Ask John: How Long Will GitS, Gundam Seed, Naruto and Rockman.exe Last?

Question:
How many episodes are scheduled for Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, Naruto, and Rockman EXE.?

Answer:
Actually, a number of readers have inquired about how long Gundam Seed is scheduled to last.

Ghost in the Shell has been confirmed as a 26 episode series. Gundam Seed, Naruto and Rockman.exe don’t have pre-determined episode counts. It’s probably a safe bet to assume that Gundam Seed will air between roughly 40 and 50 episodes because every previous Gundam TV series has had roughly 40 to 50 episodes. Specifically, the shortest Gundam TV series is Gundam X, which was canceled after 39 episodes. The longest Gundam TV series is the 51 episode V-Gundam. Naruto is an adaptation of best selling manga published in Shonen Jump. Other best selling Shonen Jump manga that have been adapted into animation include titles like Dragonball, One Piece, and Yu Yu Hakusho- all of which have over 100 TV episodes. The current Hikaru no Go and Prince of Tennis TV series based on Shonen Jump manga both currently have over 60 episodes and don’t seem to be in danger of concluding anytime soon. With this sort of precedent, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Naruto air anywhere from 50 to 500 TV episodes. Rockman.EXE currently has 47 episodes. Its television ratings put it on par with other popular and long running shows including Mirumo de Pon, Hoshi no Kirby, Tokyo Mew Mew, Digimon Frontier, Kinnikuman Second Generation, and Anpanman. As long as Rockaman can continue to keep these high ratings in its lucrative children’s market, I’m sure TBS will continue producing new episodes.

Ghost in the Shell is a limited run program because it is broadcast as a pay-per-view show targeted to Japan’s relatively small audience of die-hard anime fans. Gundam Seed, Naruto and Rockman.EXE are all targeted at Japan’s much larger children’s and family market, as reflected by their significantly higher viewer percentage ratings.

NOTE: Production IG announced in August 2003 that the Ghost in the Shell TV series would be extended to 52 episodes.