This was my 1st anime so I could be a bit biased. The series is an introduction to the Naruto world. It is the foundation to Shippuden, it is recommended to skip fillers and just follow the canonical part, trust me u are not gonna miss out on much by skipping them, I watched all fillers and barely remember any, a few are fun, whose ep no.s could be found online.
The initial episodes got me interested in the series. The 1st mission was okayish. I dont want to reveal and spoil so I am not gonna use the terms used in the anime.
After 20-30 ep into the anime, few major characters who play an important role in shippuden will be introduced. The sole purpose of this series is to get us into a cliffhanger about what motives each antogonist has.
There are just a handful of fights which give the adrenaline rush. The comedy part is good enough. I suggest u to skip fillers, complete the series asap and dive into shippuden - skip fillers - and witness the pog arc which starts after around 120ep maybe. Have fun!