Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals

Last updated

Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals
Rock Lee Volume 1.jpg
The cover of the first DVD compilation released by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex
No. of episodes51
Release
Original network TV Tokyo
Original releaseApril 3, 2012 (2012-04-03) 
March 26, 2013 (2013-03-26)

Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals is the anime adaptation of the Naruto spin-off manga created by Kenji Taira, Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden. It was announced in February 2012 by Shueisha. [1] Produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Masahiko Murata, the series premiered on TV Tokyo on April 3, 2012. [2] Crunchyroll simulcasted the series premiere online and has each episode available for streaming. [3]

Contents

The series chronicles the daily life and training of Konohagakure ninja Rock Lee, who can utilize taijutsu, but has no skill in ninjutsu or genjutsu. Episodes feature comical scenes and mini-skits to emphasize the characters' goals and thought processes. Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals is the first spin-off anime series that does not follow the main plot of the Naruto Shippuden series, although it retains the original voice actors. The show ran for one season from 2012 to 2013, spanning 51 episodes. The series was broadcast in Southeast Asia on Disney XD.[ citation needed ] Viz Media announced at Anime Expo that they will be producing an English dub of the show.[ citation needed ] It was added to the Neon Alley service beginning in Fall 2014. The series was broadcast in the Indian subcontinent on Sonic Nickelodeon in 2014, under the title Naruto Rock Lee. [4] As of March 2015, all 51 episodes are available for online streaming in the US through Hulu and Neon Alley in English dubbed and subtitled formats. [5]

The series is being released to Region 2 DVD in Japan with three episodes per disc. The first DVD was released on July 18, 2012, containing episodes 1–3. [6]

Episode list

  1. "Naruto's Rock Lee Spinoff TV Anime Slated for April". Anime News Network. February 1, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  2. "Pierrot's Naruto: Rock Lee Anime Slated for Bleach's Timeslot". Anime News Network. February 2, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  3. "Crunchyroll Adds Rock Lee Spinoff TV Anime Series". Anime News Network. April 2, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  4. "Sonic lines up Action Mania for kids". BestMediaInfo. May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  5. "VIZ.com". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07.
  6. "DVD 日本語タイトル: ロック・リーの青春フルパワー忍伝 1/ アニメ アニプレックス" (in Japanese and English). Aniplex . Retrieved 2010-07-03.

Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Rock Lee is a Ninja who can't use Ninjutsu / Rock Lee's Rival is Naruto"
Transliteration: "Rokku Rī wa ninjutsu no tsukaenai ninja desu / Rokku Rī no raibaru wa Naruto desu" (Japanese: ロック・リーは忍術の使えない忍者です / ロック・リーのライバルはナルトです)
April 3, 2012 (2012-04-03)
A girl faces a group of thugs in Konohagakure. Lee uses Elimination by Dispantsification to the thug leader and accidentally the claws clutch on his butt, ends up in retreating. Lee, Neji and Tenten engage on an item retrieval mission. It involves getting a dessert called Baumkuchen, which is available at the department store in exchange of a voucher. As Lee is about to get the voucher, Naruto Uzumaki suddenly arrives. The two contest on getting the voucher first, and Naruto uses his Shadow Clone Jutsu and Sexy Jutsu. As they arrive to the department store, the owner tells them that they're late and the last Baumkuchen has gone.
2"Love is a part of the Springtime of Youth / Love makes both sides Crazy"
Transliteration: "Koi mo mata seishun no ichi buna no desu / Ai to wa futari de oroka ni naru koto desu" (Japanese: 恋もまた青春の一部なのです / 愛とはふたりで愚かになることです)
April 10, 2012 (2012-04-10)
Rock Lee has a crush on Sakura Haruno. He mounts numerous "love offenses" on his target, but Sakura manages to easily brush them off. Later, Lee goes to slip a love letter into her shoebox, in hopes of getting closer to Sakura, but things get complicated when Naruto does the same.