Naruto

Naruto is a Japanese anime television series, based on the manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. The anime follows a young ninja named Naruto whose goal is to train and become a great Hokage. He wants this title in order to gain recognition from his village. The anime first aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami on September 10, 2005. In September 20, 2008 Toonami block ended but the continuations airing on Cartoon Network to the end of January 31, 2009. After was cancelled by Cartoon Network due to the closure of Toonami Jetstream. The remaining 11 episodes aired on YTV from October 25, to December 6, 2009.

Cartoon Network was hoping to air any further adaptions of the Naruto anime, but this decision may have been changed when their new president stepped in as this was a choice by the old one. It is also noted that the new president ended the Toonami block altogether, hinting that he may have decided against it. Which led to Naruto's next adaption Naruto: Shippuden airing on Disney XD, where it gained significant censorship.

On November 22nd, It was announced that Naruto would return to Toonami on Adult Swim will air uncut version on December 1st, 2012, and ended on November 30, 2013.

Plot
Twelve years before the start of the series, a powerful creature known as the Nine-tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konoha, killing many people. In response, the leader of Konoha– the Fourth Hokage– sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside the newborn Naurto Uzumaki. Konoha, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood. A decree made by the current Hokage, the Third Hokage, forbade anyone mention the attack of the demon fox to anyone else. This included Naruto, who was not aware of the demon inside of him. Years later, Naruto is tricked by the renegade ninja Mizuki into stealing a forbidden scroll that would teach him a secret ninja technique, but he is stopped by his teacher, Iruka Umino. When Iruka almost dies while protecting Naruto from Mizuki, who also reveals that he is the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto uses the Jutsu he learned from the scroll that creates multiple clones of himself, Shadow Clone jutsu to defeat Mizuki.

Naruto is assigned alongside Sasuke Uchiha, whom he often competes against, and Sakura Haruno whom he has a crush on, to form a three-person team named squad 7 under an experienced and severe sensei, the elite ninja Hatake Kakashi. Like all the ninja teams from every village, Team 7 is charged with completing missions requested by villagers, such as doing chores or being bodyguards. After several missions, most notably their mission to Wave Country as Tazuna the bridge builder's guards, Kakashi allows Team 7 to participate in a ninja exam in which they can advance to a higher rank, and thus, take part in more difficult missions.

Setting
The Series is set in The Five Great Shinobi Nations, these nations are the five largest countries on an unknown continent. These countries are led by governmental leaders, known as the daimyō, who are in charge of ruling their individual nations solely through dictatorship. These countries are divided equally on an unknown continent to create balance in the shinobi world. They are the Land of Earth in the Northwest, the Land of Lightning in the Northeast, the Land of Water in the East, the Land of Wind in the Southwest, and the Land of Fire in the center. The countries are named after the dominant chakra nature of each of the areas.

These superpowers are the major players in the politics and trade between the shinobi nations. They are the most powerful of all nations and each has an extremely powerful shinobi village. The Land of Earth has The Village Hidden in The Rocks, the Land of Lightning has The Village Hidden in The Clouds, the Land of Water has The Village Hidden in The Mist, the Land of Wind has The Village Hidden in The Sand, and the Land of Fire has The Village Hidden in The Leaves. These five villages are the only ones to have a Kage as the village head.

Although the Five Great Shinobi Countries are equal enough in power and military strength to create a fairly stable balance of power, the Land of Fire is considered the most powerful and influential. Similarly, the Land of Fire's shinobi village, Konoha Village, is considered the most powerful of all shinobi villages and Konoha's Hokage has been considered to be the pinnacle of the shinobi world.

Characters

 * Main Article: Naruto/Characters

The Naruto series features an extensive cast of characters created by Masashi Kishimoto. The series' storyline follows the adventures of a group of young ninja from the village of Konohagakure. The titular character of the series is Naruto Uzumaki, an energetic ninja who wishes to become Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure. During the early part of the series, he is assigned to Team 7, during which he meets Sasuke Uchiha, a taciturn and highly skilled "genius" of the Uchiha clan; Sakura Haruno, who is infatuated with Sasuke yet has Naruto's affection; and Kakashi Hatake, the quiet and mysterious leader of the team. Over the course of the series, Naruto interacts with and befriends several of his fellow ninja in Konohagakure as well as other villages. He also encounters the series' antagonists, including Orochimaru, a former ninja of Konohagakure scheming to destroy his former home, and the elite ninja of the criminal organization Akatsuki.

Episodes

 * Main Article: Naruto/Episodes

Naruto has 220 episodes and 3 movies