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How to watch Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden in order

We've ordered each chapter of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and the ten Naruto films for your binging pleasure

A promotional still from the Naruto anime — Image credit: Pierrot

Guides by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Additional contributions by Dion Dassanayake

Published on Mon Apr 22 2024

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Few anime have been as enduring as Naruto. 20 years after its TV debut, it remains one of the most popular series in the world. With spin-off manga and anime, a remarkably popular video game franchise, and even an amusement park on the way, Naruto and his friends are here to stay. But that means there is a lot of Naruto to catch up on for new viewers.

Even if this isn’t your first trip to the Hidden Leaf Village, it can be helpful to know the best way to watch Naruto and its sequel series, Boruto, to get the most out of the show. Here is everything you need to know to watch Naruto in chronological and release order.

We're going to take you through every one of Naruto's animated adventures, not just on the small screen, but the cinematic ones too. Before we do any of that, however, there's an important question we've got to answer for you. If you want to know more about the Naruto world and how his lineage ties into it, check out out Naruto family tree guide.

What's the difference between Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden?

Naruto ran from 2002-2007, while Shippuden ran from 2007-2017. Like the series' respective airings, the difference between the two shows is a matter of time - Naruto follows the main characters as children, and Shippuden follows them as young adults.

With the timeline cleared up, we can go ahead and talk about...

How to watch Naruto in chronological order

Artwork showing different Naruto characters which celebrates the anime's 20th anniversary. — Image credit: Bandai Namco / Shueisha

With hundreds of hours of ninja-fightin', energy-blastin', katana-duelin' fun packed into both series, the best way to not miss out on any of the action is by organizing your binge by order of episodes. Call us biased, but the way we recommend doing that is in chronological order, in other words, tracking the Naruto universe by its historical events. You can do that with this order:

How to watch Naruto in release order

Image from the Naruto anime showing the main character charging up an attack. — Image credit: Crunchyroll, Pierrot

Be warned if you're embarking on this path: During its original run in Japan, some of the Naruto movies were released slightly out of sync with the events of the series. Because of that, the events taking place in the movies could be happening at a later or earlier point in the timeline than what the anime had got up to.

Still, if you wanted to have an experience with Naruto like the fans who were keeping up with it as it was airing, you can do so in this order:

How many Naruto episodes are there?

Just so you don't have to go through these lists and count them yourself (unless you're into that. In that case, go nuts!), there are 220 episodes of the original Naruto series and exactly 500 episodes of Shippuden, for a total of 720 Naruto episodes, plus ten films.

Better get watching.

Did Naruto stop airing?

Technically, the answer to this question is yes. Naruto stopped airing in 2007, and Naruto Shippuden stopped airing in 2017. As of now, there are no shows focused on the titular ninja regularly producing new episodes. But does that mean Naruto isn't on TV at all?

Nope.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is a sequel/spinoff of the two Naruto shows, focused on another character but still featuring anime's most popular ninja, aged even older than he was in Shippuden.

Is Naruto coming back?

Killer B in Naruto — Image credit: Pierrot

Yes! It was announced that, as part of the Naruto 20th anniversary celebrations, four brand new episodes would be released in September 2023. Unfortunately, those episodes have been pushed back to "further raise its quality," according to an announcement on the official Naruto website, with no further release date given. As of November 2024, there was still no word on when - or if - these anniversary episodes of Naruto would be released.

Where can I watch Naruto?

Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations can all be watched on Crunchyroll, where the first seasons of all three shows can also be watched entirely for free.

Simply head to the Naruto Crunchyroll page, Naruto Shippuden Crunchyroll page or Boruto Next Generations Crunchyroll page and choose the first season. Then, click on the episode you want to watch. These episodes are available to watch for free with ads.

To watch every single Naruto episode you'll have to sign-up for a Crunchyroll Premium plan, which is available from $7.99 a month.

Why is there so much filler in Naruto?

Naruto holding his fist up — Image credit: Pierrot

Because the anime was being made at the same time as the original manga, it quickly began to catch up to the source material. Rather than go on hiatus with one of the most popular shows in Japan at the time, the studio decided to make their own content to fill time so that the manga could get a decent buffer. The result was that the show stayed on the air with 76 episodes in a row that were nothing but filler.

Can I skip the Naruto movies?

None of the Naruto movies are considered canon, which means that they don't do anything to impact the story or characters in a significant way. This means that you can safely skip them if you want to speed up your way through all those episodes, you don't need to watch the movies as well. However, there are some very cool moments and some outstanding animation in the films so they are worth watching if you have the time. Just don't expect anything important to happen.

Each week, Trent Cannon runs down the latest and, dare we say "greatest," in anime and manga in Popverse Jump. Some recent columns have included...

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.