Naruto 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
Shōnen 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.
PlotTwelve 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.
Characters-Naruto UzumakiDue 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. Naruto's dream is to become Hokage, the village's protector, hoping that it will bring him the villagers' recognition and respect. In the original Japanese
anime,
Naruto's seiyū is
Junko Takeuchi, and his English voice provider is
Maile Flanagan.
-Sasuke UchihaHe was a rival to
Naruto, as well as a "cool genius". He is one of the few remaining members of the
Uchiha clan, his brother,
Itachi Uchiha, having killed the rest of their family.
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. In the Japanese
anime,
Sasuke's seiyū is
Noriaki Sugiyama, and his English voice actor is Yuri
Lowenthal.
-Sakura HarunoAs a child,
Sakura was taunted by other children for her particularly large forehead, 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.
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. 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 HatakeHe is the
sensei of
Naruto,
Sasuke, and
Sakura.
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".
Kakashi is voiced by
Kazuhiko Inoue in the Japanese
anime, and his English voice actor is Dave
Wittenberg.
-GaaraA ninja from a village called
Sunagakure,
Gaara is the son of
Sunagakure's leader, Fourth
Kazekage; his siblings are
Kankuro and
Temari. He has the ability to control sand, a trait that sets him apart from the rest of the
Naruto cast and earns him an infamous reputation amongst rival ninja factions.
Gaara's backstory gives him a traumatic past, in which he is ostracized by fellow villagers because he is host to a demonic beast of great power. As a result of this experience, he is a ruthless killer, slaying others without remorse. He is cold and distant even with his allies and siblings, but the character develops as the series progresses. His battle with
Naruto changes his outlook on the world, after being defeated by Naruto in battle, discovers that true strength is found in fighting for one's friends, not for oneself.
Naruto's influence pushes him to aid others and in Part II of the series, he becomes
Sunagakure's Fifth
Kazekage.
Gaara is voiced by
Akira Ishida in the Japanese
anime and voiced by Liam O'Brien in English
anime.
