While you can make the argument that you can never have too much of a good thing, it unfortunately doesn’t work that way with certain anime. What had originally been so rich from a storytelling perspective slowly began to wear our its welcome the longer it went on. While these particular five are still regarded as some of the best, there’s no denying that their longevity actually did more harm than good.
Fair warning, there are MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
#5: “Inuyasha†(2000-10)
The Final Act may have managed to end things on a rather positive note, but it wasn’t an easy journey, and not because of Naraku’s intervention. Nope, we’re talking about the immense amount of filler that could have been easily stripped away to allow the half-demon dog to finally have his day.
#4: “Persona 4 Golden†(2014)
Why does this exist? An anime adaptation of a Vita port of the original Persona 4 game? With the only difference being a brand new character who is as close to useless as you can get? This was doomed from the start.
#3: “Rurouni Kenshin†(1996-98)
Can you imagine if this series didn’t have a third season? It would be on the way to being considered one of the best action anime of all time. Alas, it does, and it totally undermines the amazing final battle between Kenshin and Shishio by giving us a whole season made up of filler.
#2: “Bleach†(2004-12)
If you just watch the Soul Society and Arrancar arcs back to back then you have yourself a damn fine anime that was worthy of its huge following. Unfortunately, its mired with whole filler arcs that only serve to slow down the pace and lessen our enthusiasm of the overarching narrative.
#1: “Naruto†(2002-07)
Behold the king of filler. At every single opportunity, you will find yourself landed with a dozen episodes that have nothing to do with the canon content, far extending this series beyond what it should have been!
