Featuring a well-fleshed-out storyline, as well as unforgettable heroes, iconic villains and thrilling battles, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are two of the most popular anime. But they require a major time commitment if a fan is determined to watch each show in its entirety.
They were adapted from Masashi Kishimoto’s manga, with Naruto premiering in Japan from 2002 until 2007 and Naruto: Shippuden taking over, running for a decade, from 2007 until 2017. Naruto started with the series protagonist — Naruto Uzumaki — beginning his shinobi journey, and Naruto: Shippuden ended with him, along with several friends and allies he made along the way, thwarting the Akatsuki and Kaguya’s masterplans. And to get through everything, fans need(ed) to watch hundreds of episodes.
All in all, Naruto has 220 episodes whereas Naruto: Shippuden clocks in at 500, bringing it to a total of 720 episodes. And that’s not mentioning the franchise’s third iteration, Boruto: Naruto Next Generation, which has currently aired 293 episodes from 2017 to 2023 and is set to return for part 2 in the near future.
The number of seasons attached to Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden ranges depending on how they were or are watched. They originally came out with five and 21 seasons respectively. But, if they’re watched on a streaming site like Crunchy Roll, Naruto is expanded to 9 seasons and Naruto: Shippuden is condensed to 17. But, the number of episodes remains unchanged.
Also, 10 movies have stemmed from the two series, further broadening the shinobi world. Three movies were released based on Naruto, including its first, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004), and last, Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom (2006). Naruto: Shippuden boasts seven films, starting with Naruto Shippuden: The Movie (2007) and ending with The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014).
‘Naruto’ and ‘Naruto: Shippuden’ are chock-full of filler episodes that can be skipped
Maybe an anime fan wants to watch Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, but the number 720 is daunting. That’s fair — it is. However, it’s important to note that a large number of episodes in both series are fillers. They were made to give space and time for the manga.
Anime Filler List is a community-driven website that provides the number of manga canon, mixed canon/filler and filler episodes in Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, among other animes. Each list shows the episode numbers that can be skipped without fear that the viewer is missing out on the main storyline. For example, it reveals that episodes 143 through 219 of Naruto are all fillers and can be skipped, saving the viewer over 1,500 minutes of unnecessary watch time.