Even so, Naruto was one of those shows that needed to grow on me. Having previously watched Hunter x Hunter, it took me until after the Ninja Test arc to really get into it because so much of it reminded me of Hunter x Hunter. Nevertheless, once the two "test" arcs parted ways I felt Naruto better eased into its own thing.
I have the character mark an 8 because when I began the show I only saw Naruto as a whiny brat, but by the end his character really grew on me. Pacing might be a bit slow for some, but I'm one of those people who enjoy back stories and getting to know characters better. For this reason I still have a few filler "arcs" that I've heard were good and might want to go back and watch.
In the end, I thought the series was highly enjoyable to watch. I originally was hesitant to only watch the canon episodes, but having done so I'm glad I did. There are a number of websites that list these. Since the show is up in part on Netflix and other streaming avenues, I would also recommend finding the wiki on how the episodes divide into arcs. This helped me get a sense of direction when watching.
