CREATOR

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Kishimoto Masashi

PlOTLINE

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Twelve years ago, an ancient mystical creature known as the Nine-Tailed Fox ravaged the ninja village of Konoha. It was eventually subdued by the fourth-generation leader of the village and sealed into a human baby boy. This boy would eventually grow up to be Uzumaki Naruto. And this begins 12 yr-old Naruto's journey from havoc-wrecking delinquent to becoming one of the most powerful ninja of all time!

Naruto background crash course : The world of Naruto is divided into different Countries (Fire, Wind, Water, etc.) and in each of the major countries, there is a Hidden Ninja Village where a tight community of ninjas, their families, friends and connections reside. These countries and villages share a tensed, outwardly-peaceful relationship with one another. But as with powerful ninja communities, even allies are dangerous. The Country we're mainly concerned with in the series is the Country of Fire and Konoha (Leaf), its hidden village.

COMMENTS

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Let me put it this way. You're missing out on too much if you don't get your hands on the anime/manga NOW. ^^ The plotline is tight, intriguing and chock full of humour, action, angst, comradeship and love. The setting is a fascinating blend of modern-world characteristics and traditional Japanese ninja elements, the characters are many and each a discovery in his/her own right. I've yet to find any real fault with the series, although if I have to get picky, I'd say that at times, the humour does get a little bizarre. ^_^'

MAIN CHARACTERS

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One thing about Naruto is that I can only include those characters that appear right at the start of the series, so I won't give away anything. Once you get into this series, you'd appreciate the introduction of each new character. And there're MANY fascinating characters that will so grow on you.

UZUMAKI NARUTO. Neglected ever since childhood, Naruto grows up a delinquent who failed his ninja academy exam a good three times. Yet, despite it all, his ever-enthusiastic and never-say-die attitude remain intact. One of the greatest joys of the series is watching Naruto grow in stature and fortitude as he fights one obstacle after another. He is single-minded, fiercely-determined, with big ambitions and an even bigger heart.

UCHIHA SASUKE. Reticent, proud and obsessive, Sasuke is the total opposite to Naruto in temperament. This stems mainly from the Uchiha Tragedy where all the members of the powerful Uchiha clan were slaughtered overnight, leaving Sasuke as the sole survivor. Now a prodigiously talented rookie, he lives to exact revenge for the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke is also Naruto's eternal rival and comrade.

HARUNO SAKURA. An intelligent girl who with good analytical skills and Chakra (energy) control. Most times, she wrestles with her lack of physical prowess as well as her infatuation with Sasuke (sigh, get over it), but during the series, she will grow a lot in maturity and courage. She also has a hilarious inner self called the Inner Sakura where she lets loose her bitchiness. ^^

THIRD HOKAGE (Sandaime). Third Hokage of Konoha. He was forced out of retirement when his successor, the Fourth Hokage (Yondaime), died in the Nine-Tail Fox battle. Venerable, kindly and of course, the strongest ninja in the whole village, Sandaime-sama is also Konoha's pillar of strength and dedicates his whole life to the generations of ninjas and villagers under his care.

UMINO IRUKA. A mid-level ninja, Iruka is a teacher at the training academy, where he taught Naruto and Co. before they graduated. Iruka shares a deep affinity with Naruto, is the first person ever to acknowledge Naruto's significance, and continues mothering and worrying about Naruto even after he had graduated. ^_^

HATAKE KAKASHI. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura's teacher after they had graduated from the academy. With his students, Kakashi is kindly, casual yet strict, and although he makes judgement calls that might seem inappopriate, he is mostly proven correct. On his own, Kakashi is a highly-talented ninja and has an angst-ridden past which few people know of.

MANGA DETAILS

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Number of volumes : 28
Status : Ongoing

I've read some of the manga scanlations, although I don't own a single volume of the manga. The anime character design is practically identical to the original manga. ^_^ That said, I personally (fans of Naruto manga, do NOT kill me!) find the manga art rather amateurish and raw around the edges. While I DO enjoy it, I'd enjoy it more if the art is more consistent.

ANIME DETAILS

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Director : Date Hayato
Character Design : Nishio Tetsuya and Suzuki Hirofumi
Music : Masuda Toshiro
Episodes : 128
Status : Ongoing

ANIMATION

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You can definitely see the effort put into the animation. The shots are well-constructed, and put together. The fight/action scenes are also brilliant. You know this is a ninja anime, so the fight scenes have to really work and in this anime's case, it DOES work. I didn't find the character design anything to scream about at first but heck, it totally grew on me. The characters look real, not anime-perfect like some of the old-school art. And also, I don't want to make this sound morbid, but the angst scenes are very tastefully done in the anime as well.

>SCREENCAPS

VOICE-ACTING

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To be honest, it's impossible for me to really pick out anyone because they're all so damn good. Takeuchi Junko just AMAZES me with her portrayal of Naruto. This is one of those brilliant voice-acting works where the voice alone IS the character. I also love Sugiyama Noriaki as Sasuke. ^_^ Seki Toshihiko and Inoue Kazuhiko deserve a mention too for bringing their characters to life, particularly the latter. He nails the fluid and unpredictable nature of Kakashi really well. And also, Ishida Akira does a brilliant job as Gaara of the Sand (who will appear later in the series). Lastly, Kujira who voices Orochimaru (also later in the series) is just...GOOD. She has one of the most versatile voices ever, I'm convinced.

MUSIC

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The music is EXCELLENT. In fact, one of the best things about the anime is the music! I love how the creators match the music to the animation. It's just seamless. The action-packed scores, the ones that truly stayed with me are the more sorrowful ones. I THINK the instrumental used is the bamboo flute - there's a very Oriental sound to it, which of course totally suits the anime! Some recommendations:

• OST 1 - Naruto main theme
• OST 1 - Wind (ED 1)
• OST 1 - Loneliness (instru)
• OST 1 - Sadness and Sorrow (instru)
• OST 2 - Hinata Vs Neji (instru)

RESOURCES

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NARUTO INFO (excellent information guide)

NARUTO FAN GUIDE (fan site)

NARUTO CHUUSHIN (fan site)

NARUTO MANIA (fan site)