Naruto · Main line
Naruto
EssentialSeries2002
A loud, friendless twelve-year-old with a monster sealed inside him wants to run the village that fears him. Excellent for 135 episodes, then it runs out of manga.
Availability changes by country and by week, so this searches JustWatch rather than guessing.
Can you skip Naruto?
No. It carries part of the main Naruto throughline, and what comes after it assumes you have seen it. See the full Naruto order.
Every arc, and what you can skip
220 episodes across 7 arcs. 91 sit in wholly anime-original arcs, and all of them are safe to skip.
| Episodes | Arc | Material | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–19 | Prologue and the Land of WavesThe arc that decides whether you are staying. Zabuza and Haku, and the series at its most focused. | Canon | Watch |
| 20–67 | Chūnin ExamsThe best long stretch in the series. Episode 26 is anime-original. | Mostly canon | Watch |
| 68–80 | Konoha Crush | Canon | Watch |
| 81–100 | Search for TsunadeEpisode 97 is anime-original.Film after this arc: Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow | Mostly canon | Watch |
| 101–106 | Land of Tea Escort MissionThe first anime-original arc, and a clean skip. | Anime-original | Skippable |
| 107–135 | Sasuke Recovery MissionWhere Part One actually ends. The manga had nothing left after this. | Canon | Watch |
| 136–220 | The anime-original runEighty-five consecutive episodes of anime-original material across roughly a dozen standalone mini-arcs, made while the manga got ahead again. Nothing in it is referenced later. Stop at 135 and start Shippuden.Film after this arc: Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel, Naruto the Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom | Anime-original | Skippable |
Naruto guides
Where it sits in the Naruto order
- Release order
- #1 of 14
- Chronological order
- #1 of 14
- Released
- 3 October 2002
- In-universe era
- Part One
What to watch next
In release order
First in this order
Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of SnowIn chronological order
First in this order
Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of SnowMore from Naruto
More like Naruto
- BleachTwo of the three long shonen runs of the 2000s, and both ask you to skip a third of what aired.
- Demon SlayerNinja and demon hunters, twenty years apart, and the gap in animation budget is the story of the medium.
- Fullmetal AlchemistShonen where the mentor figures matter as much as the fights, and both know how to land a death.