Naruto: Shippuden is roughly 40% filler, naturally leading potential fans to look for a list of every filler episode. Though Naruto’s best filler episodes can develop the series’ world and characters, the same can’t be said for every episode.
For most anime adapting a long-running manga series, the line between filler and not filler can be clear as day. Filler episodes are any episodes that aren’t adapting a manga chapter.
The problem with Naruto Shippuden is that the lines between filler and not filler are blurred, as many episodes of the beloved series mix filler content into manga-canon content, making everything just that much more frustrating for those who want to avoid filler.
Still, though some episodes mix filler content with canon content, Naruto: Shippuden still has its fair share of pure filler for fans to look out for.
Every Filler Episode of Naruto: Shippuden
And Which Are Worth Skipping
|
Episode # |
Episode or Arc Title |
Watchability? |
Description |
|
28 |
Beasts! Alive Again! |
|
|
|
57 – 71 |
Twelve Guardian Ninja |
Worth Watching |
Before the Akatsuki Suppression Mission, Naruto grapples with his wind release training and learns clever applications for Shadow Clones for information gathering, with special focus on Asuma’s faction, the Twelve Guardian Ninja. |
|
89 – 112 |
Three-Tails’ Appearance |
Essential |
Focuses on the Akatsuki’s efforts to capture Isobu, the Three-Tailed Beast sealed within Yagura Karatachi of the VIllage Hidden in the Mist. |
|
144 – 151 |
Six-Tails Unleashed |
Essential |
Akatsuki mission to capture Saiken, the Six-Tailed Beast. Additional glimpse of Pain in combat along with a crucial plotline that otherwise goes understated in the main plot. |
|
170 – 171 |
Big Adventure! The Quest for the Fourth Hokage’s Legacy |
Skippable |
Flashback to the Chunin Exams Arc while Naruto learns his Summoning Jutsu, with a massive red herring in the form of the Fourth Hokage’s legacy. |
|
176 – 196 |
Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha |
Skippable |
Collection of flashbacks following the Pain’s Assault Arc, with interesting glimpses at events just before Naruto Part 1. However, none of the events have bearing on the plot. |
|
223 – 242 |
Paradise Life on a Boat |
Skippable |
Transit period to move Naruto during the buildup to the Fourth Shinobi World War, to the Land of Lightning. |
|
257 – 260 |
Naruto & Sasuke flashback mini arc |
Skippable |
Recap of events between Sasuke’s first meeting, their growing rift after Naruto’s immense developments at the Chunin Exams, and climactic Sasuke Retrieval Arc. Skippable entirely if one has already watched Naruto Part 1. |
|
271 |
Road to Sakura |
Worth Watching |
Sakura develops amnesia and encounters hijinks as Konoha helps her regain her memory. Ties into Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie and is a Sakura-focused episode, which is not common enough. |
|
279 – 281 |
Fourth Shinobi World War side stories |
Skippable |
One-shot stories depicting battles involving Team 8, Kurotsuchi, and Deidara during the Fourth Shinobi World War. |
|
284 – 295 |
Fourth Shinobi World War side stories |
Skippable |
One-shot stories during the Fourth Shinobi World War. |
|
303 – 320 |
Fourth Shinobi World War side stories |
Skippable |
One-shot stories during the Fourth Shinobi World War. |
|
347 – 361 |
Kakashi: Shadow of the ANBU Black Ops |
Essential |
Explores Kakashi’s past as part of the Anbu, an underappreciated and underdeveloped black ops force among Konoha’s shinobi, with additional focus on Yamato and Itachi and their functions within the force. |
|
376 |
The Directive to Take the Nine Tails |
Skippable |
Infamously skippable filler mini-arc featuring Mecha Naruto, an automaton version of Naruto made by Orochimaru to interfere with the Akatsuki’s plans to capture the Nine-Tailed Beast. |
|
377 |
Naruto Vs. Mecha Naruto |
Skippable |
Same as episode #376, entirely missable arc. |
|
388 |
My First Friend |
Worth Watching |
A touching episode that explores Gaara’s friendship with Naruto while giving way for the Tailed Beasts to join the battle. |
|
389 |
The Adored Elder Sister |
Worth Watching |
While not essential, it gives an intriguing glimpse into Hinata’s position within the Hyuga clan as a contested prospective heiress. |
|
390 |
Hanabi’s Decision |
Worth Watching |
A follow-up to episode #389, explores Pain’s Assault through the Hyuga clan and Hanabi’s perspective as she sees Hinata’s grit defending Naruto. |
|
394 – 413 |
In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths |
Skippable |
Follows the events of the second Chunin Exams after Sasuke leaves Konoha at the end of Part 1. Fun to follow the adventures of the Konoha Eleven but not necessary for the plot. |
|
416 |
The Formation of Team Minato |
Worth Watching |
Offers context on Kakashi and Obito’s past together under Minato’s leadership. |
|
417 |
You’ll Be My Backup |
Worth Watching |
Offers context on Kakashi and Obito’s past together under Minato’s leadership. |
|
422 – 423 |
Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki side stories |
Skippable |
Explores Naruto teaching Konohamaru the Rasengan, connects to events of Pain’s Assault, and how Konohamaru saved Naruto’s old jacket, later seen in Boruto. |
|
429 – 430 |
Killer B Rappūden |
Worth Watching |
One of the chilling and fascinating instances of the Infinite Tsukuyomi conveying excellent filler for those wishing to see more of the Jinchuriki. |
|
431 |
To See That Smile, Just One More Time |
Worth Watching |
A rare, focused glimpse at Karin with the Infinite Tsukuyomi as a backdrop. |
|
432 – 450 |
Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale of Naruto the Hero |
Skippable |
Focusing on Tsunade’s Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, seeing Jiraiya’s new novel. |
|
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 Six Paths as they fight Kaguya, his mother. |
|
480 – 483 |
Childhood |
Worth Watching |
A nostalgic palate cleanser exploring characters paired up, sometimes with unexpected combinations, including Naruto & Hinata, Sasuke & Sakura, but also Gaara & Shikamaru, and Jiraiya & Kakashi. |
All in all, filler accounts for 206 episodes out of the Naruto: Shippuden’s 500 episodes. Though not quite half, that still accounts for 41% of the entire series.
Looking at the list completely, it’s easy to see where the team behind the anime ran into speed bumps when adapting the manga with the series mostly avoiding filler until around the hundred-episode mark, where things get a bit more dire.
Both Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are infamous for their filler content, with the original series also having around 40% of its episodes be filler.
Naruto: Shippuden Filler Worth Watching
Studio Pierrot’s handling of the filler content may not always have been a hit with audiences, but there are certain episodes that are completely worth watching. Whether it’s due to highlighting a key character or just a well-written arc, the following are filler episodes you can’t miss out on:
- 57-71: for its expansion on the Land of Fire
- 110-112: Canon connections to the main story
- 144-151: Guy shines as a character in these entries
- 271: Road to Sakura is a hit or miss among fans. While it is a rare Sakura-centric episode, its only relevance connects to a separate movie outside of the main story
- 284-295: While not entirely connected to the main story, there are still well-written entries interspersed within the Fourth Shinobu World War Side Stories
- 303-305, 307-308, 317: have strong connections to the main plotline and are worth watching
- 347-348, 349-361: Kakashi’s earlier years as a shinobi are entirely worth experiencing and should not be skipped
- 388-390: Though not necessary for the story, these episodes do tug at the heartstrings and are well written
- 464-468: As mentioned, this is essential for understanding the story even as it’s set in the past
- 469: Kakashi Face Reveal, enough said
Despite Naruto: Shippuden’s reputation for its filler, not all of it can be written off. The anime series would actually go on to adapt and flesh out scenes from the manga, and through the creativity of the studio to expand on the shinobi world as well as the characters within it.
Naruto: Shippuden Filler You Need to Skip at All Costs
On the flip side of Naruto: Shippuden’s good content is filler that should be avoided by all means since it adds nothing to the plot, has only served as padding time, or has completely thrown off the story. Most notoriously is the Mecha Naruto episode, which did amuse most fans with its callbacks, parody, and references, but did derail the ongoing narrative.
- 97: Throwaway episode that adds nothing
- 170-171: Flashback to the Chunin Exam, don’t need to watch it if you’ve seen Naruto
- 223-242: Adds nothing to the plot, clearly padding time until the fourth Shinobi World War
- 257-260: Recap episodes
- 279-281: Less interesting installment of short stories in the Fourth Shinobi World War Arc
- 376-377: The infamous Mecha Naruto episodes
- 432-450: While one would hope that an arc centered on Tsunade would be interesting, this one completely missed the mark and didn’t land for a lot of fans
While some filler can be forgiven due to the nature of adapting an ongoing manga, these episodes are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Whether it’s due to unnecessary recaps that only repeat the information or just poorly written stories that have added nothing, don’t feel obligated to watch these episodes unless you’re actively challenging a Naruto: Shippuden completion run.
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Classic shonen anime, Naruto, is getting a new mobile game and it just released a remastered scene from the original series that will make fans happy.
Current trends have moved big shonen series away from the weekly release model. My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen are seasonal series, and that has given each a level of consistency that means they don’t have to rely on filler. The last remnant of the weekly release model, Naruto: Shippuden’s sequel series Boruto, seems to be moving toward seasonal as well based on comments by Studio Pierrot’s president.
Regardless of how fans may feel about the abundance of filler in Naruto: Shippuden, it is forever baked into the franchise’s history. Though quite a lot of it didn’t live up to the high standards set out by the canon material, more than a few of the filler episodes are more than worth watching for any fan of Naruto: Shippuden.
Naruto: Shippuden
- Release Date
-
2007 – 2017
- Network
-
TV Tokyo
- Directors
-
Masaaki Kumagai, Naoki Horiuchi, Kazunori Mizuno, Yuki Kinoshita, Kazuya Iwata, Hiroyoshi Kishikawa, Yusuke Onoda, Hisashi Ishii, Yoshihiro Sugai, Shu Watanabe, Akitaro Daichi, Takuma Suzuki, Kiyoshi Murayama, Tsuneo Tominaga, Kunitoshi Okajima, Kenichi Nishida, Hideki Takayama, Masaharu Watanabe, Akira Shimizu, Ayataka Tanemura, Hiroaki Nishimura, Atsushi Nakagawa, Kentaro Fujita, Masayuki Matsumoto
- Writers
-
Yasuyuki Suzuki, Shin Yoshida, Junki Takegami, Katsuhiko Chiba, Yuka Miyata, Satoru Nishizono, Kento Shimoyama, Daisuke Watanabe, Hideto Tanaka, Masaya Honda
-
Junko Takeuchi
Naruto Uzumaki (voice)
-
Noriaki Sugiyama
Sasuke Uchiha (voice)