Naruto Anime Manga

Rene R. asked:


Naruto is a very well-known Japanese manga (comic) and anime (animation) series, both in the US and across the world. The series, both manga and anime, have created a phenomenal success throughout the world, especially amongst teens and young adults. The manga has been running since 1999 and has had up to Volume 46 as of May 1, 2009, while the anime has been airing since October 3, 2002 in Japan and is still showing on TV Tokyo as of now. The series quickly gained its fans because of its story, which the main character, Naruto Uzumaki, had to go against all the odds in order to reach his dream and to protect the bond he has with his lost best friend. So many people could relate to Naruto’s hardship in life, and to some point idolize him. The characters around him played really important parts in the story. Amongst these characters is his teacher, Hatake Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi is one of the most popular characters in Naruto series. Apart from his parts in training and teaching Naruto both physically and mentally, which played the important part in Naruto’s growth throughout the series, he became really popular amongst the fans because of his laid-back character. The fans have known him the most for his signature hobby; reading the Icha-Icha book series, the “adults” books written by Jiraiya, another teacher of Naruto, and his mysterious “face” which has always been concealed by a mask. However, when Kakashi was teased to be “dying” or “dead” by the manga author in the latest arc in the Naruto manga, it sent a somewhat panic fever amongst the fans. It was as if hearing the news of someone very close to you die. Most fans were in disbelief and some even claimed not to continue reading and following the series anymore.That just shows how much Kakashi is loved amongst Naruto fans. Whether it is true that Kakashi is “really” dead, it is best to just enjoy every Naruto episode of the anime where we can still see Kakashi well and alive, and enjoy that while we can.

Naruto is a very well-known Japanese manga (comic) and anime (animation) series, both in the US and across the world. The series, both manga and anime, have created a phenomenal success throughout the world, especially amongst teens and young adults. The manga has been running since 1999 and has had up to Volume 46 as of May 1, 2009, while the anime has been airing since October 3, 2002 in Japan and is still showing on TV Tokyo as of now.

 

The series quickly gained its fans because of its story, which the main character, Naruto Uzumaki, had to go against all the odds in order to reach his dream and to protect the bond he has with his lost best friend. So many people could relate to Naruto’s hardship in life, and to some point idolize him. The characters around him played really important parts in the story. Amongst these characters is his teacher, Hatake Kakashi.

 

Hatake Kakashi is one of the most popular characters in Naruto series. Apart from his parts in training and teaching Naruto both physically and mentally, which played the important part in Naruto’s growth throughout the series, he became really popular amongst the fans because of his laid-back character. The fans have known him the most for his signature hobby; reading the Icha-Icha book series, the “adults” books written by Jiraiya, another teacher of Naruto, and his mysterious “face” which has always been concealed by a mask.

 

However, when Kakashi was teased to be “dying” or “dead” by the manga author in the latest arc in the Naruto manga, it sent a somewhat panic fever amongst the fans. It was as if hearing the news of someone very close to you die. Most fans were in disbelief and some even claimed not to continue reading and following the series anymore.That just shows how much Kakashi is loved amongst Naruto fans.

 

Whether it is true that Kakashi is “really” dead, it is best to just enjoy every Naruto episode of the anime where we can still see Kakashi well and alive, and enjoy that while we can.

Andrew Wills asked:


Naruto is one of the most popular manga and anime series around. It features a young boy, Naruto, whose body actually contains the spirit of a fearsome nine-tailed fox that had been terrorizing his village some twelve years earlier. At that time, this nasty fox was captured and its spirit was sealed in the body of a baby boy (our Naruto).

Jump ahead twelve years and you’ve got the star of the story, now a mischievous and hyperactive young ninja with great aspirations. Both Naruto anime (animated television shows) and manga (the comic book series) go through episodes of high-flung adventures battling monsters, other ninjas and, last but not least, doing ninja exams.

Both the manga and anime series have spawned numerous fan sites and forums, with all manner of products available online (screen savers, online games, etc.) and for sale (apparel, DVDs, and more). But what lies behind this popular series is an interesting fact: the story of Naruto is based solidly on traditional Japanese culture.

Author and artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in Japan in 1974 and it is an area very rich in history. Kishimoto won Shonen Jump magazine’s Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his manga Karakuri, but he didn’t stop there. His first Naruto version was a story of fox spirits and the story grew. It fast became a most popular ninja manga, in fact one of the most popular in Japan.

What may have escaped some western Naruto fans is the interesting story of the fox. Fox myths abound in Japanese culture, dating back as far as the fifth century B.C. Stories portray foxes as intelligent beings possessing magical abilities which increase as they age and gain wisdom. One of their tricks is their ability to shape-shift and sometimes they take on the form of a human. Some tales have them tricking others by changing into human form while others describe them as friends or guardians or even wives.

A kitsune (the Japanese word for fox) can have up to nine tails, as did the evil fox in Naruto’s past. And from the older stories, it seems that the more tails he has, the more powerful he is. Most folk tales state that a fox will grow more tails only after it’s lived for one thousand years.

Interestingly, Japanese folklore originally portrayed the fox as having only good attributes, and their evil and mischievous traits came in with Chinese and Korean folk tales. Some consider the kitsune as a deity and they will make offerings to them. There are quite a few tales about kitsune, both good and evil, with foxes shape-shifting into human form (a skill they only acquire after the age of 100) and then covertly living as part of a family until finally being discovered (they often seem to have trouble hiding their tails when assuming human form!).

A common belief is that foxes will impersonate beautiful women. Early in Japan’s history, it was thought that any woman alone, particularly at night, could actually be a fox. Other stories tell of fox spirits inhabiting humans: there is even a word, Kitsunetsuki, which means “the state of being possessed by a fox.” It’s been said that humans possessed by fox spirits tend to go mad and run naked through the streets, among other things.

However, our Naruto isn’t evil or nasty. It’s easy to see, though, how he gets away with so much mischief. A popular and adventurous story, it will be that way for generations to come.

Brandon Hopkins asked:


If you’re a Naruto fan, then you know how the Sharingan red eyes peer deep into the soul of anyone the contact. For those who aren’t Naruto fans, Sharingan have deep red eyes, circled by a thin black line with either 3 or 4 black dots arranged in a semi-circular pattern around the cornea.

Since the Sharingan are so popular, there are a few companies that have started making sharingan contact lenses. These contact lenses look exactly like you see on all of the Naruto shows. I have two of these contact lenses in person, and both looked spectactular.

The first sharingan contact lens I saw resembled a radioactive sign with 2 dots at the top and one dot in the middle below the top two dots. These contacts had a thin black line around the outside that faded into the middle. They looked good, but not as good as a the second set of contacts I saw. The second pair looked like exact duplicates.

The second pair of Sharingan contacts I saw were hand painted and looked like they were created by the same artist the drew the Sharingan. The lenses were the standard red and black. The full contact was red with a thin black line bordering the outside. In the middle, the pupil was black and there was another faint black line outside the pupil. Attached to that line were two dots in the north west and south east corners of the eye. An exact replication!

These lenses will instantly connect you with any Naruto fans you come in contact with. They’re perfect for conventions and meet ups with other fans.

Next time you’re at a Comic Con, make sure and look for other people wearing Naruto contact lenses!

Henry Hsieh asked:


Knowing that your favorite anime series is about to end is a lot like graduating from high school. It gives you mixed feelings – relief and despair. Relief because, if the author’s nice, all the loose ends will be tied and you’ll finally get your resolution and despair because you know that you’ll know that, come next week, you’ll no longer be sitting giddily in front of the TV waiting for your favorite show to air.

Rumors of the End

Recently, a lot of Naruto fans have been predicting that Naruto would end soon. And of course, it has created quite a racket among the Naruto fans because, really, who wants that anime to end? Sure, we all want to see if Naruto really does become Hokage, we all want to find out if Sasuke and Sakura get married, and we all want to see if Kakashi ever does take off his mask. But then again, Naruto has been with us for such a long time now – since 1999 for the manga and since 2002 for the anime. And Naruto’s almost like a friend now – a little brother. And tuning in every week to see what happens to him has become such a familiar routine that it’s hard to imagine a month without that knuckleheaded ninja that we all love.

This rumor – that Naruto would end soon – is still circulating even now as you read. The main question is – is it true? Frankly, I doubt it. There are just too many unresolved issues in Naruto right now that it doesn’t seem feasible that the anime would end soon. A good indication that the anime’s about to end is if the manga is nearing its end. And take it from an avid manga reader, Naruto’s just warming up. The first part of Naruto before the timeskip was like an introduction of characters compared to the depth of Naruto Shippuden right now. All those issues in Naruto – the kyuubi, the Uchiha clan, the Akatsuki – they’re all being explored in Shippuden right now. They’re being dissected, and each day, we learn something new and the plot only gets deeper and deeper.

Part 1 was barely stroking the surface. There was more to the Kyuubi than met the eye. It wasn’t just a rampaging monster – the Kyuubi had ties to the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara to be exact. It seems that the Uchiha clan has more secrets that have yet to be revealed. There seems to be more to the Uchiha Clan’s massacre than we were led to believe. Also, there’s the appearance of the Rinnegan, the strongest doujutsu ever in the Naruto universe, and it is further complicated by the fact that it is the Akatsuki Leader who owns this eye technique. There’s also the matter of Kabutomaru – the combination of Orochimaru and Kabuto. Then there’s the whole matter of the root ANBU.

So, When Will Naruto End?

If you want an honest answer, then I’d say that I have no idea. Only Kishimoto can tell. It’s his story and he could end it tomorrow by killing off the characters with a comet if he so desired and we wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. All we can do is speculate.

Really, there’s just too many things going on in Naruto right now that it doesn’t seem like it’s going to end any time soon – at least, not in the next few years. So, I suggest you start loving that blond-haired ninja right now because it looks like Naruto’s here to stay.