# Which anime is the hardest to start watching today?

> Episode counts in four figures, timelines nobody agrees on, sequels that assume a rewatch. Which wall is highest?

*By YPB Team · Published August 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/which-anime-is-the-hardest-to-start-watching-today*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Detective Conan** — score 1000/1000
   Over a thousand episodes of mostly standalone cases since 1996.
2. **Monogatari Series** — score 1000/1000
   A viewing order argument that has never been settled.
3. **Mobile Suit Gundam** — score 945/1000
   Decades of alternate timelines with no agreed starting point.
4. **Boruto** — score 764/1000
   A sequel that expects a full Naruto rewatch before episode one.
5. **Gintama** — score 647/1000
   A parody series that assumes you already watched everything it parodies.
6. **Pokemon** — score 647/1000
   Over 1,300 episodes across dozens of regions and two protagonists.
7. **One Piece** — score 647/1000
   Past 1,150 episodes and still going, with no natural place to jump in.
8. **Naruto** — score 503/1000
   Two series and a filler-to-canon ratio that scares newcomers off.
9. **Bleach** — score 503/1000
   A sixteen-year gap between the anime's cancellation and its return.
10. **JoJo's Bizarre Adventure** — score 503/1000
   Nine parts, a new cast each time, and a first part most people bounce off.
11. **Fairy Tail** — score 503/1000
   Three hundred-plus episodes with arcs of wildly uneven quality.
12. **Dragon Ball Z** — score 323/1000
   Four series, three continuities and two competing edits of the same story.
13. **Legend of the Galactic Heroes** — score 323/1000
   110 episodes of dense political and military strategy from the 1980s.
14. **Yu-Gi-Oh!** — score 323/1000
   A card game whose rules changed faster than the anime explained them.

Tags: franchises, tv shows, animation, japan