishing both seasons. It was satisfying. Adding the last 5 episodes are bonus episodes for me already. Like, I am full just watching both seasons and I even get dessert. But if ever they'll make a new season that involves Revy or Balalaika's past? Bring it on! I will not say no to that!

There's also Tokyo Ghoul and Re:Tokyo Ghoul. Both have 12 episodes so that sums up 24. The story is about a boy who just wants a date, but then his life was turned upside down when he turned into a ghoul. Great anime, but I would recommend the manga because it is even better.

Again, whaddya think? Is 12+12 episodes enough to satisfy your crave of an anime?

Anime with 24-26 Episodes

Akame Ga Kill. One of those rated M with complete blood, gore and death in every turn. It's a long ride of feels, it gets light-hearted and in the next moment it just straight up shifts to a darker turn.

For me, no one can top how this anime made us fall in love with its characters and then killed most of its characters in only 24 episodes (There are shows that have over 300+ episodes and characters don't die). So is it enough that Akame Ga Kill gave us only 24 episodes to love and mourn for these characters? Anime and manga have different endings, and mostly I am not happy about how Esdeath received her end.

How about Stein's; Gate? Well before the Stein's;Gate 0 existed, there are 24 episodes for this anime and wow, for only 24 episodes, it had fulfilled its purpose. They gave us thrills, feels and suspense. This is the most intense anime that I've watched and really got me at the edge of my seat. It's time-travel and there's a lot of science but I love how they did all the twists! I gotta admit; It hooked me up, and I knew I had to finish it. The alternate episode 23 was to create the sequel. I just hope it's as good as the first one.

There's also Sword Art Online II which only has 24 episodes. I guess 14 episodes for the first arc and the rest is for the Mother's Rosario (my ever favorite arc). Want more of SAO? More of Mother's Rosario Arc actually. I am satisfied with the current number of episodes for this series and I wouldn't say I wanted more.

If you guys are familiar with the 'A Certain' series, it always has 24 episodes and for me that's cool. They compress main arcs and comedy altogether. Not bad. This anime is underrated and does not get the love and attention it deserves. Mostly there are young female characters and a lot of fan service involved, but I am not after the fan service. There is a great story here, the plot is interesting and most of all, it is the everyday life of the characters that got me watching.

For 25 episode-anime, there's Sword Art Online I and Attack on Titan.

Attack on Titan. Another great anime. Great manga too (the first manga I ever read and the reason why I got into manga-reading-marathon). The fact that the anime was able to compress hundreds of chapters into one season is amazing enough. It's sad the Eren and Annie scenes weren't there but that's what makes the manga special I guess. Not too long and not too short, this anime is packed with action, adventure, friendship, gore and a world to discover.

More? Mirai Nikki. It has 26 episodes (I mean, excluding the OVA) and well... I think it's already nice that way. It's polished (but I honestly don't ship Yuno and Yukiteru) and yeah. I don't think extending it would be cool. The anime wrapped it up pretty nicely.

Anime with more than 50 Episodes

These are anime that reach even a hundred episodes and beyond! But let's start off with less than a hundred.

Dragon Ball GT. It has 64 episodes, and that's just a lot! How's DBGT for you though? I honestly enjoyed little of its content but I enjoyed seeing everyone grow up. I just think it was too long and very little quality content. Characters were not as lovable as the DB series and not all the arcs are as interesting as DBZ.

Then there's Gintama (2015) that has 51 episodes. Just the usual goof and skits. It's funny but just like DBGT, not every episode was a good one. Or maybe because I depend on watching episodes with my favorite characters in it. Not much but this anime is full of comedic stuff.

Then we have Hunter X Hunter (2011). It has 148 episodes, still a hundred but here, I didn't skip. Of course they are divided by season or arc and it really depends on how interesting an arc is. I think the first two or three seasons were good. And my favorite being the Spider arc. The longest arc with the Chimera is probably one that is less interesting for me. Overall, I think they could have spent for different arc to make the rest of the episodes amazing. This is a remake, I don't know and can't compare it to the first one.

Dragon Ball (the first one) has about 153 episodes and I have to admit, I skipped through lots of episodes there. I did not have problems with the animation but I felt like some of the arcs were just not very interesting. And 100 episodes of 20-minute content is a lot to commit to when there are other shows out there that I wanted to watch.

Gintama (not 2015) consists of 201 episodes. I mean, that's a whole lot to watch for an anime that did was not heavily-rooted in a storyline. Mostly we get a lot of comedic and backstory arcs and a few major ones. Or it could be me not loving all of the characters in the series. A real fan watches the whole thing but for someone like me, I skip episodes. 200 episodes of 20-minute content is a lot.

How about Naruto? 220 episodes and to tell you, I was new to the anime world when I watched this childhood series. I finished the whole thing without skipping and then I realize there was Shippuden with more than (wow, more than 220 episodes to watch). I quit the series at episode 14 of Shippuden. The show is really good but again, it is a lot to commit to. It's true the more episodes on something popular, the better. But I just can't commit to watching the entire thing.

Talk about Dragon Ball Z then. 291 episodes. When I was a kid I watched the whole Babidee and Buu Arc onwards and man that was long! Too long! This is probably my favorite Dragon Ball out of all the DB series. So many arcs that I really love and characters that I fangirl on.

What more with Bleach? With 366 episodes and tons of non-canon arcs that is as long as seasons, would I watch? Again, I skipped at some non-canons like the Bount Arc. Too many for me. The story is good, there are a LOT of characters to remember but most of them are lovable. It would have been nice if they focused on the manga-related content than adding non-canon arcs.

How about 800+ episodes? Lol that's a different story.

I enjoy watching Detective Conan. Been my anime companion when I was a young-er. And man! I didn't realize it's been running for over ten years! That's how freakin' old it is! Did I skip? Do you have to ask? At the time this blog was written, there are over 900+ episodes, I don't know how many episodes there is today.

Conclusion

What do I think? Is better to watch 12 or 24 or 50+ episodes? For me, 12 is the minimum, 24 is standard and 50+ is the maximum. I mean, some or most 12 episode-anime are cliffhangers, most 24 episodes anime are just about right while 50+ is too much.

So when I want to watch a 12-episode anime, it'll be because I want to enjoy my short break or annoy myself when I get a cliffhanger. But when I want to watch an anime with good plot and an 'OK' phasing then I'll go with 24 episodes. If I'm bored? That's when the 50+ episodes are okay. Hunting for OVAs and special videos also starts to join the picture.

What about you? Which anime with x number of episodes made you feel satisfied of watching, made you want more, made you want to read the manga, the ending was so bad that you won't you want to write your own version (fanfiction), made you hunt for OVAs, special eps, etc.?

I hope you guys enjoy reading! Thank you!