The Most Ridiculous Filler Stories of Naruto

One of the most notorious aspects of the Naruto franchise's anime has been the 'filler episodes' [...]

By Evan Valentine

One of the most notorious aspects of the Naruto franchise's anime has been the "filler episodes" that populate its run, and with nearly fifty percent of the series being made up of these television only stories, we break down a few of the most ridiculous story lines that we still can't quite believe exist to this day! While not every filler story line is necessarily a bad one, there are definitely some arcs that are so reviled by fans and so ridiculous in concept that we can't help but laugh at some of the unbelievable ideas that were employed in the anime's run.

Filler was created for Naruto for a number of reasons, mostly to allow the television series to allow the manga to "catch up" as well as continue to take advantage of the franchise's insane popularity at the time. With hundreds of episodes to its name, the franchise dove into a number of story lines that never saw their way into the manga proper and considering how insane some of them are, it's definitely worth a trip down memory lane.

The Gang Fights An Ostrich

Naruto Ostrich
(Photo: Studio Pierrot)

Not just any ostrich mind you, but a ninja ostrich! In the sequel series of Naruto: Shippuden, Team 7 was given the task of attempting to capture the ninja ostrich named Condor, or as some eye rollingly called him, Lord Ostrich. An ostrich as a ninja is ridiculous enough on its own, but in the universe of Naruto, this runaway pet taught himself not only how to master ninjutsu but speak English as well. Listen, Naruto is full of giant monster foxes and talking frogs, but this was simply too ridiculous to wrap our brains around.

The Gang Meets "Mecha-Naruto"

Mecha-Naruto_vehicle_mode
(Photo: Studio Pierrot)

I mean....just look at it! "Mecha Naruto" was created by Orochimaru in this filler arc, designed to capture the nine tailed fox within Naruto and muck up the works of the plans put into place by the Akatsuki, who the dark ninja had had a serious falling out with. This robotic version of Naruto, thankfully, only appeared for two episodes in the franchise but we can't get over how unbelievably hilarious this robot version of the protagonist of this ninja anime looks.

The Gang Stomachs A Lemon Burger

Lemon Burger
(Photo: Studio Pierrot)

On it's face, the recent story arc that took place prior to the time travel arc in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations that focused on Konohamaru's failing love life isn't that bad of a concept. What was bad about this arc was the introduction of the horrific "lemon burger". A burger that has a hint of lemon might not be the most disgusting thing in the world, but this edible item in the sequel series has what is basically an entire chopped lemon stacked on top of the sandwich itself, leaving us wondering just how on earth this idea ever was thought of to begin with!

The Gang Reels From A Retcon

Yota
(Photo: Studio Pierrot)

Ahhh the Yota Arc. A filler arc that will live in infamy, not just because of how annoying so many viewers see the young Yota, but because this outside of canon retcons a number of elements of the main story. Taking place years before the beginning of the original Naruto anime, our nine tailed fox wielding protagonist gains his "first friend" in Yota, an annoying kid who has the ability to manipulate the weather. As if this retcon wasn't bad enough, Yota's seemingly final act as he is on the brink of death is to make Naruto and the rest of Konoha forget he existed in the first place! Just...no.

The Gang's Moms Enter The Fight

Mom
(Photo: Studio Pierrot)

The Fourth Ninja World War was easily one of the most serious moments in time for the franchise, with Obito and Madara unleashing not only their own insane powers, but the forces of nearly everyone who has died in the ninja world! On its face, this doesn't necessarily seem like a bad idea as nearly every ninja in Konoha was finding themselves dragged into this world wide battle. Unfortunately, the "Allied Mom Force" went into battle with pots, pans, and kitchen utensils, making the whole exercise cringe inducing rather than what could have been a fairly cool moment.

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