Summary

Naruto's pre-time skip storyline captivated fans with lighthearted moments before the darker turn it took later on.
The series excels in storytelling but relies on fillers to give space for the manga's creation, providing unique character stories.
Seasons progress through Naruto's growth before the time skip, including memorable arcs like the Chunin exams and character fillers.

Naruto is a legendary anime that needs no introduction. The series as a whole has seen its fair share of ups and downs, but there's no denying the fact that pre-time skip Naruto was a joy to behold in its own right. The show's lighthearted nature betrayed the dark turn it would take later down the line and kept fans hooked on the show as they grew up along with Naruto and his friends.

There's a reason why so many people hold Naruto in high regard, with this anime being the pinnacle of storytelling barring the last war arc. However, the original Naruto anime was focused solely on the lives of the protagonists as children before they became teenagers and attained a boost in power that was simply incredible.

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Of course, given Naruto's serialized nature, it was only a matter of time before the show would rely on filler to give Kishimoto some breathing room as he penned the chapters of this manga. The last few episodes of this run before the show bridged over to Shippuden are full of anime-original Naruto filler episodes that vary in quality but are certainly worth checking out for fans of Naruto who want to see these characters flourish in missions while also goofing off from time to time. Viewers who want to take an in-depth look at the various fillers of Naruto should check this table out.

Updated on July 27, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: Naruto is one of the most popular shonen anime of all time. The eponymous protagonist's journey from humble beginnings to eventually becoming the Hokage is a great example of long-term storytelling that rarely faltered, barring a drawn-out final arc. However, that's far from the only point in Naruto where the pacing can feel off, even if the epic nature of the Fourth Shinobi World War is a blast to witness. Throughout its run, Naruto has experienced its fair share of filler that has been pretty hit or miss. Still, hardcore fans of the series will love to check out these Naruto filler episodes and see more adventures starring everyone's favorite character. In these episodes, they do everything from messing around to going on shinobi missions and encountering unique characters.

Naruto Statistics Chart

Filler Content	Episode(s)
A Recap Of The Show Till Now	26
Trying To Take Tsunade's Debt	97
Trying To Uncover Kakashi's Face	101
The Land Of Tea Escort Mission	102-106
Land Of Rice Fields Investigation Mission	136-141
Mizuki Tracking Mission	142-147
Bikochu Search Mission	148-151
Kurosuki Family Removal Mission	152-157
Gosunkugi Capture Mission	159, 160
Cursed Warrior Extermination Mission	162-167
Kaima Capture Mission	169-173
Daimyo Heir Escort Mission	174
Buried Gold Excavation Mission	175, 176
Stopping The Courier Ninja	177
Star Guard Mission	178-183
Various One-Off Episodes	184-186
Peddlers Escort Mission	187-191
Third Great Beast Arc	195, 196
Konoha Plans Recapture Mission	197-201
The Best Battles During The Sasuke Recovery Mission	202
Yakumo Kurama Rescue Mission	203-207
Prized Artifact Escort Mission	208
Gantetsu Escort Mission	209-212
Menma Memory Search Mission	213-215
Sunagakure Support Mission	216-220

5 Season 1

Filler Episode(s): 26

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Notable Filler Episode(s): Special Report: Live from the Forest of Death!

Naruto starts on a relatively simple note, showing the life of the orphan Naruto as he creates a ton of trouble to draw attention to himself. Given his status as a Jinchuuriki, the entire village vilifies this poor child and forces him into a corner. Thankfully, Naruto doesn't let this bring him down and manages to become a ninja through sheer hard work and determination.

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After embarking on his first proper mission, he also takes part in the Chunin exams. This is considered by many to be one of Naruto's best and most important arcs that helped the series attain the massive fan following it enjoys to this day. The fact that some of the arc's best moments come before the final battles begin shows just how high-quality this saga is.

The solitary piece of filler in this season comes in the form of a clever recap episode before the second test in the Forest of Death, where a sneaky Konohamaru interviews Naruto and gets some information from Sasuke as well.

4 Season 2

Filler Episode(s): 97

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Notable Filler Episode(s): Kidnapped! Naruto's Hot Spring Adventure!

The second season of Naruto is where things truly escalate. The final part of the Chunin exams turns out to be nothing more than a farce, with Orochimaru using this distraction to wreak havoc upon the Leaf Village and battle against his former sensei. It's easily one of the most awe-inspiring fights in the series up till that point, so it's a shame that the battle ends in the death of the Third Hokage while Orochimaru somehow manages to escape.

This leads to a void in the Leaf Village hierarchy, leading to Jiraiya and Naruto embarking on an adventure as they strive to bring back the third member of the legendary Sannin to become the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf Village. It's a great arc, with the solitary filler episode coming in the form of a rather hilarious moment where two unfortunate ninja are tasked with taking back Tsunade's debt, only to find out that this debt had been paid back a long while ago.

While the first two seasons barely had any filler, the slow creep of this original content started in the third season. All of these Naruto filler episodes were added to the show to give Kishimoto time to breathe as he penned the manga. All in all, most fans were fine with checking out original adventures starring their beloved cast.

3 Season 3

Filler Episode(s): 101-106, 136-141

Notable Filler Episode(s): Gotta See! Gotta Know! Kakashi-Sensei's True Face!, Mission: Help an Old Friend in the Land of Tea, Deep Cover!? A Super S-Ranked Mission!

The third season is where the pre-time skip portion of Naruto essentially ends in the canon storyline. The season starts with a rather hilarious filler episode where the members of Team 7 try to unmask Kakashi to find out what he looks like. Most people consider this to be one of the best filler episodes in the series, so much so that Shippuden featured an episode going back to this concept that ended with Kakashi's actual face reveal.

This is followed up by an escort mission in the Land of Tea that is fairly uneventful. However, the anime uses the ending of this arc as motivation for Sasuke to fight Naruto and find out who's more powerful, which is a rather unique way to integrate filler into the canon storyline. After finding out that he hasn't made enough progress as a shinobi, Sasuke accepts Orochimaru's offer to gain more power. This leads to the village of Konoha forming a squad that would work together to retrieve Sasuke.

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This mission fails, setting up the events for Naruto to travel around the world with Jiraiya and learn some neat tricks in the process. The season ends with another filler arc set in the Land of Tea. The arc fleshed out the character of an examiner in the Chunin Exams, which makes this short side-story worth checking out.

2 Season 4

Filler Episode(s): 142-183

Notable Filler Episode(s): A New Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho!, Blaze Away Byakugan: This Is My Ninja Way, Hidden Jutsu: The Price of The Ninja Art: Kujaku

Season 4 is entirely filler, which can be tough for fans to digest. However, fans who developed a bond with these characters didn't mind experiencing additional stories with them. Naruto boasted great pacing until this point, but one can't blame the series for taking some time until Kishimoto managed to pen a decent amount of Shippuden. Most casual viewers won't care that they're watching anime-original content, as long as they can see their favorite characters in these Naruto filler episodes. It can be odd to see everyone living a normal life after Sasuke's departure, but that's still believable. Life must move on in Konoha even after such a climactic moment.

Some fans love that there are canon moments present in some episodes. Viewers who are invested in these filler episodes will be rewarded with bits of genuine character development that make these anime-original storylines meaningful in their own way. If people just want to get to the good stuff without missing out on anything, they can always check out a fan-made shortened version.

1 Season 5

Filler Episode(s): 184-219

Notable Filler Episode(s): The Targeted Shukaku, The Ultimate Weapon Reborn

Season 5 is similar to Season 4 in terms of the sheer number of Naruto filler episodes that are present here. The final season is full to the brim with anime-original storylines, barring the last episode. It's an interesting watch that devout fans of Naruto can enjoy. While the final moments of most battles are still pretty cool, there's no denying that these relentless filler arcs don't play any role in the later canon stories of Naruto. Still, the storytelling has its moments and can be captivating if fans are invested.

New viewers have the luxury of skipping these episodes and getting to the canon portion of the series, but this isn't necessary for fans of the show. There's not a lot of time left with these kids before they eventually turn into adults. It's easy to see why some fans would love to spend as much time as possible with their favorite characters before the eventual time skip.

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