Overheard a wild take on 'filler arcs' at the cafe yesterday

I was grabbing coffee and these two people next to me were arguing about anime filler. One guy said, 'I skip EVERY filler arc, it's just a waste of 20 episodes.' The other person shot back with, 'But the G-8 arc in One Piece is filler and it's better than half the canon stuff!' It got me thinking about how we judge shows. I used to auto-skip filler too, but now I'm wondering if I missed some good stuff. What's ONE filler episode or arc you actually think is worth watching?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_tessa10d ago

The Kakashi's Anbu arc in Naruto Shippuden was filler but it gave his character so much needed depth. It showed his past with Itachi and how he got his sharingan. I used to skip all filler too until a friend made me watch those episodes. They honestly changed how I saw his whole story. Now I check filler guides to see if any episodes add real backstory like that did.

nina_campbell10d ago

Okay but that arc actually messed up the timeline for me (and a lot of other fans). It showed him getting the sharingan way later than it was supposed to happen in the real story. Stuff like that can confuse new viewers about what's actually canon. It adds drama, sure, but sometimes filler backstory just makes things more messy than deep.

the_richard10d ago

Honestly, the G-8 arc is the only real answer. It's just a perfect little side story. Feels totally in line with the crew's vibe and has some genuinely funny moments. That arc is the reason I stopped blindly skipping filler. Some of it is trash, but you get gems like that.