Naruto is the name you must have heard even if you’re not a prolific anime fan or a dedicated manga reader. Naruto filler episodes are often considered to be a waste of time but sometimes they also play an important part in character development or plot progress.
Naruto is a Japanese manga series which was written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto and was featured in Weekly Shonen Jump and Shonen Jump. Naruto was first published on September 21, 1999. The manga series ended on November 10, 2014. Soon, the whole Naruto manga series was released as books with 72 volumes.
The manga gained a large fanbase as the story progressed and soon it was adapted as an anime series. The series was produced by Aniplex and Pierrot. The Naruto anime series as divided into two parts, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden. Many naruto filler episodes appear in of both the parts.
There are a total of three types of episodes throughout the whole series, which are canon episodes, mixed episodes and filler episodes. Cannon episodes are animated according to the manga and nothing extra is animated. Mixed episodes are part cannon and part filler.
Naruto Filler episodes are episodes which are animated just for plot development or other purposes. Things that happen in filler episodes never happened in the manga and is only made by the animators.
We will get through a summary of what happens in Naruto so that you don’t feel clueless if you haven’t watched the anime series recently. We will then get to know best 3 Naruto filler episodes you should definitely watch. You will also get to see 3 Naruto filler episodes that are not worth your time.
Naruto: Plot Summary
Spoiler alert!
The story is about our main character, Naruto Uzumaki within whom the Nine-Tailed Beast was sealed when he was a baby. This was done by his father who was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha and soon he and his wife lose their lives.
After Naruto parents died he was an orphan and the Third Hokage came back to power. The Third Hokage passes a decree to never talk about the Nine-Tails incident.
He lives in Konoha, the hidden leaf village of the Land of Fire and was ridiculed by the villagers for being a host to Nine-Tails. He only gets to know about this incident 12 years later due to the decree.
Naruto becomes a ninja and dreams of becoming the Hokage of Konoha. He joins Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno to make the Team 7. They were mentored by their sensei Kakashi Hatake. Team 7 and other ninja teams would complete missions.
Soon they are allowed to take the Chunin Exam so that they can take on other difficult missions. But during this, Orochimaru attacks Konoha and kills the Third Hokage.
Jariya who is a respected ninja is offered the title of Fifth Hokage, but he declines that and chooses Tsunade to take the title. So, he and Naruto went to search Tsunade to ask her to take the title.
During all this Itachi Uchiha and Kisame try to kidnap Naruto but fail. Sasuke tries to kill Itachi but couldn’t do it. Sasuke has a grudge against Itachi as the latter had killed Sakuke’s whole family but spared him.
While searching for Tsunade, Sasuke gets to know that Orochimaru wanted to train him as Sasuke has the Sharingan. Sharingan is a powerful eye technique which has been inherited by the members of the Uchiha clan
Due to failing to kill Itachi, Sasuke decides to join Orochimaru to get more powerful and leaves Konoha. When Tsunade gets to know about this she sends a group of ninjas, including Naruto, to bring back Sasuke. When Naruto couldn’t persuade Sasuke to come back, both Naruto and Sakura decide not to give up on Sasuke.
Naruto leaves Konoha to train with Jariya to become strong and to bring Sasuke back to Konoha and Sakura becomes an apprentice under Tsunade.
3 Naruto Filler Episodes to Skip
Spoiler alert!
While there are many Naruto Filler Episodes to look through, these are the top three which you can easily skip if you are going to binge-watch the anime.
1. Episodes 102-106
Name:
Land of Tea Escort Mission
Plot:
These episodes take place right after the Chunin Exam. The episode has nothing much to contribute to the plot except for Sasuke questioning his powers and inadequacy. Right after this arc, Sasuke leaves Konoha.
2. Episode 97
Name:
Kidnapped! Naruto’s Hot Spring Adventure!
Plot:
This episode comes after Jariya finding Tsunade. She convinces the group to take a break at a Hot Spring on their way to Konoha. Naruto finds out they were being spied on by two strangers. He gets to know that the strangers can’t go home unless they collect Tsunade’s debts. In the end, we get to know that her debts had been paid a long time ago.
3. Episodes 187-191
Name:
Escort Mission
Plot:
This episode doesn’t contribute to the main plot of the story. You can see many different teams at work in this episode. Naruto has to team up with Hinata and Choji to escort a bunch of merchants from the Land of Vegetables.
Top 3 Naruto Filler Episodes to Watch
Spoiler Alert!
Some filler episodes are hilarious and are a must-watch for all the anime watchers. These are the top 3 Naruto Filler episodes that will make you laugh and also makes you understand the plot and the characters.
1. Episode 101
Name:
Gotta See! Gotta Know! Kakashi Sensei True Face
Plot:
Kakashi Sensei wears a mask which hides more than half of his face. Naruto decides to find what is under Kakashi’s mask. He is soon joined by Sakura and Sasuke too. But every time they plan to remove the mask they are outsmarted by Kakashi. At the end of the episode, when Naruto blatantly asks Kakashi to remove his mask, Kakashi reveals another mask underneath the former one! The episode is hilarious and is worth your time.
2. Episodes 136-141
Arc Name:
Land of Rice Fields Investigation
Plot:
This arc is sometimes considered unimportant but it yet it still helps the plot to build. The arc starts right after the group of ninjas that were sent by Tsunade to bring back Sasuke. They failed and went back to the village. We get to see Naruto working with Jariya. Both Naruto and Sakura take an important decision for their futures.
3. Episode 147
Name:
A Clash of Fate: You Can’t Bring Me Down
Plot:
This episode shows how Naruto has grown to be a powerful and great person. Here we also get to see Naruto’s Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu fighting Mizuki. The filler episode has lots of great action and many side characters at their best.
Naruto Filler Episodes
While we only talked about some of the main characters of Naruto, there are memorable side characters too which will leave a lasting impression. Both Naruto manga and anime series deals with themes like coming of age and shonen while referencing Japanese Culture and Mythology.
So, go and binge the Naruto anime series which can be viewed on many online anime websites. Avoid some of the Naruto filler episodes and do check out some of the better ones to have a good laugh and understand good plot development.
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Last Updated on by Ishita Sharma