Naruto watch order
Two series, eleven films, and about seven hundred episodes. Roughly a third of it is optional.
Updated 10 August 2026 · 14 titles tracked
The order is not the hard part. Naruto, then Shippuden, and the films fit roughly where each one aired. Nobody gets that wrong.
The hard part is that around a third of what aired is anime-original, and one block of it runs for eighty-five consecutive episodes. Knowing where those are is the difference between a long watch and one most people abandon.
Everything, in order
The arc-by-arc breakdown of the original series, including where the films go, is on its own page.
- 1Naruto2002 · Naruto · Essential
- 2Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow2004 · Naruto
- 3Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel2005 · Naruto
- 4Naruto the Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom2006 · Naruto
- 5Naruto: Shippuden2007 · Shippuden · Essential
- 6Naruto Shippuden the Movie2007 · Shippuden
- 7Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Bonds2008 · Shippuden
- 8Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire2009 · Shippuden
- 9Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower2010 · Shippuden
- 10Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison2011 · Shippuden
- 11Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie2012 · Shippuden
- 12The Last: Naruto the Movie2014 · After the War · Essential
- 13Boruto: Naruto the Movie2015 · After the War
- 14Boruto: Naruto Next Generations2017 · Next Generations
Stop the first series at episode 135
Part One of the manga ends with the Sasuke Recovery Mission, which the anime covers up to episode 135. Everything from 136 to 220 was made to let the manga get ahead again.
It is around a dozen standalone mini-arcs, none of them referenced afterwards, and none of them adapting anything. Watch 1 to 135 and go straight to Shippuden. You will not be missing a reference later, because there are none to miss.
The arc breakdown marks the two smaller anime-original stretches before that as well.
Shippuden is a different problem
Shippuden does not block its anime-original material off in one place. It weaves it through the arcs, so there is no single point to stop and resume at, and it is why a plain filler list is hard to act on.
The long skippable runs are 57 to 71, 90 to 112, 144 to 151, 176 to 196, 223 to 242, 284 to 295, 303 to 320, 394 to 413 and 427 to 450. That is 161 episodes you can drop outright.
The full arc table has all twenty-three arcs, including the canon ones carrying a stray original episode or two. One anime-original block is marked optional rather than skippable: Kakashi’s Anbu Arc, 347 to 361, which fills in his and Itachi’s Anbu years and is better than the war material around it.
Only one film is canon
The Last sits between the end of the war and the epilogue, and it is the one film the story depends on. If you want the ending to make sense, it is not optional.
The other ten are side stories. They are pleasant, several are good, and the series never refers back to any of them. Skipping all ten costs you nothing.
The shortest honest path
Episodes 1 to 135 of Naruto. Then Shippuden, skipping the blocks above. Then The Last.
That is about 470 episodes rather than 720, and it is the whole story.
Where Boruto fits
Boruto: Naruto the Movie is the handover. Naruto is Hokage, his son resents him for it, and the film exists to start the sequel series.
After that comes Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, 293 episodes of it, and the film turns out to be optional: episodes 51 to 66 tell the same story at four times the length. It is a slow series that gets good late, and the filler question there is a genuinely different problem, so it has its own guide.
Common questions
What order should I watch Naruto in?
Naruto, then Naruto: Shippuden, then The Last. The other films are side stories and fit wherever you like, roughly where each one aired.
Which Naruto episodes are filler?
In the original series: 26, 97, the Land of Tea arc at 101 to 106, and the long run from 136 to 220. Shippuden has around 204 across its 500, and the arc table on its page marks every block.
Can I skip episodes 136 to 220 of Naruto?
Yes, entirely. They are eighty-five consecutive anime-original episodes that adapt nothing and are never referenced again. Stop at 135 and start Shippuden.
How much of Naruto is filler?
About 90 of the original 220 episodes, and roughly two fifths of Shippuden’s 500.
Do I need to watch the Naruto movies?
Only The Last, which is canon and sits between the war and the epilogue. The other ten are non-canon side stories.
Is Shippuden a sequel to Naruto?
A continuation. It picks up two and a half years later with the same cast, adapting Part Two of the same manga.
Do I have to watch Boruto?
No. Naruto, Shippuden and The Last are a complete story. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations continues it for another 293 episodes if you want them.