Best Naruto Episodes
Naruto is a 2002 anime based on a manga of the same name. It centers on Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who dreams of becoming the leader of his village, the Hokage, to gain recognition from those around him.
Want your friends to get hooked on Naruto? Show them one of the best anime fights ever. A guy with no powers vs. a guy who doesn't even need to move to use his life-threatening powers? Sounds like an easy loss, but Lee uses sheer willpower, courage, and natural strength to put up an epic fight.
This is a great episode and is my favorite fight throughout the Chunin Exams. Both Gaara and Rock Lee show what they've got in order to beat each other. Lee only relies on Taijutsu, while Gaara slowly loses control over his tailed beast. It was a tense fight with a great payoff.
Jiraiya's final battle against the Six Paths of Pain is unforgettable. Sadly, he dies during this battle but not before leaving a code on Lord Fukasaku's back. Jiraiya's death was honestly one of the saddest in Naruto. It even surpasses Itachi's, in my opinion.
Especially at the end, when we see Naruto and feel his sadness over losing his master, it hits hard.
Naruto and Sasuke go head to head in this last episode. Naruto actually loses the fight, Sasuke abandons the Hidden Leaf Village, and the mission fails. The battle between the two rivals was great and will always be my favorite fight between them because of what they were fighting for.
The #1 greatest fight in the series. The animation and sound effects during that Rasengan-Chidori exchange were spectacular.
I loved when the Nine-Tails' real power came out.
Naruto and Neji's fight continues, and you feel relieved when Naruto finally unlocks the Nine-Tails chakra. It was nice seeing that brute strength didn't help Naruto win the fight, but outsmarting Neji did. He used the same technique that he struggled with and was his worst technique to do so.
The final fight between Sasuke and Itachi. Both brothers go all out against one another until Itachi dies and Sasuke collapses. It really shocked me when, at the end of all of this, Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead like he used to when he was a kid. Later on, we see why, which makes this fight even more devastating.
The great sacrifices of Itachi and the only character with 200% of Pain endurance.
Most emotional scene in Naruto ever.
Oh, the first episode of Naruto will always be one that sticks in my mind. This is how you make a good first episode and keep the viewers around for more. Naruto's upbringing, Iruka's acknowledgment of Naruto, and the fact that our main character has an ultimate goal that he sticks to.
This was my favorite flashback episode of Naruto Shippuden, where we see Minato and Kushina's death at the hands of the Nine-Tails and Tobi. It was a very emotional episode that showed Iruka losing his parents and Naruto losing his parents. It gets even worse when Kushina fades away after thanking Naruto for letting her be a parent.
Kushina is the best mother in the series.
Madara goes up against an entire squad of shinobi (Naruto, Gaara, Ōnoki, Temari, etc.) and pretty much outmatches them all. He's able to use Susanoo with ease, make a giant fireball attack, and even kill most of the shinobi with one meteor. Even when he doesn't use his ninjutsu or genjutsu, he can take out multiple shinobi just by his combat skills alone, making him a fearsome foe to reckon with.
Madara is just cold at everything!
Naruto and Gaara both had sad childhoods but dealt with them differently. As Naruto inches forward with the last of his strength to defend his friends, Gaara finally reforms. We also see the Third Hokage get the last laugh before his awesome dying speech. Plus, it was awesome watching all those Leaf shinobi defeat the invaders.
The Newcomers
One of the best fights in the series. Shikamaru, despite having a situational power, uses his extraordinary intelligence to manipulate the battle in his favor, like a shogi game.
Hinata, the meek and timid girl, is inspired by her crush, Naruto, to take a stand against Neji, becoming a stronger person.
The first fight between Naruto and Pain, where Naruto witnesses the devastation of the Hidden Leaf Village and challenges the leader of the Akatsuki.
The climax of not only the most intense and emotional fight of the series but also the original Naruto storyline: once upon a time, there was a child who dreamed of being the strongest ninja in his village.
Well, he has achieved it - except his village is destroyed, his mentors are dead, and his enemy defeated him in two moves. The build-up for Pain is amazing. He's the first Naruto character to be portrayed as god-like, wielding city-razing techniques and killing major characters left and right due to his deterrence peace beliefs. After the end of the previous episode, we don't care if the world burns if that's what's necessary for Naruto to demolish Pain in the most brutal fashion. And, oh boy, he does. No strategy, no tricks, just unleashing everything he's got in one of the most satisfying beatings ever... until Pain responds with one of the most powerful and important techniques in the entire Naruto universe. Trapped in Chibaku Tensei, Naruto decides to release the Nine-Tails and meets the Fourth Hokage.
The episode is famous for its unique art style, highlighting the speed of the fight and Naruto's mind distorted by his fury. But it gave us loads of memorable scenes and shots in addition to memes.
When Kurama and Naruto teamed up, I was going to cry.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto vs. Zabuza and Haku was the first legitimate battle of the series.
This episode was the last one of Pain's arc. This episode shows that Naruto's dream of being acknowledged by all is fulfilled. When I saw all those people cheering for Naruto, it gave me goosebumps. And when Ebisu talked about Naruto's past, that was one of the best moments in the episode. This episode is full of goosebumps. I've watched it more than ten times.
