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Naruto Filler Arc Guide (All Filler Episodes Explained)

Naruto and filler have gone hand in hand since its debut in Japan on October 3, 2002. With 220 episodes, it is hard to distinguish what is canon to the manga and filler. Filtering Naruto episodes is more difficult when a huge portion of them have a mixture of canon and filler. Here is a guide of Naruto arcs and episodes segmented between canon, filler, and a mixture of both.

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Naruto follows the story of a young ninja shunned by others. As he strives to become Hokage, he faces broken bonds, new friendships, and personal growth. Below is a breakdown of episodes that are considered “Canon” or “Filler.”

All Naruto Canon Episodes

EpisodesArc/Episodes Title
1-19The Land of Waves Arc
20-67The Chunin Exams
68-80Konoha Crush Arc
81-100Search for Tsunade Arc
107-135Sasuke Recovery Mission

Naruto Filler Episodes

EpisodesArc/Episode Titles
26“Special Report: Live from the Forest of Death”
97“Kidnapped! Naruto’s Hot Spring Adventure!”
101“Gotta See! Gotta Know! Kakashi Sensei’s True Face!”
102-106Land of Tea Escort Mission
136-141Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission
142-147Mizuki Tracking Mission
152-157Kurosuki Family Removal Mission
158“Follow My Lead! The Great Survival Challenge”
159-160Gosunkugi Capture Mission
161“The Appearance of Strange Visitors”
162-167Cursed Warrior Extermination Mission
168“Mix it, Stretch it, Boil it Up! Burn Copper Pot, Burn!”
169-173Kaima Capture Mission
174“Impossible! Celebrity Ninja Art: Money Style Jutsu!”
175-176Buried Gold Excavation Mission
177“Please, Mr. Postman!”
178-183Star Guard Mission
184“Kiba’s Long Day!”
185“A Legend from the Hidden Leaf: The Onbaa!”
186“Laughing Shino”
187-191Peddlers Escort Mission
192“Ino Screams! Chubby Paradise”
193“Viva Dojo Challenge! Youth Is All About Passion!”
194“The Mysterious Curse of the Haunted Castle”
195-196Third Great Beast
197-201Konoha Plans Recapture Mission
202“The Top 5 Ninja Battles”
203-207Yakumo Kurama Rescue Mission
208“The Weight of the Prized Artifact!”
209-212Gantetsu Escort Mission
213-215Menma Memory Search Mission
216-220Sunagakure Support Mission

Naruto Mixed Canon Episodes

EpisodesEpisode Titles
7“The Assassin of the Mist!”
9“Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior!”
14“The Number One Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja Joins the Fight!”
15“Zero Visibility: The Sharingan Shatters”
16“The Broken Seal”
18“The Weapons Known as Shinobi”
19“The Demon in the Snow”
20“A New Chapter Begins: The Chūnin Exam!”
21“Identify Yourself: Powerful New Rivals”
23“Genin Takedown! All Nine Rookies Face Off!”
24“Start Your Engines: The Chūnin Exam Begins!”
27“The Chūnin Exam Stage 2: The Forest of Death”
28“Eat or be Eaten: Panic in the Forest”
29“Naruto’s Counterattack: Never Give In!”
30“The Sharingan Revived: Dragon-Flame Jutsu!”
37“Surviving the Cut! The Rookie Nine Together Again!”
38“Narrowing the Field: Sudden Death Elimination!”
39“Bushy Brow’s Jealousy: Lions Barrage Unleashed!”
40“Kakashi and Orochimaru: Face-to-Face!”
41“Kunoichi Rumble: The Rivals Get Serious!”
43“Killer Kunoichi and a Shaky Shikamaru”
44“Akamaru Unleashed! Who’s Top Dog Now?”
45“Surprise Attack! Naruto’s Secret Weapon!”
46“Byakugan Battle: Hinata Grows Bold!”
47“A Failure Stands Tall!”
49“Lee’s Hidden Strength: Forbidden Secret Jutsu!”
52“Ebisu Returns: Naruto’s Toughest Training Yet!”
53“Long Time No See: Jiraiya Returns!”
54“The Summoning Jutsu: Wisdom of the Toad Sage!”
55“A Feeling of Yearning, A Flower Full of Hope”
56“Live or Die: Risk it All to Win it All!”
57“He Flies! He Jumps! He Lurks! Chief Toad Appears!”
58“Hospital Besieged: The Evil Hand Revealed!”
59“The Final Rounds: Rush to the Battle Arena!”
60“Byakugan vs. Shadow Clone”
63“Hit it or Quit it: The Final Rounds Get Complicated!”
66“Bushy Brow’s Jutsu: Sasuke Style!”
69“Village in Distress: A New A-Ranked Mission!”
70“A Shirker’s Call to Action: A Layabout No More!”
71“An Unrivaled Match: Hokage Battle Royale!”
72“A Mistake from the Past: A Face Revealed!”
74“Astonishing Truth! Gaara’s Identity Emerges!”
83“Jiraiya: Naruto’s Potential Disaster!”
98“Tsunade’s Warning: Ninja No More!”
99“The Will of Fire Still Burns!”
100“Sensei and Student: The Bond of the Shinobi”
112“Squad Mutiny: Everything Falls Apart!”
113“Full Throttle Power! Choji, Ablaze!”
114“Good-bye Old Friend…! I’ll Always Believe in You!”
126“Showdown: Gaara vs. Kimimaro!”
127“Vengeful Strike! The Bracken Dance”
130“Father and Son, the Broken Crest”
131“The Secrets of the Mangekyo Sharingan!”
141“Sakura’s Determination”
142“The Three Villains from the Maximum Security Prison”
220“Departure”

Naruto Shippuden

Airing from 2007 to 2017 Naruto Shippuden sees Naruto return to hidden leaf village after training with Jiraiya for two and a half years. See Naruto’s growth after the time skip and over the course of 500 hundred episodes.

Like Naruto Part 1, filler arcs are mixed throughout Naruto Shippuden from the very first episode. Because of this, mixed canon/filler episodes are more integrated and harder to skip due to this. Below is a list of canon and filler arcs for Naruto Shippuden.

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*Filler arcs that contain canon episodes

**Canon arcs that contain filler episodes

Canon

EpisodesArcs
1-32 (221- 252)Kazekage Rescue
33-53 (253-252)Long-Awaited Reunion
54-71(274-291)*Guardian Shinobi Twelve(filler)*
72-88(292-308)Immortal Devastators: Hidan And Kakuzu
89-90(309-310)Three-Tails’ Appearance(filler)*
113-143(333-363)Master’s Prophecy and Vengeance
152-175(372-395)Two Saviors**
197-221(417-441)The Five Kage Summit
222(442)“The Five Kage’s Decision”
243-275(463-495)Nine-Tails Taming and Karmic Encounters**
276-289(496-509)The Seven Ninja Swordsmen**
296-320(516-540)The Great Ninja War: Assailants From Afar**
321-348(541-568)The Great Ninja War: Sasuke and Itachi**
362-372(582-592)The Great Ninja War: Team 7 Returns
373-393(593-613)The Great Ninja War: Obito Uchiha**
414-431(634-651)Infinite Tsukuyomi: The Invocation**
451-458(671-678)Itachi’s Story:Daylight/Midnight
459-469(679-689)The Origins of Ninshu: The Two Souls, Indra And Ashura*
470-479(690-699)Naruto and Sasuke
484-488(704-708)Sasuke Shinden:Book of Sunrise
489-493(709-713)Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness
494-500(714-720)The Perfect Day For a Wedding

Filler

EpisodesArcs
57-71(277-291)Guardian Shinobi Twelve (filler)
89-112(309-332)Three-Tails’ Appearance (filler)
144-151(364-371)Six-Tails Unleashed (filler)
170-171(390-391)Big Adventure! The Quest for the Fourth Hokage’s Legacy
176-196(396-416)Past Arc: The Locus of the Leaf(filler)
223-242(442-462)Paradise Life On A Boat(filler)
257-260(477-480)Nine-Tails Taming and Karmic Encounters (filler)
271(591)Road to Sakura
279-281(499-501)The Seven Ninja Swordsmen(filler)
284-289(504-509)The Seven Ninja Swordsmen(filler)
290-295(510-515)Power
303-320(323-540)The Great Ninja War: Assailants From Afar(filler)
347-348(567-568)The Great Ninja War: Sasuke and Itachi(filler)
349-361(569-581)Kakashi: Shadow of the Anbu Black Ops
376-377(596-597)The Great Ninja War: Obito Uchiha(filler)
388-390(608-610)The Great Ninja War: Obito Uchiha(filler)
394-413(614-633)In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friend’s Path (filler)
416-417(636-637)Infinite Tsukuyomi: The Invocation
422-423(642-643)Infinite Tsukuyomi: The Invocation
427-431(647-651)Infinite Tsukuyomi: The Invocation
432-450(652-670)Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale if Naruto The Hero
464-468(684-688)The Origins of Ninshu: The Two Souls, Indra And Ashura(filler)
480-483(700-703)Nostalgic Days

Why you should watch some filler arcs in Naruto

Every canon arc in Naruto contains episodes that are filler in part, as listed above. As such, these arcs can be watched or skipped. Many filler arcs incorporate parts of the canon into its stories. Though, if you feel inclined to skip episodes like that, then do so.

Even though some episodes that are tied to filler arcs are canon, skipping them shouldn’t be a problem. Naruto effectively ends with the Sasuke Recovery Mission on episode 135. If you decide to skip the filler episodes, it cuts your episode watch from 220 to 129.

Where to Watch Naruto

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Compared to the past, Naruto is an easily accessible anime to watch. If you want to watch Naruto for free, YouTube, Tubi, and Pluto TV offer the show with Japanese dubbing. Crunchyroll has all 720 episodes available if you subscribe to their premium tier.


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Author
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TreMarcus Thomas
TreMarcus is a writer that has been gaming since the Nintendo GameCube's debut. When he is not writing about video games, you can find him trying to make them if it hasn't frustrated him enough in a day. TreMarcus's favorite genres are fighting games and JRPGs. Every once in a while, you can catch him playing action-adventure games.