Naruto and Naruto Shippuden fillers have always been harassing its fans, globally. In manga-based anime, fillers have been used to put distance between the anime and its source material, preventing an overlap that would cause trouble for both forms of the series. But sometimes for this reason, the series becomes boring. A modern Shounen anime like Naruto is famous for the huge amount of its Anime only arcs or Fillers approach.

Even though the majority of the filler episodes do not contribute to the plotline, there are some important filler arcs that give a clear image of the mess that happens now and then in the anime. In this article, we sorted out the best list possible out of the astounding 720 episodes to weed out the important and unimportant Fillers or Anime only episodes to maximize your Naruto experience!

PLOT: Naruto Series

Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto is a tale about an orphaned young ninja named Naruto Uzumaki. He is an outcast with a dream of becoming the Hokage, leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. The series follows Naruto and his friends towards fulfilling his dream one day.

Naruto: Filler Episodes/Anime only arcs

26, 97, 101-106, 136-141, 143-219.

Naruto Shippuden: Filler Episodes/Anime only arcs

28, 57-71, 89-112, 144-151, 170-171, 176-196, 223-242, 257-260, 271, 279-281, 284-295, 303-320, 347-361, 376-377, 388-390, 394-413, 416-417, 422-423, 427-450, 464-469, 480-483

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NARUTO: Detailed Filler/Anime only arcs list

Naruto was an anime series that ran from 2002 to 2007. In total 220 episodes of Naruto were aired. With a total of 90 reported filler episodes, Naruto has a high filler percentage of 40.9%.

SKIP – Episode 26: “Special Report: Live from the Forest of Death!”

SKIP – Episode 97: “Kidnapped! Naruto’s Hot Spring Adventure!”

OPTIONAL – Episode 101: “Gotta See! Gotta Know! Kakashi sensei’s True Face!”

SKIP – Episode 102-106: Land of Tea Escort Mission arc

OPTIONAL – Episode136-141: Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission arc

SKIP – Episode 143- 147: Mizuki Tracking Mission

SKIP – Episode 148-151: Search for the Rare Bikochu Beetle Mission

OPTIONAL – Episodes 152-157: Kurosuki Family Removal Mission

SKIP – Episodes 159-160: Gosunkugi Capture Mission

SKIP – 162-167: Cursed Warrior Extermination Mission

SKIP – Episodes 169-173: Kaima Capture Mission

SKIP – Episodes 175-176: Buried Gold Excavation Mission

SKIP – Episodes 178-183: Star Guard Mission

SKIP – Episodes 187-191: Peddlers Escort Mission

SKIP – Episodes 195-196: Third Great Beast Arc

SKIP – Episodes 197-201: Konoha Plans Recapture Mission

SKIP – Episodes 203-207: Yakumo Kurama Rescue Mission

SKIP – Episodes 209-212: Gantetsu Escort Mission

SKIP – Episodes 213-215: Menma Memory Search Mission

SKIP – Episodes 216-219: Sunagakure Support Mission

Naruto Shippuden: Detailed Filler/Anime only arcs list

Naruto Shippuden was an anime series that ran from 2007 to 2017. In total 500 episodes of Naruto Shippuden were aired. With a total of 205 reported filler episodes, Naruto Shippuden has a high filler percentage of 41%.

SKIP – Episode 28: “Beasts: Alive Again!”

SKIP – Episode 54-71: Twelve Guardian Ninja

SKIP – Episode 89- 112: Three-Tails’ Appearance

SKIP – Episode 144-151: Six-Tails Unleashed

SKIP – Episode 170-171: The Quest for the Fourth Hokage’s Legacy

SKIP – Episode 176-196: Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha

SKIP – Episode 223-242: Paradise Life on a Boat

SKIP – Episode 257-260: More memories of the 1st mission, Chunin exams, and Sasuke leaving the village.

SKIP – Episode 271: “Road to Sakura”

SKIP – Episode 279-281: Mostly other non important battles of the Ninja war

SKIP – Episode 284-289: The Seven Shinobi Swordsmen Arc

SKIP – Episode 290-295: Power Arc

SKIP – Episode 303- 320: Large amounts of flashbacks and extra missions when the characters were kids.

WATCH – Episode 347- 361: Kakashi’s Anbu Arc: The Shinobi That Lives in the Darkness

WATCH – Episode 376-377: Frankenstein/Mecha Parody

OPTIONAL – Episode 388- 390: Hinata’s development from the perspective of her sister

SKIP – Episode 394-413: In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths

OPTIONAL – Episode 416- 417: More Obito’s flashbacks

SKIP – Episode 422-423: The time when Naruto teach Konohamaru the Rasengan

SKIP – Episode 427-450: Dreams of the people trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi

WATCH – Episode 464-469:  Kaguya & The Sage of 6 Path’s backstory 

SKIP – Episode 480-483: Mostly filler recaps

Not that these anime original episodes should be shunned forever, but it is advisable to watch them at your leisure. I hope this article helps you to enjoy the fullest of the beloved Naruto series. To seek more “how to watch” and “Filler” articles, keep checking in to Animehunch! Till then, mata ne ^-^