Highlights

• Long-running anime series have the potential to create deep connections with viewers, as they spend more time with the characters.
• Some of the longest-running anime series have spanned thousands of episodes and are still ongoing today.
• Many of the longest-running anime series, especially those aimed at children, have limited availability outside of their home countries.

While it can be amazing to watch an entire show in a single day, many anime fans want a series they can truly sink their teeth into. Long-running series have the potential to connect viewers with their characters in deeper ways than short shows, making every emotional moment hit harder since some folks might have spent their entire lives with these fictional people.

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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?

In the case of shows with almost no presence outside of Japan, finding the exact number of episodes can be difficult. As such, an approximation will be used, particularly for airing series like Sazae-san.

28 Ohayou Ninja Force Gatchaman (Ohayo Ninja Tai Gatchaman) – 475 Episodes

Dating back to the '70s, Gatchaman is a sentai franchise that has a habit of periodically resurfacing for a new entry. While the original series, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, is somewhat iconic in Japan, Western audiences might be more familiar with 2013's Gatchman Crowds and its 2015 sequel, a reboot that shares very little common with its classic predecessor.

Airing in 2011, Ohayo Ninja Tai Gatchaman is a flash anime that consists of one-minute episodes, and it does not appear to be available online. A parody of the '70s series and its later sequels, this show might have been a good time, although it is hard to know at this point.

27 Naruto Shippuden – 500 Episodes

If taken as a whole, including Boruto, the Naruto franchise passed 1000 episodes toward the end of 2022. However, each series is treated as a separate entity, even though they combine to tell a singular story (especially Naruto and Shippuden). The sequel series contains approximately half of the franchise's entire output, and many fans regard Shippuden to represent Naruto at its best.

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Hailed as one of the big three shonen properties, Naruto was inescapable for a number of years, and the anime has remained popular to this day. While a bit too reliant on flashbacks at times, Shippuden is generally a gripping ride.

26 Little Ghost Q-Taro (Obake no Q-Taro) – 510 Episodes

Debuting as a 1964 manga by Fujiko Fujio, Little Ghost Q-Taro was adapted into three anime over the next two decades, with its final series lasting more than 500 episodes. Fujio's resume includes Doraemon and Ninja Hattori-kun, so the mangaka's work has served as inspiration for plenty of long-running and beloved children's shows over the years.

Nowadays, Little Ghost Q-Taro tends to be overshadowed by other adaptations of the creator's properties. That said, the show and manga are easy recommendations for Doraemon fans since they strike a similar tone.

25 Perman – 526 Episodes

Another anime based on a manga by Fujiko Fujio, Perman is a superhero-themed comedy. A young kid named Mitsuo meets an alien who gives him a few items that grant him superpowers, allowing the boy to become Perman. However, Mitsuo has to keep his identity a secret at all costs.

Although Perman has not received a new series since the mid-80s, the anime did get a couple of movies in the early 2000s. At this point, the franchise is unlikely to make another comeback.

24 Hana Kappa (Hanakappa) – 638+ Episodes

Still ongoing, Hana Kappa follows the eponymous character, a kappa who has a unique flower that grants him different abilities. Obviously, this makes the protagonist a target, and he must use his powers and friends to take down a few persistent villains.

Hana Kappa has not really made its way out of Japan, but the series has been successful enough to last more than a decade.

23 Ninja Hattori (Ninja Hattori-kun) – 694 Episodes

Most of the longest anime series 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.

22 Striped Island Tiger Shimajiro (Shima Shima Tora No Shimajiro) – 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.

21 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.

20 Doraemon (2005) – 1260+ Stories (770+ 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 at children and has maintained a loyal following over the years.

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.

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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 & Kaixin 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 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 Ryoko) – 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 – 1076+ 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 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 a battle shonen series to last a few hundred episodes as Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, and Hitman Reborn! have all accomplished this feat; however, One Piece goes beyond these shows. 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) – 1097+ 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.

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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) – 1199+ 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 Monoshiri University: Tomorrow's Calendar (Monoshiri Daigaku Ashita no Calendar) – 1274 Episodes

Now, things are about to get complicated. Monoshiri Daigaku Ashita no Calendar is lost media, to the point almost nothing has been preserved about this educational anime from the mid-1960s. From what has been gathered, the show used a cat-and-mouse duo to educate kids on Japanese history.

The series' exact length is also difficult to pinpoint since it appears to have a couple of continuations with slight name changes, likely due to being sponsored by different companies. As such, these sequels could be combined into one entity; if that approach were to be taken, the show would have run from 1966-1984, producing well over 2500+ short episodes. However, in this case, they will be listed as separate entities.

12 Kirin Tomorrow's Calendar (Kirin Ashita No Calendar) – 1306 Episodes

Kirin Ashita no Calendar was apparently the last iteration of this history-based educational anime, and it produced a lot of episodes in a fairly short time span. Again, this series seems to have slipped through the cracks of time, having almost no presence at all online.

While perhaps stored in a vault somewhere in Japan, Kirin Ashita no Calendar nowadays largely exists in the memories of folks who grew up watching its content during the early '80s.

11 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.

10 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.

9 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.

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The show originally began airing in 1988 and has inspired countless spinoffs, side stories, and movies. Anpanman is also a major inspiration for the highly acclaimed anime One-Punch Man many fans enjoy today.