This article is about the episodes in the original Naruto series. For the list of episodes from Naruto: Shippuden, see List of Naruto: Shippuden episodes.
The episodes of the Japanese anime series Naruto, based on the manga series of the same name by Masashi Kishimoto, were directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo.[1] The episodes have been released in North America by Viz Media.[1] They incorporate twenty-seven volumes of the source material over 135 episodes. The remaining 85 episodes are filler, utilizing plot elements not seen in the original manga. The series centers on the adventures of Naruto Uzumaki, a young, excitable ninja of Konohagakure who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all.
The 220 episodes that constitute the series were aired between October 3, 2002 and February 8, 2007 on TV Tokyo in Japan.[2] The English adaptation of the anime began airing on September 10, 2005 on Cartoon Network's Toonami.[3] On September 20, 2008, Cartoon Network ended its Toonami block, but the channel continued sporadically airing episodes of Naruto in the time slots originally occupied by Toonami's programming. Episode 209, aired on January 31, 2009, was the last episode to be shown. Viz has since stated that they have continued dubbing new episodes and intend to see them aired on television, although release dates and venues have not been finalized.[4] However, the remaining episodes are on the Season 9 DVD, which was released September 22, 2009. Episodes also aired on YTV's Bionix and Jetix UK programming blocks.[1]
Episodes from the series have been published in DVD. The first DVD series has been the only one to be collected in VHS format.[5] There are a total of five series, with each of the including four episodes per volume.[6] The series has also been collected in a series of three DVD boxes during 2009.[7][8] The newest DVD series is Naruto The Best Scene which collects scenes from the first 135 episodes from the anime.[9] Beginning on March 28, 2006, Viz released the series on DVD.[10] While the first 26 volumes contain four episodes, since DVD volumes have five episodes.[11] Uncut editions are compiled in DVD Box Sets, each containing 12-15 episodes, with some variation based around story arcs.[12]
Five original video animation episodes have been released for Naruto. The first two aired during Weekly Shōnen Jump's "Jump Festa 2003" and Jump Festa 2004 DVDs, respectively. The third was included on a bonus disc with the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3PlayStation 2video game and provides hints for playing the game in RPG mode. The fourth was included as an extra in the DVD release of the first Naruto movie. The fifth was featured at Jump Festa 2010.