Naruto

A friend of mine introduced me to the Naruto series, and I have liked it from the first moment I saw Gaara of the Sand walk across the screen! I am now engaged with trying to watch all of the episodes starting with the very first one, and I am impressed beyond measure by it's storyline, which manages to combine action, adventure, humor, science fiction/fantasy, and coming-of-age elements all in one. I wouldn't recommend it for young children due to some very dark elements which surface and, of course, violence. However, the very dark elements succeed in intensifying the storyline, and in character building. All the characters are very unique, no cookie-cutter fill-ins here!, and the bad guys are especially well developed. This is a far cry from Skeletor and Cobra which were the villains of my youth (and oops, I've just dated myself). The only drawback I can think of are the excessively long battle scenes, which can take up several episodes. The number of episodes in proportion to the importance of the battle.

Last year my roommate got me hooked on watching Naruto. I had never really been a big Anime fan. Shows like DBZ and Inuyasha never really appealed to me. I had seen a few episodes of Tri-Gun and found it rather interesting but the story of Naruto is what really drew me in. The quality with which it is written is very well done. And is not centered entirely around fighting, there actually is a plot here. The story is about 3 ninjas as they progress from genin level (beginning ninjas) onward to some rather high lvl battles and their hardships along the way. Each of these characters is well described with a rich background. And each character possesses unique abilities, none of which I have found boring or pointless so far. Currently I have read all the manga and have all the Anime downloaded. It is a truly excellent series. I fear that if they do bring it to the US. that sites that provide us with the anime may not be allowed to continue providing us with the show and if it comes to US television it will be edited because they will probably intend for kids to watch it and in it's original state it is entirely inappropriate and in no way should be compared to a Saturday morning cartoon show. The different jutsus are exciting to watch and well thought out. Battles can tend to last multiple episodes but to me that does not matter, the flashbacks just add to the storyline. The quality of the actual animation which can really be seen during the fight scenes is unbelievable. They truly have some very talented artists working for them. Lastly, the music is top notch. The intro's are extremely cool and the music in the actual show is also very well done.

Here is the description of the series as it appears on the website or a DVD/VHS.

"In a concealed village, a young man hides within a bunch of leaves. His name is Uzumaki Naruto, a mischievous boy attending Ninja Academy. Everyday, he does nothing but cause mischief and making Iruka-sensei mad. And above all, it's doubtful that he'll be able to graduate from the Academy. But Naruto has a dream... A dream that he'll become the head of the Ninja village, following Hokage and will become the best ninja around. However, all the adults in the village give Naruto cold looks. The truth is, Naruto has a secret about his birth. 12 years ago, "Kyuubi no Youko" (Nine Tailed Fox - A kind of evil spirit who tormented the village, was sealed within Naruto's body who was, at the time, a baby. The head of the academy, Mizuki, uses Naruto to steal the "Fuujin Scrolls" and makes Naruto understand his past. Naruto is outraged. Even with Iruka's help, Naruto just barely defeats Mizuki. Knowing Naruto's secret, Iruka knows Naruto will meet someone who'll help him and so, makes a decision. Naruto is allowed to graduate safely from Ninja Academy. Along with his classmates, Uchiwa Sasuke and Haruno Sakura together, they make their first step as Ninjas!" -TV Tokyo

The series is still ongoing in Japan and is aired weekly at 7:30PM on Tuesday nights. Well anyways I have been watching the show now for about seven months and it is incredible. All the main characters are very dynamic and most of which you will grow to like more and more. The animation is good and the style isn't very unique but the story is incredible and so are all the fine details about all Ninja Techniques. The 'world' Naruto takes place in is wonderful and incredibly detailed with history and different cultures. The setting is almost that of feudal Japan in respect to weapons and the types of soldiers and different classes and military ranks. But its modern in respect to technology and clothing. The plot is very good and sometimes very suspenseful and always interesting. If you enjoy action, adventure, a lot of details, and emotion, look no further Naruto has all of these qualities and much more. This is an excellent TV series with no end in sight.

You're probably thinking: "well I could just skip the fillers by searching filler episode up." That's fine but that's not the only issue with the show. It's that even in nonfiller episodes it feels like they are buying a lot of time. If the show was compressed to maybe 90/100 episodes then it would be amazing. The hype moments really are hype and the ninja stuff is cool.

If u r looking for a good anime to watch then watch naruto. I have watched 7 anime in my life and Naruto is still my favorite. It's an amazing story with the best character development I have ever seen. If u haven't already watched it then watch fast!