It has become increasingly common for fans to come across animes that have long premieres. Lately, a lot of anime have been releasing with the first episode being around 60 minutes or so, as opposed to the normal 20-minute premieres.
With an extended first episode, the writers have the opportunity to show the full appeal of the series, since in animes that are only 20 minutes long, nothing more can be presented other than the characters and the premise of the anime.
Animes with long premieres are a recipe for success
In recent times, anime series have achieved success thanks to extended pilot episodes that keep audiences hooked. After removing the opening and closing credits, there are around 20 minutes left to tell the story of the episode.
Considering this, it’s very difficult for a first episode of a standard length to do much more than introduce the characters and the premise.
Extended episodes lasting 60 minutes allow new anime series to cover more ground. Many now-popular series have opted for this approach, such as Re:Zero and Oshi no Ko.
It is also worth mentioning Sousou no Frieren, with a first broadcast lasting 120 minutes. In this case, it wasn’t that the first episode was 2 hours long, but rather that the first four episodes were broadcast consecutively.
It is likely that in the not too distant future, we will see more anime premieres with extended durations, with more people consuming streaming and having their expectations met.
via Automaton
