Naruto
''Naruto'' 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. T ...
''
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
is written by
Masashi Kishimoto
is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, ''Naruto'', which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. The series has been adapted into two anime and multiple films, vi ...
and is published by
Shueisha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
in the ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump
is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...
'' magazine, in twenty-page installments. Part I follows the
title character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
named
Naruto Uzumaki
() is the title character, titular protagonist of the manga ''Naruto'', created by Masashi Kishimoto. He is a ninja from the fictional . As a boy, Naruto is ridiculed and ostracized on account of the Kurama (Naruto), Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—a ...
, an energetic and determined pre-teen
ninja
A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
with superhuman
ninjutsu
, and are terms for the techniques and skills used by spies and scouts in pre-modern Japan known as ninja. Some of these techniques are recorded in ninja scrolls, some which have been published and translated. The study of these scrolls have c ...
abilities, who is the host of the
Nine-Tailed Fox
The nine-tailed fox () is a mythical fox entity originating from Chinese mythology.
In Chinese folklores, foxes are depicted as spirits possessed of magic powers. These foxes are often depicted as mischievous, usually tricking other people, wi ...
that was sealed inside of him 12 years ago before the series began, seeks recognition from his peers, and dreams to become the Hokage, the strongest ninja leader of the Hidden Leaf Village in order to gain respect from the villagers. The first chapter of ''Naruto'' was published in issue 43 from 1999. continuing to more than seven hundred chapters in all. The ''Naruto'' manga is serialized in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
in their manga anthology magazine '' Shonen Jump'', with the first chapter of the English adaptation published in the January 2003 issue. The ''Naruto'' manga is split in two parts to divide the storyline; the first part, Part I, covers the first two hundred thirty-eight chapters of the series. Part II of the ''Naruto'' storyline begins at the two hundred forty-fifth chapter, and takes place two and a half years after the end of Part I which focuses on teenage Naruto's return. The six chapters between Part I and Part II form a
gaiden
A spinoff or spin-off is any narrative work derived from an already existing work that focuses on different aspects from the original work.
History
One of the earliest spin-offs of the modern media era, if not the first, happened in 1941 when t ...
taking place before the regular storyline, called the . An
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
adaptation of the series, produced by
Studio Pierrot
, previously known as until 2002, is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by Yuji Nunokawa, previously an animator and director for Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for ...
and
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.''Naruto'' anime aired on February 8, 2007, with the anime adaptation of Part II, known as '' Naruto: Shippūden'', to replace it.
The chapters that make Part I have been composed into twenty-seven ''
tankōbon
A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
'' in Japan by Shueisha. The first ''tankōbon'' was published on March 3, 2000, and the twenty-seventh on April 4, 2005. Most of the ''tankōbon'' contains nine chapters from the original manga. Viz Media has also published all twenty-seven volumes of the English adaptation of Part I in North America. In addition, Viz Media has published the twenty-seven volumes within a boxed set, thus constituting the entirety of the ''Naruto'' storyline before Part II, on August 26, 2008. A "Collector's Edition" of volume 1, adding a hardcover, was also published on September 16, 2008, by Viz.
The "Naruto Nation" campaign, a plan to release three volumes each month in the last four months of 2007, was announced by Viz Media shortly before the release of the fourteenth volume. Cammie Allen, Viz Media's product manager, commented that, "Our main reason or the accelerated schedulewas to catch up to the Japanese release schedule to give our readers a similar experience to that of our readers in Japan." As such, the English serialization of Part II premiered on December 4, 2007, in ''Shonen Jump''.
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Volume list
See also
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List of Naruto chapters (Part II, volumes 28–48)
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...
*
List of Naruto chapters (Part II, volumes 49–72)
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...