Naruto Watch Order: The Complete Guide to Every Series, Movie & Filler Arc
📅 June 20, 2026 · ⏱ 12 min read · 🍥 1,013+ Episodes Covered
Start Reading Jump to Filler GuideNaruto is one of the most rewarding anime you’ll ever watch — and also one of the most intimidating to start. Between the original series, Shippuden, 11 movies, an entire sequel show in Boruto, and a filler percentage that scares off even seasoned anime fans, it’s easy to not know where to begin.
This guide cuts through the noise. We’ll give you a clean recommended watch order, a complete filler skip guide so you don’t waste hours on padding, exactly where each movie fits in the timeline, and the current status of the story going into late 2026.
Watch Naruto → Naruto Shippuden → The Last: Naruto the Movie → Boruto: Naruto the Movie → Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Skip most filler arcs (we list them below), and only two of the eleven films are truly required viewing.
The Recommended Watch Order
This is the cleanest path through the entire franchise — every series and the two movies that actually matter to the story, placed exactly where they belong.
Naruto Uzumaki, the outcast jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, fights to become Hokage and earn the respect of his village. Covers his time as a Genin through the Chunin Exams, Sasuke’s defection, and the start of his journey to bring him back.
Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, Legend of the Stone of Gelel, and Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom are all standalone, non-canon adventures. Fun if you want more Team 7, but they don’t affect the main story at all.
Set two and a half years later, Naruto returns from training to face the Akatsuki, save Gaara, pursue Sasuke, and eventually lead the Allied Shinobi Forces against the Fourth Great Ninja War. The emotional and narrative peak of the franchise.
Seven of these eight films are non-canon and can be skipped entirely. The eighth, Road to Ninja, is a fan-favorite alternate-universe story worth watching for character depth — see the full placement guide below for exactly when to slot it in.
The true epilogue to Shippuden. Resolves the Naruto/Hinata relationship and is treated as canon by Kishimoto himself. Watch this immediately after finishing Shippuden’s final episode — don’t skip it.
Introduces Boruto, Naruto’s son, and the new generation of ninja. This film is the true starting point of the Boruto story — parts of it were later re-adapted into the anime’s early episodes, but the movie is still worth watching first.
Follows Boruto and his generation as the village enters a new, more technologically advanced era. Mixes manga-canon, anime-original, and filler content. Concluded its first part with Episode 293 in March 2023.
Where Each Movie Actually Fits (Movie Placement Guide)
Most watch order guides just tell you to “watch the movies whenever.” That’s not good enough — here’s exactly where each of the 11 films sits in the timeline, and whether it’s worth your time at all.
| # | Movie | Year | Best Placement | Worth It? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow | 2004 | After Ep. 80 (mid-Naruto) | Skip |
| 2 | Legend of the Stone of Gelel | 2005 | After Ep. 120 (mid-Naruto) | Skip |
| 3 | Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom | 2006 | After Ep. 160 (mid-Naruto) | Skip |
| 4 | Naruto Shippuden the Movie | 2007 | After Ep. 30 (early Shippuden) | Skip |
| 5 | Bonds | 2008 | After Ep. 70 (early Shippuden) | Skip |
| 6 | The Will of Fire | 2009 | After Ep. 100 (early Shippuden) | Skip |
| 7 | The Lost Tower | 2010 | After Ep. 143 (mid Shippuden) | Optional |
| 8 | Blood Prison | 2011 | After Ep. 196 (mid Shippuden) | Optional |
| 9 | Road to Ninja | 2012 | After Ep. 376 (post Kage Summit) | Recommended |
| 10 | The Last: Naruto the Movie | 2014 | After Shippuden finale (Ep. 500) | Essential |
| 11 | Boruto: Naruto the Movie | 2015 | Before Boruto: NNG Episode 1 | Essential |
The Complete Filler Skip Guide
This is the section most Naruto guides get wrong — they either list every single episode (overwhelming) or just say “skip filler” (useless). Here’s the practical version: the major filler stretches, roughly where they sit, and whether any are actually worth your time.
Naruto (Original Series) — ~90 of 220 Episodes Are Filler
Naruto: Shippuden — ~200 of 500 Episodes Are Filler
Quick Reference Table: Every Entry in the Franchise
| Title | Type | Episodes | Years | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naruto | TV Series | 220 | 2002–2007 | Complete |
| Naruto: Shippuden | TV Series | 500 | 2007–2017 | Complete |
| Naruto Movies 1–9 | Films | 9 films | 2004–2012 | Complete |
| The Last: Naruto the Movie | Film | 1 film | 2014 | Canon |
| Boruto: Naruto the Movie | Film | 1 film | 2015 | Canon |
| Boruto: Naruto Next Generations | TV Series | 293 | 2017–2023 | Complete (Part 1) |
| Boruto: Two Blue Vortex | Manga | Ongoing | 2023–Present | Ongoing |
| Two Blue Vortex (Anime) | TV Series | TBA | Confirmed, No Air Date | In Development |
Boruto & Two Blue Vortex: Where the Story Stands in 2026
If you finished the Boruto anime and are wondering what’s next, here’s the honest situation as of mid-2026.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Part 1)
Concluded with Episode 293, “Farewell,” in March 2023. This part adapted the manga’s first 80 chapters along with a large amount of anime-original content and filler, mixing comedy with an increasingly dark back half.
Boruto: Two Blue Vortex (Manga)
The direct manga sequel, written by Masashi Kishimoto, began serialization in 2023 and is the only way to follow the current story. Viz Media released the first English volume in spring 2025, and new chapters continue to publish in V Jump and on the Manga Plus app.
Two Blue Vortex Anime
Studio Pierrot has confirmed an anime adaptation is in the works, but as of mid-2026, no release window has been announced. The anime has been on hiatus since the manga overtook it, a common strategy to let the source material build a buffer first.
What Changed in Two Blue Vortex
Boruto returns to the Hidden Leaf with a new appearance and power set after a major time and power skip, mirroring the structural jump from the original Naruto into Shippuden. Early reception has been strong, with fans calling it a tonal return to form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Final Verdict: What’s the Best Way to Watch Naruto?
For most viewers, the smartest path is the recommended order above: Naruto, Shippuden, The Last, Boruto: Naruto the Movie, then Boruto: Naruto Next Generations — with the filler guide running alongside it to keep the pacing tight.
If you’re short on time, lean hard into the filler skip guide. You can experience the full emotional arc of Naruto’s story in roughly 130 + 300 core episodes instead of all 1,013, saving well over a week of watch time without losing a single major plot beat.
And if you’ve already finished Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the story isn’t over — it’s just moved to the page. Two Blue Vortex is where Kishimoto is currently taking the franchise, and it’s worth picking up while the anime adaptation remains in development.
Ready to Start Watching?
Bookmark this page — we’ll update the Boruto section the moment an anime release date for Two Blue Vortex is announced. And if this guide helped, check out our other watch order guides below.
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