Definitely, but I’d be willing to bet a good chunk of those 1000 episodes could be cut without losing much of the plot.
You’re right. Though unlike what a lot of others will tell you, there’s not a lot of outright filler. Most of the added time is from panning shots and characters staring and not talking.
There’s actually a fan project that re-edits the series to take kess time and improve the pace a lot