Naruto (NARUTO—ナルト— NARUTO?) is an ongoing
Japanese manga series
written and illustrated by Masashi
Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto
Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition
and dreams to become the Hokage,
the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of
all. The series is based on a one-shot
comic by Kishimoto that was published 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. Currently,
the manga is still being serialized; fifty-nine tankōbon volumes
have been released so far. The manga was later adapted into an anime, which was
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 220 episodes, while Naruto:
Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, has been airing since
February 15, 2007. In addition to the anime series, Studio Pierrot has
developed eight movies for the series and several original video animations (OVAs).
Other types of merchandise include light novels,
video games and trading cards developed by several companies.
Viz Media has licensed the manga and anime
for North American production. Viz has been publishing the series in their Shonen Jump magazine, and as well as
the individual volumes. The anime series began airing in the United States and
Canada in 2005, and later in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2006 and 2007,
respectively. The films, as well as most OVAs from the series, have also been
released by Viz, with the first film premiering in cinemas. The first DVD
volume ofNaruto: Shippuden was released by Viz
