Narutois synonymous withfiller, but it also shows why filler isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The anime premiered in 2002, long before seasonal releases became the norm for successful shōnen. The weekly-release format was initially popularized byDragon Ball, and it dominated for decades. Some series likeOne Piece(which has surprisingly little filler)still use it. A weekly-release anime eventually catches up with the source material, andfiller prevents resulting gaps in airtime to keep fans satisfied and willing to return. In the pre-streaming age of network programming, this was especially important.
NarutoandNaruto Shippudenare 40.9% and 40.6% filler, respectively. Fans often default to assuming that because filler isn’t adapting the source, it’s not worth watching without a convincing argument.Narutois interesting precisely because it shows how filler can make an adaptation temporarily unwatchable,but also grant depth the source material lacks. At its best, filler can undermine and overturn the very idea of “canon”.
The Case ForNaruto’s Filler
Filler Can Bring Unexpected Dimensions To Its Source
Naruto’s most interesting filler arc is easilyShippuden’s ANBU arc(episodes #349-361). Fans often forget how the manga format itself can restrict stories. The manga and anime industries are different. Mangaka are pressured to keep stories focused and to maintain a dramatic pulse, keeping readers connected to the core characters.
There’s also the overarching pressure of audience rankings with every chapter. Readers must like a chapter; the feedback and ranking of individual chapters directs a manga’s storytelling. There is no divine word of the author that determines “canon” prior to any influence.
Filler provides the adaptation freedom to pick up the manga’s slack.
The manga format means that the author’s true intentions are sometimes corrupted—for example,JoJo’s Bizarre Adventuremangaka Hirohiko Araki was prevented from “canonizing” women.Filler provides the adaptation freedom to pick up the manga’s slack.No longer constrained by the need to adapt the source material faithfully, characters or locations who haven’t been prioritized can be given time.
10 Best Naruto Filler Episodes That Actually Improve The Series
While many criticize Naruto for its many filler episodes, there are some that – shockingly – improve upon the original series.
ForNaruto, the ANBU arc provides deep insight into Kakashi and Itachi. Because theyneededelaboration, and because the filler is remarkably well done, it hardly feels like filler at all. For Itachi, it provides depth and intensifies the viewer’s emotional investment in him. This makes it so that when Obito (canonically) reveals Itachi’s true past and motivations to Sasuke,all of Sasuke and Itachi’s interactions gain even greater prescience. Their relationship feels less like a description of ItachithroughSasuke and more like one of ItachiandSasuke.
Narutohas somewhat problematic world-building, since it’s so character-driven. Focusing on essential characters and centering on Konoha’s perspective, in combination with the aforementioned constraints of manga,leads to the underdevelopment of the world and its inhabitants outside Konoha. This is especially problematic whenShippuden’s plot is based around jinchuriki from other lands being targeted by Akatsuki.
Naruto’s filler shows that this world outside Konoha’s underdevelopment in the source material doesn’t mean that they’re not there in its world. In fact,it shows they can be imagined. For example, the Three-Tail jinchuriki arc doesNaruto Shippuden agreat service, establishing a material and emotional consequence of Akatsuki’s presence and antagonism early on.
Meanwhile,Naruto Shippuden’s “Paradise on the Ship” (episode 223-242) accomplishes this differently, giving characters like Guy and Yamato a much-needed spotlight. The filler, like the characters themselves, tackles the arduous path of temporarily setting sail far away from Konoha and its comforts.
Conversely,Naruto’s Land of Tea and Land of Rice Fields arcs show how filler can make such a journey all the more believable. WhileNarutois largely set within Konoha,NarutoShippuden’s drama is worldwide; these early efforts to world-build make for a gentler transition as the scope ofNarutoruptures beyond Konoha’s borders.
Naruto’s Filler Can Also Be Horrible
Filler Can Just As Easily Be Disruptive And Mind-Numbing
Source and filler material alike always risk narrative momentum. However, manga are somewhat insulated from that risk because of their constraints. Just as filler is able to expand source material,it also gains the ability to become nauseatingly disruptive. Unbound by an established script, filler can get away with a lot. Inevitably, this means a lot of them don’t help convey the narrative being adapted.
Naruto Is My Favorite Anime, But Even I’ll Admit It Hasn’t Aged Well & Needs A Remake
Naruto’s first anime episode debuted more than twenty-two years ago and has grown a large fan base that’s ready for a worthy remake of the series.
Naruto Shippuden’s Infinite Tsukuyomi filler (episodes #427-450) blends seamlessly with the source material’s initial dream sequences. Unfortunately,it doesn’t show the same restraint. Across 23 episodes, only four characters' dreams are explored. Although Tenten, Tsunade, and Killer Bee’s dreams have endearing bright spots, they’re underwhelming. Tsunade’s dream also lasts far too long, overstaying its welcome to trudge through Jiraiya’s book. Karin’s dream, by contrast, is an amazing elaboration for an underappreciated character.
Shippuden’s laborious flashback arcs are infamous, too. However, even good flashback fillers can beruined by filler being subject to the source material’s availability. Set in the time skip betweenNarutoandNaruto Shippuden,the Chunin Exam filler is a great watch on its own. Not such a great watch during the climax of the Fourth Great Ninja War, though.
NarutoShows How Canon Is Deceiving
NarutoTears Apart The Idea That Filler Is Expendable
The canon/filler binary is precarious and unstable. Filler arcs actually become continuous with the source material, weaving their additions into the “canon”.Naruto’s anime adaptations have partly forged their identities by the charm (and annoyance) of their filler.The viral tweet below illustrates how the unique features of the adaptation, like the soundtrack, are intimately related toNarutoas a franchise, Naruto as acharacter, and filler’s presence—for better or worse.
Filler isn’t just a way to kill time until the “authentic” story returns. In reality,it establishes a secondary canon combining sourceandfiller.The story is no longer just the mangaka’s. It expands to include the voices and contributions of countless more: writers, animators, directors, and so on. Filler isn’t the unfortunate, untimely foil to canonical authenticity. It’s nothing more or less than the addition of story to story, as the constraints of one medium navigate those of another. To adapt is to adopt.
Canon arcs can suffer from the same problems as filler can. They can drag, dull, and captivate.
The differences betweenNaruto’s manga and anime—whether in medium, narrative, intention, or presentation—are what make it possible to distinguish them and, in turn,to speak of an overarchingNarutofranchise. Sometimes the story the adaptation adds is amazing; other times, not so much. Canon arcs can suffer from the same problems as filler can. They can drag, dull, and captivate. The big question isn’t necessarily about canonical and non-canonical storytelling. It’s about good and bad storytelling.
Although it’s not rare to say that a fillershouldn’tbe skipped because it’sgood, itisrare to say that source materialshouldbe skipped because it’sbad. That’s not saying oneshouldskip source material. It’s just to make the point thatfiller is reflexively (and unfairly) dismissed.
Naruto & Hinata’s Relationship Led to The Anime’s Worst Filler Arc
Otherwise known as filler, there were always bound to be some chapters in Naruto that are less than perfect. Some, however, are worse than others.
One of the coolest things aboutNaruto’s filleris that one gets to buildone’s owncanon. Considerone redditor’s detailedNaruto Shippudenfiller list. It doesn’t just describe which fillers to skip and to watch. It actually goes further to qualify the cases that one might want to watch. Deidara fans get the “Aesthetics of an Artist” filler; for mecha fans, “Mecha Naruto”. Outside “skip” and “watch”, some fillers (like “White Zetsu’s Trap”) just receive an ambiguous “It’s alright”, leaving the viewer room to decide.
Adaptations with filler provide something strict adaptations can’t, by their very nature.Narutoshows how filler, once created, is just as inseparable from the franchise’s canonical identity as the source material. At a time when seasonal releases of individual arcs dominate and strict adaptations are considered better by default,Narutoshows that religious adherence to source material isn’t the only way—or even the best or “truest” way—to adapt a work.
Naruto
Cast
Naruto is an action-adventure anime series based on the manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. The titular Naruto Uzumaki is a fearsome Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit sealed inside him, which once wreaked havoc on his village. Shunned by his community yet determined to earn their respect, Naruto dreams of becoming the greatest ninja, the Hokage. This series follows his journey through the Ninja Academy as he continues to train and grow, hoping to prove himself to his peers- and himself.
