The Naruto watch order is simple at its core: watch Naruto (220 episodes), then Naruto: Shippuden (500 episodes), then Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (293 episodes so far). The 11 films are optional side stories that slot in between. Skipping the fan-listed filler cuts about 112 hours from the two Naruto series. A new four-episode anime, Naruto x Ninku, was announced on 10 October 2026 but has no release date yet.
Naruto watch order at a glance
All three series aired on TV Tokyo, made by Studio Pierrot. Watch them in the order they aired. Shippuden starts about two and a half years after the first series ends. Boruto follows Naruto’s son, once Naruto has become the Seventh Hokage, says the official Naruto site.
| Order | Series | Episodes | Aired in Japan | About how long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Naruto | 220 | 3 Oct 2002 to 8 Feb 2007 | 84 hours |
| 2 | Naruto: Shippuden | 500 | 15 Feb 2007 to 23 Mar 2017 | 192 hours |
| 3 | Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (part one) | 293 | 5 Apr 2017 to 26 Mar 2023 | 112 hours |
| 4 | Naruto x Ninku (crossover) | 4 | Not announced | Not announced |
Episode counts and dates come from Wikipedia’s episode lists for Naruto, Shippuden and Boruto, and match the entries on MyAnimeList. The hours are our arithmetic at 23 minutes an episode. That’s the running time MyAnimeList gives for each series.
The anime follows Masashi Kishimoto’s manga, which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from September 1999 to November 2014 and fills 72 volumes, according to Wikipedia’s Naruto article. If you prefer reading, Part I (volumes 1 to 27) is the first series’ story and Part II (volumes 28 to 72) is Shippuden’s.
Where do the 11 Naruto films fit?
Three of the films belong to the first series and eight to Shippuden’s era, by the count in Wikipedia’s list of Naruto media. To watch the Naruto movies in order of the story, pause the series at the points below. The placements follow Popverse’s chronological guide, so they’re fan placements, not official ones.
- Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004): after Naruto episode 101.
- Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005): after episode 160.
- Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom (2006): after episode 196.
- Naruto Shippuden the Movie (2007): after Shippuden episode 32.
- Bonds (2008): after episode 71.
- The Will of Fire (2009): after episode 126.
- The Lost Tower (2010): after episode 143.
- Blood Prison (2011): after episode 196.
- Road to Ninja (2012): after episode 251.
- The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014): after episode 493, then finish episodes 494 to 500.
- Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015): Popverse leaves it out of its timeline; watch it before Boruto, or skip it.
Our pick of the 11 is The Last. Kishimoto was its chief story supervisor and character designer. It focuses on Naruto and Hinata. Boruto: Naruto the Movie is optional, because the Boruto anime adapts its story, says Wikipedia’s Boruto episode list.
Which Naruto episodes are filler, and should you skip them?
Filler is anime-only material that is not in Kishimoto’s manga. About 41% of each Naruto series is filler on the best-known fan-made Naruto filler list, the Anime Filler List. It counts 90 filler episodes in Naruto and 203 in Shippuden. No studio publishes an official list, so use it as a guide.
Naruto episodes 143 to 219 are 77 filler episodes in a row, after the manga’s Part I ends. That’s the block we’d skip first. Jump from episode 142 to episode 220, which the list marks as part manga, then start Shippuden.
| Series | Filler episodes on the fan list |
|---|---|
| Naruto | 26, 97, 101-106, 136-140, 143-219 |
| Naruto: Shippuden | 57-71, 91-112, 144-151, 170-171, 176-196, 223-242, 257-260, 271, 279-281, 284-295, 303-320, 347-361, 376-377, 388-390, 394-413, 416-417, 422-423, 427-450, 464-468, 480-483 |
| Boruto | 16-17, 40-41, 48-50, 67-69, 96-97, 112-119, 138-140, 152-154, 156, 256 |
On a first watch, skip the long blocks of Shippuden filler but keep the “mixed” episodes, which blend manga story with new scenes.
Don’t carry that habit into Boruto. The same site marks only 28 of its episodes as filler, and it labels 179 as “anime canon”: stories made for the anime that still count in the show. Skip those and you’ll miss characters the later episodes use.
How long does it take to watch all of Naruto?
About 388 hours, if you count every opening and ending song and leave out the films. The full Naruto watch order adds up to 1,013 episodes at 23 minutes each.
The two Naruto series alone come to about 276 hours, close to Popverse’s estimate of 278. Drop the filler in both and you’re left with 427 episodes, about 164 hours: roughly seven months at two episodes a night.
What is the new Naruto series announced at New York Comic Con 2026?
The new series is Naruto x Ninku (styled NARUTO x NINKŪ), a four-episode crossover anime revealed on 10 October 2026. The official Naruto site’s roundup of the New York Comic Con panel, dated 11 October, gives no release date or streaming platform yet. On 29 September, Complex reported that VIZ Media had confirmed a new “limited” Naruto TV series.
In the story, young Team 7 (Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura) get lost in another world on a mission and meet Fūsuke from Koji Kiriyama’s Ninku. That manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1993, and its anime began in 1995. Kishimoto and Kiriyama supervise every episode, and PIERROT FILMS animates it, says the series page. Because it stars the young Team 7, we think the first series is all the background you need.
The same panel teased a new Naruto manga drawn by Kishimoto. More news is due at the Jump Festa 2027 stage at Makuhari Messe on 19 and 20 December 2026.
Fans have waited years for new Naruto episodes. In August 2023, TV Tokyo postponed a 20th-anniversary special. It was due to air over four weeks from 3 September 2023, and the delay was to raise its quality. Whether Naruto x Ninku is that project has not been confirmed.
Boruto’s story isn’t finished either. Its manga continues as Boruto: Two Blue Vortex in V Jump, with chapter 36 out on 21 July 2026, according to the official site. Wikipedia’s episode list says a second part of the Boruto anime was announced in 2023, but we found no air date.
Where can you watch Naruto legally in Pakistan?
Check Netflix first. The official Naruto site lists Netflix for the original Naruto series in a group of Asian countries that includes Pakistan. It lists Crunchyroll as “Worldwide (Not including Japan)” for all three series.
For Shippuden and Boruto, the official site names no service for Pakistan specifically, and it warns that services vary by region. Catalogues change, so search for the title in the Netflix or Crunchyroll app before you pay for a plan. We don’t link to unofficial streaming sites.
Like long-running series? Our pick of Korean dramas you must watch and our look at the Turkish epic Dirilis Ertugrul are good next stops.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to watch Naruto before Shippuden?
Yes, if you want the full story. Shippuden opens with Gaara, now the Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, kidnapped by the Akatsuki, and it assumes you know who these characters are.
Is the Naruto watch order different for the films?
Only if you follow release order instead of story order. Popverse gives both lists, and the release-order one moves some films: The Last comes after Shippuden episode 390 there, not 493.
Can I skip straight to Boruto?
You can, but Boruto leans on Naruto and Sasuke as adults. Much of its drama rests on their past. A middle path is to watch Shippuden without the filler first.
Is the Naruto manga finished?
Yes. Naruto ended in Weekly Shonen Jump on 10 November 2014 with 700 chapters. The sequel manga, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, is still running.
How many Naruto films and OVAs are there?
There are 11 theatrical films and 12 original video animations (OVAs). In our view, you don’t need any of the OVAs to follow the plot.
What we do not know yet
As of 12 October 2026, the official site had not given a release date or platform for Naruto x Ninku, or a title or date for Kishimoto’s new manga. We also do not know if the crossover is the delayed 20th-anniversary special, or when Boruto’s second part will air. Nor could we confirm which series Netflix and Crunchyroll carry in Pakistan today, or their rupee prices.
Read next: Korean dramas: the top 5 you must watch.
Researched and drafted with AI assistance; facts checked against the sources linked in this article.
