Anime Seasons
Why is every season for anime seperate and not together?
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Why is every season for anime seperate and not together?
Last updated
Was this helpful?
Anime and Western television series approach seasons differently, leading to distinct cataloging practices on platforms such as Simkl, MyAnimeList, AniList versus TVDB and TMDB. Fans often wonder why a popular series like Demon Slayer has multiple separate titles on anime-focused platforms but is treated as one continuous show on Western databases.
On platforms like Simkl, MyAnimeList, and AniList, anime seasons are frequently treated as individual titles. This is because each new cour (usually 12-13 episodes) can introduce significant changes, such as:
Distinct narrative arcs clearly separated from previous storylines.
New opening and ending themes, which can change the tone and mood.
Updated or different animation teams or production studios.
Separate promotional activities and branding strategies.
For instance, Demon Slayer explicitly labels its seasons—like "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc" and "Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc"—highlighting the uniqueness and self-contained nature of each narrative segment.
Conversely, TVDB and TMDB catalog anime similarly to Western shows, come up with seasons by their own rules, ignoring anime studios production details, grouping multiple seasons under a single overarching title with numbered seasons (Season 1, Season 2, etc.). These databases prioritize:
Maintaining continuity in the narrative and production style.
Simplified tracking across multiple episodes and seasons.
Easier discoverability by grouping all seasons under one familiar name.
Thus, Demon Slayer appears as one continuous series across multiple seasons on these platforms.
This distinct cataloging reflects deeper structural and cultural differences between anime and Western television, underscoring how anime's segmented seasonal identity is uniquely handled by different platforms.
Simkl has connected individual titles to their relative seasons on TVDB to display this information across V2 Beta and under title details.
All apps using Simkl API (Plex, Kodi, Emby, Jellyfin, etc) to mark as watched specific season using TVDB\TMDB anime season format will correclty mark episodes in their individual titles.
Future enhancements on Simkl are planned to allow to see connected seasons in /episodes/ checkmarks in each relative title.
Anime is typically released in distinct, shorter seasons known as "cours," each lasting roughly three months with about 12-13 weekly episodes. These seasonal releases are synchronized with Japan’s quarterly television schedule: Winter (January–March), Spring (April–June), Summer (July–September), and Fall (October–December).
1. Alignment with Japanese TV Schedules
Japanese TV traditionally introduces new programs quarterly, rarely rerunning previous content. Anime fits neatly into this model, regularly providing fresh series to maintain viewer interest and programming momentum.
2. Production Efficiency and Quality Control
Anime production involves complex stages, from storyboarding and animation to voice recording and editing. Dividing content into manageable 12-episode segments allows studios to allocate resources effectively, maintain high quality, and avoid burnout or production delays common in continuously airing shows.
3. Financial Risk Management
Shorter anime seasons allow studios to evaluate viewer responses and market performance flexibly. Popular series can extend seamlessly, while less successful ones conclude with minimal financial repercussions. This encourages creative experimentation and strategic decision-making.
4. Avoiding Fillers and Preserving Narrative Integrity
Producing anime in clearly defined seasonal arcs reduces the necessity for filler episodes—content added solely to bridge production gaps. This ensures concise, compelling storytelling, exemplified by series like My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
5. Enhancing Viewer Anticipation and Engagement
Seasonal breaks create excitement and foster community discussions. Viewers eagerly await new seasons, strengthening emotional investment and sustained viewer loyalty.
Anime seasons vary to accommodate storytelling and production constraints:
Single Cour: Usually spans 12-13 episodes, delivering a complete narrative.
Two Cour: Covers 24-26 episodes broadcast consecutively over two cours.
Split Cour: Comprises 24-26 episodes divided by a seasonal gap, offering studios extra production time or synchronization with source materials. For example, Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works aired its first cour in Fall 2014 and concluded in Spring 2015 after a break.
Streaming platforms like Crunchyroll and Funimation have embraced seasonal structures, delivering weekly episodes to global viewers. While maintaining traditional viewer anticipation, this sometimes conflicts with binge-watching trends, highlighting evolving viewing habits.
Anime's segmented seasonal release model strategically aligns with Japanese television norms, optimizes resources, mitigates financial risks, preserves narrative quality, and boosts viewer engagement. This distinct approach underscores significant cultural and structural differences in global entertainment consumption, making anime uniquely appealing worldwide.
ANIDB, often combines multiple movie parts into one anime title when those parts tell a single, cohesive story. This practice helps users easily find and manage related content, such as the series "Kara no Kyoukai," which is listed as one entry despite having seven movies.
This grouping reflects ANIDB's definition of an anime as a single work, which can include multiple parts if they are interconnected. For example, "Macross: Flashback 2012," a trilogy, is also treated as one entry due to its continuous narrative.
However, not all multi-part movies are combined; standalone or recap movies, like some "Kimetsu no Yaiba" films, may be listed separately. This distinction highlights an unexpected detail: ANIDB's classification depends on the narrative relationship between the parts, not just their format.
