Anime that does filler right? (Spoilers?)

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ghost_monkey47

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I'm sure there was a thread like this sometime ago...ah well I guess I can start it up.

Has there been an anime that you thought did filler right? Basically the show kept being interesting regardless of not following the original material for a while?

I'm going to say Hitman Reborn for sure. Regardless of some of it's early comedy fillers after the second major arc, they were still enjoyable to watch and kept me laughing somehow. And even in the middle of a huge arc that seems to share what Bleach had with Hueco Mundo of being long, the writers still found a way to write around it with the help of the author in order to make a actual canon filler that's still leaves you in the same spot perfectly.(Yet Bleach's situation was much more....impossible so I can't really say much xP)

The Trials arc was really enjoyable and the Primo arc seems to be doing the same interesting tone before entering the last part of the arc.
 
-Yeah, Hitman Reborn has great filler arcs.

-When it comes to comedy fillers, the gold medal goes to Gintama. The manga is written like a series of filler anyway so unless you hear it from someone who's read the manga, you're probably not going to know if it was filler or not. It's fine anyway because the humor is at the same quality.

-I have also heard good things about D. Gray Man's filler.

-Fairy Tail has had some really funny filler as well as doing what Reborn does by having "canon filler" by expanding on an omake or making flasrabroadacks more poignant. Also, when it comes to group fights, they include all the Fairy Tail's instead of just the main cast which is great because honestly, the way Mashima wrote the manga, I completely forgot (or just don't know) what some of the other characters actually do. There was this really good one that was a parody of the Twilight Zone.
 
Some people might disagree with me on this one and claim it's not filler, but I'm going to say One Piece does some pretty good filler. Usually there filler is 10 episodes or less, and often times it does things like actually expand the cover art stories, like showing what happened to the Straw Hat Pirates when they got separated from Luffy or actually creating a storyline that ties into the upcoming movie.
 
G8 arc was seriously better than some of Skypeia to me. Definitely better than Davy Back Fight. Seriously, if we're gonna have filler, it should be like G8.
 
Yugioh had at least one good filler arc, that being thew DOMA. However, this idea is split among the fans, so I do not know what to say. It was interesting for me, that much I can say.
 
Dragon Ball (NOT DBZ) usually had some good filler mini-arcs, IMO. Sure, they were pretty typical stories which didn't do anything to expan on the main-plot (it did the exact opposite, of course), but they were usually done in pretty humorous ways, and I also liked how they usually focused much more on the adventure aspects of the series, rather than just the fighting. Of course, back when I originally watched them, I didn't even know what "filler" was, so I always used to think that they were all just part of the original story, but honestly even now that I do know that they are filler, I still think of them as essential parts of why I love the anime so much. I guess in this case it kind of has more to with how I originally viewed the series and what the filler episodes mean to me from that view-point.
 
Bleach’s Bount arc. I can honestly say I like the Bount episodes a whole more than the Soul Society and Arrancarr arcs. I know Bleach tenRAB to be overstuffed, introducing tons of characters each saga and having a slew of different things going all at once but I thought the Bount arc handled it a lot better. There were lesser new characters to deal with and the beginning, middle, and end were more obvious and focused whereas other seasons tend to be one random battle after another with an unnecessary amount training and back story thrown in. The fights were more about using strategy to defeat the opponent rather than using overwhelming force/speed and monotonous back to back sword play. Ichigo’s group was given more screen time (yay for more Ishida!) and most of the soul society characters had a minimal amount of focus. Also, I thought the first couple of episodes with the mod souls were hilarious.

Gantz final five episodes. I know most people don’t like this arc but I thought it was great. The action and humor were top notch, the pacing was a lot faster, and it tried to be meaningful. I mostly loved how it let the viewer interpret the ending. I thought it was a great humanity piece abut human nature and the thin line between good and evil. I interpreted the story as being about accepting death, not taking life for granted, and learning that killing is never the answer. I also liked the way it connected all the previous events and minor characters.

Zatch Bell, Rurouni Kenshin and Inuyasha. I’m probably in the minority here but if I didn’t read the manga for each show I never would have imagined so much of the filler material wasn't actually canon. Sure, none of them were exactly jaw droopingly epic in terms of the fights or story but I thought they captured the humor and fun of the source material.
 
^ I don't admit it much since the Bount arc is usually bashed, but I do admit it had some pretty dang good fights(such as Ichigo vs Koga)
 
Slayers for some reason tenRAB to do filler right. Works within their frame of journeying toward the plot, and doesn't tend to overstay it's welcome. The only real exception really is the rather subpar 'filler' arcs of Try. But then again, how can you say no to the rather endearing set of filler episodes of Next that include violent tennis matches, cross-dressing, and shrine maidens?

The answer is... you probably can, but then again compared to other series they're masterpieces.
 
I don't think that I can come up with an example of a show that consistently does filler right, but a few shows I follow have had the occasional good filler episode / arc among the dross. Piccolo and Goku learning to drive being the best example that springs to mind. Also, I don't care what y'all say, Garlic Jr. was a good arc.
 
I would add Urusei Yatsura did filler right because you would have a hard time figuring out what was used in the manga and what wasn't. Compared to other Rumiko Takahashi works where there was a definite drop in quality when filler was involved (moreso Ranma 1/2 than Inuyasha).

O-chan
 
I rather liked that generally Gundam 00 had no filler. Even the token clip episode takes up half an episode and is framed as relavent characters analysing the events that led up to a key plot twist.

DBZ could do some fun filler when it wasn't just padding for time.
 
Personally, I thought that Bount, while it did have a couple ok fights, overall was really boring. But then again, we're talking about what had good filler, not bad filler or the lack thereof.

Honestly, the best filler arc for me I guess is the original Hellsing anime, where they ditched the manga with the death of Jan Valentine. It was ok, got stupid, and then got better. The introduction of someone from Seras' past, along with the little girl vampire were interesting to say the least, even if Incognito was a durab villain.
 
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