Episodes: 1-60
Premise: A young shinobi, Naruto Uzamaki, dreams of becoming hokage in his village. The problem is, he’s an outcast and he has no idea why. However, he slowly begins to learn about his past and progress through the ranks of shinobi training. Under the tutelage of his squad leader Kakashi and with his mates Sakura and Sasuke, Naruto begins learning his place in the shinobi world and begins to achieve his dreams.
Is it worth watching?: Yes. If you can get around all of the filler – it was the practice at the time that filler was created to give the manga time to progress – it’s a great battle manga and anime. Using a filler guide, it’s easy to skip what isn’t pertinent to the main story and keep it moving. There are 220 episodes in the first series and 60 is a little more than a fourth of the way through. Naruto is legendary for its in-depth story and universe so it’s worth watching to tick it off the anime bucket list.
Breakout character: Naruto. The titular shinobi is ultimately the main focus and the one that grabs your attention the most. A lot of folks will say Kakashi or Sasuke, but it’s really Naruto in the early days. He gets a lot of growth even at the 60-episode point of the series.
Where it’s going?: It’s slow in the beginning but it gets better once the gang makes it to the Chunin Exams arc. The series’ first major big bad, Orochimaru, makes appearances, and all the genin who you will later care about make their debut. It’s only going to get more involved from here with Orochimaru and Sasuke’s shared history and the development of the Hidden Leaf Village chunin.