Naruto

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Naruto (Japanese: NARUTO ナルト) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by

Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition
from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in
two parts – the first set in Naruto's pre-teen years, and the second in his teens. The series is
based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), which earned Kishimoto an
honorable mention in Shueisha's monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto
(1997).

Naruto was serialized in Shueisha's magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1999 to 2014, and
released in tankōbon (book) form in 72 volumes. The manga was adapted into an anime
television series produced by Pierrot and Aniplex, which broadcast 220 episodes in Japan from
2002 to 2007; the English adaptation of the series aired on Cartoon Network and YTV from
2005 to 2009. Naruto: Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, premiered in Japan in 2007,
and ended in 2017, after 500 episodes. The English adaptation was broadcast on Disney XD
from 2009 to 2011, airing the first 98 episodes, and then switched over to Adult Swim's
Toonami programming block in January 2014, starting over from the first episode. The English
adaptation is still airing weekly on Adult Swim to this day. Besides the anime series, Pierrot has
developed eleven movies and twelve original video animations (OVAs). Other Naruto-related
merchandise includes light novels, video games, and trading cards developed by several
companies.

Viz Media licensed the manga and anime for North American production and serialized Naruto
in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The anime series began airing in the United
States and Canada in 2005, and in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2006 and 2007,
respectively. The films and most OVAs from the series were also released by Viz, with the first
film premiering in movie theaters. Viz Media began streaming the two anime series on their
streaming service Neon Alley in December 2012. The story of Naruto continues with Naruto's
son, Boruto Uzumaki, in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations: Boruto wishes to create his own
ninja way instead of following his father's.

Naruto is the fourth best-selling manga series in history, selling 250 million copies worldwide in
46 countries, with 153 million of the sales in Japan alone and remaining 97 million copies
elsewhere. It has become one of Viz Media's best-selling manga series; their English
translations of the volumes have appeared on USA Today and The New York Times bestseller
list several times, and the seventh volume won a Quill Award in 2006. Reviewers praised the
manga's character development, strong storylines, and well-executed fight scenes, though
some felt the fight scenes slowed the story down. Critics noted that the manga, which has a
coming-of-age theme, makes use of cultural references from Japanese mythology and
Confucianism.

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