Last updated November 11, 2026. Covers all 220 episodes of the original series.
The original Naruto has one famous problem: after the Sasuke Retrieval arc ends at episode 135, almost everything until the finale is filler. That's nearly 80 episodes of side missions while the manga raced ahead. Before that point the show is mostly faithful, with only a handful of one-off episodes.
Naruto filler at a glance
| Type | Episodes | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Filler | 90 (41%) | Skip |
| Manga canon | 74 | Watch |
| Mixed canon and filler | 56 | Watch |
Skip the filler and you're down from 220 episodes to 130. Finished (2002 to 2007).
Every Naruto filler episode
Here's every filler episode in one line, ready to copy into a watch list:
26, 97, 101-106, 136-140, 143-219
Naruto filler arcs and runs
| Episodes | Length | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 101 to 106 | 6 | Episode 101 is a standalone; 102-106 are the Land of Tea Escort arc |
| 136 to 140 | 5 | Land of Rice Fields Investigation |
| 143 to 219 | 77 | The long post-Sasuke-retrieval filler: a string of short mission arcs, from the Mizuki Tracking arc to the Support of Sand arc |
How to watch Naruto without filler
Watch 1 to 135 more or less straight through, skipping 26, 97 and 101 to 106. After 135, jump to the last canon-adjacent episodes, 141 and 142, then go to episode 220 or straight on to Naruto Shippuden.
Mixed canon and filler episodes: 7, 9, 14-16, 18-21, 23-24, 27-30, 37-41, 43-47, 49, 52-60, 63, 66, 69-72, 74, 83, 98-100, 112-114, 126-127, 130-131, 141-142, 220.
How we classify episodes
Filler is anime-only material that doesn't affect the main story. Mixed episodes adapt the manga but add some original scenes. Anime canon episodes are anime-original but count as part of the story. Our classifications follow the community-maintained lists at AnimeFillerList, and we check episode totals against each series' official episode guides.