Although it ranks among the most popular anime of all time, Naruto: Shippuden is notorious for its abundance of filler content. Despite the series’ immense popularity, a significant portion of the anime consists of original material that does not advance the main plot in any meaningful way.
Nonetheless, given the sheer number of filler episodes, it is inevitable that some are decent. More impressively, a few actually enhance the story. Therefore, if fans want to make the most of Naruto: Shippuden, they should be aware of what is worth watching and what can be skipped.
Every Filler Episode of Naruto: Shippuden
And Which Are Worth Skipping
|
Episode or Arc Title |
Watchability? |
Description |
|
|
Beasts! Alive Again! |
|||
|
57 – 71 |
Twelve Guardian Ninja |
|
|
In total, filler makes up 206 episodes out of the 500 episodes of Naruto: Shippuden. While this does not amount to half, it still represents 41% of the entire series.
A complete review of the list shows where the anime team encountered challenges while adapting the manga, as the series largely avoided filler until around the hundred-episode mark, where things became more complicated.
Both Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden are well-known for their filler content, with the original series also containing about 40% filler episodes. Fortunately, Boruto performs significantly better with only 10% filler content.
Why Naruto: Shippuden Has So Many Filler Episodes
The primary reason that Naruto: Shippuden had to rely heavily on filler was to prevent the anime from surpassing the manga.
During its airing, new episodes were released weekly with very few exceptions. This meant that Studio Pierrot’s staff often needed to allow a few weeks for the manga to complete a story arc or battle.
This approach made the anime somewhat uneven during its initial run but helped ensure that the canonical material remained a faithful adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto’s manga.
This method of adapting manga has mostly become outdated by 2026. Shorter manga series now allow for easier adaptations like those seen with hits such as Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, which are produced on a seasonal basis. The trade-off is that modern anime tend to have higher production quality but are released less frequently than series like Naruto: Shippuden did.
As for when the timeskip in Boruto is animated, indications suggest it will move away from the weekly release model, potentially meaning future Naruto anime will eliminate filler altogether.
Where to Stream Naruto: Shippuden in 2026
All 500 episodes of Naruto: Shippuden are available for streaming on Hulu and Crunchyroll. Both platforms also provide access to every episode of the original series, along with spin-offs like Naruto Spin-Off: Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
Hulu offers both the original Japanese version and English dub, making it currently the best option for streaming Shippuden.
Unfortunately, while Netflix has both the original series and some movies available, it lacks access to Shippuden.
Lucky for fans, however, Naruto’s accessibility in 2026 ensures that this beloved franchise remains available for new generations to discover.
