RELATED: Attack On Titan And Other Long-Running Manga You Can Now Read From Start To Finish
With shows like Gintama and Naruto on the scene with hundreds of episodes, it can be a shock to fans to realize these aren’t even remotely the longest-running anime of all time. Some series have spanned thousands of episodes and are still airing new ones to this day. Which anime series have the most episodes ever?
Updated July 11, 2022 by Mark Sammut: Most modern anime last a single cour of 12 or 13 episodes. Once in a blue moon, a hyped property might get a glorious 26-episode season or even a few sequels. These series are outliers, and it is difficult to predict which shows will survive their debut season. However, there are quite a few anime with hundreds of episodes – they just rarely leave Japan.
22 Ninja Hattori (Ninja Hattori-kun) – 694 Episodes
Most of the longest-running anime ever are kids’ shows that never made it out of their country of origin, and some are forgotten or impossible to find online. Compared to most of its peers, Ninja Hattori is a relatively recognizable name, perhaps due to it receiving an anime revival in 2012. However, the ’80s original is the version that spanned hundreds of episodes and has a cult following made up of people who grew up on the show.
Ninja Hattori follows the eponymous shinobi as he joins the Mitsuba family and befriends their young son, helping Kenichi to navigate everyday life. The premise is not all that different from something like Doraemon, just with a ninja replacing a robot.
21 Striped Island Tiger Shimajirō (Shima Shima Tora No Shimajirō) – 726 Episodes
Designed for preschoolers, Shimajirō covers all the standard lessons children might need to know, and each episode is long for this type of show. The original anime ran for 726 episodes, but the franchise has spawned a number of sequels; therefore, if taken as a whole, Shimajirō has produced over a thousand stories.
As is often the case with these types of anime, Shimajirō was not released outside of Japan. Regardless of how popular they might be with their target audience, most shows designed for preschoolers tend to remain confined to their country of origin, and this holds true for anime.
20 It’s Morning! Clamployees (Asa Da Yo! Kaishain) – 744 Episodes
Broadcast on Nippon TV Network, It’s Morning! Clamployees consists of 1-minute shorts focusing on workplace culture. Debuting in 2016 and lasting until 2019, this series produced a huge amount of content during that time, and it even inspired a spin-off called Shellfish Employee that ran for a further 25 ONAs.
It’s Morning! Clamployees has almost no presence in the West, and it might be one of those cases where the content does not fully translate to other countries. Out of all the anime with the most episodes featured on this list, It’s Morning! Clamployees is the only one that could theoretically be completed in a single day.
19 Kotowaza House – 773 Episodes
Lasting from 1987 to 1994, Kotowaza House seems to have been wiped from existence as very little information is available about the series. Consisting of 5-minute episodes, the anime would use its protagonist, Peter, a salaryman, to conduct public service announcements. Essentially, Peter would behave in an undesirable and unhealthy way and then be educated on his flawed actions.
RELATED: This Forgotten Anime Classic is like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen
Kotowaza House goes to show just how much content has been virtually forgotten by time. This goes beyond anime, as there are presumably thousands of shows and movies that are simply lost. Projects that people put their hearts and souls into; ones that might have been popular during their eras but became a thing of the past the second they stopped airing.
18 Shuimu Baobao Kan Shijie & Kaizin Hanzi – 800 & 1000 Episodes
These two entries have been combined since there is not all that much information available online about either show, and they have essentially no presence outside their home country of China. That said, Kaizin Hanzi can be watched through bilibili.com, and the same extends to Shuimu Baobao Kan Shijie. Producing stories that last 5 minutes, both of these shows appear to be comedies with a slice of life element. These series are educational in nature, with Kaizin Hanzi specifically helping preschool children to learn Chinese characters.
Even though they might only be known to their target demographics, compared to some of the older longest anime ever, these Chinese animated shows are at least preserved on the internet.
17 The Instructive Trip Around The World (Sekai Monoshiri Ryokō) – 1006 Episodes
Airing between 1971 and 1974, Sekai Monoshiri Ryokō seems to have been lost to time as there is almost no information about the series online. Perhaps the show, which apparently was an educational series, has retained something of a presence in Japan; however, it certainly never made its way to western culture or the internet.
The sheer fact that Sekai Monoshiri Ryokō produced more than a thousand episodes in just over three years is incredible, although it should be noted that they were only 5 minutes a pop. Nevertheless, that’s still quite the achievement.
16 One Piece – 1024+ Episodes
One Piece celebrated the anime’s 1000th episode in 2021, an achievement that reflects the dominance the shonen anime has enjoyed over the last two decades. In 1999, a few years after the manga’s debut, Luffy made his way to anime and set out on a grand adventure to amass a crew, explore the open seas, and become the Pirate King. Over the next 20 odd years, fans have followed the Straw Hats as they grew in number and toppled dictators, battled self-proclaimed gods, and challenged the world government.
It is not unusual for battle shonen series to last a few hundred episodes, Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, and Hitman Reborn! all accomplished this feat; however, One Piece goes beyond these anime. The most incredible thing is that the series has managed to maintain its quality, even if the anime is not quite as great as the manga.
15 Detective Conan (Case Closed) – 1049+ Episodes
Also known as Case Closed, Detective Conan has amassed plenty of popularity throughout its run. Gosho Aoyama’s mystery manga is still going strong with nearly 100 tankobon volumes to its name. The anime has had a similarly impressive run since it first aired back in 1996.
RELATED: Best Mystery Anime, Ranked
The series follows Shinichi Kudo, a teenage detective who, after forcibly ingesting an unknown poison, is transformed into a child. From then on, Shinichi solves various cases while going after the secret organization responsible for attacking him.
14 Shin Chan (Crayon Shin-chan) – 1122+ Episodes
Crayon Shin-chan is another long-running anime that fans might be familiar with due to its popularity. The series stars the titular Shin-chan and his daily adventures alongside his family and friends.
Shin is a mischievous little boy with a peculiar way of speaking that makes him one of the more distinctive characters in anime. The series’ popularity has led to various spin-offs as well as films and video games.
13 Chibi Maruko-Chan – 1203 Episodes
The Chibi Maruko-Chan manga ran for over thirty years with 17 tankobon volumes released. The original anime aired in 1990 with a respectable 142-episode run. The series was then revived in 1995 and became one of the longest anime over the years, going on for over 1200 episodes.
The series follows the daily adventures of a mischievous young girl named Momoko Sakura. Momoko often gets herself in troublesome situations, sometimes roping her friends in as well. Momoko’s adventures have inspired several films, with the latest one having released back in 2015.
12 Doraemon (2005) – 1217+ Stories (714+ Episodes)
Doraemon is a staple of Japanese TV, having been on the air for decades. The first series aired in 1973, lasting 26 episodes. The series was revisited in 1979 and ran until 2005. The current Doraemon anime started that same year and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since. It should be noted that most episodes consist of two individual stories, so technically they can be taken as standalone entries in the series.
Doraemon’s adventures with Nobita have inspired a wide range of manga, films, and video games. Like many of the longest-running anime out there, the series is aimed towards children and has maintained a loyal following over the years.
11 Monoshiri University: Tomorrow’s Calendar (Monoshiri Daigaku Ashita no Calendar) – 1274 Episodes
This is a series that many outside of Japan have likely never heard of. Monoshiri University: Tomorrow’s Calendar was an educational program that taught viewers about various historical events. It aired from 1966 to 1970 on Mainichi Broadcast Systems, with a five-minute runtime and a Monday to Saturday schedule.
The series was sponsored by the Kirin brewing company, with Kirin ads often accompanying the episodes. The show might be lost to time, though it’s still notable for being one of the longest anime series to ever be produced.
10 The Affectuous Family (Hoka Hoka Kazoku) – 1428 Episodes
The Affectuous Family began airing its 5-minute episodes back in 1976 with new episodes airing on weekdays until the show ended in 1982.
Sponsored by the National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations, the series never had an overarching plot. It instead focused on slice-of-life stories combined with educational content. The Affectuous Family is another one of those anime that doesn’t have much of a presence online.
9 Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi – 1471 Episodes
Folk tales have inspired many movies and shows but none more than Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi. Legendary anime director Gisaburo Sugii helped lead the series, making the decision to switch between different animators between episodes to keep the series looking fresh.
This helped it stand out and last far longer than most other anime that tried to take similar approaches in telling folk tales.
8 Soreike! Anpanman, Go! (Soreike! Anpanman) – 2860 Stories (1491 Episodes)
In terms of superhero origin stories, a sweet roll bean jam filling fighting crime isn’t something most viewers might expect. Still, this anime based on a long-running children’s novel series by Takashi Yanase is beloved amongst viewers spanning generations in Japan.
RELATED: Longest Visual Novels (& How Long They Take To Read)
The show originally began airing in 1988 and has inspired countless spinoffs, side stories, and movies. Anpanman is also a major inspiration to the highly acclaimed anime One-Punch Man many fans enjoy today.
7 Kirin Monoshiri Yakata – 1565 Episodes
This children’s educational program featured a cat named Cathy and trying to get along with a mouse while teaching history to children. It aired originally from 1975 to 1984.
Sadly, Kirin Monoshiri Yakata is currently considered lost media with only two episodes archived anywhere online. For a show with so much to offer, it’s sad to see so little available to watch.
6 Doraemon (1979) – 1787 Episodes
The original run of Doraemon ran for over twenty-five years which accounts for it having so many episodes. The story follows the adventures of Nobita and the titular robot Doraemon as he tries to guide his young ward to make better choices so his descendants in the future won’t live in poverty.
Doraemon’s four-dimensional pocket leads to many odd and endearing scenarios as just about anything can appear from it. The show was so popular it got a reboot of sorts, following the story of the original anime but with a new animation style and other changes.
5 Oyako Club – 1818 Episodes
This slice-of-life classic follows two aliens, Rompa and Lun, as they join a family on earth. This results in plenty of hilarious moments as well as some heartwarming interactions between the characters.
It’s a classic fish out of water story that’s meant to be light and enjoyable with each episode only lasting a brief five minutes.
4 Prince Mackaroo (Ojarumaru) – 1947+ Episodes
Time travel is a classic trope in shows, and Prince Mackaroo uses it well. A young noble named Ojarumaru manages to transport himself into the present era from over 1000 years in the past using a magical stick from the demon king Enma. He becomes friends with a young boy named Kazuma and joins his family in the future.
RELATED: Best Anime To Watch With Kids
The stick he uses was actually stolen by three demons who keep trying to steal it back from him, resulting in many fun antics throughout the series. The show is still ongoing meaning fans will get to see Ojarumaru’s adventures in the future for a while into the future.
3 Ninja Boy Rantaro (Nintama Rantarō) – 2321+ Episodes
Long before the era of Naruto or Boruto, Ninja Boy Rantaro was the ninja series to catch on television screens. It began airing back in 1993 and follows three ninja apprentices — Rantarou, Shinbei, and Kirimaru — as they try to learn everything they need to know about how to be ninjas.
The show is far more comedic and aimed at kids, with each episode only lasting ten minutes apiece. The show is still airing to this day meaning the episode count is sure to continue rising with time.
