There are a lot of different reasons to enjoy anime, but the medium of animated entertainment also faces some unique hurdles production-wise. Some anime series are completely original productions, but the bulk of them work as adaptations of popular manga or light novel series.
The pacing of the anime adaptation and its source material can sometimes be at war with each other when they’re both simultaneously in production, which can result in the anime needing to bide its time with filler content until the manga makes significant advancements in its story. Filler can completely derail the momentum of certain anime series, but other series are able to find ways to make it work and use it to their advantage.
10 Ranma ½ Establishes A Relaxed Energy Through Lengthy Spans Of Filler
Ranma ½ is an anime series that feels very emblematic of the early ‘90s with its transformative spin on a typical martial arts anime. Ranma Saotome finds himself turning into a female when he’s exposed to cold water, but the other characters who suffer the same curse turn into a wide array of animals. Ranma ½ is 161 episodes long, 72 of which are filler, which is nearly half of the series. Nevertheless, the series properly balances action and slice-of-life antics from the start so that its filler feels natural.
9 Dragon Ball Z Stretches Out Its Conflict But Keeps Its Audience Entertained
Dragon Ball Z is an interesting case when it comes to its filler because there are certain episodes that are completely original, but events from the manga are also stretched out over an excessive amount of episodes. Dragon Ball Z is 291 episodes, and the fact that Dragon Ball Z Kai can cover the same material in 167 episodes proves that there’s a lot of disposable content. Strangely, Dragon Ball Z becomes comfortable in this rhythm and becomes a series that can be easily binged.
8 One Piece Has Plenty Of Time For Filler Across Its Staggering Amount Of Content
With almost 1000 episodes under its belt, One Piece is still running strong and far enough away from its endgame. Any anime that lasts this long needs to find a way to prolong its material and be confident with its own original content and how to extend the manga’s conflicts in a sustainable way.
Anyone who commits to One Piece knows what they’re getting into at this point, but despite how One Piece stretches out a good thing, it remains enjoyable because of its fantastic characters.
7 Nearly Half Of Bleach Becomes Filler Content
Bleach is still often heralded as one of the major shonen anime series of its time, and there’s a great deal of nostalgia associated with the action series even if it doesn’t exactly end on the strongest note. Bleach grapples with filler in a very serious way, and Ichigo’s journey to mastering his maturing powers as a Soul Reaper has 164 episodes of filler in the 366-episode series. Bleach would have likely benefited from going into production long after its manga was complete, but it still makes the best out of its copious stretches of filler content.
6 Detective Conan Uses Its Filler To Take Conan’s Mysteries In Fulfilling Directions
There’s nothing quite like a good mystery, and for over 1000 episodes, the Detective Conan/Case Closed series has kept audiences in suspense with surprising and complex cases. Detective Conan begins with a very anime-like premise where famed detective Shinichi Kudo finds himself turned into a child, but the mysteries that he solves are still challenging exercises in intellect. Detective Conan has over 400 episodes of filler and they’re not all winners, but they still present some more unconventional mysteries that add more color to the series.
5 Pokémon Loses Itself In Its Rich, Rewarding World
Pokémon’s anime has become just as popular as the video games the franchise originated from, but at this point, there are well over 1000 episodes and dozens of feature films that celebrate the magic of Pokémon.
Part of what makes the Pokémon series work so well is that it makes the random one-off adventures hit as hard as the installments that push the story forward where Ash is engaged in epic gym battles. Pokémon is all about getting lost in the smaller details, so the series’ filler is actually quite appropriate in this manner.
4 Naruto Shippuden Uses Its Filler to Add to Naruto’s Quest To Becoming Hokage
Naruto and its companion anime series, Naruto Shippuden, tell the story of Naruto Uzumaki’s evolution as a ninja and quest to control the considerable powers that brew inside of him. Naruto Shippuden is 500 episodes, 204 of which are filler. However, Shippuden figures out how to make a lot of its filler count and uses it to expand upon the complex bond between Naruto and Sasuke. Some filler can compromise the stakes of certain battles, but more often than not, it’s able to actually enhance the weight of Naruto’s bigger fights.
3 Sailor Moon Develops Its Sailor Scouts Through Heavy Slice Of Life Filler
Sailor Moon is one of the most iconic anime of its time, and even now, the franchise continues to grow. Sailor Moon reaches some exaggerated heights with the later series in the franchise, and so there’s a quaint quality to the nature of the original 200 episodes. Surprisingly, nearly half of these qualify as filler, but there’s a comfortable slice of life quality to Sailor Moon’s origins as the audience gets to know the characters or the different ways in which evil can attack. Sailor Moon Crystal actively revises these things, but it helps give Sailor Moon its flavor.
2 Inuyasha’s Mythos Gets Strengthened When It Strays From Its Script
Inuyasha finds a clever way to mix shojo romance staples with shonen action stereotypes and secure a wider demographic in the process. Inuyasha consistently teases a softening romance between Inuyasha and Kagome, but there’s also no lack of action and fantastical demon battles that take place. Inuyasha takes big enough breaks from its major conflicts and objectives that filler is allowed to take over and exist in a way where it feels like a proper aspect of the series. Just like how Inuyasha has Kagome to bring out his human side, Inuyasha has its filler to occasionally calm things down.
1 Fairy Tail’s World And Its Magical Heroes Prosper From Where Filler Takes Them
Fairy Tail is another shonen anime series with over 300 episodes that takes some time to initially find its footing and properly create compelling, unique characters but later hits incredible heights. Fairy Tail features some phenomenal uses of diverse magic, and Natsu’s development becomes genuinely thrilling after he experiences enough conflict. Fairy Tail isn’t bogged down by filler as much as some of these other shonen series, but it’s a good example of how to spread the focus onto supporting characters and the fantasy world itself in order to make filler work for it instead of against it.
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