Short Vs Long series

[Kura Ookami]

Which do you prefer? Short series or long ones?

Personally i prefer short series, because they never have any episodes that are just filler. When you've only got 12 or 13 epidoes to work with each episode has to count so you dont have any weak ones or ones that are just there to increase the number of episodes, which, unfortunutly is common in long series.

[Shadowchild]

Short cuz they dont have too many books to buy but it is nice if they come in different groups...

[ChristianKitsune]

It depends for me...

I like long because even those weak episodes can have something good for the characters...

I like short as well but sometimes when it ends I am like, "THAT IS IT?"

So, if the series ends strongly I guess it was worht it but if it ends weakly I am like, "......"

[Ashley]

Depends....I mean, short is nice for my wallet, yes, but if I really love the characters I'm going to be sad if it's too short. I don't think I'll cry when I read the end of Furuba, because it's been a looooooooooooong series. ^^;;

[Debitt]

26 episodes is the perfect length for me, 50 episodes I'll buy, more than that is just too much for my poor wallet. =O

[Aeolus21]

Depends on the series. Usually the "sweet spot" for me would be around 13-26 episodes in one season. If I like the show\characters well enough that it spans more than a single season, then I'll keep watching it. But for the most part, I like a series that is relatively short and sweet (which is also a budget thing).

Some of my favorite shows have been 3-6 episode OVAs.

[mitsuki lover]

I like both.

[Rocketshipper]

It depends. Some shows really seem to drag if they are super long (dragon Ball Z? ^^), but for other shows, I don't really think they can do the story justice with a normal length TV season. for example, 26 episodes isn't NEARLY enough to get through all of Tsubasa Chronicles, it should have been longer.

[desperado]

iria was way to short but i loved it so.... so i guess i like series that are long (i dont care if there naruto length as long as there not drawn out like say some shows on regular tv that are drawn out for purpose of selling the product *couch cough anything with mon in the name cough cough* )

[Radical Dreamer]

Hmmm...Well, I like 26 ep. series the best I think, but only in some cases. 26 seems to be the perfect length...It's not too long, and it's not too short. I did enjoy FLCL's 6 episodes, but I think that's just because it worked for the fast storyline and action that Furi Kuri has to offer. As far as longer anime series are concerned, I really don't mind. As long as the show's quality doesn't drop and it keeps me interested, then I guess it's alright. I don't buy anime as often as I buy manga, and when I do buy anime, I simply pick and choose the dvd's I want, unless I have enough for a boxed set..^_^

As far as mangas go, I prefer the shorter, unless the series is SO good that I know each volume is going to be worth it. IE, I'll keep buying Ruroken and Furuba until they finish, but I would never start buying InuYasha now, haha!

[Yokuo]

Hmmm.... well, they both have their strong points.

Short if it has bad characters...

Long if it keeps coming up with cool storylines or has awesome characters

[Joshua Christopher]

I prefer OAVs, but short series are good. If it's longer than 26 (and not on TV), I won't watch it.

13-episode series like Now and Then, Here and There I enjoy.

[Sonic_13]

IMO short are better. They work so much harder to put everything in such a short amount of time, its a blast to watch! Imagine inuyasha in a 26 episode summary, it might actually be worth watching! =)

[Nate]

Imagine inuyasha in a 26 episode summary, it might actually be worth watching! =)

I feel that way about Dragonball Z. XD

It depends for me, honestly. If they can make each episode enjoyable and unique, a long series isn't bad. Ranma was a good example of this...it DID drag a bit and get a little tiring during the fourth season, but it picked back up in the fifth and sixth seasons. Overall each episode of Ranma was kept fresh and interesting (the characters really developed too, in many episodes the gender change thing wasn't even used in the plot, showing that it wasn't vital to the show's success).

Sailor Moon is another good example. With the exception (for me) of a few of the episodes in the Kaolinite storyarc of S, and SuperS in its entirety, it was a 200 episode series I didn't mind watching at all.

However, many shows (like the aforementioned DBZ and Inuyasha) just seem to drag on and on and never really get anywhere, and I think in those situations a shorter series would be preferable.

Overall, however, I DO prefer shorter series, as they are a bit easier on the wallet in the long run. The only reason I haven't watched Kenshin is due to the sheer number of episodes, and therefore the large amount of money I would have to spend to watch it.

[Myoti]

It depends. 26 is good if they get enough plot and character developement into it, 52 for the same reason, and I'll watch the 100+ if they're good and give some uniqueness to it.

Even though it might cost alot, I'm willing to shell out enough for the entire One Piece series, which is at 230+ and doesn't seem to have ended yet (or has it? I've yet to find out...), simply because it's so unique. Yes, it has dragging arcs, but it doesn't something different in each oen and actually has a point to most episodes instead of showing the same guy charging up for four episodes only to have it not do anything...

(i dont care if there naruto length as long as there not drawn out like say some shows on regular tv that are drawn out for purpose of selling the product *couch cough anything with mon in the name cough cough* )

Pokemon I can understand that way, but Digimon ended after it's forth season, and each one was only, what, 52 episodes? (yes, I like Digimon)

[Yojimbo]

I believe pretty much by default any anime starts to lose it's touch after two seasons. I mean really they have to be losing some creative steam by then it's unavoidable. I don't care if there might be a handful of good episodes after that overall they're just not as good as the previous ones. 26 Episodes is the perfect amount in my opinion. Just enough to get ya by storywise and but not enough to lose that feeling, unless they throw in awful recap episodes. Shorter series and OVA's are nice too for the wallet like you've all said and usually are much more focused, with the lack of filler episodes.

[Myoti]

I believe pretty much by default any anime starts to lose it's touch after two seasons. I mean really they have to be losing some creative steam by then it's unavoidable. I don't care if there might be a handful of good episodes after that overall they're just not as good as the previous ones.

Though in most cases, the viewer will probably watch till the end just to see what happens (unless it's one of those that goes on just for popularity, like Pokemon and DBZ).

[enishi]

so, if you want a short run, go check out Beck. its about some kids starting a band .. and its just fanfreakingtastic. the plot is great, the characters are interesting, and most importantly the music and songs go very well with it. so check it out.

full metal panic fumfamu or whatever is hil-arious. i havnt been that happy watching an anime since .. love hina. its golden, and the lame mecca theme is gone. not that the robots wernt cool .. but the stories got boring. its all comedy and fun.

if you keep up on bit torrent check out monster. its 72 eps (or so i hear) in total, and 58-59 have been released thus far. i really dont need to talk about why this particular title is so amazing. if you havnt seen it, you're living in a cave and are missing out. speaking of caves, back to the trusty gamecube then sleep ^_^

[Kaligraphic]

What about series that are both short and long at the same time?

I'm thinking of, say, Twelve Kingdoms (a wonderful series that everyone should see - and I'll disagree with anyone here who says differently), where it has a short series (normal length) that is very good and driven, followed by more episodes of a somewhat more relaxed nature. It continues to be very good, but it could have been broken after the first arc, because after that it changes a lot. I love the series, it's just that it's pretty different after that first arc.

But I like long series and I like short series. Basically, I like a series as long as it holds my interest - I've wished for more of some 26 episode series, and gone "whew, glad that's over" after some 13-episode series. So here's Kali's Rule of Length: "A series should be as long as its worth will support, but no longer."

[uc pseudonym]

It doesn't matter greatly too much. I'm not really the type to buy/download anime, so the size doesn't effect me as much. Overall, I guess I would have to say that I like stories that require long anime better.

However, I very much support anime that are not drawn out. Dragonball Z is, of course, the quintessential example of this. I don't mind a lot of action, provided that it doesn't drag things out or use repetative animation (and, for that matter, is well coreographed enough to be worthwhile). Episodic series as a whole annoy me.

(or has it? I've yet to find out...)

It is still going.

I believe pretty much by default any anime starts to lose it's touch after two seasons. I mean really they have to be losing some creative steam by then it's unavoidable.

You mean after 104 episodes? I suppose that may be true. However, I would argue that a series could be long enough as to require more than two seasons. Some people have a great deal of creative steam.

[Kaorugirl]

I really don't know,,, I like both equally. They both have their strong and weak points ^_^

[Blitzkrieg1701]

It all depends on the story. A weak story should not be drawn out over hundreds of episodes, and a strong one should not be crammed into 6. A series should run exactly as long as it takes to tell its story well.

[creed4]

I love seeing progression over time. So if the series has that I'm for it.