ReelTime-skip stories done right
The jump-forward move every long-running series eventually makes — these are the ones that used it instead of just surviving it.
01The two-year post-Marineford skip is the gold standard — everyone comes back changed, not just stronger.
02The skip that redefined the series, aging up the entire cast and resetting the stakes.
03A four-year jump forward that quietly recontextualizes who the good guys even are.
04A seven-year freeze for the whole guild, so everyone returns to a world that moved on without them.
05The three-year training gap before the Android arc is the timeskip every shonen since has copied.
06The jump from raider-era violence to a quiet farm changes the entire tone of the story on purpose.
07A seventeen-month gap used for a full cast power-up reveal, all at once.
08A generational leap forward, handing the story to Naruto's kids instead of aging the original cast further.
09Built entirely around generational skips — decades between each new Joestar's story.
10The story doesn't just time-skip on screen — its real-world hiatuses might be the biggest time skip of all.