When you think of iconic anime, you can't help but think about the story of a young, orphaned boy called Naruto Uzumaki, whose number one dream is to become Hokage of his village.

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Naruto's journey starts small but delivers emotional punch after punch, making you laugh, cry, and everything in between in over 700 episodes of fantastic anime between Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden.

Naruto isn't just one of the best anime series in the world: it's also one of the biggest. Naruto has its fingers in many pots, spanning across manga, anime, video games, clothing lines, novels, live-action, and so much more. There's even a musical, if you can believe it.

It's one of the best-selling manga in history, with an impressive 250 million copies in circulation worldwide across 50 different countries. If you ask someone to name an anime, Naruto will likely be one of the top five answers you'll receive.

Naruto has done so well that it even has a sequel following Boruto, which is another anime that's well worth the watch.

But among the brilliance is a fair few episodes of filler that you can leave behind, guilt-free, when watching Naruto in order. Some are hilarious and emotional, but none are essential to understanding the story.

With a combined 720 episodes, between Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, it makes sense not all will play an essential part in Naruto canon.

For fans who like other anime franchises like Bleach, Dragon Ball, and My Hero Academia, filler lists are crucial for fans who want to experience all the story beats without any of the fluff.

Here's a look at every Naruto filler episode to skip in both the original series and Naruto: Shippuden.

What are the Naturo filler episodes?

Madara Uchiha in Naruto looking angry
Madara Uchiha in Naruto. Crunchyroll

If you want to dive directly into the world of the Ninja without worrying about what is canon, the following are all the Naruto filler episodes:

  • 26 - Special Report: Live from the Forest of Death!
  • 97 - Kidnapped! Naruto's Hot Spring Adventure!
  • 101-106 - The Land of Tea Escort Mission Arc
  • 136-140 - The Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission Arc
  • 143-219

While these episodes, including a whopping 77-episode run, are all filler, it doesn't mean they aren't worth watching.

Episodes 102 to 106 take place immediately after the Konoha Five returns, having failed to bring Sasuke with them. It wraps up the Sasuke Retrieval arc nicely while paving the way for the narrative to make new leaps into the unknown. While it's classed as non-canon, it still makes for good viewing to instil some sense of conclusion on the events leading up to this moment.

Part of the Konoha Crush saga, episodes 169 to 173 touches on the aftermath and death of the ninjas. In order to boost their ranks, Naruto, Ino, and Shino team up with Anko as their mission leader to take on some of the more high-level missions. It's a struggle between characters which builds bonds and lets viewers see them work together in a way we've never seen before.

Read more:

What are the Naruto Shippuden filler episodes?

naruto series
Naruto. Crunchyroll

Naruto Shippuden picks things up two years after the original story with new events to catch up on and twice as much filler to pad them out.

While Naruto already had its fair share of episodes, the sequel adds an impressive 500 episodes to the list. The downside? Nearly 200 of those episodes act as filler.

If you want to sidestep the strenuous training and dive directly into fleshing out the world, these are the Naruto: Shippuden filler episodes:

You can skip the filler in favour of canon material but you'd be missing the Kakashi: Shadow of the ANBU Black Ops arc (347 - 361), which helps fully understand the impact of Kakashi – one of the strongest Naruto characters – and the Hyūuga sisters getting their time to shine.

It's branded as unmissable by fans despite adding nothing to the overall narrative, but that's due to its gritty action and touching moments between characters.

Episodes 464 to 468 touch on the Shinobi history, which still makes for good viewing to truly understand the world Naruto comes from. They're more of a school lesson that offers viewers a look at Shinobi lore but interesting nonetheless.

How to watch Naruto in the UK

In the UK, both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are available to watch on Crunchyroll.

If you're in the US, loads of anime shows, including Naruto, are now streaming for free on YouTube. However, it's only for fans in the US and only the subtitled versions, so fans who prefer to watch the show dubbed should look at other options.

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Authors

Christopher Megrath
Aimee Hart
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