Ranking of the longest anime arcs of all time

Anime like One Piece, Detective Conan and Bleach feature incredibly long story arcs.

Story arcs are a crucial element of the modern anime experience. As contemporary anime series often run for many years over several seasons, creators are able to tell many unique but self-contained stories using their characters, each featuring different plots, settings and antagonists.

While some of these arcs last only a few episodes, others can last several seasons. However, determining which anime arc is the longest is trickier than it first appears, as each anime structures arcs slightly differently, and fans, broadcast platforms and creators can disagree on which episodes constitute the beginning and end of a specific arc. Despite this confusion, the anime community considers certain arcs to be the longest.

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7/ Naruto: Chūnin exams last 47 episodes

Works between episodes

20 - 67

Number of episodes

47

Days

328 days (February 20, 2003 - January 14, 2004)

Estimated viewing time

18 hours and 48 minutes

Naruto's second arc is crucial to the series, fleshing out the world and setting up several crucial concepts that will be built upon in later story arcs. This arc sees Naruto and his friends take the Chūnin selection exams, which allow Genin to be promoted to Chūnin, an important moment in the life of any aspiring ninja.

These exams push Naruto to his limits, pushing him to take on many unique challenges. This includes a written exam in which, due to the structure of the questions, students must cheat to demonstrate their information-gathering skills, followed by a survival test in the aptly named Forest of Death. Those who survive these two stages then go head-to-head in a combat tournament, where each student can show off his or her skills.

6/ Bleach Arrancar : The fall measures 51 episodes

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Bleach's Arrancar: Downfall , one of the most epic arcs ever seen on screen, builds on what came before and resolves several crucial plot points in a captivating and satisfying way. The arc sees the battle between Soul Society and Aizen's Arrancar army reach an explosive point as Aizen puts his grand plan into action.

Aizen's betrayal leads to many brutal battles, as both sides suffer heavy losses due to the intense fighting, forcing Ichigo to once again increase his power when thrown into the center of this melee. This arc is known for its intense battles, and it's easy to see why, as the fight between Ichigo and Aizen is one of the most epic confrontations in anime history.

 

5/ Hunter x Hunter: The Chimera Ants arc has 61 episodes

One of the most famous anime arcs ever released, Hunter x Hunter's Chimera Ant Arc divides fans, with some adoring it and others loathing it. When series protagonists Gon and Killua learn that chimera ants, a new breed of creature, are eating humans, they join a Hunter Association extermination team and set off to stop the ants before they doom humanity.

Of course, this is no simple task, as the ants are far more powerful and cunning than first thought, and Gon also loses the ability to use Nen , greatly reducing the young man's fighting potential. For this reason, he is forced to work hard and grow stronger, while the Hunters' Association has to find new ways of killing the ants.

4/ Naruto: Shinobi World War IV comprises 119 episodes, but 160 with the specials.

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Works between episodes

215 - 375

Operates between episodes [unfilled]

215 - 222, 243 - 256, 261 - 270, 272 - 289, 296 - 310, 312 - 332, 322 - 348, 362 - 375

Number of episodes

119 (160 with filling)

Days

1183 days (June 9, 2011 - September 4, 2014)

Estimated viewing time

47 hours and 36 minutes (64 hours with fill)

 

Shippūden's Naruto: World War IV Shinobi is a striking example of how difficult it is to define an arc and how opinions vary from person to person. World War IV Shinobi consists of several sub-sections, named World War IV Shinobi: Countdown, World War IV Shinobi: Confrontation and World War IV Shinobi: Climax, and although they all focus on different parts of the war, what makes them unique. in the eyes of some, they tell a coherent story, which is why many fans treat them as a single arc.

In the Naruto: Shippūden anime, this arc is divided by several filler arcs, including Paradise Life on a Boat, Power arc and Mecha-Naruto, as well as a few stand-alone episodes. Outside of these, however, the story is entirely focused on tensions reaching their breaking point and the world falling into a massive, violent world war.

3/ ReBorn:The future arc has 129 episodes

Hitman Reborn! (often called Hitman Reborn! by fans) is a hugely popular anime based on the manga series by Akira Amano. It follows Tsuna Sawada, a young boy chosen to become the next head of the Vongola family. A young assassin named Hitman is sent to help Tsuna prepare for his destiny, as Hitman can kill and rebirth people, his victims becoming stronger each time they die.

The Arc of the Future sees Tsuna and her friends sent nine years and ten months into the future to fight the Millefiore Famiglia and save the future. This arc is so long that it contains several sub-arcs, entitled Search for the Guardians, Merone Base Invasion Arc, Choice Arc and Future Final Battle Arc. There are also two arcs exclusive to the anime: Arcobaleno Trials Arc and Primo Family Arc.

2/ One Piece: The Wano arc comprises 191 episodes - and 195 with the specials.

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Works between episodes

890 - 1085

Operates between episodes [unfilled]

890 - 894, 897 - 906, 908 - 1028 and 1031 - 1085

Number of episodes

191 (195 with filling)

Days

1617 days (June 23, 2019 - November 26, 2023)

Estimated viewing time

78 hours

 

One Piece is famous for its massive, action-packed arcs, so it's no surprise that it appears so high on the list. Wano is One Piece's thirty-first arc, and sees the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance prepare for the battle of their lives as they prepare to take on the Beasts Pirates. Meanwhile, many details about the world and its traditions are revealed, including crucial facts about the Demon Fruits.

Over the course of this arc, Luffy grows considerably in power, awakening his Demon Fruit and mastering new Haki abilities, including Haoshoku Haki and Busoshoku Haki. This culminates in one of the most memorable anime moments of the last decade, with Luffy finally reaching his anime-inspired Gear 5 form.

1/ Détective Conan:The Bourbon and Akai arc has 274 episodes

Detective Conan is the fiftieth longest-running animated series in history, arriving on screens in 1996. For this reason, the series has featured long arcs. By far the longest, however, is the Bourbon and Akai arc, in which the series introduces Bourbon, a new agent of the Black Organization eager to get rid of Conan once and for all so that the Black Organization can carry out its diabolical plans.

Due to its polarizing nature, Detective Conan's arcs are slower than most, with each episode only advancing the current arc a little, the bulk of the run focusing instead on Conan's current case. However, because of Bourbon's crucial importance to the story, it's hard to deny that this group of episodes isn't an arc, even if it is an extremely slow burn.

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