Naruto | |
NARUTO | |
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Genre | |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Hayato Date |
Written by |
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Music by |
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Studio | Pierrot |
Licensed by | |
Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
English network | |
Original run | October 3,2002 – February 8,2007 |
Episodes | 220 |
Anime television series | |
Naruto:Shippuden | |
Directed by |
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Written by |
|
Music by |
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Studio | Pierrot |
Licensed by | |
Original network | TXN (TV Tokyo) |
English network | |
Original run | February 15,2007 – March 23,2017 |
Episodes | 500 |
Related works | |
Naruto [lower-alpha 5] is a Japanese anime television series based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga series of the same name. The story follows Naruto Uzumaki,a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage,the leader of his village. Just like the manga,the anime series is divided into two separate parts:the first series retains the original manga's title and is set in Naruto's pre-teen years. The second series,a direct sequel titled Naruto:Shippuden, [lower-alpha 6] takes place during his teens. Both anime series were animated by Pierrot,produced by Aniplex and licensed in North America by Viz Media.
The first anime series aired on TV Tokyo and ran for 220 episodes from October 2002 to February 2007;an English dub produced by Viz Media aired on Cartoon Network and YTV from September 2005 to December 2009. The second series,Shippuden,also aired on TV Tokyo and ran for 500 episodes from February 2007 to March 2017. The English dub of Shippuden was broadcast on Disney XD in the United States from October 2009 to November 2011,airing the first 98 episodes before eventually switching over to Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in January 2014,starting over from the first episode. After Disney XD removed the series from broadcast,Viz Media began streaming new English dubbed episodes on their streaming service Neon Alley in December 2012 starting at episode 99. The service aborted its run in March 2016 after 338 episodes due to its shutdown a month later. Besides the anime television series,Pierrot also developed 11 animated films and 12 original video animations (OVAs).
The first Naruto anime series, directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo, premiered in Japan on October 3, 2002, and concluded on February 8, 2007, after 220 episodes. [2] [3] The first 135 episodes were adapted from Part I of the manga; the remaining 85 episodes are original and use plot elements that are not in the manga. [4] Tetsuya Nishio was the character designer for Naruto when the manga was adapted into an anime series; Kishimoto had requested that Nishio be given this role. [5] [6] Beginning on April 29, 2009, the original Naruto anime began a rerun on Wednesdays and Thursdays (until the fourth week of September 2009 when it changed to only Wednesdays). It was remastered in HD, with new 2D and 3D effects, under the name Naruto: Shōnen Hen [lower-alpha 7] . [7] Episodes from the series have been released on both VHS and DVD, and collected as boxed sets. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Viz licensed the anime series for broadcast and distribution in the Region 1 market. [12] The English dub of the anime began airing on September 10, 2005, and concluded on January 31, 2009, with 209 episodes aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami in the United States. [13] The episodes were also broadcast on YTV's Bionix (Canada), [14] Jetix (United Kingdom) [15] and SABC 2's (South Africa) [16] programming blocks, and were released on DVD on March 28, 2006. [17] On August 25, 2017, Starz announced that they would be offering episodes of the series for their Video on Demand service starting September 1, 2017. [18] The first 26 volumes contain four episodes; later DVD volumes have five episodes. [19] Uncut editions were released in DVD box sets, each containing 12–15 episodes, with some variation based on story arcs. [20] In the American broadcast, references to alcohol, Japanese culture, sexual innuendo, and the appearance of blood and death were sometimes edited but remained in the DVD editions. [21] One of the censored scenes was the accidental kiss between Naruto and Sasuke, fitting in the long trend of removing content that alludes to homosexual relationships. [22] The series was also licensed to Hulu, Joost, and Crunchyroll, which aired the episodes online with the original Japanese audio tracks and English subtitles. [23] [24] [25] On June 1, 2017, it was announced that an HD remaster version of the original Naruto television anime series would debut on Japanese TV on June 24, starting with the show's first episode. [26] Anime Limited will release the series in a "Collector's Blu-ray" edition in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2024. [27]
A series of four "brand-new" episodes, to commemorate the original anime's 20th anniversary, were originally scheduled to premiere on September 3, 2023; [28] however, in August of that same year, it was announced that the episodes would be postponed to a later date. [29]
The second anime series, titled Naruto: Shippuden [lower-alpha 8] , developed by Studio Pierrot and directed by Hayato Date, is a direct sequel to the first Naruto anime series; it corresponds to Part II of the manga. [30] It debuted on Japanese TV on February 15, 2007, on TV Tokyo, and concluded on March 23, 2017. [31] [32] On January 8, 2009, TV Tokyo began broadcasting new episodes via internet streaming to monthly subscribers. Each streamed episode was available online within an hour of its Japanese release and includes English subtitles. [33]
Viz began streaming English subtitled episodes on January 2, 2009, on its series' website, including episodes that had already been released as well as new episodes from Japan. [34] In the United States, the English dub of Naruto: Shippuden premiered weekly on Disney XD from October 28, 2009, up until episode 98 on November 5, 2011. [35] Episodes 99 through 338 premiered uncut on the anime web channel Neon Alley until its shutdown on May 4, 2016. [36] The anime started airing from the beginning on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on January 5, 2014, where it continues to air on a weekly basis. [37]
The series was released on Region 2 DVD in Japan with four or five episodes per disk; there are four series of DVD releases divided by story arc. [38] There was a special feature included with the seventh Naruto: Shippuden compilation DVD called Hurricane! "Konoha Academy" Chronicles. [39] Kakashi Chronicles: Boys' Life on the Battlefield [lower-alpha 9] was released on December 16, 2009; featuring episodes 119–120, the story revolves around Kakashi Hatake's childhood. [40]
The first North American DVD of the series was released on September 29, 2009. [41] Only the first 53 episodes were made available in this format before it ended with the 12th volume on August 10, 2010. [42] Subsequent episodes were released as part of DVD boxed sets, beginning with the first season on January 26, 2010. [43] In the United Kingdom, the series was licensed by Manga Entertainment who released the first DVD collection on June 14, 2010. [44] Anime Limited will release the series in a "Collector's Blu-ray" edition in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2024. [27]
Musashi Project and Toshio Masuda composed and arranged the Naruto soundtracks. Naruto Original Soundtrack was released on April 3, 2003, and contains 22 tracks used during the first season of the anime. [45] This was followed by Naruto Original Soundtrack II, released on March 18, 2004, which includes 19 tracks. [46] The third, Naruto Original Soundtrack III, was released on April 27, 2005, with 23 tracks. [47] 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. [48] [49] Eight tracks from the series were selected and released on a CD called Naruto in Rock -The Very Best Hit Collection Instrumental Version- released on December 19, 2007. [50] Soundtracks for the three movies based on the first anime series were available for sale near their release dates. [51] [52] [53] On October 12, 2011, a CD collecting the themes from Naruto Shōnen Hen was released. [54] Various CD series were released with voice actors performing original episodes. [55]
The soundtracks of Naruto: Shippuden were produced by Yasuharu Takanashi and his musical unit, Yaiba; they were titled Naruto Shippūden Original Soundtrack I, II, and III, and were released in 2007, 2009, and 2016. [56] [57] [58] Naruto All Stars, released in 2008, consists of 10 original Naruto songs remixed and sung by characters from the series. [59] Ten themes from the two anime series were collected in the DVD box Naruto Super Hits 2006–2008, which appeared in 2008. [60] Soundtracks from the Shippuden films have also been released, with the first one available in 2007. [61] [62] A final one composed of the series is set to be released in late 2017 with Aniplex having started a survey of all Naruto and Naruto Shippuden themes to be included in the CD. [63]
The theme for the Cartoon Network English version was performed by former Saban Entertainment composer Jeremy Sweet, [64] who had previously worked on themes for the Power Rangers franchise, the English adaptation of Dragon Ball Z and various other Saban programs. [65] [66] It was co-composed by Ian Nickus, [64] another former musician from the company. [67]
Naruto was also adapted into 11 theatrical films. The first three films correspond to the first anime series, and the remaining eight correspond to the second series.
There are 12 original video animations (OVAs) in Naruto.
In 2011, Naruto helped Viz Media generate $200 million in annual licensed merchandise sales. [94] By 2019, Viz Media has sold more than 3 millionNaruto anime home video units, while the anime is also a top digital streaming performer on Hulu. [95] Naruto: Shippuden has been ranked several times as one of the most watched series in Japan. [96] [97] Naruto has also been the top-earning (gross profit) anime franchise for TV Tokyo (surpassed by Pokémon in 2011 and Yo-kai Watch in 2015) due to strong overseas and domestic sales. [lower-roman 3] In 2020, it was the third most watched series in the United States. [109]
Mike Hale of The New York Times described the series as much better than American animation aimed at children, [110] but the animation received some criticism from both the THEM Anime Reviews critics: Christina Carpenter felt Kishimoto's artistic style translated poorly into animation, [111] and Derrick Tucker was also negative, though he felt that at their best, the depictions "[left] little to be desired". [112] As with the manga, some reviewers, such as Theron Martin of Anime News Network , along with Tucker, felt there were too many fight scenes, [112] [113] though Justin Rich argued that the fight scenes were the most important and enjoyable element of the show. [114] Carpenter also commented positively on the characters, though she felt that most were fairly typicals. [111] Hiroshi Matsuyama further reflected the anime's 133rd episode to be one of his favorites not only for the action sequences between Naruto and Sasuke but also the emotional value displayed. [115]
It was well-reviewed by Activeanime's David C. Jones who commented that the animation had improved. [116] Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network opined that the series has a more serious tone and a better balance between comedy and drama than the first anime series; with more interesting digressions from the main plot. [117] [118] Although the pacing for the first episodes was criticised as slow, the delivery and development of the interactions between the characters received positive comments. [119] [120] Writing for the Los Angeles Times , Charles Solomon ranked Shippuden the third best anime on his "Top 10". [121] In 2011, readers of Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition voted Naruto as the 29th-top video game character of all time. [122]
The Naruto anime was listed as the 38th best animated show in IGN's Top 100 Animated Series. [123] In September 2005, Japanese television network TV Asahi broadcast a popularity poll based on a nationwide survey in which Naruto placed seventeenth. [124] The first DVD compilation released by Viz received a nomination from the American Anime Awards for Best Package Design. [125] At the Crunchyroll's inaugural Anime Awards in 2017, the fight between Naruto and Sasuke received a Most Popular "Other" mention in the Best Fight Scene category. [126] At the 2nd edition in 2018, Naruto: Shippuden was nominated for Best Continuing Series. [127]
Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts: the first is set in Naruto's pre-teen years, and the second in his teens. The series is based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), which earned Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha's monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto (1997).
Naruto Uzumaki is the titular protagonist of the manga Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is a ninja from the fictional Hidden Leaf Village. As a boy, Naruto is ridiculed and ostracized on account of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure—that was sealed away in his body. Despite this, he aspires to become his village's leader, the Hokage, in order to receive their approval. His carefree, optimistic, and boisterous personality enables him to befriend other Konohagakure ninja, as well as ninja from other villages. Naruto appears in the series' films and in other media related to the franchise, including video games and original video animations (OVA), as well as the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, where he is the Hokage, and his son, Boruto Uzumaki, is the protagonist.
Sakura Haruno is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura is depicted as a kunoichi affiliated with Konohagakure and a part of Team 7, which consists of herself, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and their sensei Kakashi Hatake. Besides the main series, Sakura has appeared in several pieces of the Naruto media, most notably the spin-off Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (2015) and the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2016) where she married Sasuke Uchiha taking name of Sakura Uchiha and is the mother of their daughter, Sarada Uchiha.
Sasuke Uchiha is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime franchise created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sasuke belongs to the Uchiha clan, a notorious ninja family, and one of the most powerful, allied with Konohagakure. Most of its members were massacred by Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha, before the series began, leaving Sasuke as one of the few survivors. Despite becoming empathetic toward his teammates Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, Sasuke's feelings of powerlessness force him to abandon his friends and his home in his quest to become stronger, and to find Orochimaru. Sasuke appears in several of the series' animated feature films and related media, including video games, original video animations (OVAs), and Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015) and its manga sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2016), in which he is depicted as a vigilante supporting his village and a mentor to Naruto's son Boruto Uzumaki.
Masashi Kishimoto is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, Naruto, which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. The series has been adapted into two anime and multiple films, video games, and related media. Besides the Naruto manga, Kishimoto also personally supervised the two canonical anime films, The Last: Naruto the Movie and Boruto: Naruto the Movie, and has written several one-shot stories. In 2019, Kishimoto wrote Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru which ended in March 2020. From May 2016 through October 2020 he supervised the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. In November 2020 it was announced that he had taken over as writer on the series, replacing Kodachi.
Shikamaru Nara is a fictional character in the manga and anime franchise, Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the manga, Shikamaru is a shinobi affiliated with the village Hidden in the Leaves. He is a member of Team 10, a group of ninja consisting of himself, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and team leader Asuma Sarutobi. Shikamaru is portrayed as a lazy character, unwilling to apply his prodigious intelligence; Kishimoto has noted that he likes Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature. Outside the Naruto anime and manga, Shikamaru has appeared in several other media in the franchise, including video games, original video animations, and six feature films.
The first season of the Naruto: Shippuden anime series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. They are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. The season is set two and a half years later, with Naruto Uzumaki and his team rescuing Gaara from the criminal organization Akatsuki. The first season aired from February to October 2007 on TV Tokyo. It was also released on DVD in Japan over eight discs between August 1, 2007, and March 5, 2008, under the name Kazekage Rescue. 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.
The second season of the Naruto: Shippuden anime series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. They are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. Titled Long-Awaited Reunion, the season follows Naruto Uzumaki and his friends attempting to reason with Sasuke Uchiha. The second season aired from November 2007 to April 2008 on TV Tokyo. It was also released on DVD in Japan over five discs between April 8 and August 8, 2008 by Aniplex.
The third season of the Naruto: Shippuden anime series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. They are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. The third season aired from April to August 2008 on TV Tokyo. Titled in Japan Twelve Guardian Ninja, the anime only season follows Naruto Uzumaki attempting to protect Asuma Sarutobi's monk named Sora and defeat Team Furido. It is also the first season to be produced in 16:9 widescreen, instead of 4:3, which was the aspect ratio of all previous seasons.
The fourth season of the Naruto: Shippuden anime series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. They are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. The season follows Shikamaru Nara attempting to avenge Asuma's death. The fourth season aired from August to December 2008 on TV Tokyo. It was also released on four DVDs in Japan by Aniplex between January 14 and May 13, 2009. The season was referred to by these DVDs as the chapter of Immortal Devastators — Hidan and Kakuzu.
The fifth season of the Naruto: Shippuden anime series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. They are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. The fifth season aired from December 2008 to June 2009 on TV Tokyo. It is also referred to by its Japanese DVDs as the chapter of The Three-Tailed Demon Turtle. A total of six volumes were published by Aniplex between June 3, 2009 and November 4, 2011. This season follows the leaf ninjas including Naruto Uzumaki, attempting to stop the Three-Tails, and help a boy named Yukimaru.
The eighth season of the Naruto: Shippuden anime series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The eighth season aired from March to August 2010. The season follows the Akatsuki leader Pain invading the Leaf Village and attempting to kidnap Naruto Uzumaki. It is referred to by its DVDs as the chapter of Two Saviors. Aniplex released the six volumes between October 7, 2010 and March 2, 2011. While the volumes contains all the episodes, episodes 170 and 171 were skipped to the sixth volume.
The first season of the Naruto anime television series is directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. Based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga series, the season follows Naruto Uzumaki living in the Hidden Leaf Village, determined to become the next Hokage and gain the respect of the villagers. The first season ran from October 3, 2002, to May 28, 2003, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.
The episodes for the twelfth season of the anime series Naruto: Shippuden are based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's manga series. It was directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The season follows Naruto Uzumaki controlling the power of the Nine-Tails with the help of Killer Bee at the start of the Fourth Shinobi World War, episodes 257 to 260 being a recap of events from the Part I storyline. The season aired from January to August 2012.
The episodes from the thirteenth season of the anime series Naruto: Shippuden are based on Part II of the setting of Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto. The episodes are directed by Hayato Date and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The season focuses on the Fourth Great Ninja War between Naruto Uzumaki and the Hidden Villages' ninja against the forces under the masked ninja Tobi and Kabuto Yakushi. There is also a side story arc. The thirteenth season began airing on August 23, 2012 on TV Tokyo and ended on January 10, 2013.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie is a 2015 Japanese animated martial arts fantasy film and the directorial debut of Hiroyuki Yamashita. It is based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga and anime Naruto, and is the second film to be a part of the canonical Naruto storyline, being a sequel to the manga series. It stars Yūko Sanpei, Junko Takeuchi, Kokoro Kikuchi and Noriaki Sugiyama. Set after the finale of Naruto, the film focuses on the title character Boruto Uzumaki, son of Naruto's protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, who cannot stay with his family due to being the leader of his ninja village. Vigilante Sasuke Uchiha returns to the village with warnings about two beings who might become a big threat to the world peace the ninjas managed to bring about in the original series.
The nineteenth season of the anime television series Naruto: Shippuden is based on Part II of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto manga series. The anime original season focuses on the Chūnin Exams that occur after Part I. The episodes are directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The nineteenth season aired from January to May 2015.
The twentieth season of the anime television series Naruto: Shippuden is based on Part II for Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto manga series. The season focuses on Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake attempting to defeat Madara Uchiha and Zetsu, the ones behind the activation of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. There is also anime original episodes featuring characters inside their own Infinite Tsukuyomi dream and a side story revolving around Itachi Uchiha's life in the Leaf Village and his early days in the Akatsuki. The episodes are directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The season aired from May 2015 to April 2016.