*nervous twittering*

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

I know the rules say to refrain from making introductary posts and all, but I do have a question and so this might as well be a good time to take advantage of the post and say, hello! I'm a recent Naruto fan. I mooch off my episodes via YouTube. How do you do? :D

But moving onto the Q: I became a Naruto fan through its (fan?)subtitled episodes. Recently, I started the manga series, and have been hop-skipping around the chapters to continue wherever the Valley of End episodes left off and the Season of Fillers begin. So here goes my question:

Is the filler season worth watching? The season sort of makes me twitchy since it's considered, y'know, filler and all. But are the episodes any good? What episodes should I avoid?

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a good day. ^^

Comments

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

And that is EXACTLY what makes me wary of the filler season.

But I figure that there might be handful of episodes that have a decent (if not, amusing) plot to them that might be good for boring, rainy days. But thank you for the opinion; it's very much appreciated. :)

[secludedly.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, they're all terribly retarded... with stories consisting of Naruto farting caused an end of a mission, and an arc where an old ladies curry saved peoples lives, and arcs of a swamp girl engineered by Orochimaru's science? They ruin the feel you get of the characters if you watched up to 135. Don't bother.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Stories like that make me die quietly inside.

It's funny; every comment I've received on this thread all points to a basic NO.

But, seriously, life-saving curry? May I say, wtf?

[mogurachan.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Curry of life and the infamous purple metapod/potsticker kid.

Stay the hell away from the Curry of Life arc and the Tony the Tiger ark (In where we see Mizuki transform into a tiger! GRAWR! -shoots self.-), and I think you'll be... Okay...

The last one I saw was around 170something. It was pretty good. It involved FACESNATCHERS. Or something.

That and the Magical Girl Hinata arc. Just watch those two and, you know, shun the rest like the plague.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Metapod? *perks* Pokémon?

And facesnatchers sounds interesting. I'm majorly turned off by the Fillers from all the reviews/comments I've collected, but maybe they won't be that bad? Hopefully? *tearful*

And, wait -- we're talking about the same Mizuki, here, right? As in the First Evil Villain whose ass was kicked by a still-not-genin Naruto?

... *googlesearch*

...

*anguish*

[mogurachan.livejournal.com]

Pretty much.

And yeah, in the Curry of Life arc, there's a kid in a little purple sleeping bag. Makes him look like a metapod.

I didn't mind the arc too much, if only for Neji and Drunk!Lee. That's always fun.

[aruja.livejournal.com]

umm... the little Anko &team mini arc is pretty good if you forget about the fact that Naruto goes Kyuubi over a tiny thing compared to what it was the first (few) times, I watch em... but then again most of my free time consists of my sitting on the comp anyway...^_^;;;; so if you have the time watch em. but if you don't don't worry about it... you're not missing much

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Ouu. An Anko & Team mini-arc? Anko was one of the few Naruto-girls that really appealed to me. I might check it out. Thanks a lot! :D

[aruja.livejournal.com]

whatsfunny is that the team assigned to her for the missionthat the arc is about consists of Naruto, Ino, and Shino... it's actually quite amusing

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Hmm, Shino is a (surprise! surprise!) mystery to me.

..I'm tempted to see how bloodthirsty!brash!Anko interacts with mute!creepybut oh-so-cute!Shino.

[lezbonojutsu.livejournal.com]

I dunno... I dont think the filler serves much purpose and its completely irrelavent to the storyline, gets kinda boring sometimes. But I spent a shitload of time downloading ALLLL of the filler eppies, cause I love Naruto that much ^^ Thats just me though. I dont go outside :3

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's why I'm hesitant about delving into the fillers, period. I mean, some of the episodes in the canon arcs get really drawn out, just by themselves (you don't know how many times I just want to scream at the computer moniter to just HURRY UP NO NEED FOR FLASHBACKS CONTINUE DAMMIT PLEASE), so! I might end up passing the fillers as a whole and just catch up on the manga.

And thanks for posting! I really appreciate it. :)

[eldylabor.livejournal.com]

I'm a completist, so I've been watching all of the filler anyway. It's not so bad if one doesn't expect a lot out of it, in my opinion. The only one I've really disliked so far was the treasure one with Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata... much less quality in animation than usual and Naruto just bugged the hell out of me in that one. I felt bad for Kiba, because Naruto was just THAT annoying in that part of the filler.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

*snerk* Naruto's character really had to grow on me. In the first episodes, I just wanted to shove the kid aside and focus wholly on Sasuke and how kick ass his character is. But when the anime progresses, Naruto started to become more appealing -- especially in the Valley of End episodes (which is my favourite episodes BY FAR. Good God, was the animation drool-worthy).

Which is a good thing, since he is the protagonist and all. :)

I'll probably end up passing the filler episodes for now. But thanks for the tip! :D

[tomato-uchiha.livejournal.com]

in my opinion, no. the fillers mess around with kishimoto's original plot...which is just u_u not cool. they also have boring repetitive story lines...and the charectar designs are ick.

but kishimoto's is pure brilliance!

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

*wince* I suspect it so. I'm worried most about the character designs since I'm absolutely infatuated with a lot of Naruto's characters and to have filler episodes twist them up -- it's blasphemy.

And amen to kishimoto! :D

[nikki-wright.livejournal.com]

I've watched the entire thing. It has it's good moments, but it has some really bad moments.

The good moments are:

- Hinata becomes less shy and shows that she's just as good as Neji is.
- Anko's past with Orochimaru.


... Yeah.

I also liked the lullaby in this week's episode. >D

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Yay for Hinata!Growth! And the same goes for Anko; she's a kick-ass character. I was disappointed when she didn't have that big of a role in the anime (thus far, anyway. *cues ominous music*).

Too bad that's only two good points in 50+ filler episodes. :\

[rainbowlasers.livejournal.com]

The Anko arc is pretty good. Most of it except for about one or two episodes, yeah.

The rest is just... mostly boring or awful. I especially don't like the latest one, seeing as it seems to be out of a bad fanfic.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Hm, I've been getting some pointers in the Anko arc direction. Since she's one of my favorite female characters (which really isn't saying much since I don't like the majority of Naruto's females), maybe I'll swing by YouTube and check them out.

And, eww'heww. Bad fanfic.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

I take it that it's a steadfast no, then!

And your icon cracks me up. XD

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

*tries not to think; may induce brain malfunction*

I keep seeing Bleach fandom pop up but I honestly have never touched that series. I wonder if I should, not that I'm floating around, waiting for the next Naruto anime episodes to pop up.

And, yay for the Vash cameo! What is it with our favorite anime characters and their fucked up siblings? XD

[ormery.livejournal.com]

Well ... I watched like half of them in one day, because I have no life, but it was one of those days where you sit around in your pyjamas and feel faintly groggy ... anyway, point being I stopped watching because the 'wtf' was making my head hurt and I couldn't take it any more after they like cleansed a little Haku-wannabe's heart of evil using magic curry or whatever, but the headpain might just have been because I'd spent more time watching Naruto than sleeping in the preceding couple of days. So my judgement ain't necessarily the best.

I'd say watch them if someone gives them to you, but if you have to spend ages downloading them, don't bother, 'cause it's not worth it.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

I couldn't take it any more after they like cleansed a little Haku-wannabe's heart of evil using magic curry or whatever

Excuse the ineloquence, but WTF? Magic, Do-Good-Feel-Good curry? *horror*

From all the comments, I think that even if someone did give them to me, I wouldn't take them. But thank you for the tips. They're very much appreciated. :)

And I'm still weeping inside for the Haku-clone. How FUCKING DARE could they? ;-;

[ormery.livejournal.com]

It hurt my head T_T

To its credit, it did have drunk!Lee. But poorly-thrown-in, predictable drunk!Lee and not enough of it. Besides which the kid had special eyes that could see through walls. And glowed.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

But...

But...

Isn't that what the Hyuuga's known for? Sans the glowing-eye bit.

I'm not sure if a drunk!Lee would be able to redeem that. *angst*

[mistresskat.livejournal.com]

Fillers are generally a noooo... a biiiiig... no.

Although.. Dispite how terribly bad the "Curry of Life" filler arc was, I enjoyed seeing Lee get drunk again. XB

Fillers. Eh. If you have the time, sure, why not watch? More things to make fun of. :D

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Squee! Drunk!Lee! Maybe just for that, I'll have a looksie! :D

[atom-bunny.livejournal.com]

Some of it is reasonable, some of it is bad, some of it is downright AWFUL (especially Ep 174 ¬_¬)

I actually quite enjoyed the "Curry of Life" arc. *shrug* but that might just be me.

The first arc - "Let's go to sound even though we'll get annihilated" was pretty lame and really set the tone for the rest of the fillers.

The "Mizuki-The-Tiger" arc started off promisingly, but descended into WTFery.

The Bikochuu arc wasn't too bad, but there were parts that were MEH. Hinata actually DID something! but it ended up almost as I predicted... (same result, different device)

The "Bounty Hunter" arc could have been decent, but they rushed and squashed it into 2 episodes.

The "Noroimusha" (sp?) arc was actually quite decent! Some people compared it to Scooby Doo. and I could see their point. :P

The "Anko's Past" arc was both good and bad for reasons people have already given.

The "Find the Box" arc was kinda OK.

The single episodes were hit and miss. "Naruto and the Konohamaru corps" was kinda... meh. "Fake Lee and Gai" was FUNNY! The "Ramen" ep wasn't bad IMO but others HATED it.

And AVOID ep 174. That was the worst ep in the entire filler season! A supposedly "crack" episode that they sucked all the funny out of. ¬_¬

I haven't got those in order, and I can't remember episode numbers. ^_^'
I'm pretty sure I got all the arcs listed though. (but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

My personal gripe about the fillers is that they seemed to use the same characters over and over again when they had so many to choose from! It nearly always seemed to be some combination of Naruto/Team 8 or Naruto/Team Gai.

Have fun if you decide to watch! XD

Atom XX

[sevetenks.livejournal.com]

!!! Someone else who liked the Curry of Life? I'm shocked! 8D

[atom-bunny.livejournal.com]

LOL - Not just me - the friend who was watching it "with" me over MSN liked it too. XD

Ok, there was a certain amount... "borrowed"... from the Zabuza/Haku storyline, but I STILL enjoyed it despite that!

Atom XX

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

"Let's go to sound even though we'll get annihilated" was pretty lame and really set the tone for the rest of the fillers.

Eeeyeaaaah, that doesn't sound too promising. ._.

But, wow, thanks for all of the info! You don't know how much this helps me. :D

I swung by leafninja.com for a brief summary on episode 174, and boy-howdy, does it sound bland. Naruto can be annoying enough, thank-you, and the episode's lesson, money isn't everything, looks like somthing slapped on for direction.

*angst*

[alli-chan.livejournal.com]

I saw the first few fillre eps and stopped right there, I don't think I missed anything by it. *sits and waits for fillers to end*

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

*sits beside* I think I'll wait with you. Thanks for the two cents!

[coordinator.livejournal.com]

All the Hinata arcs aren't worth watching, unless you love Kiba. Ok ok fine, I admit I'm biased, but I don't take it back. XD

I would suggest the Curry of Life arc, it's Team Gai with Naruto and goodness, it makes me laugh every single time. Plus Neji passes out. ..you just can't touch that. ;D

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

*wince* I've heard mixed reviews on the Curry of Life. The prospect of a Haku clone makes me wary, though.

But then there's a fainted Neji, so... *severely tempted*

[mogurachan.livejournal.com]

My yes.

And then there's THIS soon afterward.



...which saved the arc. Oh, how it saved the arc.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

BWAHAHAHAHA.

LMAO and holy shit, I adore you. XD

[secludedly.livejournal.com]

If you should want to... I suggest only downloading the Anko arc, which I still frown upon. People did give it too much credit than it deserved, but it honestly was the best arc so far in the fillers... which is sad... and STUPID.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

*stomach flip* I like Anko, though. So a large part of me is afraid of what the fillers did to her character, while another tempts me to see what the Anko-centered arc is about.

Thanks for the tip, though. :D

[kat-thefox.livejournal.com]

I had a really long thing written here, but I decided to cut it down for comprehension. Clipped version is as follows:

"Let's Go to Sound for NO REASON AT ALL" arc: I hated this whole concept, but the last two or three episodes really got me... maybe that's just because I'm a sadistic freak and really enjoy character torture, and the number of times people almost died in this arc was rediculous.

Mizuki Strikes Back Arc: I liked this for the sheer amont of Iruka in it. The ending left a lot to be desired, though. And tying Orochimaru to Mizuki was just too far a stretch for me. T__T; I couldn't see that as being his motivation in Episode 1. It just didn't work.

Bikochuu Arc: Fillers exist for the sole purpose of making Naruto look like an idiot. (Hated this arc.)

Raiga (Curry of Life) Arc, Episodes 152-157: Watching Neji pass out is probably the highlight of the filler. XD I reccomend this one.

Episode 158 (Oneshot): Worth seeing just for the novelty of it. I liked it, anyway. Though, Konoha in it's entirety'd better pray Naruto never makes Jounin. He absolutely sucks as a squad leader. XD;;

Bounty Hunter Arc, Episodes 159-160:
"Old-fashioned Western bar fight! WITH NINJA! AWESOME!"
"Naruto, Hinata, Kiba... You guys got seriously pwned. It was sad to watch."
This arc confused me. The beginning was good, but the end was kinda... eh.

Episode 161 (Fake Gai and Lee oneshot): I seriously did NOT want to watch this one, but a few minutes in I was laughing nonetheless. XD Worth watching if ONLY for Kakashi. I loved his scene.

Allow me to quote myself directly on the beginning of the Bird Country Arc:
"Episode 162--I hope the rest of this filler arc is as good as this episode, 'cause this is great. XD I'm halfway through the episode and haven't found anything to complain about yet. Rather, I'm quite enjoying it. The beginning of the episode actually had me laughing, it was a little too Scooby Doo-esque, but... I guess you really can't be an American kid and not think of Scooby Doo the minute anyone mentions ghosts. *shrugs*"
The rest of the arc was pretty good (if you ignore the stupid generic filler villian with every attack EVER) so I'd reccomend this one.

Also, during that arc there's a New Year's special opening at the beginning of episode 166... XD Maybe I'm the only one who loves the special openings--("GOLDEN TIME!" anyone?) but I cracked up during that. *thumbs up* It earns cool points.

As for the Anko arc...
AVOID THE EPISODE WITH THE SASUKE CAMEO AT ALL COSTS, PLZKTHXBAI. *shot*
Am I the only one who hated the Anko filler? And I like Anko just fine.

My own personal miff about the Bird Country and Anko filler was the over-use of Katon no Jutsu. (Isn't that supposed to be Uchiha-specific? Y'know, clan specialty and all!? WHY CAN EVERYONE DO IT IN THE FILLER!?)
"NANI!? I can't do any Katon no Jutsu!"
Well, GEE, I never would've guessed, Naruto--EVERYONE ELSE IN THE FILLER CAN. *shot*

Episode 174... AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAUGE.

Treasure Hunt Arc:
The first episode was like something out of a... strangely contrived fanfiction.
The second episode was pure crack. I enjoyed it, though they really could've had something great with that first episode. :P I almost respected filler for that.

And anything after that I can't even remember, this latest arc with the whole Star thing is absolutely horrible.

...crap, this comment is still huge. XD; Ah well. Hope it helped at all, considering how late a comment it is anyway.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, this is so very awesome of you. The comment is totally not huge at all! And it extremely informative, so, yes, it helped a bunch. Thank you! :D

Mizuki Strikes Back Arc

LMAO. Huuuu, boy, that was a good laugh. XD And I'm deliberately denying that the arc ever occured; I don't think my brains would be able to handle it. *points to avatar*

AVOID THE EPISODE WITH THE SASUKE CAMEO AT ALL COSTS, PLZKTHXBAI. *shot*

*revives you to throttle you soundly* WAHAH. Please tell me you're joking. *heartbroken*

To be honest, I thought your entire review/comment was hilarious. XD I just had to pick out the highlights that jumped out at me and stabbed me through the heart the quickest.

Again, thank you!

[amaridaijoubune.livejournal.com]

The only filler I've seen are two of the...erm...ones with the scent bug. Which I only downloaded 'cause someone said you see Shino's eyes. It was dumb, although Hinata training was beautiful.

So, yeah, I don't watch the fillers. Most of what people have said on this comm has turned me off to them entirely.

[sterlingcoins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's mainly my stance. I was mainly curious on how/if the characters evolved during the fillers, but from all of the comments, I figured that it's safe for my health to not know. ;)

Was it the same scent bug from the Shino vs Kankuro episode?

[amaridaijoubune.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. It was some sort of bug that...well...basically acted like a bloodhound. They'd give it something of Sasuke's to sniff and follow it to him. It was really hard to find, though, and some other clan (a rival clan of the Aburame, apparently, and bug users as well) was also after the scent bug for some reason I can't remember...you know, I think it got so mind-numbingly stupid after a while that I stopped paying attention. Though I really appreciated Team Eight gettin' some airtime.