Which episodes of the Naruto anime are core plot and which are filler?


For both the original Naruto series and Shippuuden, which episodes should I
watch if I want to avoid the filler? I'm only interested in core plot and
character developments.

To make this question a bit more concrete: Which episodes are directly based
off the manga, and which were produced with unique content for _only_ the
anime? At what points did the anime "catch up" to the manga and require non-
manga-related content to continue airing episodes while the manga produced new
content?




The Naruto anime is broken up into two "Series". The first is Naruto, which
covers events up until the 3 year time jump in the manga. The second is
Naruto: Shippūden, which starts after that jump and continues onwards. Both
series have a fair share of anime exclusive plots, so here's the breakdown of
Anime exclusive plots:

**Naruto**

  * Ep 26: "Special Report: Live From the Forest of Death" - Summary Episode
  * Ep 102 - 106: "Land of Tea" Arc
  * Ep 136 - 219-ish (This is where they let the Manga truck along a lot) 
    * Ep 136 - 141: "Land of Rice Fields" Arc
    * Ep 142 - 147: "Mizuki Strikes Back" Arc
    * Ep 148 - 151: "Search for the Bikōchū" Arc
    * Ep 152 - 157: "Curry of Life" Arc
    * Ep 158: "Follow My Lead! The Great Survival Challenge"
    * Ep 159 & 160: "Bounty Hunter" Arc
    * Ep 161: "The Appearance of Strange Visitors"
    * Ep 162 - 167: "Land of Birds" Arc
    * Ep 168: "Remembrance: The Lost Page"
    * Ep 169 - 173: "Land of Sea" Arc
    * Ep 174: "Impossible! Celebrity Ninja Art: Money Style Jutsu!"
    * Ep 175 & 176: "Imposter" Arc
    * Ep 177: "Please, Mr. Postman!"
    * Ep 178 - 183: "Hoshigakure" Arc
    * Ep 184: "Kiba's Long Day"
    * Ep 185: "A Legend from the Hidden Leaf: The Onbaa!"
    * Ep 186: "Laughing Shino"
    * Ep 187 - 191: "Land of Vegetables" Arc
    * Ep 192: "Ino Screams! Chubby Paradise!"
    * Ep 193: "Viva Dojo Challenge! Youth is All About Passion!"
    * Ep 194: "The Mysterious Curse of the Haunted Castle"
    * Ep 195 & 196: "Third Giant Beast" Arc
    * Ep 197 - 201: "Trap Master" Arc
    * Ep 202: "The Top 5 Ninja Battles!" _Recap Episode_
    * Ep 203 - 207: "Kurama Clan" Arc
    * Ep 208: "The Supposed Sealed Ability"
    * Ep 209 - 212: "Shinobazu" Arc
    * Ep 213 - 215: "Menma" Arc
    * Ep 216 - 219/20: "Ultimate Weapon" Arc - Note that 220 is part of this arc, but also includes some canon when

> Naruto and Jiraiya leave the village for training, and others begin training
> as well

**Naruto: Shippūden**

  * Ep 54 - 71: "Twelve Guardians Ninja" Arc
  * Ep 90 - 112: "Three Tails" Arc
  * Ep 144 - 151: "Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu" Arc
  * Ep 176 - 196: "Konoha History" Arc
  * Ep 222 - 242: "Adventures at Sea" Arc
  * Ep 290 - 295: "Chikara" Arc _500 Episodes (total) celebration_
  * Ep 303 - 320: From the "Shinobi World War" Arc
  * Ep 327: "Nine-Tails"
  * Ep 347-361: "Shadow of the ANBU" arc
  * Ep 376 - 377: "Mecha Naruto" arc
  * Ep 386: "I'm Always Watching"
  * Ep 388: "My First Friend"
  * Ep 389-390: "Hanabi Flashback"
  * Ep 394-423: "Chunin Exam" arc
  * Ep 416: "The Formation of Team Minato"
  * Ep 417: "You’ll Be My Backup"
  * Ep 419: "Papa's Youth"
  * Ep 422-423: "Konohamaru's training" arc

Also of note is the Kakashi backstory "Kakashi Gaiden" is shown in the
Shippūden (Ep 119 - 120), which is out of order as to how it appeared in the
Manga (Chp 239 - 244). In the manga, it was between what became the first and
second series (the time jump).

Additionally, none of the movies are based on Manga plots.

Source for most of this information was [the Naruto
Wiki](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Plot_of_Naruto). "Shadow of ANBU" info from
[Naruto HQ](http://www.narutohq.com/naruto-shippuden-fillers.php)




The Naruto anime is broken up into two "Series". The first is Naruto, which
covers events up until the 3 year time jump in the manga. The second is
Naruto: Shippūden, which starts after that jump and continues onwards. Both
series have a fair share of anime exclusive plots, so here's the breakdown of
Anime exclusive plots:

**Naruto**

  * Ep 26: "Special Report: Live From the Forest of Death" - Summary Episode
  * Ep 102 - 106: "Land of Tea" Arc
  * Ep 136 - 219-ish (This is where they let the Manga truck along a lot) 
    * Ep 136 - 141: "Land of Rice Fields" Arc
    * Ep 142 - 147: "Mizuki Strikes Back" Arc
    * Ep 148 - 151: "Search for the Bikōchū" Arc
    * Ep 152 - 157: "Curry of Life" Arc
    * Ep 158: "Follow My Lead! The Great Survival Challenge"
    * Ep 159 & 160: "Bounty Hunter" Arc
    * Ep 161: "The Appearance of Strange Visitors"
    * Ep 162 - 167: "Land of Birds" Arc
    * Ep 168: "Remembrance: The Lost Page"
    * Ep 169 - 173: "Land of Sea" Arc
    * Ep 174: "Impossible! Celebrity Ninja Art: Money Style Jutsu!"
    * Ep 175 & 176: "Imposter" Arc
    * Ep 177: "Please, Mr. Postman!"
    * Ep 178 - 183: "Hoshigakure" Arc
    * Ep 184: "Kiba's Long Day"
    * Ep 185: "A Legend from the Hidden Leaf: The Onbaa!"
    * Ep 186: "Laughing Shino"
    * Ep 187 - 191: "Land of Vegetables" Arc
    * Ep 192: "Ino Screams! Chubby Paradise!"
    * Ep 193: "Viva Dojo Challenge! Youth is All About Passion!"
    * Ep 194: "The Mysterious Curse of the Haunted Castle"
    * Ep 195 & 196: "Third Giant Beast" Arc
    * Ep 197 - 201: "Trap Master" Arc
    * Ep 202: "The Top 5 Ninja Battles!" _Recap Episode_
    * Ep 203 - 207: "Kurama Clan" Arc
    * Ep 208: "The Supposed Sealed Ability"
    * Ep 209 - 212: "Shinobazu" Arc
    * Ep 213 - 215: "Menma" Arc
    * Ep 216 - 219/20: "Ultimate Weapon" Arc - Note that 220 is part of this arc, but also includes some canon when

> Naruto and Jiraiya leave the village for training, and others begin training
> as well

**Naruto: Shippūden**

  * Ep 54 - 71: "Twelve Guardians Ninja" Arc
  * Ep 90 - 112: "Three Tails" Arc
  * Ep 144 - 151: "Tsuchigumo Kinjutsu" Arc
  * Ep 176 - 196: "Konoha History" Arc
  * Ep 222 - 242: "Adventures at Sea" Arc
  * Ep 290 - 295: "Chikara" Arc _500 Episodes (total) celebration_
  * Ep 303 - 320: From the "Shinobi World War" Arc
  * Ep 327: "Nine-Tails"
  * Ep 347-361: "Shadow of the ANBU" arc
  * Ep 376 - 377: "Mecha Naruto" arc
  * Ep 386: "I'm Always Watching"
  * Ep 388: "My First Friend"
  * Ep 389-390: "Hanabi Flashback"
  * Ep 394-423: "Chunin Exam" arc
  * Ep 416: "The Formation of Team Minato"
  * Ep 417: "You’ll Be My Backup"
  * Ep 419: "Papa's Youth"
  * Ep 422-423: "Konohamaru's training" arc

Also of note is the Kakashi backstory "Kakashi Gaiden" is shown in the
Shippūden (Ep 119 - 120), which is out of order as to how it appeared in the
Manga (Chp 239 - 244). In the manga, it was between what became the first and
second series (the time jump).

Additionally, none of the movies are based on Manga plots.

Source for most of this information was [the Naruto
Wiki](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Plot_of_Naruto). "Shadow of ANBU" info from
[Naruto HQ](http://www.narutohq.com/naruto-shippuden-fillers.php)

