Naruto

Naruto (NARUTO - ナルト -) is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto with an anime adaptation. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a loud, hyperactive, unpredictable, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all. The series is based from a one-shot that Kishimoto first authored in the August 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump. The manga was first published by Shueisha in 1999 in the 43rd issue of Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine and it is still being released with forty-four volumes. The manga would be later adapted into an anime produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo network and the anime satellite television network Animax on October 3, 2002. The first series lasted nine seasons, while Naruto: Shippūden, a sequel of the series, began its first on February 15, 2007 and is still airing.

Viz Media also licensed the anime for North American production. The Naruto anime 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 United Kingdom on Jetix on July 22, 2006. It began showing on Toasted TV on January 12, 2007, in Australia, which features the Manga Entertainment TV version and the German-language dub opening, although it could be watched on Cartoon Network in 2006.

Serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump magazine, Naruto has become the company's best-selling manga series. As of volume 36, the manga has sold over 71 million copies in Japan. The series is licensed for a translated English-language release by Viz Media.

Plot
Twelve years before the events at the focus of the series, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konohagakure. Powerful enough to raise tsunamis and flatten mountains with a swish of one of its tails, it raised chaos and slaughtered many people, until the leader of Konohagakure – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his own life to seal the demon inside Naruto when he was a newborn. The Fourth Hokage, who was celebrated as a hero for sealing the demon fox away, wanted Naruto to be respected in a similar light by being the containment vessel for the demon fox.

Konohagakure, however, shunned him, regarding 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 to discuss or mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone, even their own children. However, this did not stop them from treating him like an outcast and as a result he grew up an orphan without friends, family, or acknowledgment. He could not force people to befriend him, so he sought acknowledgment and attention the only way he knew – through pranks and mischief.

However, that soon changed after Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy by using his Shadow Clone Technique, a technique from a forbidden scroll that he was tricked into stealing, to save his teacher, Iruka Umino, from the renegade ninja Mizuki. That encounter gave Naruto two insights: that he was the container of the demon fox, and that there was someone besides the Third Hokage who actually cared for and acknowledged him. His graduation from the academy opened a gateway to the events and people that would change and define his world, including his way of the ninja for the rest of his life.

The main story follows Naruto and his friends' personal growth and development as ninja, and emphasizes their interactions with each other and the influence of their backgrounds on their personalities. Naruto finds two friends and comrades in Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, two fellow young ninja who are assigned with him to form a three-person team under an experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake. Naruto also confides in other characters that he meets throughout the series as well. 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 of Konohagakure.

Throughout all of the Naruto plot, strong emphasis on character development changes the plot, with very few things happening because of chance. At first, emphasis is placed on Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who are the members of Team 7. However, other characters are developed, such as Kakashi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, as well as Naruto's peers in the other teams and villages. Several major villains come into play as well, the first being Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure, and his partner, Haku. Later, Orochimaru, an S-Class missing-nin at the top of Konoha's most wanted list, and his loyal right-hand man, Kabuto Yakushi, are introduced. During this same arc, three ninjas known as the Sand Siblings are introduced. These siblings are from Sunagakure and include Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. Later still, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki begins to pursue Naruto for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that is sealed inside of him.

Characters

 * Naruto Uzumaki (うずまき　ナルト) :is the primary protagonist of the series. He was the first character created by Kishimoto during his initial conception of the series, and was designed with many traits from other shōnen characters, including Son Goku of the Dragon Ball franchise. In the series, Naruto is a ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure, and has ambitions of becoming Hokage, or the leader of the village. Due to being the host for the nine-tailed demon fox, a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure, he is ostracized by the other villagers. He compensates for this with his cheerful and boisterous personality, and over the course of the series, manages to befriend several other Konohagakure ninja, as well as ninja from other villages. He obtains an especially close relationship with Sasuke Uchiha, one of his fellow ninja in Team 7, and treats him as his brother. In the original Japanese anime, Naruto's seiyū is Junko Takeuchi, and his English voice provider is Maile Flanagan.


 * Sasuke Uchiha (うちは サスケ) :is one of the members of Team 7. He was created by Kishimoto to be a rival to Naruto, as well as a "cool genius," which Kishimoto believed was an integral part of an ideal rivalry. He is one of the few remaining members of the Uchiha clan, his brother, Itachi Uchiha, having killed the rest of their family. Due to this, Sasuke's sole desire is to kill his brother, and he develops a cold and withdrawn personality. His interactions with his fellow teammates, especially Naruto Uzumaki, make him focus less on revenge, but an encounter with his brother, who leaves Sasuke beaten physically and mentally, causes Sasuke to leave the village to seek more power from the criminal Orochimaru. His teammates' attempts to recover him from Orochimaru form a major component of the plot in Part II of the Naruto storyline. In the Japanese anime, Sasuke's seiyū is Noriaki Sugiyama, and his English voice actor is Yuri Lowenthal.


 * Sakura Haruno (春野　サクラ) :is the sole female member of Team 7. Kishimoto created her as the heroine of the story, although he has admitted that he has little perception of what an ideal heroine should be. As a child, Sakura was taunted by other children for her particularly large forehead, a feature Kishimoto has tried to emphasize in Sakura's appearances, but was comforted by Ino Yamanaka. As the two continued to grow, however, they became increasingly distant due to their shared affection for Sasuke Uchiha. During most of Part I, Sakura is infatuated with Sasuke, and spurns the advances of Naruto Uzumaki. After Sasuke leaves the village, she resolves to become stronger by training with Tsunade. In Part II, she displays highly developed skills from her training, and a more open disposition towards Naruto. In the Japanese anime, her seiyū is Chie Nakamura, and she is voiced by Kate Higgins in the English adaptation of the anime.


 * Kakashi Hatake (はたけ　カカシ) :is the leader of Team 7 and the sensei of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Kishimoto had originally intended for Kakashi to be introduced earlier in the series, and created him as an easygoing person that would be able to keep the members of Team 7 in check. Kakashi treats his leadership position with a detached manner, and is consistently late to meetings as a result. In a gaiden on Kakashi's past, this is shown to be the result of an incident in which he witnessed the death of one of his teammates, Obito Uchiha, who gave Kakashi his Sharingan eye and imparted many of his habits, including his tardiness. Due to Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi has amassed a reputation as a skilled and powerful ninja, earning the moniker "Copy Ninja Kakashi" (コピー忍者のカカシ). Although he mentors all three members of Team 7 early in the series, he particularly concentrates on training Sasuke as the series continues, teaching him his Chidori technique; however, he is unable to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village to seek Orochimaru for greater power. Kakashi is voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue in the Japanese anime, and his English voice actor is Dave Wittenberg.

Movies
The first series has also spawned three movies, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, Legend of the Stone of Gelel, Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom. Also during the series sequel one film called Naruto: Shippūden the Movie has been released while a second one Bonds is scheduled for release in August 2, 2008. In the United States, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow has been featured while Legend of the Stone of Gelel and Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom will be released in the 2008.