3 Filler Episodes in Animated Series That Are Actually Fun to Watch
Filler episodes in animated TV shows normally suck. Depending on the show and length of the filler, it can even kill interest (I’m looking at you Key of the Starry Sky arc in Fairy Tail!) in the show. Of course, the worst offenders of including filler are anime shows so that the manga has plenty of time to put out content for the anime to adapt. There are some shows that take filler episodes to really have fun. I’d like to share three filler episodes that were done extremely well and are actually a blast to watch. What are some of your favorite filler?
“The Feud!” – Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 7, Episode 4
Voltron has a couple of decent filler episodes, but “The Feud!” takes the cake in my book. It’s nothing but good fun and the writers know it. The Paladins end up on a high-stakes game show facing off against caricatures of their foes from across the show. The whole time I watched it, I had a decent laugh and more importantly, I didn’t want to skip it. There are parts that are predictable, and in the end, you can skip the episode as it has no bearing on the actual story. However, to watch some of the commercials they made is something that rewarded me as a fan for watching the last six seasons. Little jokes that made me feel like the writers were in tune with fans.
“Special Request: Watch out for the guy you like!” – Fairy Tail Episode 50
Yes, a filler arc has all but killed my interest in watching Fairy Tail, but that was well after I saw this gem. In fact, outside of the horrifically dumb Key of the Starry Sky arc, Fairy Tail does really well with its filler episodes. They didn’t have long arcs like many anime, but rather most fillers were one-off episodes with the occasional 3-5-episode story. Episode 50 though is the best in my opinion. It all stems from Juvia’s love for Gray, but the love potion she buys to “persuade” Gray spreads across the Guild. What’s more is that instead of everyone falling in love with others, it causes the guild to create rivals amongst one another. Cana and Makarov end up in a drinking contest, Gray is jealous that Happy can fly, and best of all, Erza declares a pillar to be her rival. Once again, the episode doesn’t take itself seriously. In addition to this storyline though, there’s a treat for NaLu fans, but it’s not why this episode is so great. It’s just a cherry on top.
“The Ember Island Players” Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3, Episode 17
Avatar: The Last Airbender is an amazing show and I always recommend it to friends. Of course, one of the best episodes happens to be a filler. The episode features Team Avatar as they’re preparing to defeat Fire Lord Ozai when they decide to take a day to relax and regroup. They decide to go see a play that is the story of the show up until the third season. It’s a great way for the audience and writers to poke fun at some of the quirks about the show. For example, Toph was originally going to be a boy, but the writers convinced the creators to make Toph a girl. The Toph in the play though, is a big man that one might expect from Toph’s personality, and I’m sure is a nod to this change. It even pokes fun at how ambiguously a character disappeared from the show. This episode may be filler, but it’s the best filler.