Naruto: Shippuuden it’s about 40% filler, naturally leading potential fans to look for a list of each filler episode. However naruto The best filler episodes can develop the world and characters of the series, the same cannot be said for every episode. As good as the filler is, it’s easy to see why many fans completely ignore the filler content. Unfortunately, this task can be easier said than done.
For most anime that adapt a long-running manga series, the line between filler and non-filler can be clear as day. Filler episodes are any episodes that do not adapt a manga chapter. The problem with Naruto Shippuuden It’s just that the lines between filler and non-filler get blurred, as many episodes of the beloved series mix filler content with manga-canon content, making it all that much more frustrating for those who want to avoid filler. Still, while some episodes mix filler content with canon content, Naruto: Shippuuden still has its fair share of pure filler for fans to seek out.
Every filler episode of Naruto: Shippuden
And which ones are worth skipping
Episode # |
Episode or arc title |
Watchability? |
Description |
28 |
Beasts! Alive again! |
|
|
57-71 |
Twelve Ninja Guardians |
It’s worth watching |
Before the Akatsuki Suppression Mission, Naruto struggles with his wind release training and learns clever applications of Shadow Clones for intelligence gathering, with a special focus on Asuma’s faction, the Twelve Guardian Ninja. |
89 – 112 |
Appearance of the Three Tails |
Essential |
Focuses on Akatsuki’s efforts to capture Isobu, the Three-Tailed Beast sealed in Yagura Karatachi of the Village Hidden in the Mist. |
144 – 151 |
Six-Tails Released |
Essential |
Akatsuki’s mission to capture Saiken, the Six-Tailed Beast. An additional glimpse of Pain in combat, along with a crucial plot that would otherwise be underplayed in the main plot. |
170 – 171 |
Great adventure! The Search for the Fourth Hokage’s Legacy |
Ignorable |
Flashback to the Chunin Exams Arc as Naruto learns his Summoning Jutsu, with a huge red herring in the form of the Fourth Hokage’s legacy. |
176 – 196 |
Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha |
Ignorable |
Collection of flashbacks following the Pain’s Assault arc, with interesting glimpses into previous events naruto Part 1. However, none of the events are related to the plot. |
223 – 242 |
Paradise life on a boat |
Ignorable |
Transit period for moving Naruto during the preparation for the Fourth Shinobi World War, to the Land of Lightning. |
257 – 260 |
Naruto and Sasuke mini flashback arc |
Ignorable |
Recap of events between Sasuke’s first meeting, their growing divergence following Naruto’s immense developments in the Chunin Exams, and the climax of the Sasuke Recovery Arc. Totally skippable if anyone has watched it naruto Part 1. |
271 |
Road to Sakura |
It’s worth watching |
Sakura develops amnesia and encounters mischief as Konoha helps her regain her memory. Connect to Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie and it’s a Sakura-focused episode, which isn’t quite common. |
279 – 281 |
Parallel stories of the Fourth Shinobi World War |
Ignorable |
Unique stories depicting battles involving Team 8, Kurotsuchi and Deidara during the Fourth Shinobi World War. |
284 – 295 |
Parallel stories of the Fourth Shinobi World War |
Ignorable |
Unique stories during the Fourth Shinobi World War. |
303 – 320 |
Parallel stories of the Fourth Shinobi World War |
Ignorable |
Unique stories during the Fourth Shinobi World War. |
347 – 361 |
Kakashi: Shadow of the Black Ops ANBU |
Essential |
Explores Kakashi’s past as part of the Anbu, an underappreciated and underdeveloped covert operations force among Konoha’s shinobi, with additional focus on Yamato and Itachi and their roles within the force. |
376 |
The Guideline to Catch the Nine Tails |
Ignorable |
Infamous skippable mini-filler arc featuring Mecha Naruto, an automaton version of Naruto made by Orochimaru to interfere with Akatsuki’s plans to capture the Nine-Tailed Beast. |
377 |
Naruto vs. mecha naruto |
Ignorable |
Same as episode 376, totally missable arc. |
388 |
My first friend |
It’s worth watching |
A moving episode that explores Gaara’s friendship with Naruto while paving the way for the Tailed Beasts to join the battle. |
389 |
The beloved older sister |
It’s worth watching |
While not essential, it gives intriguing insight into Hinata’s position within the Hyuga clan as a contested future heir. |
390 |
Hanabi’s decision |
It’s worth watching |
A continuation of episode 389, it explores Pain’s attack on the Hyuga clan and Hanabi’s perspective as she sees Hinata’s courage defending Naruto. |
394 – 413 |
In the footsteps of Naruto: the paths of friends |
Ignorable |
Follows the events of the second Chunin Exam after Sasuke leaves Konoha at the end of Part 1. Fun to follow the adventures of the Konoha Eleven, but not necessary to the plot. |
416 |
The Formation of Team Minato |
It’s worth watching |
Provides context on Kakashi and Obito’s past together under Minato’s leadership. |
417 |
You will be my backup |
It’s worth watching |
Provides context on Kakashi and Obito’s past together under Minato’s leadership. |
422 – 423 |
Birth of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki parallel stories |
Ignorable |
Explores Naruto teaching Konohamaru the Rasengan, connects to the events of Pain’s Assault and how Konohamaru saved Naruto’s old jacket, seen later in Boruto. |
429 – 430 |
Killer B Rappuden |
It’s worth watching |
One of the chilling and fascinating examples of Infinite Tsukuyomi, providing an excellent filler for those who want to see more of the Jinchuriki. |
431 |
To see that smile, just one more time |
It’s worth watching |
A rare, focused glimpse of Karin with the Infinite Tsukuyomi in the background. |
432 – 450 |
Jiraiya Shinobi Manual: The Tale of Naruto the Hero |
Ignorable |
Focusing on Tsunade’s Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, seeing Jiraiya’s new romance. |
464 – 468 |
Ashura and Indra Arc |
Essential |
Exploration of Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship with Ashura and Indra Otsutsuki and, by extension, Hagoromo, Sage of the Six Paths as they fight Kaguya, their mother. |
480 – 483 |
Infancy |
It’s worth watching |
A nostalgic palate cleanser exploring paired characters, sometimes with unexpected combinations, including Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura, but also Gaara and Shikamaru and Jiraiya and Kakashi. |
In total, the filler is responsible for 206 episodes of the Naruto: Shippuuden 500 episodes. While not half, that still represents 41% of the entire series. Looking at the list fully, it’s easy to see where the team behind the anime ran into obstacles when adapting the manga with the series mostly avoiding filler until around the hundred episode mark where things get a little more dire. Both naruto and Naruto: Shippuuden are famous for their filler content, with the original series also having around 40% of its episodes as filler.
How Naruto: Shippuden’s Filler Hurts the Series Overall
Although it is relatively easy to skip many Naruto: Shippuuden filler episodes, they still detract from the series overall. Knowledge about filler episodes and arcs meant to build time between manga and canon stories may be common among most fans, but it’s certainly not universal. For any fan who doesn’t know what goes on in the manga, it would be easy to assume that all or most of the series’ episodes are part of the same canon. Additionally, having to look up guides on which episodes to skip is significantly less straightforward than just rewatching the entire series.
What is truly harmful to Naruto: Shippuuden however, there are fewer filler episodes or arcs and more filler scenes inserted into canon episodes. Just like the rest of the filler, these scenes can vary in quality, but unlike the filler episodes, they are much harder to skip. The result is that, while Naruto: Shippuuden the best episodes are absolutely stunning in their quality, the pacing and plot of the series are not as strong as Masashi Kishimoto’s original.
In addition to the issue of rhythm, Shippuuden Padding can also give fans the wrong impression about the world and characters that are the backbone of the series. Sakura, in particular, is a frequent target of mischaracterization in filler episodes. At your best, Shippuuden Filler conveys information that the main story simply wouldn’t have time for, but at worst, filler can cloud fans’ perceptions of certain characters, ultimately causing a little more harm than good.
Why Naruto: Shippuden has so much padding compared to other anime series
With 41% of its episodes made up of filler Naruto: Shippuuden has a high percentage of non-canon episodes compared to other major Shonen anime airing at the time. One piecewhich has been running since 1999, has only about 9% of its 1,105 episodes marked as pure filler, while Dragon Ball Z it is around 13% filling.
The difference could very well lie in the differences in how each anime’s studios handle production. It’s notable that series that are relatively light on filler like One piece and Dragon Ball Z were both made by Toei animation, while filler-heavy series such as naruto, Naruto: Shippuudenand Bleach were made by Studio Pierrot.
Ultimately, although Toei Animation’s shows resorted to filler much less frequently than Studio Pierrot’s, the culprit of filler appears to be primarily the weekly release schedule adopted by many successful anime series of the time. Naruto: Shippuudenlike many of the biggest anime of its time, it aired new episodes weekly with very occasional breaks. The result was that anime series were often forced to use filler so that they didn’t catch up to the manga’s source material.
Current trends have moved major shonen series away from the weekly release model. My Hero Academy, Demon Slayerand Jujutsu Kaisen they’re seasonal series, and this has given each of them a level of consistency that means they don’t need to rely on filler. The last remnant of the weekly release model, Naruto: Shippuuden sequential series Boruto, appears to be heading towards seasonality as well based on comments from Studio Pierrot’s president.
Regardless of how fans may feel about the abundance of filler in Naruto: Shippuudenis forever inscribed in the history of the franchise. While much of it didn’t live up to the high standards set by the canon material, more than a few filler episodes are worth watching for any fan of Naruto: Shippuuden.