Masashi Kishimoto is the author and artist of the hit Japanese comic series Naruto.
It chronicles the tale of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who wants acclaim from his classmates and aspires to become the Hokage i.e village leader.
The story is divided into two sections, the first taking place during Naruto’s pre-teen years and the second throughout his adolescence. The series is based on Kishimoto’s two one-shot manga: Karakuri (1995), which garnered Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha’s monthly Hop Step Award the subsequent summer, and Naruto (1997).
Written by | Masashi Kishimoto |
Demographic | Shōnen |
Running duration | 21st September 1999 till 10th November 2014 |
Volumes | 72 |
Imprint | Jump Comics |
Naruto and its sequel, Naruto Shippuden is perhaps one of the most recognizable and revered shonen Anime and manga series in history, Its popularity, and cultural influence not only in Japan but even in the western world is something only a few Anime can boast about.
Its also colloquially known as the Big 3, which was a term used to describe the three most popular and influential running Anime series during their golden age in Jump magazines mid-2000s period.
One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach are regarded as the big 3.
So you might be thinking of giving this overhyped Anime a try, but is it worth going through the 700+ episodes? Let’s find out.
What is Naruto?
Masashi Kishimoto wrote and pulled the Japanese comic series Naruto.
It chronicles the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a teenage ninja who wants acclaim from his classmates and aspires to become the Hokage, or village leader. The story is divided into two sections, the first taking place during Naruto’s pre-teen years and the second throughout his adolescence.
The series is based on Kishimoto’s two one-shot manga: Karakuri (1995), which garnered Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha’s monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto (1997).
The Setting of Naruto
Kishimoto drew on the Chinese zodiac tradition, which has a long history in Japan; the zodiac hand signs are derived from this.
When Kishimoto was designing the Naruto manga’s main setting, he initially focused on the designs for the town of Konoha. The setting came to him “quite spontaneously without much consideration,” yet he acknowledges that it was inspired by his home in the Japanese prefecture of Okayama.
Because the plot does not indicate when it takes place, he was free to include modern features such as convenience stores in the series. He considered putting automobiles, planes, and basic computers in the storyline but excluded projectile weapons and transportation.
Should I watch Naruto?
Yes, you should!
The story, plot, and animation of Naruto are very good and all the fighting scenes are very well choreographed. There’re so many characters in this series that you won’t be able to count them and each character has a strong role, you’ll love all of them even the ones who play a negative role because each one of them has a story, a reason why they turned into what they are.
The main message in the Anime is to never give up and this series helps you realize the difference between right and wrong and their consequences. It also helps you understand the true meaning of friendship and spreads the message that one should work hard or they’ll be left behind.
What is Naruto Shippuden?
Naruto Shippuden is the canonical sequel of Naruto which has gained more fame and attention than the original series, due to the character development, increasing solemn plot, impressive visuals, and smoothly choreographed fights.
It picks up directly where the main series left off, with Naruto leaving the village and his master Jiraya sensei training rigorously in anticipation of Akatsuki.
Here’s a short synopsis without giving away too much:
Naruto Uzumaki has been away from Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, for two and a half years to endure the hard training in the aftermath of events that inspired his ambition to be stronger.
Now, Akatsuki, the secret organization of elite renegade ninjas, are closing in on their ultimate objective, which might jeopardize the entire shinobi world’s safety.
Even though Naruto is now older and more frightening events are on the horizon, his demeanor hasn’t altered much, he still has very much the rowdy and childish character we adore, though he’s a lot more confident and determined to protect his companions.
In the culmination of the tale of the child who desires to become Hokage, Naruto will battle for what is vital to him, even if it means sacrificing his own body.
Where to watch Naruto?
Naruto being as popular as it is, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you can find it on almost every streaming platform.
Some of the biggest premium platforms that stream Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are
- Netflix
- Crunchyroll
- Hulu
- Funimation
- Amazon Prime
Besides these, you can also find Naruto on free streaming sites such as:
- Zoro. tv
- Animekisa. TV
- 9anime
However, these websites host pirated content that we don’t endorse or support, additionally any of these websites may be taken down at any moment due to copyright strikes. Besides this, they’re relatively safe, though the ads can get annoying.
Can you watch Naruto without fillers?
In short yes, however, the more appropriate question is should you be watching Naruto without fillers? Well, that depends on you.
The fillers have no bearing on the main plot so it’s not necessary to watch them if you want to comprehend Naruto. The purpose of fillers is to bridge the time gap between the source manga and the Anime. Nonetheless, when you have leisure time, binge the crap out of it.
I’ve seen all of the fillers, and I must say that most of them were uninteresting. However, some of the episodes are outrageously funny and well worth seeing. One of my favorite fillers is Naruto Episode 100.
Fillers are only used to extend the main plot. They’re unimportant in the context of the story. You can skip the fillers as the plot becomes more intriguing. Otherwise, they’re intriguing and, at the very least, amusing!
You can continue the series with the fillers if you’re bored. It does not affect the tale if you skip them.
I would encourage viewing fillers, particularly the Naruto Shippuden ones, because they give other side characters additional screen time, making the overall series more memorable.
If you decide to skip fillers you’ll miss out on a lot of unexpected humor and wholesome moments. Some fillers are just straight-up boring and make you want to drop the series entirely, but some fillers, on the other hand, have better plots and animation than cannon episodes.
So if you just wanna get the series done quickly, by all means, skip the fillers, but if you wanna take your time in understanding the visual masterpiece that is Naruto, watch the fillers.
How to watch Naruto in order?
There’re 2 parts to Naruto. 3 if you include Boruto, but we won’t talk about that.
The initial is simply called Naruto, which has a total of 220 episodes (including fillers), whereas the second is Naruto Shippuden, which has 500 episodes.
Boruto is a prequel to Naruto, which itself is currently airing and has around 327 episodes. There’re also various movies, OVAs, and specials in the franchise.
Here’s the chronological and canonical release order:
- Naruto (2002-07)
- Naruto: Shippuden (2007-17)
- Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2017)
So you’ll have to blitz through the 220 episodes of Naruto before moving on to Naruto Shippuden, the older more famous brother.
Although Naruto Shippuden is where the series dives into its lore and depth, and when the storyline matters, Naruto (2002) is not one to miss. If you think you can just jump to Shippuden directly you’re mistaken, the entire Shippuden plot has been continuously built up by Naruto (2002). So even if you watch Shippuden directly, you won’t understand what’s happening.
You can compare it to watching Marvel Endgame without catching up on and understanding the 10+ years of cinematic history and lore behind the characters.
Also if you’re willing to watch the movies (which I would recommend) here’s the chronological order:
- Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, released in (2004)
- Naruto: Legend of the Stone of Gelel, released in (2005)
- Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, released in (2006)
- Naruto Shippuden: Movie 1, released in (2007)
- Naruto Shippuden: Bonds, released in (2008)
- Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire, released in (2009)
- Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower, released in (2010)
- Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison, released in (2011)
- Naruto Shippuden: Road to Ninja, released in (2012)
- Naruto: the Last, released in(2014)
- Boruto: Naruto the Movie, released in (2015)
That’s a whole lot of movies, but be sure to watch them, even though they have nothing to do with the plot, they are visual masterpieces and the animation is like eye candy.
Here’s a watch guide to getting started on Naruto:
Conclusion
- Masashi Kishimoto wrote and drew the Japanese comic series Naruto. It chronicles the tale of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who wants acclaim from his classmates and aspires to become the Hokage village leader.
- You should watch Naruto because it has a good story, plot, and animation. It’s also very well choreographed.
- Naruto being as popular as it is, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you can find it on almost every streaming platform.
- Naruto is divided into two parts. There are 3 parts if Boruto is included.
- Naruto Shippuden is the canonical sequel of Naruto which has gained more fame and attention than the original series, due to the character development, increasing Solemn plot, impressive visuals, and smoothly choreographed fights.