NYAF 07: Naruto Grows Old With Fans

NYAF 07: Naruto Grows Old With Fans
A new era for the spunky ninja begins in 2008.
by Richard George
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// –> December 10, 2007 – Hardcore Naruto fans are no doubt dying for 2008 to arrive – March 2008 to be specific. As the staff of IGN Anime awaits plenty of spring conventions, fans of the young ninja will actually get to see him take a leap in time. After leaving for training, Naruto will come back after 2.5 years, joining Kakashi, Sakura and more for plenty of adventures. Viz is currently publishing volumes of Naruto three times a month in order to close the release date gap between the United States and Japan.

At its Anime Fest panel, Viz highlighted the change in Naruto as one of the most significant events of the new year. The company noted that the series would actually switch to a bi-monthly shipping schedule after the 28th volume ships. This first volume of the “relaunch” will also feature an 8-page color story sequence.

Viz also used their convention forum to discuss Naruto: The Official Fanbook, which arrives in stores this coming February. Though they didn’t go into too many details, the company noted that this was a standalone volume that would collect content created and submitted by the fans. The format would be slightly larger than a standard manga book.

Briefly touching upon its DVD release schedule, Viz mentioned that it wanted Season Two’s uncut boxed sets to be special. The publisher highlighted the recent inclusion of a figurine as evidence, stating that this was the first of six figures to be released in the boxed sets. Box Set Six will be in stores on February 12, 2008. Set Seven is due April 15, 2008. Set Eight will arrive on June 10, 2008.

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Top Ten Naruto Techniques

Top Ten Naruto Techniques
We count down the most ‘totally sweet’ ninja moves.
by Ramsey Isler
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// –> December 14, 2007 – One of the most entertaining parts of the Naruto franchise is the amazing variety of secret ninja techniques the characters use. The complicated but impressive-looking hand gestures, the unique physical attributes, and the pure unadulterated destructive power of the ninjutsu are some of the things that make the series wildly popular.

These are the ten coolest ninja techniques in Naruto, and by cool, we mean totally sweet.

10. Sexy Jutsu

One of Naruto’s trademarks and personal favorites, the Sexy Jutsu turns the user into a voluptuous nude woman with nosebleed inducing beauty. It’s only mildly useful against male opponents (and maybe certain female ones), but its battle effectiveness isn’t really all that important now is it fellas?

Mix this with the multiplication benefits of the Shadow Clone Jutsu and you have a combination that would ensure that no young man with this ability would ever need to leave the house.

Speaking of the Shadow Clone Jutsu…

- Viz

9. Shadow Clone Jutsu

The Shadow Clone Jutsu produces multiple copies of the caster. They’re not as sturdy as the real thing and will disappear if handled too roughly (if they get stabbed, for instance).

Ever felt like there just wasn’t enough of you to go around? Well with the power of the Shadow Clone Jutsu you can be everywhere at once! Got too many chores to do? Trying to find your keys? Got a dozen angry ninjas on your butt? No problem! The Shadow Clone Jutsu can get you out of all sorts of trouble, but having a bunch of copies of yourself running around has got to be just a little bit disturbing.

8. Crystal Ice Mirrors

A technique used by Haku, one of the early bad guys in the series. The technique creates a number of mirrors made of ice to surround opponents in a small dome. Haku can enter the mirrors and travel between them at near instantaneous speed. Even though the mirrors are made of ice, Haku has reinforced them with a special technique to make them immune to most fire techniques.

When inside his mirrors, Haku almost exists in a different dimension that he can practically teleport around in. While Haku wasn’t the most powerful enemy Naruto and his friends have faced, we wonder how kick ass the ability would have been if Haku had more time to refine it.

- Viz

7. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu

The Fireball Jutsu is one of the more basic ninja techniques, and in the Uchiha family the mastery of this ability is required for being considered a man (like some kind of weird ninja Bar Mitzvah). The Fireball Jutsu gives the user the ability to breathe a huge fireball at will. It’s certainly useful in many battle situations, but it would also be great for entertaining at parties and handy for barbecues when the lighter fluid runs low.

6. Shadow Possession Jutsu

The trademark justsu of the Nara clan, the Shadow Possession Jutsu allows the caster to extend his or her own shadow to the shadow of another person. Once the shadow connection is made, the caster can control the movements of their victim. And the best part is that it can be used on multiple opponents! The only problem is that the technique works both ways; if the victim’s body is moved by forces beyond their control (like if they get knocked over), then the caster will be affected too. The shadow jutsu is useful because you can make others do your bidding, but it’s not quite as effective at remote control as the next jutsu on our list.

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Naruto Sunagakure

Sunagakure

Once among the Konoha village’s chief rivals, and Orochimaru’s pawns in his campaign of revenge, the desert ninja have undergone a little rehabilitation. In particular, they have a surprising new leader…

Gaara

Formerly a solitary and cruel young warrior, Gaara now leads his village as the fifth Kazekage, aided by many of his younger compatriots who appeared alongside him in part one’s famous Chunin exams. In particular, he has a pair of valuable allies in his brother Kankuro and sister Temari. He hasn’t managed to completely convince his village of his good intentions, but he has their best interests at heart – it seems like some of his old rival Naruto’s finer qualities have rubbed off on him.

In the first story arc of part two, agents of the Akatsuki conspiracy kidnap Gaara, with unspecified (but presumably unpleasant) aims in mind. It’s up to Naruto’s team from Konoha village, as well as Gaara’s own allies, to hunt them down and snatch him back.

Kankuro & Temari

Gaara’s brother and sister, respectively, who made up the rest of his team in part one’s Chunin exams, now help lead the desert village alongside their brother. Kankuro remains a specialist in puppetry techniques – ironically, using puppets originally created by the rogue ninja Sasori – while Temari has many powerful techniques involving her massive metal fan. (Alternatively, she can just whack someone upside the head with it, although that’s not exactly the most elegant approach.) Temari is closely involved with Konoha’s ninja under her village’s more tolerant new regime, and there may be a few sparks between her and her former rival, Konoha’s own Shikamaru Nara.

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Naruto Sakura Haruno

Sakura Haruno

Naruto and Sasuke’s teammate in part one no longer has to stand in the shadow of her two fellow students. She’s learned plenty from her new mentor Tsunade, including a powerful set of healing abilities and a pretty fair approximation of the fifth Hokage’s boulder-smashing strength. (The gloves that are occasionally part of her sharp new outfit protect her hands when she pulls off that particular technique.)

On the inside, her angry inner self is a little bit quieter than she used to be. Inner Sakura still chips in with an occasional piece of sharply pointed advice, but she doesn’t do quite so much violent screaming anymore. One thing hasn’t changed, though. She still feels deeply for Sasuke Uchiha, and badly wants to see him return to his former home.

Kakashi Hatake

For proof that some things never change, of course, there’s always Kakashi, who remains his lazy, sardonic, deadly self. He even revisits his old jingle-bell exam at the beginning of part two. With his old pupil Sasuke long gone, he now leads an ad hoc three-man team with Naruto and Sakura, their first mission being the pursuit and retrieval of Sunagakure’s kidnapped Kazekage.

One might say that Kakashi’s attitude towards his students has changed, but in truth that’s more a reflection of how they’ve changed during the time jump. He no longer needs to keep such a close eye on Naruto and Sakura, who’ve both become much more accomplished in terms of their skills and maturity – they can take care of themselves, in other words, without much nursemaiding. This is not to say he won’t step in to teach a vital lesson sometimes, though, or offer some biting observations at the very least.

Team Guy

Might Guy and his two-fisted protégé Rock Lee are still their same old super-cheesy selves. Their teammates Tenten and Neji Hyuga have gotten a bit of a makeover, though – an increasingly mellow Neji, for instance, now wears the traditional outfit of the Hyuga clan that he once despised. Together they try and exert a calming influence over their pair of hot-blooded allies, although it has to be said that they’re not often successful.

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Naruto Konohagakure

Konohagakure

Tsunade remains the fifth Hokage, leader of the Konoha ninja (she also remains a degenerate gambler, addicted to the numbers game), while her old comrade Jiraiya has finally returned to resume his occasional role as her right-hand man. Many of Naruto’s former teammates have worked forward in their training to rise to the rank of Chunin, and Naruto himself isn’t quite the scrub he used to be.

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto himself is the reason for the time jump – it’s his name on the cover, after all. For two years and change, he’s been wandering outside the village, training alongside his master Jiraiya to learn new techniques and refine his raw, barely-controlled power. In particular, Jiraiya wants to give Naruto full control of the demon fox inside of him, although that’s proving to be easier said than done. Officially, Naruto still holds the rookie rank of Genin, although he’s easily a match for most of the old friends that technically outrank him.

In the meantime, Naruto remains as dedicated as ever to bringing his friend Sasuke Uchiha back home to the village, although Sasuke himself has other ideas (and the power to back them up). Their last confrontation, at the end of part one, ended with Sasuke still following Konoha’s nemesis, Orochimaru.

While Naruto retains much of his fun-loving spirit, he’s grown up a fair bit since we last saw him. He’s even toned down his outfit a little (dark brown accents instead of blue, and the base color seems to be a slightly less shocking shade of orange). Jiraiya’s done his best to teach him the virtue of restraint, especially when it comes to his dangerous Rasengan technique.

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Naruto’s Brand New World

Naruto’s Brand New World

A guide to the world of Naruto after the series’ two-year time-skip.

by David Smith

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// –> January 11, 2008 – After 27 volumes of Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto thought his manga needed a little shaking up. Make that a lot of shaking up, actually – the series’ famous “time skip” or “time jump” affects nearly every single character, introduces new plotlines, and otherwise just about turns the whole works upside down.

All those different changes can be confusing, to say the least, which is the reasoning behind this handy guide to Naruto’s new status quo. Here we have a few handy character sketches to keep readers up to speed on who’s doing what and where, from the distant reaches of the Land of Wind to good old Konoha village.

Perhaps it goes without saying, but just as a reminder, this is going to SPOIL some of the events of the first part of the series. If you’re strictly following the series through its airing on the Cartoon Network – in which case you’re about 80 episodes shy of the TV show’s own time jump – it would probably be wise to wait and read this a little while later. Or you could get with the program, get some manga volumes and catch the heck up!

So. One more time – SPOILERS for events prior to the time jump. If you’re just looking to jump aboard though, here’s where things stand.

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Naruto Vol. 28 Review

Naruto Vol. 28 Review

Naruto’s world changes as the series jumps ahead two years.

by A.E. Sparrow

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// –> January 29, 2008 – It’s not often in life you’re given a second chance to get in on something good, particularly when it’s a manga series that’s already 27 volumes long. Unless you’ve been following it since the very first book, keeping up with what’s been going on in Naruto may seem like a fool’s errand. Not that going back and reading the entire series would necessarily be a bad thing, but it can be somewhat daunting to realize the full investment you’ll have to make in this series if you want to start from ground zero.

Well, here’s some good news: With a little digging on the Internet, at least enough to give you a cursory knowledge of what has come before, Volume 28 is the perfect jumping-on point for anyone interested in following the adventures of the no-longer pint-sized ninja and crew. A turning point in the storyline has aged Naruto and his friends a couple years, and this is a volume where friendships are renewed, histories are relearned and new adventures have their genesis. In short, this is the volume for you to pick up if you want to get on the Naruto bandwagon. Not everything is going to be explained completely for you…you’ll find a brief summary and a few bits of exposition here and there to give you some clue as to the characters’ history…but if you have even a passing familiarity with the series you should have no problem picking up the storyline.

Longtime readers, of course, will enjoy this book on a much deeper level. After a couple years training with “pervy-sage” Jiraiya, Naruto returns to his native Konoha, and finds his former teammate Sakura has also grown up, and more powerful in the process. Their old instructor, Kakashi is also there to greet the pair with somewhat open arms and some exciting news. The old team is back together again! Well, almost…a certain third member is completely unaccounted for, and it appears that’s a wound that’s not going to be easily healed. We also learn the future of Gaara, and there’s a brief cameo by my personal favorite, Rock Lee, who’s apparently in much better shape than he was after that last chunin exam.

Aging the characters a bit is probably one of the wisest things creator Masashi Kishimoto could have chosen to do. These are more mature…yes, even Naruto has grown up a bit…versions of the characters fans have come to love. Storylines have taken a darker turn, as there are several new mysteries that are only beginning to unfold. There are plenty of lighter moments to break up the serious nature of the book, though. Fans that have been there from the beginning will enjoy a revisit to a scene from one of the earliest volumes, with a decidedly different outcome.

Naruto is one of those rare series that truly lives up to the hype it generates. All too often a book will be immediately condemned by a fan-populace that, for no real reason, hates a success story. This book truly doesn’t belong in that crowd. Some shonen books retain the same elements, and retell the same story, over countless volumes. With volume 28 Naruto is taking a gamble on letting its characters grow up a bit. Time will tell if this will pay off for the book or not, but for fans, particularly younger ones who have been with this book from the beginning, it’s nice to see a book that’s willing to age alongside them.

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Naruto March Madness

Naruto March Madness

Two year time leap kicks off next month.

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// –> February 20, 2008 – VIZ Media has announced the launch of the long-awaited new NARUTO manga story arc beginning with Volume 28, which is the first to feature Naruto as a teenager. The volume is expected to hit stores nationwide on March 4 with an estimated retail price of $7.95 and will include an exclusive full-color poster insert in the first print run. New editions of the hit series will now debut every two months.

NARUTO, rated T for Teens, has captivated millions with its story of a young ninja in training. The new volume picks up two years after Naruto left to train with Jiraiya. Now a teenager, he reunites with his old friends to find out everyone is stronger than before — and maybe even stronger than he is! Gaara has even become the Kazekage, the leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand. But even with all that power, Gaara is kidnapped! Who is behind this shocking abduction and what do they want? Can Naruto save Gaara without becoming a victim himself?

First introduced in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999, NARUTO quickly became that country’s most popular ninja manga (graphic novel) targeting tweens and teens and has sold more than 80 million copies to-date. Today, Naruto is considered one of the most popular animated series in Japan’s history and has achieved immense success not only as a manga and TV series, but also in the realm of licensed categories such as toys, trading card games and video games.

NARUTO currently enjoys widespread domestic success where it debuted as the best selling manga title in North America. NARUTO has sold over three million copies to date and regularly appears on USA Today’s Bestseller list and Bookscan’s Graphic Novel Top 50. Volume 7 also won the prestigious 2006 Quill Award in the Graphic Novel Category. VIZ Media also distributes the NARUTO animated series on DVD (which has sold over 350,000 copies domestically.) For more information go to www.NARUTO.com

“Japan’s favorite ninja has become the world’s favorite ninja and we are very excited to announce the debut of the new teenage Naruto!,” says Liza Coppola, Sr. Vice President, Marketing, VIZ Media.

“The release of Volume 28 is the culmination of our Naruto Nation campaign that began in 2007 and brought an unprecedented increase in the publication of new NARUTO volumes – 3 per month. With lots of new characters and stories, readers who grew up with our young ninja in training will delight in the new changes. For those who have yet to see what the buzz is about, this volume is a wonderful entry point into an action packed series that has captivated millions of readers!”

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Naruto Corners of the Earth

Corners of the Earth

Of course, the Naruto manga isn’t going to go away any time soon. (Ditto the animated version.) Some of these characters probably aren’t so much neglected as the story just hasn’t gotten around to their turn yet. Heck, there are at least three entire ninja villages that we’ve still never even seen the insides of.

As Kishimoto steams ahead through the story’s second part, then, we can hopefully look forward to seeing more of a few old, neglected favorites. Of course, they’ll have to fight for elbow room with all the brand-new characters, but the odds are we’ll all wind up entertained either way.

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Naruto Zetsu The Cleaner

“Zetsu, the Cleaner”

In Luc Besson’s cult action flick La Femme Nikita, there’s a grimly funny scene where the heroine (a secret agent) gets in a little bit over her head. On the phone, her controller says, “I’m sending a cleaner,” which doesn’t immediately make sense to the audience – what’s a cleaner for? What’s he going to clean?

The answer comes a second later, when Jean Reno shows up, shoots several people, and proceeds to try and dissolve their still-twitching bodies in a bathtub full of sulfuric acid. That’s what a cleaner is for.

In the first major Naruto arc, after Kakashi’s team gets out of basic training, we’re introduced to the ninja world’s equivalent of the “cleaner.” The ninja named Haku (who turns out to be Zabuza Momochi’s henchman) masquerades as one of Kirigakure’s body-disposal specialists, operatives who hunt down the body of fallen ninja and make sure no trace of the village’s secrets slips out. That means making every last bit of a body disappear.

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