Naruto: Which Episodes Are Canon and Which Are Filler

Peacock has anime? Dattebayo! There’s an impressive selection of Japanese animation on Peacock. Yes, that includes Naruto, which is arguably the MOST anime. A formative show for many, Naruto is partially responsible for the current boom in shonen anime (a category of anime and manga targeted at young boys). 

So of course you’d want to learn more about Naruto. Even if you’re a seasoned anime veteran at this point, Naruto is worth another look. It’s a fun adventure with characters that are easy to love, and it has tons of shipping potential. It is a rather long adventure though, made even longer by “filler” episodes that didn’t come from the manga. Whether you want to watch the story of Naruto as it happened in the manga — or everything — this is the guide for you. We’ll help you sort through which parts of Naruto are canon, and which were made just for the anime. 

What Are Filler Episodes?

“Filler” refers to original episodes and stories created for the anime that do not come from the original manga. Filler typically happens when an anime catches up to the manga and has to wait for more to be published to continue the story. Instead of taking an extended break, many popular anime fill the time with new adventures and detours, hoping to rejoin the manga’s storyline when more has been written. “Filler” is not a quality judgement. There are some truly great filler episodes in anime. Filler can lead to fun adventures and give us more fully fleshed-out characters than the manga has time for. At the very least, it gives us more time with characters we love. So, without further ado...

Season 1 (57 Episodes) 

The first season of Naruto follows the manga very closely. A few episodes expand upon the manga but almost all of them move the story forward. The only exception is a recap episode summarizing what we’ve already seen up to that point. 

Canon:  

Episodes 1-25, 27-57 

Filler:  

Episode 26 

Season 2 (43 Episodes) 

Like Season 1, the second season follows the manga closely, with a few episodes early on expanding upon the events of the manga while still moving the story forward. Again, there is only one filler episode, which sees the group taking a break from adventuring to visit a hot spring. 

Canon:  

Episodes 1-39, 41-43 

Filler:  

Episode 40 

Season 3 (41 Episodes) 

The third season is where we start seeing more filler episodes pop up. With the first part of the manga drawing to a close, the anime had to start stretching things out to keep going at this point. This is where we start seeing whole filler arcs – groups of multiple episodes telling entire stories that didn’t exist in the manga. 

Canon: 

Episodes 7-35, 41 

Filler: 

Episodes 1-6, 36-40 

Season 4 (42 Episodes) 

The fourth season is where the show becomes almost entirely filler. With Part 1 of the manga finished and Part 2 picking up after a time skip, the anime comes up with nearly two entire seasons of original stories to tell. Only one episode of Season 4, the first one, is canon to the manga. 

Canon: 

Episode 1 

Filler: 

Episodes 2-42 

Season 5 (37 Episodes) 

Continuing from Season 4, the fifth season consists almost entirely of original story arcs. Only in the final episode of the show, does the anime rejoin the Naruto manga. That final episode sends us into the time skip. After that point, the story continues in the sequel series, Naruto: Shippuden, featuring an older, wiser (kind of) cast. 

Canon:

Episode 37

Filler:

Episodes 1-36. 

Stream Naruto on Peacock