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Naruto is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young, socially isolated ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts: the first is set in Naruto's pre-teen years (volumes 1–27), and the second in his teens (volumes 28–72). The series is based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), which earned Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha's monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto (1997).
Naruto was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 1999 to November 2014, with its 700 chapters collected in 72 volumes. Viz Media licensed the manga for North American production and serialized Naruto in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The manga was adapted into two anime television series by Pierrot and Aniplex, which ran from October 2002 to March 2017 on TV Tokyo. Pierrot also produced 11 animated films and 12 original video animations (OVAs). The franchise additionally includes , video games, and trading cards. The story continues in Boruto, where Naruto's son Boruto Uzumaki creates his own ninja path as opposed to following his father's.
Naruto is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, having million copies in circulation worldwide. It has become one of Viz Media's best-selling manga series; their English translations of the volumes have appeared on USA Today and The New York Timess bestseller list several times, and the seventh volume won a Quill Award in 2006. Naruto has been praised for its character development, storylines, and action sequences, though some felt the latter slowed the story down. Critics noted that the manga, which contains coming-of-age themes, often incorporates cultural references to Japanese mythology and Confucianism.
Shortly afterward, Naruto becomes a ninja and joins with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno to form Team 7, under an experienced , the elite ninja Kakashi Hatake. Like all the ninja teams from every village, Team 7 completes missions requested by the villagers, ranging from doing chores and being bodyguards to performing assassinations.
After several missions, including a major one in the Land of Waves, Kakashi allows Team 7 to take a ninja exam, enabling them to advance to a higher rank and take on more difficult missions, known as the Chunin Exams. During the exams, Orochimaru, a wanted criminal, invades Konoha and kills the Third Hokage for revenge. Jiraiya, one of the three legendary ninjas, declines the title of Fifth Hokage and searches with Naruto for Tsunade, whom he chooses to become Fifth Hokage instead.
During the search, it is revealed that Orochimaru wishes to train Sasuke because of his powerful genetic heritage, the Sharingan. After Sasuke attempts and fails to kill his older brother Itachi Uchiha, who had shown up in Konoha to kidnap Naruto, he joins Orochimaru, hoping to gain from him the strength needed to kill Itachi. The story takes a turn when Sasuke leaves the village: Tsunade sends a group of ninja, including Naruto, to retrieve Sasuke, but Naruto is unable to persuade or force him to come back. Naruto and Sakura do not give up on Sasuke; Naruto leaves Konoha to receive training from Jiraiya to prepare himself for the next time he encounters Sasuke, while Sakura becomes Tsunade's apprentice.
With Nagato's death, Tobi, disguised as Madara Uchiha (one of Konoha's founding fathers), announces that he wants to capture all nine Tailed Beasts to cast an illusion powerful enough to control all humanity and achieve world peace. The leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to help him and instead join forces to confront his faction and allies. That decision results in a Fourth Shinobi World War between the combined armies of the Five Great Countries (known as the Allied Ninja Forces) and Akatsuki's forces of Revenant ninjas. The Five Kage try to keep Naruto, unaware of the war, in a secret island turtle near Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), but Naruto finds out and escapes from the island with Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tails. At that time, Naruto—along with the help of Killer Bee—gains control of his Tailed Beast and the two of them head for the battlefield.
During the conflict, it is revealed that Tobi is Obito Uchiha, a former teammate of Kakashi's who was thought to be dead. The real Madara saved Obito's life, and they have since collaborated. As Sasuke learns the history of Konoha, including the circumstances that led to his clan's downfall, he decides to protect the village and rejoins Naruto and Sakura to thwart Madara and Obito's plans. However, Madara's body ends up possessed by Kaguya Otsutsuki, an ancient princess who intends to subdue all humanity. A reformed Obito sacrifices himself to help Team 7 stop her. Once Kaguya is sealed, Madara dies as well. Sasuke takes advantage of the situation and takes control of all the Tailed Beasts, as he reveals his goal of ending the current village system. Naruto confronts Sasuke to dissuade him from his plan, and after they almost kill each other in a final battle, Sasuke admits defeat and reforms. After the war, Kakashi becomes the Sixth Hokage and pardons Sasuke for his crimes. Years later, Kakashi steps down while Naruto marries Hinata Hyuga and becomes the Seventh Hokage, raising the .
The first eight chapters were planned prior to serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Initial drafts featured detailed illustrations of Konoha village, but by the debut, the art emphasized characters over backgrounds. Although Kishimoto was concerned that the use of chakra might make the series overly Japanese, he believed it remained engaging. Inspired by Godzilla, Kishimoto incorporated the tailed beasts mythology to include monster designs. The central theme of Part I is mutual acceptance, exemplified through Naruto's character development.
In Part II, Kishimoto simplified panel layouts and plot structures to enhance readability and avoid excessive stylistic conventions. His artistic style shifted from a classic manga aesthetic toward greater realism. To conclude the Sasuke Uchiha arc within one volume, volume 43 contained additional chapters, leading Kishimoto to apologize for the higher cost.
The series' conclusion was delayed due to unspecified issues. Upon the release of volume 66, Kishimoto noted he had reached a long-awaited narrative moment. (2026). 9781421569482, Viz Media. ISBN 9781421569482 From the outset, Kishimoto planned to conclude with a battle between Naruto and Sasuke, though he initially considered their backgrounds asymmetrical—Naruto not having experienced war directly, unlike Sasuke, whose family was killed to prevent civil war.
Kishimoto selected Hinata Hyuga as Naruto's romantic partner early in the series, citing her consistent admiration and respect for him as a foundation for a believable relationship. Although romantic subplots were initially considered, significant development was reserved for the 2014 film , for which Kishimoto collaborated with screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka. Naruto's relationship with his son, Boruto Uzumaki, was further explored in the 2015 film , concluding Naruto's character arc as an adult; this was briefly depicted in the manga's finale. Studio: Pierrot.
Naruto was scanlation (translated by fans) and available online before a licensed version was released in North America; the rights were acquired by Viz Media, which began serializing Naruto in their anthology comic magazine Shonen Jump, starting with the January 2003 issue. The schedule was accelerated at the end of 2007 to catch up with the Japanese version, and again in early 2009, with 11 volumes (from 34 to 44) appearing in three months, after which it returned to a quarterly schedule. All 27 volumes of Part I were released in a boxed set on November 13, 2007. (2026). 9781421519807, Viz Media. ISBN 9781421519807 On May 3, 2011, Viz started selling the manga in an omnibus format with each book containing three volumes.
The franchise has been licensed in 90 countries, and the manga serialized in 35 countries. Madman Entertainment began publishing Naruto volumes in Australia and New Zealand in March 2008 after reaching a distribution deal with Viz Media. Carlsen Verlag has licensed the series, through its regional divisions, and released the series in German and Danish. The series is also licensed for regional language releases in French and Dutch by Kana; in Polish by Japonica Polonica Fantastica; in Russian by Comix-ART; in Finnish by Sangatsu Manga; in Swedish by Bonnier Carlsen; and Italian by Panini Comics.
A monthly sequel series titled began serialization in the Japanese and English editions of Weekly Shōnen Jump in early 2016, illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto and written by Ukyō Kodachi, with supervision by Kishimoto. Ikemoto was Kishimoto's chief assistant during the run of the original Naruto series, and Kodachi was his writing partner for the film . The monthly series was preceded by a one-shot, titled Naruto Gaiden ~Michita Tsuki ga Terasu Michi~, written and illustrated by Kishimoto and published on April 25 of that same year. The staff of Shueisha asked Kishimoto if he would write a sequel to Naruto. However, Kishimoto refused the offer and offered his former assistant Mikio Ikemoto and writer Ukyō Kodachi to write Boruto: Naruto Next Generations as the sequel to Naruto.
Another one-shot chapter by Kishimoto, titled Naruto Gaiden ~Uzu no Naka no Tsumujikaze~, centered on Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 18, 2023.
A crossover comic with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles × Naruto, ran for four issues from November 13, 2024, to June 4, 2025. The comic was written by Caleb Goellner, with drawing by Hendry Prasetya, coloring by Raúl Angulo, and lettering by Ed Dukeshire. Jorge Jiménez and Prasetya drew the cover art for the first issue. The trade paperback edition was published on October 7, 2025.
The second anime television series, titled group=lower-alpha was also produced by Pierrot and directed by Hayato Date, and serves as a direct sequel to the first Naruto anime series, corresponding to Part II of the manga. It debuted on TV Tokyo on February 15, 2007, and concluded on March 23, 2017.
A series of four "brand-new" episodes, to commemorate the original anime's 20th anniversary, were originally scheduled to premiere on September 3, 2023; however, in August of that same year, it was announced that the episodes would be postponed to a later date.
Thirteen original novels have appeared in Japan; eleven of these are part of a series, and the other two are independent novels unconnected to the series. The first independent novel, titled Naruto: Tales of a Gutsy Ninja (2009), is presented as an in-universe novel written by Naruto's master Jiraiya. It follows the adventures of a fictional named Naruto Musasabi, who served as Naruto's namesake. The other independent novel, Naruto Jinraiden: The Day the Wolf Howled (2012), is set shortly after Sasuke's fight with Itachi. Itachi Shinden, which consists of two novels, and Sasuke Shinden, a single novel, both appeared in 2015, and both were adapted into anime arcs in Naruto: Shippuden in 2016, titled Naruto Shippūden: Itachi Shinden-hen: Hikari to Yami and Book of Sunrise respectively. Hiden is a series of six light novels published in 2015 that explores the stories of various characters after the ending of the manga.
Four guidebooks titled First Official Data Book through Fourth Official Data Book have been released; the first two cover Part I of the manga, and were released in 2002 and 2005; the third and fourth volumes appeared in 2008 and 2014. These books contain character profiles, Jutsu guides, and drafts by Kishimoto. (2026). 9781421541259, VIZ Media LLC. ISBN 9781421541259 For the anime, a series of guidebooks called Naruto Anime Profiles was released. These books contain information about the production of the anime episodes and explanations of the characters' designs. A manga fan book titled Secret: Writings from the Warriors Official Fanbook appeared in 2002, and another fan book was released to commemorate the series' 10th anniversary, including illustrations of Naruto Uzumaki by other manga artists, a novel, Kishimoto's one-shot titled Karakuri, and an interview between Kishimoto and Yoshihiro Togashi.
In a review of volume 28, Brienza also praised Part II's storyline and characterization, though she commented that not every volume reached a high level of quality. The fights across Part II received praise, most notably Naruto's and Sasuke's, resulting in major changes into their character arcs. Meanwhile, the final battle between the two characters in the finale earned major praise for the choreography and art provided as well as how in depth the two's personalities were shown in the aftermath. However, some writers criticized Kaguya being the least entertaining villain, making the showdown between Naruto and Sasuke more appealing as a result. The finale earned nearly perfect scores from both Anime News Network and Comic Book Bin, with the latter acclaiming the popularity of the title character.
Responding to Naruto success, Kishimoto said in Naruto Collector Winter 2007/2008 that he was "very glad that the American audience has accepted and understood ninja. It shows that the American audience has good taste ... because it means they can accept something previously unfamiliar to them." Gō Itō, a professor in the manga department of Tokyo Polytechnic University, compared the series' development to the manga of Dragon Ball, saying that both manga present good illustrations of three-dimensional body movements that successfully capture the characters' martial arts. Gō felt readers could empathize with the characters in Naruto via their inner monologue during battles. (2026). 9784905187066, Kyoto Seika University International Manga Research Center. ISBN 9784905187066 The series also influenced the 2010 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, with director Edgar Wright saying he was inspired by how whenever there was a "killer move" in the manga, it led to an impact in the background following any technique's usage.
When the manga ended, multiple authors from the magazine expressed congratulations to Kishimoto for his work. The fight scenes in general earned acclaim for how well written they were, something game developer CyberConnect2 took into account when developing the Naruto games. Christel Hoolans, managing director of Kana and Le Lombard, called Naruto the first long-running series after Dragon Ball to become a classic in France.
Christopher A. Born notes that the Naruto storyline contains traditional Confucianism values, and suggests that students who analyse manga such as Naruto and Bleach will learn more about Confucianism than they would from studying its abstract ideas. Norman Melchor Robles Jr. evaluated the portrayal of both positive and negative ideas in Naruto by counting words in the script which were associated with either violence or positive values; he found that a small majority of tagged words were violent, but commented that the portrayal of violence seemed organized to show how positive strategies on the part of the protagonists could overcome the violence.Norman Melchor Robles Jr. Pena (2026). 9780957363137, The London Film and Media Reader 1. . ISBN 9780957363137 Sheuo Hui Gan considers the series to have a set of "traditional ethical values". She also compares the treatment of in Naruto, which Naruto overcomes by joining his society, to the portrayal of alienation in Akira and Neon Genesis Evangelion, where the main characters remain alienated.
Naruto has been described by several critics as a coming-of-age story. Psychologist Lawrence C. Rubin suggests that the storylines would appeal to readers of any age who have lost loved ones, having difficulty finding friends, or who are in other situations shown in the series. In Yukari Fujimoto's view, as the characters mature, they show respect to the adults who have raised and taught them, making it a conservative storyline in comparison to other manga of the same time period such as One Piece and Air Gear. Rik Spanjers sees the difference between Sasuke (a loner) and Naruto (an optimist) as tragic, arguing that the contrast between the two protagonists' approach to the world is fundamental to the plot: "Naruto's strength grows as he gains more loved ones to protect, while Sasuke remains alone and is increasingly absorbed by his quest for revenge". Omote Tomoyuki points out that there are many humorous moments in the story despite the difficulties Naruto finds himself in, but the comedic elements diminish dramatically over time as Naruto grows into a teenager, particularly once Part II begins. Shōnen Jump began to serialize comedies such as Gintama and Reborn! from 2003 onwards, and in Tomoyuki's view, this is part of the reason for the change in emphasis: Naruto "was not supposed to provide laughter anymore".
Fujimoto argues that the story contains overly traditional gender roles, noting "... its representations suggest that men are men and women are women and that they differ naturally regarding aptitude and vocation". For example, the girls initially outperform the boys in the Ninja Academy, but "once the boys get serious, the girls cannot keep pace". Fujimoto points out that this does not upset Sakura, who is now surpassed by Naruto. Character development based on female roles, when it does occur, again uses stereotypical roles: Tsunade, for example, a middle-aged woman with large breasts, is a clear mother figure, and when she teaches Sakura to be a medical ninja, which requires special skills possessed only by women, the story reinforces the idea that women only belong on the battlefield as medics. Tsunade herself, who is a figure of authority in Naruto, is portrayed as ridiculous in a way that men in the same position are not. Fujimoto suggests this presentation of women may explain why the female characters are often the most disliked characters among readers of the manga.
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