Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto centered around a loud, hyperactive, young ninja who is in a constant search for both approval and recognition, and with a great aspiration to become Hokage. First published as a manga series in Japan by Shueisha in the 43rd issue of Shonen Jump magazine in November 1999, the Naruto series has risen in popularity exponentially and has since been licensed in the USA (becoming VIZ Media's top selling title) and nearly two dozen other countries, with the anime series currently airing in 18 countries.
All started back then, twelve years before the start of the series, a Kyuubi (nine-tailed fox demon) attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. A swing of one of it's mighty tails could raise tsunamis and flatten mountains, chaos reigned throughout the village as it killed many people, until the leader of the Leaf, the Fourth Hokage, defeated it by sacrificing his own life to seal the demon inside a new born child, that child is Uzumaki Naruto. The Fourth Hokage would forever be celebrated as a hero for sealing the Kyuubi and saving the entire village. It was his wish that Naruto would also be respected in the same way he would be, however, this was not the case. Everybody in the village avoided Naruto, regarding him as nothing more than the evil demon fox. The Third Hokage made it a rule within the village that other villagers were forbidden from mentioning this event to anyone, even their own children, however because of the way their parents treated Naruto, they mistreated him as well throughout most of his childhood.
However, Naruto's behaviour would come to change after graduating from the Ninja Academy by learning the technique of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique) to save his sensei Umino Iruka from certain death. Naruto learnt two things that day, that the Kyuubi was contained inside him, and that there was someone who cared about him, and understood how he felt. 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.
Naruto maintains a balance between drama and comedy, with plenty of action interspersed. It 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 a very experienced sensei named Kakashi Hatake. Naruto also confides in other characters as well that he has met through the Chunin Exam. 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 the Leaf Village.
Naruto places strong emphasis on character development. Almost all outcomes are a result of decisions, character, and personality; very few things happen just 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, Guy, and Jiraiya, as well as Naruto's peers in the other Genin teams and other villages.
Several major villains came into play as well, the first being Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure, and his partner, Haku. Later, in the Chunin Exam arc, Orochimaru is introduced as an S-Class missing-nin at the top of Konoha's most wanted list. Later, a mysterious organization called Akatsuki begins to pursue Naruto in order to take the demon fox inside him and harness its power.
As the anime goes on, it debuted some time after the manga, but 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 Sasuke Retrieval arc ended in the anime (episode 135), the series was at a point where it was quickly gaining on the manga. At the conclusion of this arc, the anime immediately 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, the duration of the first series. After the series moved back into manga-adapted episodes, it was renamed Naruto: Shippūden (疾風伝? lit. Hurricane Chronicles). 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, such as the fight between Tenten and Temari. The filler arcs, though unreferenced in the manga (save for a few scant scenes), deal with the breaks between manga volumes, which covers a short period before the Sasuke Retrieval arc and several months before the time skip. The filler arcs tend to cover the supporting characters, occasionally giving insight into an otherwise rarely seen character.
The series has also spawned four movies, Naruto the Movie, Naruto the Movie 2, Naruto the Movie 3, and Naruto: Shippūden the Movie scheduled to premiere on August 4, 2007. The first three are available on DVD and it is also downloadable at www.narutocentral.com by registering yourself as a member or another alternative which will be added by me later.
So, guys. Hope all of you will look for it.
So, guys. Hope all of you will look for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment