Naruto Uzumaki
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
in the anime
and manga
franchise Naruto
created by Masashi Kishimoto
. The main protagonist
and titular character of the series, he is a ninja
affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure, is sealed within his body. As a result, Naruto has ambitions of becoming the village's leader, the Hokage, in order to gain recognition amongst his peers. He maintains a cheerful and boisterous personality, allowing him to befriend several other Konoha ninja throughout the series, as well as ninja from other villages. Naruto appears in all of the series' films, as well as in other media related to the franchise, including all video games and original video animation
s.
When creating Naruto, Kishimoto wished to keep the character "simple and stupid", while giving him many attributes for an ideal hero. However, Kishimoto also added his harsh past to include a dark side of him. Naruto's initial design has been changed several times by Kishimoto, providing the character with different clothes to make him more appealing to Western audiences, in addition to being easier to illustrate. The character has been voiced by Junko Takeuchi
in the animated series and Maile Flanagan
in the English adaptations.
Several anime and manga publications have expressed acclaim and criticism of Naruto's character. Some view him as a stereotypical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in many other shōnen
manga, while others have praised his personality as well as his development in the series. Nevertheless, Naruto has remained highly popular with the Naruto fan-base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Naruto has also been released, including figurines
and plush dolls
.
Introduced in the series as a childish joker, Naruto wants to receive people's attention as a result of the way villagers set him apart. In order to gain respect, he resolves to become Konohagakure's Hokage and surpass all the previous leaders no matter the difficulties. While Naruto sometimes finds himself incompetent to accomplish the tasks he proposes to do, many characters reach the conclusion that Naruto will someday be an excellent Hokage thanks to the impact he made on their lives.
TITLES-
The yellow flash of the leaf.
The leaf's orange hokage.
The child of the prophecy.
The nine tails brat.
Failure.
The nine tails jinchuriki.
The leaf's number one ,hyper active knuckle head ninja.
, where Naruto gains the friends he lacked during his childhood. He forms bonds with his two teammates: Sasuke Uchiha
, who likens his rivalry to brotherhood and Sakura Haruno
, who he has a crush on and is commited to anything for her happiness.
While going through an exam to improve his ninja rank, Naruto meets the legendary ninja Jiraiya
and learns how to summon toads to aid him in battle as well as control part of the Fox's chakra. He later learns the Rasengan–a concentrated orb of spiraling chakra capable of grinding into whatever it touches– The exams are interrupted as a result of the invasion of Konohagakure, by the criminal Orochimaru
and Sunagakure. Shortly afterward, Naruto discovers Akatsuki, a fictional criminal organization that seeks to extract the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox from his body. Though Jiraiya drives them off during this first meeting, Akatsuki's interactions with Naruto become a central conflict in Part II. When Sasuke leaves the village to join Orochimaru's forces, Naruto becomes part of a rescue team to retrieve him. Naruto and Sasuke ultimately have a one-on-one battle, though neither can convince himself to finish off the other. The two go their separate ways, but Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving Konoha together with Jiraiya for two-and-a-half years of training to prepare himself for the next time he meets Sasuke.
Upon his return to Konoha in Part II, Naruto begins to deal more actively with the Akatsuki threat. He first saves Gaara
, another host of a tailed beast, from Akatsuki's clutches, and later proves instrumental in the downfall of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu. In order to fight them, Naruto trains with Kakashi to infuse the Rasengan with his own wind element chakra, resulting in the creation of a powerful technique named , which damages anything it impacts on the cellular level. The Fox's influence over him also expands to the point that he begins to lose his rationality as more chakra in the form of tails appears. Still, Naruto dedicates himself to find and retrieve Sasuke. After learning that Jiraiya has been killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, Naruto trains to learn Senjutsu, a power-enhancing ability derived from frogs and involving the gathering of natural energy, for a future possible encounter. When they finally face off, he defeats Pain and convinces him to leave Akatsuki afterwards. Once learning of Sasuke's past and role within Akatsuki, Naruto decides to confront Sasuke in battle that may end in both of their deaths if he is unable to save him. In order to prepare he takes full control of the Fox's powers with help from the soul of his mother Kushina Uzumaki that has been within the seal. Upon learning that all his comrades are battling Akatsuki's army to protect him, Naruto goes to join them alongside Killer Bee, another host of a tailed beast.
marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II appearance. He also appears in all four original video animations produced for the series, helping his friend Konohamaru Sarutobi find a four leaf clover in the first one, joining his team in escorting a ninja named Shibuki to his village and helping him fight the missing-nin who stole the village's "Hero's Water" in the second one, and participating in a tournament in the third one.
Naruto is a playable character
in the Naruto video games. In several titles, it is possible to access a special version
of him enhanced with the power from the Nine-Tailed Fox. In several games from the Ultimate Ninja series
he is playable with his own versions of Rock Lee
and Might Guy's techniques while wearing their costume. Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II appearance in a video game. For the series' 10th anniversary, Masashi Kishimoto made an illustration of Naruto as Hokage. This portrayal of Naruto later appeared as a secret character in the game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
. He appears in several crossover
video games that feature Naruto fighting against characters from other manga; these games include Battle Stadium D.O.N
, Jump Super Stars
and Jump Ultimate Stars
. A Naruto avatar made a guest appearance in the MMORPG Second Life
for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life.
In creating Naruto, Kishimoto incorporated traits that he felt made an ideal hero: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball
franchise. He also aimed to keep Naruto "simple and stupid". Kishimoto avoided modeling Naruto after anyone in particular, instead conceiving him as childlike with a dark side induced by his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto says makes him unique. Naruto's personality is, by and large, childish in nature. The creator frequently tries to show this when illustrating Naruto, such as depicting him mimicking a turtle like a child might do on the manga cover of volume 10. As Naruto was his first published manga, Kishimoto focused on designing Naruto's facial expressions in a difficult situation and tried to be consistent in each of them.
Naruto's wardrobe is based on clothing that Kishimoto wore when he was younger; according to Kishimoto, using a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique whereas something original would have made him stand out too much. Because Naruto is associated with spirals, the designer incorporated swirl patterns into the costume. Initial illustrations depicted Naruto in boots, but Kishimoto replaced these with sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes. The goggles that Naruto used to wear were also replaced with a hitai-ite, or shinobi headband, because the goggles themselves were too time-consuming to draw. The colors of his outfit, however, were one of the most difficult to choose by him. The orange coloring of his costume is used to make Naruto "pop", with blues often being used as a complement. Kishimoto commented that he wants to apologize to the anime staff for Naruto's design, considering it too difficult to translate it to animation.
Kishimoto is glad that his character has blond hair and blue eyes; it has become so common worldwide ever since Naruto's debut that it is utterly unquestionable whether or not the main protagonist is purely Japanese due to his appearance, therefore Naruto, along with the immense popularity it has gained, comes naturally to the readers and international audiences with blond hair and blue eyes. Commentators have noted and praised the complexity and diversity of Naruto and his friends. The editor of Shonen Jump
in the United States added that he implied that the traits may have led the character to appeal to a Western audience. Kishimoto said that he most identifies with Naruto out of all of the series's characters. When asked why Naruto's favorite food is ramen
instead of kitsune udon, Kishimoto said that he personally liked eating ramen. In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series
, Naruto is playable in various stages of the demon fox's manifestation characterized by a red-colored chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26. When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto drew Naruto's forehead protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him in his previous design. He also noted that Naruto's pants made the character look childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed a portion of Naruto's pants to roll up, giving the character a more mature appearance.
In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum "-ttebayo" (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with "you know?" in English). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and "dattebayo" came to mind; the creator believed that the phrase complements Naruto's character, and serves as a verbal tic
that portrays him in a brat-ish manner. Throughout the beginning of the English dub
version, "dattebayo" and "-ttebayo" were replaced with the phrase "Believe it!", both to mirror the effect and to match the character's lip movements.
, a female actress, was instead chosen following a large number of auditions that involved male actors. Before recording the first episode, Takeuchi noted several lines from the script that ended with exclamations points; this helped her define Naruto's voice. She noted difficulties in voicing the character for the first after the time-skip in the series for the first episode of Naruto: Shippuden as it was recorded one week after recording the last episode from Naruto. This concerned the character's growth as Naruto started acting more mature in contrast to his childish attitude. Takeuchi met hardships while voicing Naruto in his Nine-Tailed Demon Fox forms as well his fight against Sasuke due to the suffering the character was going through in the series. Nine years after first voicing the character, while still finding it tough to voice Naruto, Takeuchi's opinion regarding him changed to "a very reliable young man". She admired how he is able to take important decisions calmly despite the sacrifices he has to go through to the point it would inspire others.
The producers of the English anime stated that, of all of the characters, Naruto was the most difficult character to cast, adding that Maile Flanagan
"has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious twelve year old we learn to love, to the serious side." Flanagan commented that she does not listen to Junko Takeuchi's records when performing Naruto, not wanting to imitate her voice, instead wanting a more "original" voice for him.
popularity poll of the series, Naruto ranks within the top five characters and has positioned in first place twice. In 2006, however, Naruto lost his top-two status to the characters Deidara, Kakashi and Sasuke in the magazine's sixth poll. In the last poll, Naruto was once again in first place. Merchandise has been modeled after his likeness, such as plush, key chains
, and action figures, of both his Part I and Part II appearance. In the 2009 Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards, Junko Takeuchi
won "Best Voice Actress (Japanese)" for her work as Naruto. Naruto placed sixth in IGN
's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with writer Chris Mackenzie stating that although "Naruto actually isn't the most popular character in his own series most of the time", he is "the engine that powers the franchise". In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
, he was voted as the twenty-ninth best character appearing in video games.
Naruto's character has received mostly positive critical response in printed and online publications with major praise given by Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times
who noted that Naruto "has become a pop-culture sensation." Additionally, Naruto's character was analyzed by GameSpot
's Joe Dodson who despite finding life as "ideal", the character still suffered from severe isolation. Nevertheless, he was praised for his optimistic personality by Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network
, and with writers from Mania Entertainment labeling him as a "good lead character" with an overall development despite certain problems Naruto initially has. Writing for Popular Culture in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Play-Based Interventions, Lawrence Rubin states that while Naruto has an optimistic and hyperactive personality, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within his body symbolizes his negative emotions. Rubin concluded that Naruto's fights to protect the village help him to become a "complete and mature person". On the other hand, Christina Carpenter of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews disagreed with other writers, noting that, while Naruto is a "likable enough scamp", his type of character has been done before in many anime and manga series. His relationships with the other characters have been deemed as appealing by IGN's Charles White and Jason Van Horn, most notably his rivalry Sasuke, as it shows "signs of maturity" in Naruto. However, his desire to defeat Sasuke following Part I's end received criticism as a result of his subsequent suffering.
The character's fight have also been commented with Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network noting that while his initial ones were lacking when compared to others in the series, his encounter with Gaara
was one of his best moments in the series because it surpassed most shōnen stereotypes as a result of Naruto's tactics according to Theron Martin from the same site with Mania Entertaiment's Justin Rich echoing similar comments. The character's final fight against Sasuke in the end of Part I received similar responses, owing to both of the fighting styles employed as well as the development from their rivalry. The enormous physical changes caused by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox on Naruto have also been the focus of critics as he loses his control to the point he becomes a bigger threat than the series' antagonists, resulting in entertaining fights. Carlos Santos of Anime News Network commented on the character's growth in Part II, specifically his fight against Pain as Naruto's comments (such as about how peace can be achieved and what methods should be used to achieve his goals) touch philosophical themes never seen in a shōnen series. Additionally, Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment noted a change in Naruto's attitude as he acted more serious and calmer than in previous story arcs. Naruto's new Senjutsu style was praised as how he carefully prepared it for the fight against Pain, resulting in a big display of Naruto's skills.
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
franchise Naruto
Naruto
is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
created by Masashi Kishimoto
Masashi Kishimoto
is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive...
. The main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and titular character of the series, he is a ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a malevolent creature that attacked Konohagakure, is sealed within his body. As a result, Naruto has ambitions of becoming the village's leader, the Hokage, in order to gain recognition amongst his peers. He maintains a cheerful and boisterous personality, allowing him to befriend several other Konoha ninja throughout the series, as well as ninja from other villages. Naruto appears in all of the series' films, as well as in other media related to the franchise, including all video games and original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
s.
When creating Naruto, Kishimoto wished to keep the character "simple and stupid", while giving him many attributes for an ideal hero. However, Kishimoto also added his harsh past to include a dark side of him. Naruto's initial design has been changed several times by Kishimoto, providing the character with different clothes to make him more appealing to Western audiences, in addition to being easier to illustrate. The character has been voiced by Junko Takeuchi
Junko Takeuchi
is a Japanese voice actress employed by Love Live.Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters with generally very quirky and goofy personalities...
in the animated series and Maile Flanagan
Maile Flanagan
Maile Flanagan is an American actress known for her role as the protagonist ninja Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto, Geri O'Flanagan in 3Way, and Janet in Yes Man.-Personal life:...
in the English adaptations.
Several anime and manga publications have expressed acclaim and criticism of Naruto's character. Some view him as a stereotypical manga and anime protagonist comparable to those in many other shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
manga, while others have praised his personality as well as his development in the series. Nevertheless, Naruto has remained highly popular with the Naruto fan-base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Naruto has also been released, including figurines
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
and plush dolls
Plush
Plush is a textile having a cut nap or pile the same as fustian or velvet.Originally the pile of plush consisted of mohair or worsted yarn, but now silk by itself or with a cotton backing is used for plush, the distinction from velvet being found in the longer and less dense pile of plush...
.
Description
Naruto is depicted as young teenager with blonde spiky hair. He frequently wears an orange jumpsuit and, following his graduation, a headband representing him as a ninja from Konohagakure. In Part II of the series, Naruto wears a new outfit as a result of his growth. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox creature sealed within him also influences on Naruto's body, causing it to resemble it as time goes on. Once Naruto takes control of the fox's power, he is able to maintain his human form while using it. As a ninja, Naruto carries a large number of weapons, which he uses while fighting.Introduced in the series as a childish joker, Naruto wants to receive people's attention as a result of the way villagers set him apart. In order to gain respect, he resolves to become Konohagakure's Hokage and surpass all the previous leaders no matter the difficulties. While Naruto sometimes finds himself incompetent to accomplish the tasks he proposes to do, many characters reach the conclusion that Naruto will someday be an excellent Hokage thanks to the impact he made on their lives.
TITLES-
The yellow flash of the leaf.
The leaf's orange hokage.
The child of the prophecy.
The nine tails brat.
Failure.
The nine tails jinchuriki.
The leaf's number one ,hyper active knuckle head ninja.
In Naruto
Shortly after Naruto was born, his father, the Fourth Hokage, sealed the dangerous Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within Naruto's body at the cost of his own life, leaving Naruto without a family. As a result of him being the demon fox's host, the villagers of Konoha hold a strong animosity for Naruto. Thus, he lacked a source of love or attention during his early childhood. Since his childhood, Naruto has commonly made jokes to attract attention. Desiring what he lacks in his early life, Naruto dreams of becoming Hokage, the village's leader, hoping that it will bring him the villagers' recognition and respect. In an attempt to become a ninja, Naruto is horrified to learn that the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox is sealed inside him, but finds acceptance from his teacher Iruka Umino, whom he views as a father. After learning the powerful move Shadow Clone Technique, which creates physical copies of the user, Naruto becomes a ninja. He joins the ninja group Team 7 under the leadership of Kakashi HatakeKakashi Hatake
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto originally planned to introduce Kakashi in the manga to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, early on, but pushed back this meeting so that Naruto's teammates could be better developed.In...
, where Naruto gains the friends he lacked during his childhood. He forms bonds with his two teammates: Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke Uchiha
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. He was created as a rival and foil to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki...
, who likens his rivalry to brotherhood and Sakura Haruno
Sakura Haruno
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sakura has become the series' female lead, although she was not immediately intended for the role...
, who he has a crush on and is commited to anything for her happiness.
While going through an exam to improve his ninja rank, Naruto meets the legendary ninja Jiraiya
Jiraiya (Naruto)
is a fictional character in the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto. Introduced in the first half of the manga, Jiraiya appears as a perverted old man who the lead character, Naruto Uzumaki, refers to as "Ero-Sennin"...
and learns how to summon toads to aid him in battle as well as control part of the Fox's chakra. He later learns the Rasengan–a concentrated orb of spiraling chakra capable of grinding into whatever it touches– The exams are interrupted as a result of the invasion of Konohagakure, by the criminal Orochimaru
Orochimaru (Naruto)
is a fictional character from the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles...
and Sunagakure. Shortly afterward, Naruto discovers Akatsuki, a fictional criminal organization that seeks to extract the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox from his body. Though Jiraiya drives them off during this first meeting, Akatsuki's interactions with Naruto become a central conflict in Part II. When Sasuke leaves the village to join Orochimaru's forces, Naruto becomes part of a rescue team to retrieve him. Naruto and Sasuke ultimately have a one-on-one battle, though neither can convince himself to finish off the other. The two go their separate ways, but Naruto does not give up on Sasuke, leaving Konoha together with Jiraiya for two-and-a-half years of training to prepare himself for the next time he meets Sasuke.
Upon his return to Konoha in Part II, Naruto begins to deal more actively with the Akatsuki threat. He first saves Gaara
Gaara
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto designed Gaara as a foil to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, as the two were born through similar circumstances, but develop vastly different personalities as they deal with their...
, another host of a tailed beast, from Akatsuki's clutches, and later proves instrumental in the downfall of the Akatsuki member Kakuzu. In order to fight them, Naruto trains with Kakashi to infuse the Rasengan with his own wind element chakra, resulting in the creation of a powerful technique named , which damages anything it impacts on the cellular level. The Fox's influence over him also expands to the point that he begins to lose his rationality as more chakra in the form of tails appears. Still, Naruto dedicates himself to find and retrieve Sasuke. After learning that Jiraiya has been killed by the Akatsuki leader, Pain, Naruto trains to learn Senjutsu, a power-enhancing ability derived from frogs and involving the gathering of natural energy, for a future possible encounter. When they finally face off, he defeats Pain and convinces him to leave Akatsuki afterwards. Once learning of Sasuke's past and role within Akatsuki, Naruto decides to confront Sasuke in battle that may end in both of their deaths if he is unable to save him. In order to prepare he takes full control of the Fox's powers with help from the soul of his mother Kushina Uzumaki that has been within the seal. Upon learning that all his comrades are battling Akatsuki's army to protect him, Naruto goes to join them alongside Killer Bee, another host of a tailed beast.
In other media
As the series' title character, Naruto appears in every movie in the series. He typically appears as the lead character on a mission with Team 7. The first Naruto: Shippūden movieNaruto: Shippuden the Movie
, is a 2007 film directed by Hajime Kamegaki and written by Junki Takegami. It is the fourth movie in the Naruto movie series. It was released on DVD in Japan on April 23, 2008 and on DVD in the US on November 10, 2009. It was announced that the US DVD could be pre-ordered along with the limited...
marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II appearance. He also appears in all four original video animations produced for the series, helping his friend Konohamaru Sarutobi find a four leaf clover in the first one, joining his team in escorting a ninja named Shibuki to his village and helping him fight the missing-nin who stole the village's "Hero's Water" in the second one, and participating in a tournament in the third one.
Naruto is a playable character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in the Naruto video games. In several titles, it is possible to access a special version
Secret character
A secret character can be a player character or a non-player character in a video game that must be unlocked by completing a goal within the game...
of him enhanced with the power from the Nine-Tailed Fox. In several games from the Ultimate Ninja series
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (series)
The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, known in Japan as the , is a series of fighting games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, for the PlayStation 2. They were developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai...
he is playable with his own versions of Rock Lee
Rock Lee
is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto considers Lee his favorite character to draw, and at first designed Lee to symbolize human weakness...
and Might Guy's techniques while wearing their costume. Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II appearance in a video game. For the series' 10th anniversary, Masashi Kishimoto made an illustration of Naruto as Hokage. This portrayal of Naruto later appeared as a secret character in the game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, known in Japan as is the sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai Games...
. He appears in several crossover
Gaming crossovers
A gaming crossover occurs when otherwise separated fictional characters, stories, settings, universes, or media in a video game meet and interact with each other. These may exist as a gimmick if two separate games in question are developed by the same company...
video games that feature Naruto fighting against characters from other manga; these games include Battle Stadium D.O.N
Battle Stadium D.O.N
is a Japanese fighting game for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 featuring characters from the three popular manga series published by Weekly Shōnen Jump. Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and Naruto, hence the D.O.N...
, Jump Super Stars
Jump Super Stars
is a 2D fighting game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo. The game was released on August 8, 2005 in Japan and accompanied the release of a red Nintendo DS...
and Jump Ultimate Stars
Jump Ultimate Stars
is a fighting video game developed by Ganbarion and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the sequel to Jump Super Stars, also released for the DS. The game was released in Japan on November 23, 2006...
. A Naruto avatar made a guest appearance in the MMORPG Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
for a Jump Festa promotion titled Jumpland@Second Life.
Creation and conception
Dragon Ball
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
franchise. He also aimed to keep Naruto "simple and stupid". Kishimoto avoided modeling Naruto after anyone in particular, instead conceiving him as childlike with a dark side induced by his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto says makes him unique. Naruto's personality is, by and large, childish in nature. The creator frequently tries to show this when illustrating Naruto, such as depicting him mimicking a turtle like a child might do on the manga cover of volume 10. As Naruto was his first published manga, Kishimoto focused on designing Naruto's facial expressions in a difficult situation and tried to be consistent in each of them.
Naruto's wardrobe is based on clothing that Kishimoto wore when he was younger; according to Kishimoto, using a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique whereas something original would have made him stand out too much. Because Naruto is associated with spirals, the designer incorporated swirl patterns into the costume. Initial illustrations depicted Naruto in boots, but Kishimoto replaced these with sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes. The goggles that Naruto used to wear were also replaced with a hitai-ite, or shinobi headband, because the goggles themselves were too time-consuming to draw. The colors of his outfit, however, were one of the most difficult to choose by him. The orange coloring of his costume is used to make Naruto "pop", with blues often being used as a complement. Kishimoto commented that he wants to apologize to the anime staff for Naruto's design, considering it too difficult to translate it to animation.
Kishimoto is glad that his character has blond hair and blue eyes; it has become so common worldwide ever since Naruto's debut that it is utterly unquestionable whether or not the main protagonist is purely Japanese due to his appearance, therefore Naruto, along with the immense popularity it has gained, comes naturally to the readers and international audiences with blond hair and blue eyes. Commentators have noted and praised the complexity and diversity of Naruto and his friends. The editor of Shonen Jump
Shonen Jump (magazine)
Shonen Jump, officially stylized SHONEN JUMP and abbreviated SJ, is a shōnen manga anthology published in North America by Viz Media. It debuted in November 2002 with the first issue having a January 2003 cover date...
in the United States added that he implied that the traits may have led the character to appeal to a Western audience. Kishimoto said that he most identifies with Naruto out of all of the series's characters. When asked why Naruto's favorite food is ramen
Ramen
is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...
instead of kitsune udon, Kishimoto said that he personally liked eating ramen. In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series
Naruto: Clash of Ninja (series)
The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series, known in Japan as , is a series of 3D cel-shaded fighting games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. They are developed by Eighting and published by D3 Publisher and Tomy. Various installments of the series have appeared on both...
, Naruto is playable in various stages of the demon fox's manifestation characterized by a red-colored chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26. When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto drew Naruto's forehead protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him in his previous design. He also noted that Naruto's pants made the character look childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed a portion of Naruto's pants to roll up, giving the character a more mature appearance.
In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum "-ttebayo" (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with "you know?" in English). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and "dattebayo" came to mind; the creator believed that the phrase complements Naruto's character, and serves as a verbal tic
Tic
A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups. Tics can be invisible to the observer, such as abdominal tensing or toe crunching. Common motor and phonic tics are, respectively, eye blinking and throat clearing...
that portrays him in a brat-ish manner. Throughout the beginning of the English dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
version, "dattebayo" and "-ttebayo" were replaced with the phrase "Believe it!", both to mirror the effect and to match the character's lip movements.
Voice actors
During the casting for the Japanese version of the animated adaptations, staff sought a male voice actor for Naruto. Junko TakeuchiJunko Takeuchi
is a Japanese voice actress employed by Love Live.Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters with generally very quirky and goofy personalities...
, a female actress, was instead chosen following a large number of auditions that involved male actors. Before recording the first episode, Takeuchi noted several lines from the script that ended with exclamations points; this helped her define Naruto's voice. She noted difficulties in voicing the character for the first after the time-skip in the series for the first episode of Naruto: Shippuden as it was recorded one week after recording the last episode from Naruto. This concerned the character's growth as Naruto started acting more mature in contrast to his childish attitude. Takeuchi met hardships while voicing Naruto in his Nine-Tailed Demon Fox forms as well his fight against Sasuke due to the suffering the character was going through in the series. Nine years after first voicing the character, while still finding it tough to voice Naruto, Takeuchi's opinion regarding him changed to "a very reliable young man". She admired how he is able to take important decisions calmly despite the sacrifices he has to go through to the point it would inspire others.
The producers of the English anime stated that, of all of the characters, Naruto was the most difficult character to cast, adding that Maile Flanagan
Maile Flanagan
Maile Flanagan is an American actress known for her role as the protagonist ninja Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto, Geri O'Flanagan in 3Way, and Janet in Yes Man.-Personal life:...
"has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious twelve year old we learn to love, to the serious side." Flanagan commented that she does not listen to Junko Takeuchi's records when performing Naruto, not wanting to imitate her voice, instead wanting a more "original" voice for him.
Reception
In every official Weekly Shōnen JumpWeekly Shonen Jump
is a weekly shōnen manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines. The first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968, and it is still circulating. One of the longest-running manga magazines in Japan, it has a circulation of 2.8 million copies...
popularity poll of the series, Naruto ranks within the top five characters and has positioned in first place twice. In 2006, however, Naruto lost his top-two status to the characters Deidara, Kakashi and Sasuke in the magazine's sixth poll. In the last poll, Naruto was once again in first place. Merchandise has been modeled after his likeness, such as plush, key chains
Keychain
A keychain or key chain is a small chain, usually made from metal or plastic, that connects a small item to a keyring. The length of a keychain allows an item to be used more easily than if connected directly to a keyring...
, and action figures, of both his Part I and Part II appearance. In the 2009 Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation Awards, Junko Takeuchi
Junko Takeuchi
is a Japanese voice actress employed by Love Live.Taking a well-trod path by many voice actresses, she often voices young male characters with generally very quirky and goofy personalities...
won "Best Voice Actress (Japanese)" for her work as Naruto. Naruto placed sixth in IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with writer Chris Mackenzie stating that although "Naruto actually isn't the most popular character in his own series most of the time", he is "the engine that powers the franchise". In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition is a Guinness World Records book dedicated to video games. The first edition was released in February 2008 in association with the video games world records' tracking organization Twin Galaxies. The second edition was released in 2009...
, he was voted as the twenty-ninth best character appearing in video games.
Naruto's character has received mostly positive critical response in printed and online publications with major praise given by Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
who noted that Naruto "has become a pop-culture sensation." Additionally, Naruto's character was analyzed by GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Joe Dodson who despite finding life as "ideal", the character still suffered from severe isolation. Nevertheless, he was praised for his optimistic personality by Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
, and with writers from Mania Entertainment labeling him as a "good lead character" with an overall development despite certain problems Naruto initially has. Writing for Popular Culture in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Play-Based Interventions, Lawrence Rubin states that while Naruto has an optimistic and hyperactive personality, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within his body symbolizes his negative emotions. Rubin concluded that Naruto's fights to protect the village help him to become a "complete and mature person". On the other hand, Christina Carpenter of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews disagreed with other writers, noting that, while Naruto is a "likable enough scamp", his type of character has been done before in many anime and manga series. His relationships with the other characters have been deemed as appealing by IGN's Charles White and Jason Van Horn, most notably his rivalry Sasuke, as it shows "signs of maturity" in Naruto. However, his desire to defeat Sasuke following Part I's end received criticism as a result of his subsequent suffering.
The character's fight have also been commented with Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network noting that while his initial ones were lacking when compared to others in the series, his encounter with Gaara
Gaara
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto designed Gaara as a foil to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, as the two were born through similar circumstances, but develop vastly different personalities as they deal with their...
was one of his best moments in the series because it surpassed most shōnen stereotypes as a result of Naruto's tactics according to Theron Martin from the same site with Mania Entertaiment's Justin Rich echoing similar comments. The character's final fight against Sasuke in the end of Part I received similar responses, owing to both of the fighting styles employed as well as the development from their rivalry. The enormous physical changes caused by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox on Naruto have also been the focus of critics as he loses his control to the point he becomes a bigger threat than the series' antagonists, resulting in entertaining fights. Carlos Santos of Anime News Network commented on the character's growth in Part II, specifically his fight against Pain as Naruto's comments (such as about how peace can be achieved and what methods should be used to achieve his goals) touch philosophical themes never seen in a shōnen series. Additionally, Chris Beveridge from Mania Entertainment noted a change in Naruto's attitude as he acted more serious and calmer than in previous story arcs. Naruto's new Senjutsu style was praised as how he carefully prepared it for the fight against Pain, resulting in a big display of Naruto's skills.