The Demon Slayer movie broke box offices in Japan in 2020 and continued to do so in North America in 2021. It’s unique in that this film is canon with how the first season of the anime ended. Most anime movies are not canon and instead are seen as side stories. For those eagerly anticipating more Demon Slayer, there is good news. The manga is done. 

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When did it end and how long is it? That’s just one question worth answering in this exploration of manga vs anime lengths. It can be hard to wait for these shoes to end so if one wanted, one could finish these series up now ahead of their anime debuts. 

10 Attack On Titan 

Attack On Titan began its manga run back in 2009. It wrapped up its final chapter in 2021. Once published, the series will have thirty-four volumes of manga material. 

The anime started a few years after the manga, which is traditional for Japan, in 2013. Between seasons the anime has taken years off in order to keep pace with the manga. The series directors did not want to add in filler like other anime series. The final episode of Attack on Titan is supposed to debut in early 2022 so if one can’t wait that long, the manga is out there.

9 Bleach

Bleach began its manga run in 2001. The manga lasted fifteen years, producing seventy-four volumes. The anime started in 2004 and ended eight years later in 2012. The odd thing about this is the fact that the anime never finished the final arc of the manga. It came so close and then just didn't continue. 

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One could assume the anime team was waiting for the manga to be done in order to start this final arc. That’s because Bleach already had two big filler arcs in the anime which were not received well. Why make a third filler arc then instead of just waiting? For whatever reason though the anime never came back until almost a decade later. Technically then this anime is still ongoing or at least it will be once the season starts presumably during one of 2021’s anime seasons. 

8 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba had the shortest manga run on this list. The manga started in 2016 and ended in 2020 with twenty-three total volumes collected. The anime started in 2019, had one season, just premiered its movie in 2020 in Japan and now the second season of the anime is set to come out sometime in 2021.

Based on the events covered so far in both the anime and movie, this could be the last season. Either that or there might be an extra season and or movie to conclude things. It’s hard to say until season two comes out and also wraps up. 

7 Dorohedoro

The Dorohedoro manga started in 2000 and ended in 2018. It has twenty-three collected volumes which is not a lot considering how long it lasted although these are bigger chapters. Let’s not forget that Demon Slayer also has the same amount of manga volumes and had a shorter run time for comparison.

The anime on the other hand started last year with a now more typical half a season run which premiered on Netflix in North America. While Netflix hasn’t officially come out to say they’re working on helping bring a new season out, it seems inevitable. That’s because it was reviewed well and there is still a lot of material left in the manga to cover. Ending the anime after one season would be a letdown for fans of the manga. 

6 Rakudai Ninja Rantaro

Rakudai Ninja Rantaro is like The Simpsons of Japan. It’s actually one in several anime shows that can be likened to this Western hit as they are long-running. Firstly, the manga started in 1986 and ended in 2019. The total amount of volumes collected was sixty-five. The anime started quite a few years later in 1993 and is still going with over two thousand episodes. 

It’s a very obscure anime and or manga for Western fans as there is no official ongoing translation. That might be because it’s a comedy ninja anime where the jokes are very much of the time and specific to Japan. Translating it would be tricky. There are fans helping out there but whether one can read Japanese or not the fact remains that this is a finished manga. 

5 Shaman King

Shaman King shares similarities with how Bleach’s anime run ended up. The manga began in 1998 and ended in 2004. It went through many hiatuses in that time period and when it was finished, some fans felt it was rushed. Later on, three more volumes were added. As for the anime, that began in 2001 and only lasted a year with sixty-four episodes. The anime obviously didn’t finish the manga’s story. A reboot of the anime just began in 2021 with plans to better follow the manga. 

4 Sazae-san

Sazae-san began in 1946 and lasted until 1974. It was a comic strip about a Japanese family that focused on punchlines rather than telling a fluid story over time. The closest thing one could liken it to in terms of popularity in the West might be The Peanuts.

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The anime started in 1969 and has over 7000 episodes. It has never been picked up officially but there are fan translations out there for both. 

3 Anpanman

Anpan is a red bean paste pastry in Japan. Anpanman then is an anthropomorphic version of that but as a superhero aimed at kids. There are other various food-based heroes and villains in this world. The manga started in 1973 and lasted until the death of the writer, Takashi Yanase, in 2013. The anime began in 1988 and has over 1,400 episodes, but was never fully brought over to the west. Some of the movies can be seen on Tubi though. 

2 Doraemon

Doraemon began as a manga in 1970 and lasted until 1996. Almost a decade later a new manga began, Doraemon Plus, which started in 2005 and ended in 2014. There have been various anime adaptations about this time-traveling cat over the years but the latest, also in 2005, is still ongoing. Some of these episodes were even translated around 2014 for a Disney XD block on TV.

1 Lupin The 3rd

Lupin the 3rd’s first manga began in 1967 and ended in 1969. The second part began in 1967 and lasted until 1981. There have been many adaptations for this gentleman thief through anime and movies with the latest show, Lupin the 3rd Part V, airing in 2018. There is a sixth installment of this newer series planned for October 2021.

NEXT: Attack On Titan And Other Long-Running Manga You Can Now Read From Start To Finish