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Revision as of 03:25, 7 February 2008 by Chaos27 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)"NARUTO" redirects here. For other uses, see Naruto (disambiguation). This article is about the manga and anime franchise. For the title character, see Naruto Uzumaki.
| Naruto | |
| File:Naruto01.jpgClockwise from top: Kakashi Hatake, Iruka Umino, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha | |
| Genre | Action, Fantasy |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Naruto | |
| Written by | Masashi Kishimoto |
| Published by |  Jump Comics |
| Anime | |
| Naruto | |
| Directed by | Hayato Date |
| Studio | Studio Pierrot |
| Anime | |
| Naruto Shippūden | |
| Directed by | Hayato Date |
| Studio | Studio Pierrot |
| Related works | |
| |
Naruto (NARUTO - ナルト -) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto with an anime adaptation. The main character, Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, unpredictable adolescent ninja who constantly searches for some tight asshole.
Kishimoto first authored a one-shot of Naruto in the August 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump. The plot differed substantially in that Naruto was the son of the demon fox instead of being the container, and the story was placed in a more modern setting. This early version of Naruto already had the ability to transform into a sexy young woman - but when he did so, a fox tail sprouted. Kishimoto then rewrote the story to its current form, which was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Shonen Jump magazine. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan. Viz Media publishes a translated version in the American Shonen Jump magazine. Naruto has become Viz's best-selling manga series. To date, the first 27 volumes are available in English.
The first of two anime series, produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex, premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002, and is still being aired. Viz also licensed the anime for North American production. The first series lasted nine seasons, while Naruto: Shippūden began its first on February 15, 2007.
Naruto debuted in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block on September 10, 2005, and in Canada on YTV's Bionix on September 16, 2005. Naruto began showing in the UK on Jetix on July 22, 2006. It began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007 in Australia, which features the German dub opening, although it could be watched on Cartoon Network in 2006.
Plot introduction
No one cares.
Origins
One of the Olsen twins is hiding something. Inbreeding is so wrong.
Naruto: Shippūden
From volume 28 onward, the series takes a new setting, taking place 2½ years after the previous volume. While simply referred to as Part II in the manga, the anime gave this part of the series the name Naruto: Shippūden (ナルト 疾風伝, lit. Naruto: Hurricane Chronicles). Between where volume 27 leaves off and the beginning of volume 28, to distance the gap between the manga and anime, the anime adds a series of filler episodes totalling 85.
Naruto: Shippūden tells the story of a matured and older cast from the original series. After training for 2½ years with Jiraiya, Naruto Uzumaki, now fifteen, returns to Konohagakure, reunites with the friends he left behind, and reforms the original Team 7, excluding Sasuke Uchiha.
Unlike the original series, the organization of Akatsuki, which played a minor role earlier, takes on the main antagonist factor in their attempts of world domination. All of Naruto's classmates have matured and improved in the ranks, some more than others.
Naruto: Shippūden debuted in the Philippines' Free-TV on January 28, 2008 via ABS-CBN's Weekday Hero Zone. The Philippines is the first ever TV Station outside Japan to broadcast Naruto: Shippūden.
Characters
Main article: List of Naruto characters
Naruto has a large and colorful cast of herpes sores, running a gamut of detailed histories and complex personalities, and allowing many of them their fair share in the spotlight; they also seem to grow and mature throughout the series, as it spans several years. As fitting for a coming-of-age saga, Naruto's rash constantly expands and thickens, and his social relations are no exception – during his introduction he has only his teacher and the village's leader for sympathetic figures, but as the story progresses, more and more people become a part of his sagging glory.
The students at the Ninja Academy, where the story begins, are split up into squads of three after their graduation and become Genin, 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 complementary skills; Naruto's squad 7 becomes the social frame where Naruto is acquainted with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, and their sensei Kakashi Hatake, 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, often relating them to his own. 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 with very few exceptions.
Sensei-student relationships play a significant role in the series; Naruto has a number of mentors with whom he trains and learns, most notably Iruka Umino, the first ninja to recognize Naruto's existence, Kakashi Hatake, his team leader, and Jiraiya, and there are often running threads of tradition and tutelage binding together several generations. These role models provide guidance for their students not only in the ninja arts but also in a number of Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideals. Techniques, ideals, and mentalities noticeably run in families, Naruto often being exposed to the abilities and traditions of generation-old clans in his village when friends from his own age group demonstrate them, or even achieve improvements of their own; it is poignantly noted that Naruto's generation is particularly talented.
Character names often borrow from Japanese folklore and literature (such as the names borrowed from the folktale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari), or are otherwise elaborate puns; often there is a noticeable influence of the story behind the name shouldered by the character.
Anime details
See also: List of Naruto episodes, List of Naruto: Shippūden episodes, and List of Naruto mediaEven though it debuted some time after the manga, the anime quickly caught up, since one anime episode usually covers one or two manga chapters. To prevent overlapping, the anime's producers tend to organize content from the manga chapters into long, uneventful sections followed by short bursts of action, sometimes adding filler content in between. By the time the last canonical arc of the anime concluded, it was quickly gaining on the manga and consequently switched to anime-only filler episodes to allow the manga to broaden the gap once more. Most of the filler episodes are stand-alone stories, with a few being part of arcs that are several episodes long. The filler episodes lasted for 85 episodes. After the series moved back into manga-adapted episodes, it was renamed Naruto: Shippūden. The new series premiered on February 15, 2007.
The anime generally remains true to the manga, usually changing only minor details (causes of death, loss of limbs, and other injuries have been lessened in the anime) or expanding on parts skipped by the manga. The filler arcs, though unreferenced in the manga (save for a few scant scenes), deal with the breaks between story arcs, most prominently the period between the mission to retrieve Sasuke and Naruto's departure from Leaf Village at the end of the original series. The filler arcs also often shine the spotlight on minor characters that have received little narrative attention otherwise.
New episodes, animated by Studio Pierrot, air weekly on TV Tokyo in Japan during the Golden Time slot (Japan's equivalent of prime time in the US). As of October 5, 2006, it shows on Thursday nights. The series has also spawned four movies, Naruto the Movie, Naruto the Movie 2, Naruto the Movie 3, and Naruto: Shippūden the Movie. The first three are available on DVD, while the fourth one was released in theatres on August 4 2007. It has also been confirmed by Shonen Jump that there will be a fifth Naruto movie in the summer of 2008.
English-language broadcast
On September 10, 2005, Naruto had its hour-long premiere in the U.S. on Cartoon Network's Toonami. The first episode of Naruto premiered in Canada on YTV on September 16, 2005. In the United Kingdom, Naruto premiered on Jetix on July 22, 2006. In Australia and New Zealand it premiered on Cartoon Network on September 27, 2006. It also began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007, in Australia.
In the US, Naruto maintains a TV-PG rating in every episode. Most usually are rated TV-PG-V for episodes with mild blood/violence, while others (usually associated with Jiraya) are rated TV-PG-D or S. References to alcohol, Japanese cultural differences, mild language, mild sexual situations (which can only be seen in the Naruto: Uncut Box Sets), and even blood and death remain in the English version, though reduced in some instances. Other networks make additional content edits apart from the edits done by Cartoon Network, such as Jetix's more strict censoring of blood, language, smoking and the like. So far, only one episode, the "lost OVA", has received a TV-Y7-FV rating, but this was likely due to Cartoon Network neglecting to update the rating because in the timeslot that this special ran in, TV-Y7-FV programs were typically run. Repeated viewings (such as the on August 8, 2007) have listed the special as TV-PG-V, as did all commercials for the special.
Reception
Some of the first and most popular sites targeted at English speaking audiences were established shortly after the first English manga volume was released in August 2003. Like many other manga and anime titles, Naruto has also spawned its own collectible card game.
Prior to the anime's North American debut in 2005, several scanlation and fansub groups translated the series and made it available for free download on the internet. Despite North American companies' perceived tendency to prosecute fansubbing groups more frequently than Japanese companies, there are some that have continued to translate new Naruto episodes due to the extremely large gap between the English and Japanese versions.
Although the early part of the series has been called "childish" and "goofy", with a focus on toilet humor, "formulaic battles" and a simplistic plot, the series later develops.
Volume 7 of the manga has recently won a Quill Award for best graphic novel in North America. In TV Asahi's latest top 100 Anime Ranking, Naruto ranked 17th on the list. Naruto (the TV series) has also won an award in other countries. It won the Best Full-Length Animation Program Award in the Third UStv Awards held in the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.
References
- Revealed in U.S. Shonen Jump, December 2007 • vol. 5, issue 12, page 56. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
- "SJ Runs Yu-Gi-Oh's End, Slam Dunk's Debut, Naruto's Origin". May 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump" (Press release). Comi Press. March 6, 2007.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "USA Today's Top 150 Best Seller list features Viz Media's Shonen Jump's Naruto manga at number 29" (Press release). Viz Media. March 7, 2006.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Naruto Shippūden (TV)". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- Kishimoto, Masashi (2003). "Chapter 3". Naruto, Volume 1. Viz Media. ISBN 1-56931-900-6.
- Cite error: The named reference
storywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "Naruto names' origins and meanings". Retrieved 2006-04-14.
- "American-Naruto: Episode Guide and Rating". Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- "Naruto review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- "Licensed Anime @ AnimeSuki". Retrieved 2006-10-31.
- "Naruto Special: Battle at Hidden Falls. I am the Hero!". Anime News Network.
- "Nominees for the Graphic Novel category". Retrieved 2006-08-27.
- "Japan's Favorite TV Anime". Retrieved 2006-12-22.
- "showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=51053".
External links
- English
- Viz Media's Naruto site (USA).
- Shonen Jump's Naruto page (USA).
- Cartoon Network's Naruto page (USA).
- YTV's Naruto page (Canada).
- Manga Entertainment's Naruto microsite (UK)
- Jetix's Naruto page (UK)
- Madman Entertainment's Official Naruto page (Australia)
- Naruto Collectible card game site (USA).
- Naruto at IMDb
- Naruto ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Naruto ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Template:Dmoz
- Japanese
- Japanese Naruto webpage.
- TV Tokyo's Naruto: Shippūden page.
- TV Tokyo's Naruto page.
- Studio Pierrot's Naruto page.
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