Naruto

Last updated: 1 November 2026

About Naruto

Naruto Uzumaki is a loud young ninja who dreams of becoming Hokage, the leader of his village, even though a dangerous fox spirit is sealed inside him. With his teammates Sasuke and Sakura he trains, fights and slowly earns everyone's respect. It is a classic coming-of-age action series. Created by Masashi Kishimoto and animated by Studio Pierrot, the Naruto anime became one of the most famous series in the world, running from 2002 to 2007 before continuing as Naruto Shippuden. Its mix of hand-to-hand combat, clever jutsu battles and raw emotion (loneliness, rivalry, forgiveness) made it a gateway anime for millions of fans. If you want to understand modern shonen, this is where much of it started. Its opening episodes are gentle, but the story's scale keeps growing, rival villages, legendary tailed beasts and a war that tests everything Naruto believes in.

Naruto is a TV anime from 2002, first released in Fall 2002. It belongs to the Action and Adventure genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.

Official Trailer

▶Official English Trailer | Naruto, Set 1 | VIZ · VIZ

Story & Plot

Naruto Uzumaki has been alone since birth. The Nine-Tailed Fox that once attacked the Hidden Leaf Village is sealed inside him, and the villagers who fear it shun the boy who carries it. Naruto's answer is pure stubbornness: he will become Hokage, the village's strongest ninja and leader, and make everyone acknowledge him.

Graduating near the bottom of his class, Naruto joins Team 7 with the brilliant, brooding Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, under the laid-back Kakashi Hatake. Missions beyond the village teach them the real cost of being a ninja, and when Sasuke's hunger for revenge grows, Naruto's promise to bring his friend home becomes the heart of a much bigger story.

The story's engine is the bond between Naruto and Sasuke, two boys carrying burdens other people placed on them, walking opposite roads out of the same pain. Around them, the series builds one of anime's richest ninja worlds: five great nations, legendary techniques passed between generations, and a long history of war that Naruto's generation must find a way to end without repeating it.

Story Arcs & Episode Guide

The Naruto anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.

Why Watch Naruto

• One complete story: 720 episodes across Naruto and Shippuden follow Naruto from outcast child to hero.
• Team 7's bond (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi) drives one of anime's defining rivalries.
• Inventive jutsu battles where clever plans, teamwork and timing beat raw power.
• Villains shaped by real pain: Pain, Itachi and Obito all mirror Naruto's own loneliness.
• Based on one of the best-selling manga series ever, with over 250 million copies sold worldwide.

Who Is It For?

Naruto is rated TV-PG in the US, so it suits older children, teens and adults best. Expect frequent ninja battles, some blood, the deaths of loved characters and dark themes such as war, revenge and loss, with Shippuden growing more serious than the first series.

Naruto Uzumaki

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Kakashi Hatake

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Sasuke Uchiha

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Sakura Haruno

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Hinata Hyuga

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Shikamaru Nara

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Gaara

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Rock Lee

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Neji Hyuga

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Jiraiya

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Tsunade

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Itachi Uchiha

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Orochimaru

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Obito Uchiha

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Madara Uchiha

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Voice Actors

The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Naruto.

• Naruto UzumakiTeam 7 ninja who dreams of becoming Hokage
  Japanese voiceJunko Takeuchi
• Kakashi HatakeTeam 7's teacher, known as the Copy Ninja
  Japanese voiceKazuhiko Inoue
• Sasuke UchihaTeam 7 ninja driven by revenge against his brother
  Japanese voiceNoriaki Sugiyama
• Sakura HarunoTeam 7 ninja; medical ninja trained by Tsunade
  Japanese voiceChie Nakamura
• Hinata HyugaShy Hyuga clan ninja of Team 8
  Japanese voiceNana Mizuki
• Shikamaru NaraTeam 10 strategist who fights with shadow techniques
  Japanese voiceShowtaro Morikubo
• GaaraSand Village jinchuriki who becomes Kazekage
  Japanese voiceAkira Ishida
• Rock LeeTeam Guy taijutsu specialist who cannot use ninjutsu
  Japanese voiceYoichi Masukawa
• Neji HyugaHyuga prodigy of Team Guy
  Japanese voiceKoichi Tochika
• JiraiyaLegendary Sannin and Naruto's mentor
  Japanese voiceHochu Otsuka
• TsunadeLegendary Sannin who becomes Fifth Hokage
  Japanese voiceMasako Katsuki
• Itachi UchihaSasuke's older brother and Akatsuki member
  Japanese voiceHideo Ishikawa
• OrochimaruLegendary Sannin turned rogue villain
  Japanese voiceKujira
• Obito UchihaMasked man leading the Akatsuki's war from the shadows
  Japanese voiceWataru Takagi
• Madara UchihaLegendary Uchiha who co-founded the Hidden Leaf Village
  Japanese voiceNaoya Uchida

Staff & Production

Original Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Animation Studio

Studio Pierrot

Director

Hayato Date

Series Composition

Katsuyuki Sumisawa (Naruto episodes 1–135); Junki Takegami (Naruto episodes 136–220 and Shippuden)

Music

Toshio Masuda with Musashi Project (Naruto); Yasuharu Takanashi (Shippuden)

Manga & Source Material

Naruto began as a manga by Masashi Kishimoto. The anime adapts it in two parts that match the manga's own split: Naruto's pre-teen years, then his teenage years in Shippuden.

• Written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto
• Serialised in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump from 21 September 1999 to 10 November 2014
• 700 chapters collected in 72 volumes, Part I fills volumes 1–27, Part II volumes 28–72
• Over 250 million copies sold in 46 countries, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time
• Grew from Kishimoto's 1997 Naruto one-shot manga, after his earlier one-shot Karakuri (1995)
• The story continues in Boruto, which follows Naruto's son

Music

The first series used 9 opening and 15 ending themes, and Shippuden added 20 openings and 40 endings: 29 openings and 55 endings in total. Toshio Masuda scored Naruto, blending traditional Japanese instruments with rock; Yasuharu Takanashi took over the score for Shippuden.

Opening Themes

• “R★O★C★K★S”by Hound DogThe very first Naruto opening (2002)
• “Haruka Kanata”by Asian Kung-Fu GenerationSecond Naruto opening, from the Chunin Exams era
• “GO!!!”by FLOWFourth Naruto opening
• “Yura Yura”by Hearts GrowFinal Naruto opening (2006)
• “Hero's Come Back!!”by nobodyknows+First Shippuden opening (2007)
• “Blue Bird”by IkimonogakariShippuden's third opening and one of its most loved themes
• “Sign”by FLOWShippuden opening from the Jiraiya and Itachi era
• “Silhouette”by KANA-BOONShippuden opening from the war era
• “Blood Circulator”by Asian Kung-Fu GenerationShippuden opening for the war's climax (2016)
• “Kara no Kokoro”by AnlyFinal Shippuden opening (2016–2017)

Ending Themes

• “Wind”by AkeboshiThe very first Naruto ending (2002)
• “Scenario”by SABOTENFinal Naruto ending (2006–2007)
• “Nagareboshi ~Shooting Star~”by HOME MADE KazokuFirst Shippuden ending (2007)
• “Absolutely”by SwimyFinal Shippuden ending (2017), the 40th ending theme

Series Timeline

1. 1997

   Kishimoto publishes the original Naruto one-shot manga, reworking its fox-boy hero into a ninja story.

2. 1999

   The Naruto manga begins in Weekly Shonen Jump on 21 September 1999.

3. 2002

   The Naruto TV anime, animated by Studio Pierrot, premieres on TV Tokyo on 3 October 2002.

4. 2004

   The first film, Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, opens in Japanese cinemas.

5. 2007

   Naruto ends after 220 episodes on 8 February; Naruto Shippuden begins a week later, on 15 February.

6. 2014

   The manga ends on 10 November after 700 chapters, and The Last: Naruto the Movie opens in December.

7. 2015

   Boruto: Naruto the Movie introduces Naruto's son and the next generation.

8. 2017

   Shippuden ends on 23 March after 500 episodes; the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime begins on 5 April.

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