"Naruto" (2002)TV series 2002-2007

Directors:

Hayato Date
Jeff Nimoy

Writers:

Masashi Kishimoto (comic)
Yuka Miyata (script)
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | unknown

Release Date:

10 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

The power of the Nine-Tailed Fox... unleashed!

Plot:

The stories of the struggles of three young ninjas - Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno - as they go through their training.

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Based On Comic | Ninja | Boy | Supernatural

US TV Schedule:

Sat. May 24	9:00 PM	TOON
Sat. May 24	9:30 PM	TOON

Cast

Steven Jay Blum	...	Orochimaru - Zabuza Momochi (46 episodes, 2002-2007)
Maile Flanagan	...	Naruto Uzumaki (35 episodes, 2002-2007)
Nana Mizuki	...	Hinata Hyuga (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kentarô Itô	...	Choji Akimichi (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Yasuyuki Kase	...	Kankuro (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kôichi Tôchika	...	Neji Hyuga (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Akiko Koike	...	Kin Tsuchi (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Rumi Ochiai	...	Kurenai Yuhi (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Naoki Sakata	...	Gato (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Nozomu Sasaki	...	Hayate Gekko (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Richard Cansino	...	Izumo Kamizuki / ... (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	Kurenai Yuhi (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Liam O'Brien	...	Gaara / ... (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Robbie Rist	...	Choji Akimichi (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Stephanie Sheh	...	Hanabi Hyuga / ... (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Steve Staley	...	Neji Hyuga (17 episodes, 2002-2003)

(more)

Series Directed by
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn		(1 episode, 2002)
Hayato Date		(1 episode, 2003)
Jeff Nimoy		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Steven Jay Blum		(46 episodes, 2002-2007)
Marc Handler		(18 episodes, 2002-2003)
Masashi Kishimoto		(unknown episodes)
Yuka Miyata		(unknown episodes)
Kou Hei Mushi		(unknown episodes)
Satoru Nishizono		(unknown episodes)
Katsuyuki Sumizawa		(unknown episodes)
Yasuyuki Suzuki		(unknown episodes)
Junki Takegami		(unknown episodes)
Akatsuki Yamatoya		(unknown episodes)
Michiko Yokote		(unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Toshiro Masuda		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Atsuho Matsumoto		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Seiji Morita		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Shigenori Takada		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Takuya Kawami	....	color coordinator (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Eric Lewis	....	adr engineer: Studiopolis, Inc. (63 episodes, 2002-2007)
David W. Barr	....	adr recordist (38 episodes, 2003-2007)
Yasunori Ebina	....	sound producer (unknown episodes)

Series Animation Department
Atsuho Matsumoto	....	animation director (unknown episodes)
Tetsuya Nishio	....	character designer (unknown episodes)
Hirofumi Suzuki	....	character designer (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Jeremy Sweet	....	composer: theme and cues (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Marc Handler	....	story editor (17 episodes, 2002-2003)
Sean Kelley	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	....	voice director (unknown episodes)
Lindsey Myers	....	production coordinator (unknown episodes)
Jeff Nimoy	....	voice director (unknown episodes)
Jamie Simone	....	voice director (unknown episodes)
Katsuyuki Sumizawa	....	series story editor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Studio Pierrot Co. Ltd.

Distributors

• Cartoon Network (2005) (USA) (TV)
• YTV (2005) (Canada) (TV)
• AT-X (????) (Japan) (TV)
• Hollydan Works (2008) (Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• Jetix (2006) (UK) (TV)
• Kids Station (????) (Japan) (TV)
• TV Tokyo (2002-2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Toonami Jetstream (2006) (USA) (all media)
• Viz Media (2005-) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Changzhou New Star Art & Animation  digital coloring
• Studio Cats  digital coloring

Runtime:

Japan:30 min (220 episodes)

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | French | German | Spanish | Tagalog | Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:12 (most episodes) (uncut) | Canada:PG (TV rating) | Brazil:Livre | South Korea:12 | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG | USA:TV-PG | Germany:12 | Japan:U | Singapore:PG

Company:

Studio Pierrot Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

The arc that included Morino Idate was never in the manga.

Quotes:

Kakashi: [introducing himself to his students for the first time] I am Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream... I have few hobbies.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lost: Ji Yeon (#4.7)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Yura Yura

Who says adults can't watch cartoons?

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.