Gaining a place among the big three since its Shueisha launch, Naruto has won fans, both old and new, over and over again. The peak Shounen moments in the anime never fail to intrigue youngsters irrespective of whatever generation they are from. Ever since its release in 1999, the franchise has seen multiple waves of success. New fans are joining in every day to appreciate the brilliancy of the anime more. If you just joined the Naruto fandom, you might want to take a look at our Naruto guide. The Narutoverse is huge, with several great arcs. But the anime also contains fillers that one may (or may not) want to skip. This complete guide to watching Naruto contains everything you need to look out for before watching the anime.
Naruto is based on Masashi Kishimoto’s manga by the same name, which was labeled under the renowned Big 3 back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While the manga was doing extremely well among Japanese readers, the anime product further pushed the franchise into the limelight, especially among international viewers. Even in 2022, more than 20 years since its premiere, the anime continues to flourish in terms of popularity, with multiple forums continuing to praise the creation.
Naruto’s big franchise is easy to get lost in. But we have got your back. Here is a complete guide to watching Naruto for fans who have newly found themselves drifting towards it. To make sure you have a great journey through tears and laughter, we present this Naruto guide.
How Many Episodes Are There In Naruto?
The entire Naruto Manga is animated into two parts: Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. The second part takes place two and a half years after the conclusion of Naruto. Naruto comprises 220 episodes divided into five seasons, while Naruto Shippuden comprises 500 episodes compiled into 21 seasons. Thus, the Naruto franchise has a total of 720 episodes running from 2002 till 2017. Here is a quick overview of the seasons and their corresponding number of episodes in each.
Naruto (2002-2007)
- Season 1: 57 Episodes
- Season 2: 43 Episodes
- Season 3: 41 Episodes
- Season 4: 42 Episodes
- Season 5: 37 Episodes
Also Read: Iconic Kakashi Hatake Moments In Naruto Shippuden: Six Times Kakashi Earned Fan’s Respect
Naruto Shippuden (2007-2016)
- Season 1: 32 Episodes
- Season 2: 21 Episodes
- Season 3: 18 Episodes
- Season 4: 17 Episodes
- Season 5: 24 Episodes
- Season 6: 31 Episodes
- Season 7: 8 Episodes
- Season 8: 24 Episodes
- Season 9: 21 Episodes
- Season 10: 25 Episodes
- Season 11: 21 Episodes
- Season 12: 33 Episodes
- Season 13: 20 Episodes
- Season 14: 25 Episodes
- Season 15: 28 Episodes
- Season 16: 13 Episodes
- Season 17: 11 Episodes
- Season 18: 21 Episodes
- Season 19: 20 Episodes
- Season 20: 66 Episodes
- Season 21: 21 Episodes
Other than these 720 episodes, the Naruto Series also released eleven movies. Here are the names of the 11 Naruto films that have been released between the span of 2004 to 2015.
Movies
- Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
- Legend of the Stone of Gelel
- Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower
- Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison
- Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie
- The Last: Naruto the Movie
- Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Naruto Watch Order
The Naruto movies have no direct impact on the series, so they can be watched separately. However, you can also choose to watch them chronologically.
Chronological Watch Order of Naruto:
Naruto (2002): up to episode 101 (Season 3 Episode 1)
One needs to start with the first two seasons, where they are introduced to the basics of the world that the anime is set in. We are also acquainted with the main characters and their motives.
Naruto The Movie: The Clash of the Snow (2004)
After watching episode 101, the events of the first Naruto movie take place. In the movie, Team 7 takes up a new mission and travels to the Land of Snow.
Naruto: Episode 102-160 (Season 3 Episode 2- Season 4 Episode 19)
After watching the first movie, you can resume back to the anime series and continue watching till episode 19 of season 4.
Naruto The Movie: The Legend Stone of Gelel (2005)
The movie takes place after episode 160 of Naruto. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura engage in another mission.
Naruto: Episode 161-196 (Season 4 episode 20- season 5 episode 13)
The series continues from episodes 161 to 196. Following episode 196, another movie was released.
Naruto The Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom (2006)
The events of the third Naruto movie take place after episode 13 of Naruto season 5. Naruto, Sakura, Lee, and Kakashi move to the Land of Moon to complete another mission.
Naruto: Episode 197-220 (Season 5 episode 14- season 5 episode 37)
The first part of Naruto ends with 220 episodes and three great movies. Naruto concludes the remainder of the first part.
Naruto Shippuden- Episode 1- 32 (Season 1)
Following Naruto, Naruto Shippuden takes place after a time skip of two and a half years. All the characters have grown up now.
Naruto Shippuden The Movie (2007)
The movie takes place after a brief introduction of the now older characters in season 1. Naruto takes up a mission to protect a priest in this movie.
Naruto Shippuden- Episode 33- 71 (Season 2 and Season 3)
After streaming the movie, the series continues with its two movies.
Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds (2008)
In 2008, another consecutive movie followed. The movie featured Sasuke and Naruto protecting Konoha from the threats of Sky Country.
Naruto Shippuden- Episode 72-126 (Season 4 Episode 1 – Season 6 Episode 14)
The events of the series resume.
Naruto Shippuden- The Movie: The Will of Fire (2009)
Once again, Team 7 returns but this time, they head to protect Kakashi.
Naruto Shippuden: Episode 127-143 (Season 6 Episode 15- Season 6 Episode 31)
The series continues to complete Season 6 before releasing the next movie.
Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower (2010)
In this movie, Naruto travels back 20 years in time. He searches for a Ninja but ends up meeting someone surprising.
Naruto Shippuden: Episode 144-196 (Season 7- Season 9)
There are no movies that have events that occur between Season 7 to Season 9 of Naruto Shippuden.
Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Blood Prison (2011)
Naruto is in prison for attempting the murder of Raikage. As he tries to break free, Naruto discovers new secrets.
Also Read: Iconic Shikamaru Moments From Naruto Shippuden – Ranked
Naruto Shippuden: Episode 197-251 (Season 8 Episode 1- Season 12 Episode 9)
The television anime series continues for the next season with no movie release.
Naruto The Movie: Road to Ninja (2012)
Tobi sends Naruto and Sakura into an alternate reality.
Naruto Shippuden: Episode 252-493 (Season 9 Episode 10 to Season 21 Episode 14)
The anime series continues until the 14th episode of season 21.
The Last: Naruto The Movie (2014)
The main motive of The Last is to mend all the plot holes as well as to develop the romance of Hinata and Naruto.
Naruto Shippuden: 494-500 (Season 21 Episode 15-21)
Finally, the last episodes of Naruto Shippuden.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie
The movie introduced us to the kids of the main characters who become the main characters of Kishimoto’s upcoming manga, Boruto: Naruto Next Generation.
Naruto: Filler episodes
As a huge franchise, it is only normal to have multiple filler episodes. Fillers are mostly anime canon episodes that are not always a part of the original source. They are created especially when a continuing anime runs out of manga sources. To give the manga a chance to catch up, fillers are developed. These fillers mostly have little relevance to the main story, which is mostly fun. However, fillers are always fun to watch when they depict the everyday life of the main characters, which often helps viewers relate to them and simply enjoy.
Although fillers have their own magic, people are more accustomed to ignoring them. Especially when one is more curious about what happens next, they can’t help but be more inclined towards the main story than the fillers. Here’s a complete list of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden filler episodes in our complete guide to watching Naruto.
Also Read: Interesting Facts About Kawaki From Boruto: Naruto Next Generation
List of Fillers in Naruto
- Season 1 Episode 26 (Overall Episode 26): Special Report: Live from the Forest of Death!
- Season 2 Episode 40 (Overall Episode 40): Kidnapped! Naruto’s Hot Spring Adventure!
- Season 3 Episode 1 to Episode 6 (Overall Episode 101-106)
- Season 3 Episode 36 to Season 3 Episode 40 (Overall Episode 136-140)
- Season 4 Episode 2 to Season 5 Episode 36 (Overall Episode 143 to 219)
List of Fillers in Naruto Shippuden
- Season 3 Episode 4 to Season 3 Episode 17 (Overall Episode 57-70)
- Season 5 Episode 3 to Season 5 Episode 23 (Overall Episode 91-111)
- Season 7 (Overall Episode 144-151)
- Season 8 Episode 19 and Episode 20 (Overall Episode 170-171)
- Season 9 (Overall Episode 176-196)
- Season 11 Episode 2 to Episode 21 (Overall Episode 223-242)
- Season 12 Episode 15 to Episode 18 (Overall Episode 257-260)
- Season 12 Episode 29 (Overall Episode 271)- Road to Sakura
- Season 13 Episode 4 to 6 (Overall Episode 279-281)
- Season 13 Episode 9 to 20 (Overall Episode 284-295)
- Season 14 Episode 8 to 25 (Overall Episode 303-320)
- Season 15 Episode 27 to Season 16 Episode 13 (Overall Episode 347-361)
- Season 18 Episode 4 and 5 (Overall Episode 376-377)
- Season 18 Episode 16 to 18 (Overall Episode 388-390)
- Season 19 (Overall Episode 394-413)
- Season 20 Episode 3 and 4 (Overall Episode 416-417)
- Season 20 Episode 9 and 10 (Overall Episode 422-423)
- Season 20 Episode 14 to Episode 37 (Overall Episode 427-450)
- Season 20 Episode 51 to Season 20 Episode 55 (Overall Episode 464-468)
- Season 21 Episode 1 to 4 (Overall Episode 480-483)
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Watch Naruto Online – Streaming Details
Naruto is a popular anime series that is actually available for watching on multiple official platforms. You stream Naruto on Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. Alternatively, you can also read the Naruto manga on Viz Media or Shueisha’s Manga Plus app.
All Naruto and Naruto Shippuden Arcs and their Episode Stamps
There are several interesting arcs in Naruto. Planning to re-watch the series wanting to watch something specific? Looking for a particular arc but can’t find it? Here are all the episode stamps of all the arcs in Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.
Also Read: Top 10 Best Strategists In Naruto – Check Out The Brains In The Shinobi Universe
NARUTO
- Land of Waves Arc: Episode 1-19
- Chunin Exams Arc: Episode 20-67
- Konoha Crush Arc: Episode 68-80
- Search for Tsunade Arc: Episode 81-100
- Land of Tea Escort Mission: Episode 102-106
- Sasuke Recovery Mission Arc: Episode 107-135
- Land of Rice Fields Investigation Mission: Episode 136-141
- Mizuki Tracking Mission Arc: Episode 142-147
- Bikōchū Search Mission Arc: Episode 148-151
- Kurosuki Family Removal Mission Arc: Episode 152-157
- Gosunkugi Capture Mission Arc: Episode 159-160
- Cursed Warrior Extermination Mission Arc: Episode 161-167
- Kaima Capture Mission Arc: Episode 169-173
- Buried Gold Excavation Mission Arc: Episode 175-176
- Star Guard Mission Arc: Episode 178-183
- Peddlers Escort Mission Arc: Episode 187-191
- Third Great Beast Arc: Episode 195-196
- Konoha Plans Recapture Mission Arc: Episode 197-201
- Yakumo Kurama Rescue Mission Arc: Episode 203-207
- Gantetsu Escort Mission Arc: Episode 209-212
- Menma Memory Search Mission: Episode 213-215
- Sunagakure Support Mission Arc: Episode 216-220
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
- Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc: Episode 1-32
- Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc: Episode 33-53
- Twelve Guardian Ninja Arc: Episode 54-71
- Akatsuki Suppression Mission Arc: Episode 72-88
- Three-Tails’ Appearance: Episode 89-112
- Itachi Pursuit Mission Arc: Episode 122-126
- Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant Arc: Episode 127-133
- Fated Battle Between Brothers Arc: Episode 134-143
- Six-Tails Unleashed: Episode 144-151
- Pain’s Assault Arc: Episode 152-169
- Past Arc: The Locus of Konoha: Episode 176-196
- Five Kage Summit Arc: Episode 197-214
- Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown: Episode 215-222 and then from Episode 243-257
- Paradise Life on a Boat: Episode 223-242
- Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation: Episode 261 to 270; Episode 272 to 289; Episode 296 to 310; Episode 312 to 321
- Power Arc: Episode 290 295
- Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax: Episode 322-348 and then from Episode 362-375
- Kakashi’s Anbu Arc: The Shinobi That Lives in the Darkness: Episode 349-361
- Birth of the Ten-Tails’ Jinchūriki: Episode 378 to 388; Episode 391 to 393; Episode 414 to 421; Episode 424 to 431.
- In Naruto’s Footsteps: The Friends’ Paths: Episode 394-413
- Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale of Naruto the Hero: Episode 432- 450
- Itachi Shinden Book: Light and Darkness Episode 451-458
- Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes: Episode 451, Episode 455, Episode 458 to 468; Episode 470 to 479
- Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise Arc: Episode 484-488
- Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness Arc: Episode 489-493
- Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding Arc: Episode 494-500
Also Read: Daemon Powers & Abilities Explained In Boruto: Naruto Next Generation
Main characters
The Naruto series has several recurring characters. However, there are four major characters that appear the most in the anime.
Naruto Uzumaki: The titular protagonist of the anime, who is ostracised by society for having the Nine Tailed Beast inside him. He dreams of becoming the strongest ninja, Hokage, one day.
Sasuke Uchiha: Sasuke is the deuteragonist of the series and is considered a prodigy in his class. He has a cold and dark personality.
Sakura Haruno: Sakura is the tritagonist of the anime series. She is desperately in love with Sasuke. Sakura would often pretend to be something else while having completely opposite thoughts.
Together, they form Team 7.
Kakashi Hatake: Kakashi Hatake is a top-tier Ninja who also happens to be the teacher of Team 7. He is known for not failing all students until Team 7 came along. Kakashi prioritizes teamwork above all due to his past traumatic events.
Main Antagonists
The Akatsuki is the main antagonistic organization in the Naruto series. They desire to bring their own version of peace to the world. To implement their beliefs, they have taken on notorious methods. Throughout the series, different members of Akatsuki appear.
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