How do you like your anime?

[Block]

As far as I can tell there are hundreds of types of animes: comedy, action, drama, horror, and so on. Those categories are not what this thread is about though. I want to know what length anime you prefer. There are movies and there are shows that are short, medium, or long in length. Which do you prefer? For example sake:
Movies : Akira (obv I know)
Short Series : Elfen Lied (not my favorite short, just an example)
Medium Series : Cowboy Bebop ~ Eureka Seven (the medium series probably holds the largest bulk of anime)
Long Sereis : Naruto (and other insanely long shows like this one)

I personally prefer the Short Series. The stories feel full and compelling and detailed in a way the Medium and Long Series cannot pull off. I feel they cannot pull that feeling off solely because the end isn't written, they make one season then someone says, "You should make another, here's some money." So they make another one. Where the short series is done from the gate, they have the whole story written before anyone even draws the damn thing. Movies have this in common with the Short Series, but due to the length movies cannot fit as much detail and growth within the story.

[midgetbob]

I also prefer shorts... gets more of the story in that a movie can't... but doesn't drag out and feel like it's trying to add in more then it needs to because the series is longer then it needs to be.

perfect balance etc.

[Josh_R]

It all depends on the story for me. Certain shows I can handle a long series. Like Bleach, or Naruto. The story on those are so great that I hope it nevers ends. Some shows have a short series for a reason. Like Full Metal Panic. The story was not exciting enough to go on for a long series. I guess I am stuck in between so medium series for me... Medium lengthed series such as Gundam Wing, SeeD, and SeeD Destiny rule...

[GypsyElder]

All of the above, however, I don't like when they are carried on longer than they should, then it just tends to go off track from the story, to little lala land episodes.

I do like short series though because they tend to be more interesting and don't go off track as much.

Wolf's Rain is my favorite.

[Dodie16]

I like my anime in movie form, mainly because a lot of anime that I like comes from Studio Ghibli, and they do movies. Not sure if they ever done any series though.

I will watch short and medium length anime, but I don't have the capacity to keep up with those overly long running ones. Stuff like Naruto and InuYasha (these are the shows that never end~ They go on and on my friend~) has got lots of filler and not a lot of plot in a ton of their episodes.

[Treize]

My favorites are usually medium length series.

With a movie, it is usually hard to have a lot of development and a significant plot with such a short amount of time at the creators' disposal. There are many great movies, but usually the better stories and characters come from an actual series.

There are a lot of short anime that have about 13 episodes that are really good, but usually this is also too short to have a significant plot. Almost every 13 episode series that is good that I've seen has had continuations for the anime, so this number a episodes works for one season.

I think that 26-52 episodes works the best. There is plenty of time to develop the plot and the characters in this amount, and from what I've watched, these usually tend to be the best. Sometimes this amount of episodes can drag out, but that usually doesn't happen if the anime is actually good.

Finally longer series tend not to be the best either in my opinion. Anime like Bleach and Naruto tend to have a lot of "filler" episodes, and that can get really annoying. Also sometimes it can take forever for the story to advance. For example, recently I've been watching Detective Conan episodes, and I really like the mysteries, but it does get annoying that you can watch nearly 100 episodes, and the story won't advance at all.

Usually to show a longer anime it is better to break it up into seasons. That way most episodes will relate the main plot line, and there will be a better representation of the anime overall. The only bad thing about this is that you may have to wait for a few years at times for there to be another season made.

[Sinister]

When you have series like "When They Cry", "Cowboy Bebop", "Guyver" "Kuroshitsuji" or "Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro" that could've been stretched out to be extremely long drawn out series but were kept to a medium level, they are the best. Just enough time to become fond of all the right characters and just long enough so they don't outlast their welcome. Bleach and Naruto are ridiculous at this point. I say that, even as a Bleach fan. There's too much of it, when it could've been concise and perfect like Cowboy Bebop.

-Sin

[Jonathanx221]

I love Medium length series, kinda like Cowboy Bebop. But sometimes if they're good enough, I can go for a long one, like Dragon Ball Z. =]

[TigermusiQ]

Before I answer this, what would anime like Gungrave, Burst angel, Tenchi and FMA be considered?

[ZantetsukeN]

To be perfectly honest, it doesn't bother me what I watch, as long as the story is interesting enough for me to watch the whole thing. That being said, I suppose the majority of anime I watch would be Medium length series. My two favourites are Death Note and Lucky Star, and they are 37 and 24 episodes respectively. However, I also love movies such as My Neighbour Totoro, Paprika and Princess Mononoke, and also long series such as Bleach and Naruto. Although, I agree that Bleach and Naruto do have a lot of filler episodes, with little going on in some, but I always have a soft spot for Bleach. I love it .

[Padraic]

I prefer the short ones and the movies because I don't have the attention span to watch long series because I become side trackted and... Ooh look a butterfly! no, but honestly I like the short and medium series because they have just enough time to grab you into the story (providing there aren't TOO many filler episodes) and get to know the characters (maybe using one or two filler episodes...)

[kupo]

medium series - because i dont have the patience or time to watch and keep up with the longer running series'.
and movies...because they're only a couple hours then they're done.

[SeaAlchemist]

In terms of length i prefer medium. 30-50 episodes and i'm perfectly happy. For genre action and adventure with a hint of romance. I love stuff like Full Metal Alchemist with a amazing story and absolutely amazing characters they can't help but love.

[Xanatos]

I prefer my anime medium long, story and characters have enough time to develop and gain depth, and rarely do you get the felling like the story is dragging and producer is adding unnecessary shit just to prolong it which cannot be said for most of the longer ones.

Though I do like few longer ones, those that haven't lost their momentum, some short and of course the movies.

[Sharpshooter]

Damn I should have read the 1st post before picking short series xD
Anyway the only two animes I have watched were Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo(both made by the same person) They were both 26 episodes long, compared to Naruto which is like 200+ I think, I thought that they would be considered short =P

[Unknown Entity]

I like it with pocky and lots of boobies.

Okay, but seriously. I like movie and short series anime. Movies are something I put on to pass time, which you don't really need to be dedicated to. However, they are pretty expensive, so I tend to buy them when they're cheap and if I've heard good reviews and such about them. Like Spirited Away and Ghost in the Shell. Short series are excellent for me because I tend to lose heart/determination whilst watching a longer series. I think the only anime I've ever watched from start to finish was D.N.Angel.

That's not to say I don't like a longer series, like Pokemon or Bleach, but I get bored of it eventually, or find something better to do.

[loner-kid]

Hmm, i probably prefer shorter or medium length series anime. I like how there tends to be a greater emphesis on telling the story and establishing the characters than in the true episode crunchers like bleach and naruto. But really, series length isn't that much of an issue to me, as long as i'm enjoying the plot and it isn't dragging from unneccesary filler i'll watch just about anything.

I think that's what put me off bleach actually, the near constant filler was irritating enough but even when you did get to the main plot it was just a monotomous sequence of fights completely removed from any narrative. grr...

[Linus Li Lelouch]

Honestly, it doesn't matter whether it's any of the above. I just hope the characters are something I can get use to and actually like. If I don't like the characters then it doesn't matter if it's a movie or short/medium/long series of any sorts...

EX
Escaflowne (Movie) - Started off good but annoyed me towards the middle..

D. Gray Man Long Series) - started off good but yet again annoyed me in the beginning...

[Meigumi]

It doesn't matter what length the anime is, as long as I like it.

But I usually prefer medium-length animes, like "Kuroshitsuji" and "K-ON!". They're not insanely long like "One Piece" or "Bleach", but I have enough time to spend watching them.
Short-length animes are okay, as long as the story is detailed and fun to watch, like "Angel Beats!". But they're not long enough to keep myself entertained, though.
I can't really say for movies, since I watch them only on special occasions, and that they are definitely NOT a length of 20-40 minutes.
And, as for long-length animes, I just watch one episode from one series everyday. I don't have the time to watch 300 episodes.... >w>

[SSJ4 Goku]

Like a majority of other people, I think the medium-length series tend to work the best in terms of character and plot development, among other things. There are plenty of movies and shorter series that I absolutely adore as well, but when I think of my favourite series, a majority of them tend to fall in that middle category (Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Wolf's Rain, etc.) There are a number of "longer" series (i.e., in my mind, pushing the 50-episode mark and above) that are still well-done that don't fall into the typical Shonen Jump style, 300+ episode category. In those fields, I'd throw Monster, Kenshin, both FMA series, and the two seasons of the Ghost in the Shell anime. All of those shows demonstrate that you can keep a series going for a long time without having it fall victim to the mindless filler in so many longer shows.(Naruto, Bleach, etc.) Of course, there's nothing inherently wrong with those longer shows, and I've watched sizable amounts of plenty of them, but, in terms of quality, I think medium-length shows tend to work the best.