Naruto is one of the Big Three in the Anime industry. It has been one of the top three most popular Shonen Jump series and has been featured numerous times on the cover of Shonen Jump Magazine all thanks to its great popularity.
The Anime Naruto premiered in October 2003 and has around 720 episodes, including Naruto Shippuden.
Naruto also has a sequel series called Boruto. Naruto is a really good shonen Anime due to the presence of emotional appeal, character development, and the story.
It certainly gets off to a poor start but improves with time. You can skip the filler and still enjoy the show. The second installment, Naruto Shippuden is likewise decent, albeit there is a lot of fluff that should be skipped and the writing isn’t always at the very top of the genre.
Here are all the details about the fillers list of Naruto and the watch order:
What are anime filler episodes?
It is a less simplistic and perhaps better way to define “filler episodes” to say that they are episodes used by anime — as well as other TV shows because fillers are not exclusive to the anime medium — usually between the individual plot points of the major arcs, or between the end of one major arc and the start of another.
While some people dislike and/or prefer to avoid fillers, they are not always terrible and labelling them as bad just because they do not adapt the source material is another too simplistic way of thinking, given that even the original sources for anime adaptations can have bad — and good — tales.
What one person considers to be decent is often considered to be amazing by another, thus, claiming all fillers are terrible is a generalization, and this mentality is harmful in and of itself. As a result, the most direct definition of fillers is that they are original episodes generated for the anime series.
What is the Purpose of Fillers?
There are numerous motivations — as well as goals — for the use of fillers in long-running anime series, although fillers in seasonal anime series are rare.
In addition to the obvious reason of having to wait for additional source material to be produced in order to adapt it, there are other motivations for fillers that can be detrimental to world-building and rich storytelling. Filler episodes may serve the objective of giving characters greater depth and exploring their interactions, sometimes outside of competitions and conflicts and in more commonplace settings.
It not only helps to create good storytelling, character development, and world-building, but it may also cause viewers to feel more empathy and sympathy for the individuals and situations represented in those filler episodes.
Which Naruto episodes can I skip?
The Anime, for the most part, gives this Manga’s main character’s transformation from the lovable underdog into one of the most cherished and strong shinobi of all time justice.
When episodes like this take up a significant portion of the duration and don’t actually require this length.
Naruto occasionally goes into the mindless filler, which can be very annoying. In spite of this, certain filler arcs are good, so readers interested in learning more about Naruto’s Anime-specific here are some filler arcs with episode numbers.
Episode 102-106: Land of tea Escort Mission
You will find filler episodes fixed here and there in the starting 100 episodes of Naruto. But the first arc filled with fillers is the Land of tea Escort Mission, it is the one and only mission that Team 7 is allowed to go on during the end of Chunin exams.
The first filler arc of the original Naruto Anime is called The Land of Tea Arc. To assist Idate Morino to succeed in a race, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura travel to the Land of Tea.
It happens between the canonical Sasuke retrieval and searches for Tsunade arcs.
It isn’t a crucial part of the plot and largely serves to fill out Sasuke’s growing sense of inferiority to Naruto.
Episodes 136-141: Land of Rice Field Investigation Mission
The first of the Post-Sasuke Retrieval filler arcs is The Land of Rice Fields Arc, which is the second filler arc in the original Naruto Anime.
Jiraiya, Sakura, and Naruto journey to the Land of Rice Fields in an effort to locate Otogakure and return Sasuke to Konoha.
While there, they come into contact with members of the Fma clan, a number of whom have sworn loyalty to Orochimaru.
Episode 142-147: Mizuki Tracking Mission
From episodes 142 to 147 of the Naruto Anime, there is an Anime-only story arc from Part I of the series called The Mizuki Tracking Mission.
The Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission comes before this arc, while the Bikch Search Mission comes after it.
This arc mostly explains why Jiraiya, who had just volunteered to take Naruto with him to train for three years, instead departs on a reconnaissance trip for a bit, allowing Naruto to take part in a variety of filler missions in the interim.
Episodes: 148-151: Bikouchu search Mission
The third of the post-Sasuke retrieval filler arcs, The Search for the Bikochu Arc is the fourth filler arc in the original Naruto Anime.
Naruto and Team 8 go off in search of the Bikochu, a beetle claimed to be able to detect a person’s smell for kilometers, in a desperate attempt to get information on Sasuke’s whereabouts.
While looking, they encounter the Kamizuru clan, who seek to own the Bikocuh themselves.
Hinata, in the meantime, learns a new variation of the Gentle Fist in an effort to show her family and squadmates that she is a deserving ninja.
Episode 152-157: Kurosaki Family Removal Mission
On a quest to help rid a neighboring town of a gang that has been terrorizing it, Naruto teams up with Team Guy.
Given that the gang’s commander was previously a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—an organization of which Kisame of the Akatsuki was always a member—and that Naruto is trying to locate Sasuke, it is implied that this incident is connected to his quest. Probably the only canon filler arc.
Episode 159-160: Gosunkugi Capture Mission
The Bounty Hunter Arc is the fifth of the Post-Sasuke Retrieval filler arcs and the sixth filler arc in the original Naruto Anime.
Tsunade tasked Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata with detaining legendary thief Gosunkugi of the Land of Stone after word of his approach to the Land of Fire reached Konoha. During the journey.
They stumble upon Sazanami, a bounty hunter who was also chasing Gosunkugi, as they traveled.
Episode 162-167: Cursed Warrior Extermination Arc
They ask Konohagakure for assistance since the Land of Birds is being troubled by the spirit of a cursed warrior.
In their pursuit of the ghost, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten finally discover a plot against the country’s leadership.
The scenario turns out to be a massive conspiracy, complete with a lot of revelations concerning the identity of the ghost and the perpetrators of the local fatalities.
Episode 169-173: Kaima Capture Arc
Due to the significant number of people that perished in the attack, one effect of the Konoha Crush Arc is that there aren’t many active ninjas remaining in Konoha.
This is a great justification for sending several genin and lower-level ninjas on missions that would normally be assigned to higher-skilled shinobi.
The Kaima Capture Mission, in which Naruto, Ino, and Shino collaborated with Anko as their mission leader, is the ideal illustration of it.
Episode 175-176: Buried Gold Excavation Mission
The Naruto Anime’s Buried Gold Excavation Mission takes place in episodes 175 and 176. The Kaima Capture Mission comes before this arc, while the Daimy Heir Escort Mission comes after the Star Guard Mission.
Due to Naruto’s bad performance on missions with Kiba and Hinata, they are assigned a job to discover some treasure and are warned that if they fail it, they would be sent back to the Academy.
They set out to discover it, but they are unable to work together due to Naruto and Kiba’s disagreements.
Episode 178-183: Star Guard Mission
This is another filler arc that the show is attempting to connect to the main story.
Team Guy is on a mission to Hoshigakue to assist in defending a meteorite that produces a lot of chakras and has been the focus of previous robbery attempts.
Other than these episodes the list below has the complete guide for filler episodes:
| Naruto Season | Filler Episodes |
| Season 1 | 26 |
| Season 2 | 97 |
| Season 3 | 101, 102-106, 136-141 |
| Season 4 | 142-183 |
| Season 5 | 184-219 |
Should I skip Naruto filler?
Skipping fillers is not an issue if you only have a weekend to watch the entire Anime.
A sizable portion of the fan base prefers to watch every episode, and some of the filler episodes are entertaining to watch.
One may bypass these filler episodes when binge-watching this series because they don’t significantly affect the storyline.
Is Naruto Season 4 a filler?
All of the episodes in Season 4 of Naruto are complete filler, making it likely the weakest season yet.
Given the abundance of absurd storylines and unimportant details, it wouldn’t be a stretch to claim that most fans would lose interest at these points.
Around this time, the majority of casual viewers realize that none of these storylines actually important and regret their choice, switching immediately to Naruto: Shippuden.
Conclusion
- Filler arcs are added in Naruto to prolong its run time while the creators of the show wait for new chapters of the source Manga to be published, or they may be cheaply produced to save money on animation during an Anime season.
- Naruto did not include many fillers in the first two seasons but after that, the Anime has given more space to fillers that are not canon to the main plot.