This is the most puzzling defect in a migration: your file says 'season 2, episode 47', the destination catalogue has no episode 47 in season 2 — it split the same show into twenty seasons. Nothing is lost, but nothing files itself either. Here is how we get out of it.
An identifier from another catalogue
In the TV Time export, each episode is referenced by a TVDB identifier (the `episode_id` column): TV Time ran on TheTVDB. It is not a TMDB identifier. Verified:
- identifier 9725383, asked of TMDB as an episode id: not found
- the same identifier, asked as a TVDB id: 'The Hedge Knight', season 1, episode 1
A tool taking that identifier for a TMDB one would fail on the entire file — not on a few rows, on all of them. That is exactly why our importer resolves through external ids.
Why two catalogues do not count the same
A long show has no obvious split. Broadcasts differ from country to country, story arcs do not line up with production seasons, and each database rules its own way. The result: the same episode carries two different numbers depending on where you look. On a ten-episode show this almost never happens; on an anime of several hundred, it is the rule.
The catch-up, and its limit
Every unplaced episode is asked for again by its identifier, 20 at a time, up to 600 per show — Naruto Shippuden alone renumbers about 470 episodes.
That catch-up can attach episodes to a different show from the starting one: one TV Time show sometimes maps to several TMDB entries. Those shows are added to your library, with their own status, with nothing for you to do.
What to take away
The good news is that the number is not the only handle. Every row of your file also carries an episode identifier, and an identifier does not get renumbered. That is what we fall back on when the number fails — and it is what carries a whole show through instead of losing it.
Who it is for
For anyone following long-running anime who sees an unusually low import counter. For anyone who wants to understand a not-imported figure rather than just suffer it. If your library holds only shows of a few seasons, this problem will probably never touch you.
FAQ
Do I lose those episodes? No, as long as the row carries its identifier. It is picked up by that second path, slower but exact.
Why a limit on the catch-up? Because each recovered episode costs a request. Beyond that, the operation would exceed its time budget and fail entirely — a nearly complete show beats an import that collapses.
What do I do with the remaining episodes? Tick them by hand on the show page. The final counter tells you how many there are.
Data checked on August 16, 2026.