Some anime series' are just too long!

I couldn't think of a nice way to put together a title about this topic!  Let me stress that this is not a negative article towards long-running anime.  It's simply a bit of frustration venting on my part.  There simply aren't enough hours in the day to watch some of the longer-running series' out there.

Usually we see anime features last one or two seasons.  The creators either follow the manga exactly and end the story where the manga ended, or they tell the story that they want in a couple seasons and go out on top of their game.  There's nothing wrong with that at all.  There's also nothing wrong with creating an absolutely huge anime series that goes on for years and years.  These long-running series' have struck a major chord with the viewers, and they can easily sustain new episodes for years to come.

Take a look at Naruto, for example.  There's no denying that the franchise is a mega-hit, and it's popularity has jumped from Japan to Europe and North America as well.  There's no denying that Naruto is an international superstar, and with that comes hundreds and hundreds of episodes.  So many story arcs, characters and crucial moments that it's hard to keep up with!

The same can be said for Bleach.  That's another very long-running anime that also seems to have made a splash overseas.  It may not be as big as Naruto, but there's definitely a very hardcore following.  From my understanding, Bleach has even more characters and craziness to keep track of!  I sat down to watch an episode the other week, but when I realized just how many episodes there are, I was crushed!  It's simply too much for me to take in.

I just don't have the free time or money to catch up with these franchises.  They have been running for years and years, and are too far ahead now.  To spend the time watching those old episodes would be a luxury that I do not have.  On top of that, I'd end up spending thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to catch up.  It's almost a complete impossibility to make things happen.

The same thing happened with me years ago with the Lupin series.  I started buying each DVD as it was being released, so I was completely on-top of the series' localization.  I also knew that there were a lot of episodes to check out, but as long as I was going along with the releases I would be fine.  Then came that day when I had to sell my anime collection to start GoNintendo...and the rest was history.  Now I'd have to rebuy all those episodes...but I need that money to live!

Do we have any long-time Naruto or Bleach fans here?  How do you keep up with the series'?  How have you managed to check out all the episodes out there?