How to watch Naruto in order

Naruto is a perennial childhood fave; a long-running manga and anime franchise whose popularity stands alongside Dragon Ball and Bleach.

Launched in 1999, the original manga series introduced protagonist Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja whose adventures have now spanned 72 volumes.

Over the following three decades, fans got to enjoy a Naruto musical, Naruto video games, and - of course - an anime adaptation that's widely considered to be a must-watch for fans of the medium.

After its arrival on Netflix in 2024, Naruto became the most-watched anime series on the platform, outshining popular new releases like My Hero Academia.

Its audience clearly isn't losing interest, and new fans arrive every day. Which brings us to our main point here: Where, exactly, should you start watching Naruto? And how do you handle the spin-offs, like the various movies and the series about Naruto's son Boruto?

The sheer volume of Naruto media can be a little intimidating, but we're here to help newcomers figure out how to get stuck in. Please enjoy our recommended viewing order for the Naruto franchise, from the very beginning to its latest instalments!

How to watch Naruto in order

Naruto original series

Like many long-running anime series, the original Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden intersperse seasons of TV with spin-off movies.

These films aren't necessarily essential to understanding the core plot of the series, but you may want to check them out just for entertainment value!

The first Naruto anime began in 2002, and you can watch its first 101 episodes (yes, it's long!) as one uninterrupted narrative. After that we get the first movie, before returning for another chunk of the TV series, and so on.

Here's our recommended viewing order:

• Naruto (1-101)
• Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
• Naruto (102-160)
• Naruto The Movie: The Legend Stone of Gelel
• Naruto (161-196)
• Naruto The Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
• Naruto (197-220)

You can buy Naruto on Blu-Ray for £26 at Amazon (at the time of writing), and several of the movies are also available to stream on platforms like Netflix, Crunchyroll and YouTube.

Naruto Shippuden

Premiering in 2007, the second Naruto anime series is titled Naruto Shippuden. It follows Naruto's adventures as a teenager, and as such, it has a slightly more mature tone than the original anime.

Much like the first Naruto anime series, you can split Naruto Shippuden into sections, alternating between TV arcs and spin-off movies.

Our recommended viewing order begins with the first 32 episodes of Naruto Shippuden, followed by Naruto Shippuden: The Movie.

• Naruto: Shippuden (1-32)
• Naruto Shippuden: The Movie
• Naruto: Shippuden (33-71)
• Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds
• Naruto: Shippuden (72-126)
• Naruto Shippuden The Movie: The Will of Fire
• Naruto: Shippuden (127-143)
• Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower
• Naruto: Shippuden (144-196)
• Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Blood Prison
• Naruto: Shippuden (197-251)
• Naruto The Movie: Road to Ninja
• Naruto: Shippuden (252-493)
• The Last: Naruto The Movie
• Naruto: Shippuden (494-500)

Right now, you can buy Naruto Shippuden on DVD for £37 at Amazon, covering the first 35 episodes of an admittedly gargantuan series. You can also catch many of the movies on streaming platforms like Netflix, Crunchyroll, and YouTube.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Chronologically speaking, the first Boruto spin-off (Boruto: Naruto The Movie) overlapped with the Naruto Shippuden era. It came out in 2015, toward the end of Shippuden's run.

This is where the timeline gets a little more complicated, because the Boruto franchise follows a different protagonist - Naruto's son Boruto.

The events of the first Boruto movie are also covered by episodes 53-66 of the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. So you should actually watch the first 52 episodes of this show before tuning into the film.

After that, you can just watch the rest of Boruto until episode 293, which aired in January 2024.

The first season of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is available on Blu-ray for £7.99 at Amazon.

How to watch the English dub of Naruto

Naruto fans in the UK and North America can watch the show's English dub on Netflix. US fans can also stream it on Hulu.

However, while Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll internationally, that only includes the subtitled version, not the English dub.

Can I skip the Naruto movies?

With an anime franchise this extensive, new viewers may want to trim down the length by avoiding unnecessary spin-offs. In other words: Do you actually have to watch the movies?

The simple answer is no. Naruto fans mostly agree that the films are just for fun. They don't add much in terms of plot, so if you skip them, you can easily still follow the main events of the anime series.

The two exceptions are The Last: Naruto the Movie and Boruto: Naruto the Movie, which play more important roles in the show's timeline.

That being said, some of the movies can introduce some important character development. For instance, Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds explores the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto, giving more insight into their legendary friendship.

How to watch Naruto in the UK

Naruto is available to stream on Netflix and Crunchyroll in the UK.

However, Netflix doesn't offer the full run of Naruto. Right now, it only lists up to the season 4 episode The Promise That Could Not Be Kept, which is episode 135 of 220.

As detailed above, each series is also available to buy on DVD or Blu-ray.

If you're in the US, many anime series including Naruto are available for free on YouTube. But those shows are only available with subtitles, so you'll still have to buy the series or subscribe to a streaming service to watch the dubbed version.

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