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is an ongoing Japanese manga
Manga

, , are comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II, but they have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art....
 series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto
Masashi Kishimoto

is a Japanese people Mangaka, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive....
. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki

is a Character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto is the main protagonist and titular character of the series....
, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage
World of Naruto

File:NarutoWorld.jpgThe Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional universe with numerous countries and locations....
, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all. The series is based on a one-shot comic by Kishimoto that was published in the August 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump.

The manga was first published by Shueisha
Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan....
 in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's
Weekly Shonen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump

is a weekly shonen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating....
magazine.






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Quotations


(In response to being asked who is precious to him) Every single one of you.... Everyone in this village!

A soul needs a purpose to live, and so I concluded that my purpose was to kill everyone besides myself. I felt alive...

Aging is pointless. That's how I feel when I look at you.

All I've been doing is watching you two from behind.... Now, get a good look at my back!

All your hard work will prove worthless... unless you believe in yourself!

And I was forced to accept it. That was the most painful thing.... Accepting that I was alone in the world. Superfluos. Unwanted. Shunned.






Encyclopedia




is an ongoing Japanese manga
Manga

, , are comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II, but they have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art....
 series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto
Masashi Kishimoto

is a Japanese people Mangaka, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive....
. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki

is a Character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto is the main protagonist and titular character of the series....
, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage
World of Naruto

File:NarutoWorld.jpgThe Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional universe with numerous countries and locations....
, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all. The series is based on a one-shot comic by Kishimoto that was published in the August 1997 issue of
Akamaru Jump.

The manga was first published by Shueisha
Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan....
 in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's
Weekly Shonen Jump
Weekly Shonen Jump

is a weekly shonen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating....
magazine. Currently, the manga is still being serialized with forty-four tankobon
Tankobon

is the Japanese language term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series, though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series....
volumes having been released. The manga would be later adapted into an anime produced by Studio Pierrot
Studio Pierrot

is a Japanese animation company, founded in 1979 by former employees of Tatsunoko Production. They are considered specialists in the magical girl sub-genre, especially with their Studio Pierrot magical girl series of shows....
 and Aniplex
Aniplex

, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise, owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and established in January, 1997....
. It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial
Terrestrial television

Terrestrial television is a term which refers to modes of television broadcasting which do not involve satellite transmission. . The term is uncommon in the United States while more common in Europe....
 TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo

is a TV station with headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The network is also known as , a portmanteau of "terebi" and "Tokyo." It is the key station of TXN ....
 network and the anime satellite television
Satellite television

Satellite television is television delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by a satellite dish and set-top box. In many areas of the world it provides a wide range of channels and services, often to areas that are not serviced by terrestrial television or cable television providers....
 network Animax
Animax

is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. Headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, its co-founders and shareholders include Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios Sunrise , Toei Animation , TMS Entertainment, and production company NAS ....
 on October 3, 2002. The first series lasted 220 episodes, while
Naruto: Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, has been airing since February 15, 2007. Apart from anime series, Studio Pierrot has developed five movies for the series and several original video animation
Original video animation

, abbreviated , is a term originating from Japanese animation for animation films and series which are made specially to be released on home video formats....
s (OVAs). Other types of merchandise include light novel
Light novel

A is a novel primarily targeting teens and young adults. The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language....
s, video games and trading cards developed by several companies.

Viz Media
VIZ Media

Viz Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, California, California, United States, is an anime, manga and Japanese entertainment company founded in 1986 as Viz, LLC....
 has licensed the manga and anime for North American production. Viz has been publishing the series in their
Shonen Jump
Shonen Jump (magazine)

Shonen Jump, officially stylized SHONEN JUMP and abbreviated SJ, is a shonen manga anthology published in North America by Viz Media....
magazine, and has also been releasing the volumes. The series aired in the United States and Canada in 2005, and later in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The films, as well as most OVAs from the series, have also been released by Viz, with the first film premiering on cinemas. Naruto: Shippuden has also been announced to premier in 2009 in the United States.

Serialized in Viz's
Shonen Jump magazine, Naruto has become one of the company's best-selling manga series. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan. The English adaptation of the series has also appeared in the USA Today
USA Today

'USA TODAY' is a national United States daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Allen Neuharth. The paper has the widest newspaper circulation of any newspaper in the United States , and among English-language broadsheets, it comes second worldwide, behind only the 2.6 million daily paid copies of The Times of...
Booklist several times and volume 11 won the Quil Award
Quill Awards

The Quill Award was "consumer-driven awards created to inspire reading while promoting literacy." The Quills Foundation, the organization behind the Quill Award, is supported by a number of notable Mass media corporations, including Reed Business Information, parent of Publishers Weekly, and NBC Universal Television#NBC Universal Television S...
 in 2006. Reviewers from the series have praised the balance between fighting and comedy scenes, as well as the characters' personalities. However, some of them have noted the series to have concepts which appear in several
shonen
Shonen

is a genre of manga with a demographic of young boys generally between the ages of about 10 and 18. Examples include Dragon Ball , Naruto, Bleach , Case Closed, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, InuYasha, Death Note, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Yu-Gi-Oh....
series.

Setting

Narutoteam7
Naruto has a large number of characters, most of whom are ninjas. They initially study at the Ninja Academy, where the story begins, are split up into squads of three after their graduation and become Genin
World of Naruto

File:NarutoWorld.jpgThe Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional universe with numerous countries and locations....
, rookie ninja. Each squad is assigned an experienced
sensei. These core squads form a basis for the characters' interactions later in the series, where characters are chosen for missions for their team's strength and complement
Complement

In many different fields, the complement of X is something that together with X makes a complete whole, something that supplies what X lacks....
ary skills; Naruto's squad 7 becomes the social frame where Naruto is acquainted with Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke Uchiha

is a Character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. He was created as a rival and foil to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, with his design causing difficulties for Kishimoto during drawing the manga scenes, although he has grown to enjoy drawing Sasuke....
, Sakura Haruno
Sakura Haruno

is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura has become the series' female lead, although she was not immediately intended for the role....
, and their
sensei Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi Hatake

is a Character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto originally planned to introduce Kakashi in the manga to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, early on, but pushed back this meeting so that Naruto's teammates could be better developed....
, forming the core of his world-in-the-making. The other three-man teams of his former classmates form another such layer, as Naruto connects with them to various degrees, learning of their motives, vulnerabilities, and aspirations. The groups of three are not limited to the comrades Naruto's age – groups in the story in general come in threes and multiples of three.

In the
Naruto world, countries operate as separate political entities ruled by landlords. Within these countries are , settlements housing ninja
Ninja

In history of Japan, a is a warrior specially trained in a variety of unorthodox arts of war. These include assassination, espionage, and various martial arts....
, warriors capable of using supernatural abilities
Jutsu (Naruto)

In the anime and manga series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, a refers to the supernatural abilities ninja can use. The series occurs in a fictional universe in which different countries vie for power using ninja soldiers....
 in combat. A hidden village maintains the economy of the parent country by training ninja from a young age and using them to perform missions for other countries. The ninja of a hidden village also serve as the military force of their parent country. The leaders of the hidden villages hold equal status with the leaders of their respective countries. Five countries in the
Naruto world: the Land of Earth, the Land of Fire, Land of Lightning, the Land of Water, and the Land of Wind are known as the "Five Great Shinobi Nations". These countries are the most powerful in the Naruto world. They are ruled by a feudal lord
Daimyo

The were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. The term derives from a shortening of the title , which literally means "great named land" and originally simply referred to the owner of a large estate....
 and the leaders of the hidden villages in these countries hold the title of Kage. Other apparently smaller nations have been named in passing, in either the manga or anime, but are yet to be explored.

Plot

Naruto Uzumaki is a young boy who has the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed within him. Twelve years before the start of the series, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konohagakure
World of Naruto

File:NarutoWorld.jpgThe Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional universe with numerous countries and locations....
, slaughtering many people. In response, the leader of Konohagakure – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside Naruto when he was a newborn. Konohagakure, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the Third Hokage forbade anyone mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone. Years later, Naruto was tricked by the renegade ninja Mizuki into stealing a forbidden scroll, but was stopped by his teacher, Iruka Umino. That encounter made Naruto realize he was the container of the demon fox.

The main story follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth. Naruto befriends two comrades, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, who are assigned with him to form a three-person team under an experienced
sensei
Sensei

is a Japanese language Japanese titles used to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers and Physicians, politicians, clergyman, and other figures of authority....
named Kakashi Hatake. Naruto also befriends other characters that he meets throughout the series. They learn new abilities, get to know each other and other villagers better, and experience a coming-of-age journey as Naruto dreams of becoming the Hokage
World of Naruto

File:NarutoWorld.jpgThe Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional universe with numerous countries and locations....
 of Konohagakure. At first, emphasis is placed on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who are the members of Team 7. Later, Orochimaru
Orochimaru (Naruto)

is a Character from the Naruto World of Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, Original video animation, Film, video games, and other collectibles....
, a criminal at the top of Konohagakure's most wanted list, attacks Konoha killing the Third Hokage as an act of revenge. This causes one of the three legendary ninja, Jiraiya
Jiraiya (Naruto)

is a Character in the Naruto World of Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto....
 to search for his partner Tsunade, to become the Fifth Hokage. During that search, it is revealed that Orochimaru also desires to acquire Sasuke Uchiha due to his powerful genetic heritage. Believing Orochimaru will be able to give him the strength needed to kill his brother Itachi, who destroyed all his clan, Sasuke goes to him. Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving Konoha for two-and-a-half years of training to prepare himself for the next time he meets Sasuke.

After the training period, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki attempts to capture the nine powerful tailed beasts
World of Naruto

File:NarutoWorld.jpgThe Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional universe with numerous countries and locations....
 including the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside of Naruto. Several ninjas from Konohagakure, including Team 7, fight against the Akatsuki members and search for their teammate Sasuke. Sasuke, in the meantime betrays Orochimaru and faces Itachi to take revenge. Although Itachi dies, Sasuke is told by the Akatsuki founder Madara Uchiha that Itachi was ordered by Konohagakure's leadership to destroy his clan. Saddened with the revelation, Sasuke joins forces with Akatsuki to destroy Konohagakure. Meanwhile, as several Akatsuki members are defeated by the Konohagakure ninja, the leader, Pain, invades the village to capture Naruto.

Production

Masashi Kishimoto first created a one-shot of
Naruto for August 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump. Despite its high positive results in the reader poll, Kishimoto thought "[the] art stinks and the story's a mess!" Kishimoto was originally working on Karakuri for the Hop Step Award when, unsatisfied by the rough drafts, he decided to work on something different, which later formed into the manga series Naruto. Kishimoto has expressed concerns that the use of chakras and hand signs makes Naruto too Japanese, but still believes to be an enjoyable read.

When originally creating the
Naruto story, Kishimoto looked to other shonen manga as influences for his work, although he attempted to make his characters as unique as possible. The separation of the characters into different teams was intended to give each group a specific flavor. Kishimoto wished for each member to be "extreme," having a high amount of aptitude in one given attribute yet be talentless in another." The insertion of villains into the story was largely to have them act as a counterpoint to the characters' moral values. Kishimoto has admitted that this focus on illustrating the difference in values is central to his creation of villains to the point that, "I don't really think about them in combat." When drawing the characters, Kishimoto consistenly follows a five-step process: concept and rough sketch, drafting, inking, shading, and coloring. These steps are followed when he is drawing the actual manga and making the color illustrations that commonly adorn the cover of tankobon
Tankobon

is the Japanese language term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series, though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series....
, the cover of Weekly Shonen Jump, or other media, but the toolkit he utilizes occasionally changes. For instance, he utilized an airbrush
Airbrush

An airbrush is a small, Pneumatics tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush....
 for one illustration for a
Weekly Shonen Jump cover, but decided not to use it for future drawings largely due to the cleanup required.

Kishimoto added that, as
Naruto takes place in a "Japanese fantasy world," he has set certain rules, in a systematic way so that he could easily "convey the story." Kishimoto wanted to "draw on" the Chinese zodiac
Chinese astrology

Chinese astrology is based on the astronomy and traditional calendars. The Chinese astrology does not calculate the positions of the sun, moon and planets at the time of birth....
 tradition, which had a long-standing presence in Japan; the zodiac hand signs originate from this. When Kishimoto was creating the setting of the
Naruto manga, he initially concentrated on the designs for village of Konohagakure, the primary setting of the series. Kishimoto asserts that his design for Konohagakure was created "pretty spontaneously without much thought", but admits that the scenery is based on his home in the Okayama prefecture
Okayama Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Okayama....
 in Japan. Without a specific time period, Kishimoto included modern elements in the series such as convenience stores, but specifically excluded projectile weapons and vehicles from the storyline. For reference materials, Kishimoto performs his own research into Japanese culture and alludes to it in his work. Regarding technology Kishimoto said that
Naruto would not have any firearm
Firearm

A firearm is a tool that projects either single or multiple projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion. The firing is achieved by the gases produced through rapid, confined combustion of a propellant....
s. He said he may include automobiles, aircraft, and "low-processing" computers; Kishimoto specified the computers would "maybe" be eight-bit and that they would "definitely not" be sixteen-bit. He has also stated that he has a visual idea of the last chapter of the series, including the text and the story. However, he notes that it may take a long time to end the series since "there are still so many things that need to be resolved".

Media


Manga

Naruto premiered in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1999. The first 238 chapters are known as Part I
List of Naruto chapters (Part I)

The Naruto manga is divided in two parts to divide the storyline; the first one, Part I, covers the first two hundred and forty-four chapters of the series....
, and constitute the first part of the
Naruto storyline. Manga chapters 239 to 244 comprise a gaiden
Gaiden

s that includes the use of the word gaiden in their titles include Fire Emblem Gaiden, Kakashi Gaiden , the Turn Back the Pendulum gaiden of Bleach which is set a century before the start of the main series, Ten no Hao Hokuto no Ken Rao Gaiden , Genso Suikogaiden , Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean and Final Fanta...
series focusing on the background of the character Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi Hatake

is a Character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto originally planned to introduce Kakashi in the manga to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, early on, but pushed back this meeting so that Naruto's teammates could be better developed....
. All subsequent chapters belong to Part II
List of Naruto chapters (Part II)

The Naruto manga series is divided in two parts to split the storyline; the second part is simply known as Part II. The plot follows the return of the ninja Naruto Uzumaki to World of Naruto#Konohagakure after two and a half years of training and his subsequent efforts to make his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, return with him and his friends....
, which continues the storyline in Part I after a two and a half year time gap. The English adaptation of the
Naruto manga is licensed by Viz and serialized in Viz's version of Shonen Jump. To compensate for the gap between the Japanese and English adaptations of the manga, Viz implemented its "Naruto Nation" campaign, where it released three volumes a month in the last four months of 2007 in order to close said gap. Cammie Allen, Viz's product manager, commented that, their main reason for the schedule was to catch up to the Japanese release schedule to give their readers a similar experience to that of Japanese readers. A similar campaign is planned for 2009, with eleven volumes from Part II of the series being released between February and April in order to catch up to the Japanese serialization. Starting with the release of volume forty-five in July, Viz will begin releasing Naruto on a quarterly basis.

, 42
tankobon have been released by Shueisha in Japan, with the first twenty-seven tankobon containing Part I, and the remaining fifteen belonging to Part II. The first tankobon was released on March 3, 2000, with the forty-fourth released on November 4, 2008. In addition, several tankobon, each containing ani-manga
Films comic

are a variant of Japanese manga which are available in manga style books and digitally as e-books, occasionally called e-manga. Films comics are known by other names, when referring only to anime adaptions they can be called Fanbooks or ....
 based one of the
Naruto movies, have been released by Shueisha. In Japanese, Shueisha has also released the series for cell-phone download on their website Shueisha Manga Capsule. Viz has released 30 volumes of the English adaptation of the manga. In addition, Viz Media released all twenty-seven volumes in a boxed set, thus constituting the entirety of the Naruto storyline before Part II on November 13, 2007.

Anime series


Naruto
Directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo, the Naruto anime adaptation premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo October 3, 2002, and ran for 220 episodes until its conclusion on February 8, 2007. The first 135 episodes are adapted from the first twenty-seven
List of Naruto chapters (Part I)

The Naruto manga is divided in two parts to divide the storyline; the first one, Part I, covers the first two hundred and forty-four chapters of the series....
 volumes of the manga, while the remaining eighty episodes are filler episodes
Filler (media)

In media, filler is material that is combined with material of greater relevance or quality to "fill out" a certain volume....
 that utilize plot elements not seen in the original manga.

Viz licensed the anime series for broadcast and distribution in the Region 1 market. The English adaptation of the anime began airing on September 10, 2005. The episodes have been shown on Cartoon Network's Toonami
Toonami

Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network , used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American and Japanese cartoons, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008....
 (United States), YTV's Bionix
Bionix

Bionix is a program block on the Canadian television channel YTV . It airs Saturday nights from 10:00 pm to 11:00 pm North American Eastern Time Zone and Pacific Time Zone....
 (Canada) and Jetix
Jetix (UK)

Jetix is a television programming brand owned by The Walt Disney Company that's aimed at children ages 6 to 14. Jetix is available in many countries around the world in a localized form, including the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland....
's (United Kingdom) programming blocks. Beginning on March 28, 2006, Viz released the series on DVD. While the first 26 volumes contain four episodes, since DVD volumes have five episodes. Uncut editions are compiled in DVD Box Sets, each containing 12-15 episodes, with some variation based around story arcs. In the American broadcast, references to alcohol
Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
, Japanese culture
Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America....
, sexual innuendo, and the appearance of blood and death were sometimes reduced for the broadcast, but left in the DVD editions. Other networks make additional content edits apart from the edits done by Cartoon Network, such as Jetix's stricter censoring of blood, language, smoking and the like. The series has also been licensed to the websites Hulu
Hulu

Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies from NBC, Fox Broadcasting Company and many other networks and studios....
 and Joost
Joost

Joost is an Internet TV service, created by Niklas Zennstr?m and Janus Friis . During 2007-8 Joost used P2PTV to distribute content to their Mozilla-based desktop player; in late 2008 this was migrated to use a Flash-based Web player instead....
 to air them online in Japanese with English subtitles.

Naruto: Shippuden
is the ongoing sequel to the original Naruto anime and covers the Naruto manga from volume twenty-eight
List of Naruto chapters (Part II)

The Naruto manga series is divided in two parts to split the storyline; the second part is simply known as Part II. The plot follows the return of the ninja Naruto Uzumaki to World of Naruto#Konohagakure after two and a half years of training and his subsequent efforts to make his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha, return with him and his friends....
 on. After training for two and a half years with Jiraiya, Naruto returns to Konohagakure, reunites with the friends he left behind, and reforms Team 7, now called Team Kakashi, with Sai replacing Sasuke. All of Naruto's classmates have matured and improved in the ranks. Unlike the original series where they only played a minor role, the Akatsuki organization takes on the main antagonistic role in their attempts at world domination.

The TV adaptation of
Naruto: Shippuden debuted in Japan on February 15, 2007 on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo

is a TV station with headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The network is also known as , a portmanteau of "terebi" and "Tokyo." It is the key station of TXN ....
, and in the Philippines on January 28, 2008 on ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN is the first TV network (TV network outside Japan) to broadcast
Naruto: Shippuden. ABS-CBN has initially aired the first 40 episodes of Naruto: Shippuden until March 19, 2008. Beginning January 8, 2009, TV Tokyo began broadcasting new episodes via internet streaming directly to monthly subscribers. Each streamed episode will be made available online within an hour of its Japanese premiere and will include English subtitles. Viz began streaming English subtitled episodes on January 2, 2009 on their official website for the series. The uploaded episodes include both previously released episodes and the new episodes from Japan.

CDs

The
Naruto soundtracks were composed and arranged by Toshio Masuda. The first, titled Naruto Original Soundtrack, was released on April 3, 2003 and contained twenty-two tracks that appeared during the first season of the anime. The second, called Naruto Original Soundtrack II was released on March 18, 2004 and contained nineteen tracks. The third, called Naruto Original Soundtrack III was released on April 27, 2005 and contained twenty-three tracks.

A series of two soundtracks containing all the opening and ending themes of the series, titled
Naruto: Best Hit Collection and Naruto: Best Hit Collection II were released on November 17, 2004 and August 2, 2006, respectively. Of all tracks of the series, eight were selected and released as a CD called Naruto in Rock -The Very Best Hit Collection Instrumental Version- that was released on December 19, 2007. Each of the three movies of the first anime series has a soundtrack that was released near its release date. Various Drama CD series have also been released in which the voice actors play original episodes.

The soundtracks of
Naruto: Shippuden have been produced by Yasuharu Takanashi. The first, Naruto Shippuden Original Soundtrack was released on December 9, 2007. Naruto All Stars was released on July 23, 2008 and consists of ten original Naruto songs remixed and sung by characters from the series. The two films from the sequel also had their soundtracks, with the first released on August 1, 2007 and the second on July 30, 2008.

OVAs

There are four
Naruto OVAs. The first two, Find the Crimson Four-Leaf Clover! and Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village!, were aired at the Shonen Jump Jump Festa 2003 and Jump Festa 2004, respectively, and were later released on DVD. The English localization of the second OVA was released on DVD by Viz on May 22, 2007. The third OVA, Finally a clash! Jonin VS Genin!! Indiscriminate grand melee tournament meeting!!, was released on a bonus disc with the Japanese edition of the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (series)

The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, known in Japan as the , is a series of 3D computer graphics fighting games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, for the PlayStation 2....
video game for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a History of video game consoles video game console manufactured by Sony. The successor to the PlayStation, and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 forms part of the PlayStation of video game consoles....
. The fourth OVA,
Konoha Annual Sports Festival, is a short video released with the first Naruto movie. There is also a special feature included with the seventh Naruto: Shippuden compilation DVD based on the second ending of the series called Hurricane! "Konoha Academy" Chronicles.

Films

The series has also spawned five films; with the first three situated during the first anime series, the remaining from
Naruto: Shippuden. The first film, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, was released on August 21, 2004 in Japan and on DVD on April 28, 2005. It tells how Team 7 is dispatched to the Land of Snow to protect the actors during the shooting of the new Princess Fuun movie, to whom Naruto became a fan. As a bonus, the short and non-canonical OVA Konoha Annual Sports Festival was included with the Japanese release of the film. It premiered on September 6, 2007 in the United States.

It was followed by
Legend of the Stone of Gelel, which was released in theaters in Japan on August 6, 2005. The film involves Naruto, Shikamaru and Sakura during a ninja mission in which they are involved in a war between the Sunagakure village and a large number of armored warriors. Unlike its predecessor, Legend of the Stone of Gelel did not see a theatrical release in the United States, and was direct-to-video instead. It aired on Cartoon Network on July 26, 2008 and then was released to DVD July 29, 2008.

The third film,
Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, was originally released on August 5, 2006. It shows how Naruto, Sakura, Lee, and Kakashi are assigned to protect the future prince of the Land of Moon, Hikaru Tsuki. The English dub of the movie aired on Cartoon Network and was released to DVD on November 11, 2008. On July 3, 2008, Sony released a Japanese DVD Box containing the first three movies.

The series' fourth film,
Naruto: Shippuden the Movie
Naruto: Shippuden the Movie

, is a 2007 film directed by Hajime Kamegaki and written by Junki Takegami. It is the fourth movie in the Naruto movie series. It was released on DVD in Japan on April 23, 2008....
, was released on August 4, 2007, and chronicles Naruto's assignment to protect the priest Shion who starts having visions of his death. The fifth film, Bonds
Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds

is the fifth overall Naruto film and second Naruto: Shippuden film, based on the popular anime and manga series, which was released on August 2 2008....
, was released on August 2, 2008. It tells how ninja from the Sky Country attack Konoha and to stop them, Naruto and Sasuke join forces although the latter has already left two years ago. The 10th anniversary website from the series has confirmed the release of during 2009.

Light novels

Two
Naruto light novels, written by Masatoshi Kusakabe, have been published in Japan by Shueisha and released in English in North America by Viz. The first, Naruto: Innocent Heart, Demonic Blood, is based on the first arc of the series and was released on December 16, 2002 in Japan and November 21, 2006 in North America. The second novel Naruto: Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village!, based in the 2nd OVA of the anime, was published on December 15, 2003 in Japan and October 16, 2007 in the United States. Viz has also started to publish new novels called Chapter Books written by Tracey West, and with illustrations from the manga. Unlike the series, the novels are aimed to children aged 7 to 10 years old. The first two novels were released on October 7, 2008 and the fifth will be released on January 6, 2009.

Video games

Naruto video games have appeared on various consoles from Nintendo
Nintendo

is a global company located in Kyoto, Japan founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, Sony
Sony

is a multinational corporation list of conglomerates corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding US$99.1 billion ....
 and Microsoft
Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational corporation computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of computer software products for computing devices....
. Most of them are fighting game
Fighting game

File:Street Fighter II.pngFighting game is a type of action orientated video game and one of the major video game Video game genres. In a fighting game, players face off against each other or against computer-controlled characters in close combat....
s in which the player controls one of a select few characters directly based upon their counterparts in the
Naruto anime and manga. The player pits their character against another character controlled by the game's AI
Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. Major AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents,"...
 or by another player, depending on the mode that the player is in. The objective is to reduce the opponent's health to zero using basic attacks and special techniques unique to each character that are derived from techniques they use in the
Naruto anime or manga. The very first Naruto video game was Naruto: Konoha Ninpouchou, which was released in Japan on March 27, 2003, for the WonderSwan Color
WonderSwan Color

The is a handheld game console designed by Bandai. It was released on December 30, 2000 in Japan, and was a moderate success.The original WonderSwan had only a black and white screen....
. Most
Naruto video games have been released only in Japan. The first games released outside Japan were the Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen
Naruto: Clash of Ninja (series)

The 'Naruto: Clash of Ninja' series, known in Japan as , is a series of 3D computer graphics Cel-shading fighting games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto....
series and the Naruto: Saikyou Ninja Daikesshu
Naruto: Ninja Council

The Naruto: Ninja Council series, known in Japan as , is a series of action games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto....
series, released in North America under the titles of Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Naruto: Ninja Council.

Trading card game

is a collectible card game
Collectible card game

A collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards....
  based around the
Naruto series. Produced by Bandai, the game was first introduced in Japan in February 2003. Bandai began releasing the game in English in North American in April 2006. The game is played between two players requiring players use a customized deck of fifty cards from the set, a game mat, an item to act as a "turn marker" for noting whose turn it is, and a "Ninja Blade Coin" which is primarily used to flip for making decisions. In order to win, a player must either earn ten "battle rewards" through their actions in the game, or they must cause the other player to exhaust their deck.

The cards are released in named sets, called "series" in the form of four different 50-card preconstructed box sets. Each set includes a starter deck, the game mat, a turn-counter, and one stainless steel "Ninja Blade Coin". Additional cards are made available in 10-card booster packs, and deck sets, primarily for retailers, contain all four box sets available for each series. Cards for each set are also made available in collectible tins, containing several booster packs and exclusive promotional cards in a metal box. By October 2006, seventeen series had been released in Japan spanning 417 unique cards. As of August 2008, ten of these series have been released in North America.

Art and guidebooks

Several supplementary books of the
Naruto series have been released. An artbook named The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki contains illustration from the Part I manga and was released in both Japan and the United States. For the Part II manga, an artbook called PAINT JUMP: Art of Naruto was released by Shueisha on April 4, 2008. A series of guidebooks for the Part I called and were released only in Japan. The third databook, Character Official Data Book Hiden Sha no Sho was released on September 4, 2008, and adapted Part II from the manga. These books contain character profiles, Jutsu
Jutsu (Naruto)

In the anime and manga series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, a refers to the supernatural abilities ninja can use. The series occurs in a fictional universe in which different countries vie for power using ninja soldiers....
 guides and drafts made by Kishimoto. For the anime, a series of guidebook called
Naruto anime profiles were also released. These books contain information about the production of the anime episodes and explanation of the characters designs.

Reception

Naruto has been well received in both Japan and the United States. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan. During 2008, volume 43 sold 1,188,881 copies becoming the 9th best-selling comic from Japan. Volumes 41, 42 and 44 also ranked within the top 20, but had smaller sold copies. In total, the manga sold 4,261,054 copies in Japan during 2008, becoming the 2nd best-selling series. The Naruto manga series has become one of Viz's top properties, accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in 2006. The seventh volume of Viz's release became the first manga win a Quill Award
Quill Awards

The Quill Award was "consumer-driven awards created to inspire reading while promoting literacy." The Quills Foundation, the organization behind the Quill Award, is supported by a number of notable Mass media corporations, including Reed Business Information, parent of Publishers Weekly, and NBC Universal Television#NBC Universal Television S...
 when it claimed the award for "Best Graphic Novel" in 2006. The manga also appeared in the
USA Today
USA Today

'USA TODAY' is a national United States daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Allen Neuharth. The paper has the widest newspaper circulation of any newspaper in the United States , and among English-language broadsheets, it comes second worldwide, behind only the 2.6 million daily paid copies of The Times of...
 Booklist with volume 11 holding the title of the highest ranked manga series on the list, until it was surpassed by volume 28, which claimed the 17th rank in its first week of release in March 2008. Volume 28 also had one of the biggest debut weeks of any manga in years and is currently the top selling manga volume of 2008. During its release, volume 29 ranked #57, while the volume 28 had dropped to #139. In April 2007, volume 14 earned Viz the "Manga Trade Paperback of the Year" Gem Award from Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors

Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distribution serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers....
. The manga series also became the top manga property from 2008 in the United States with 31 volumes having been published during the chart. Searches for the word "Naruto" were #7 on the Yahoo!
Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is an United States public company corporation with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, , and provides Internet services worldwide....
 web search engine's list of the top 10 most popular search terms of 2008, and #4 from 2007.

The series has received praise and criticism by several reviewers. A. E. Sparrow from IGN
IGN

IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games. Its corporate parent is IGN Entertainment, which owns and controls separate sites such as GameSpy, GameStats, Rotten Tomatoes and AskMen....
 noted how some manga volumes focus only in certain characters to the point the number of fans increases. He also praised the way that Kishimoto manages to make a remarkable combinations of fighting scenes, comedy and good artwork. The anime and manga magazine
Neo
Neo (magazine)

NEO is a 100-page monthly magazine published in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Uncooked Media that focuses on various aspects of Asian entertainment such as Japanese anime and manga; Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of Korean and Cinema of Japanese live action films; and Japanese J-pop, J-Rock and visual kei music, etc....
described Naruto's character as "irksome", but attributed the series' "almost sickening addictiveness" to its level of characterization. Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network
Anime News Network

Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, J-pop and other otaku-related culture within North America and Japan....
 (ANN) praised the designs of the characters, since every one shows their unique way of acting and appearance. He also noted how even the "goofiest looking character" can act "damm cool" when he fights. However, Kimlinger he noted that since in some volumes there are several fights. As such, the plot is not able to be developed although he praised how each of the battles were emotional. The start of Part II has been praised in another review by Casey Brienza from ANN. She noted how well the characters were developed as they had new appearances and abilities. Brienza also praised the balance between plot and action scenes allowing the readers the enjoy the volume. However, she noted that it is not frequent that all the volumes have the same quality. Briana Lawrence from Mania Entertainment added that in Part II, the manga feels "adult" since several characters grew up but there are still comedy parts in the series. However, Viz's translations were criticized for being "inconsisent" due to the change of some Japanese terms to English, while other words were left intact.

In TV Asahi
TV Asahi

, also known as EX and , is a television Television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials....
's latest top 100 Anime Ranking from October 2006,
Naruto ranked 17th on the list. Naruto Shippuden has ranked several times as one of most watched series in Japan. The Naruto anime adaptation won the "Best Full-Length Animation Program Award" in the Third UStv Awards held in the University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Dominican Order in Manila....
 in Manila
Manila

The 'City of Manila' , or simply 'Manila', is the Capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila....
, Philippines
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
. The first of the DVD compilations containing thirteen episodes, released by Viz was nominated at the American Anime Awards
American Anime Awards

The American Anime Awards are a series of awards designed to recognize excellence in the release of anime and manga in North America.The first annual American Anime Awards balloting was supervised by Milton Griepp of industry website ICv2....
 for best package design. It also ranked as the third best-seller anime property from all 2008.
Naruto was named "Best Full Animated Program" at the USTv Student's Choice Awards 2009 held at the UST Medicine Auditorium on February 19, 2009.

Reviewers noted that the primary focus of the series was on the fighting since they consider that the fight scenes are more dedicated than backgrounds. The music has also been noted to be a good match with the fighting scenes though it sometimes interferes with the dialogues. Martin Theron from ANN criticized the series for long fights, but he also noted that most of them break the "stereotypical shonen concepts." The soundtracks have been praised for enhancing the excitement and mood of the storytelling. Although Christina Carpenter of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews considered the characters from the series as "likeable", she commented that most of them did not surpassed the "stereotypics" that appear in shonen manga. She also considered Kishimoto "an average artist at best" and derided the poor transition of his artistic style into animation. Despite this, the second reviewer from T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, Derrick L. Tucker, admitted that when the animators were at their best, they produced "artistic renderings that leave little to be desired on the part of fans of the manga", but concluded the animation was "a mixed bag". He also added that while fights were entertaining, due to the large number of them, the plot takes time to continue. Some critics panned the
Battle at Hidden Falls OVA, as being a throw back to the earliest episodes of the main Naruto series. ANN' s reviewer called it a poor addition to the Naruto franchise that didn't "do the series justice" but may make viewers gain new appreciation for how far the series has progressed since its earliest episodes. Todd Douglass Jr. from DVDtalk.com commented the OVA was good overrall but it still lacked the depth that common story arcs from the series have.

External links

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