inlibrisveritas
Written on Jun 18, 2017
The world’s most popular ninja comic!
Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja!
Twelve years ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a fearsome threat. A nine-tailed fox spirit claimed the life of the village leader, the Hokage, and many others. Today, the village is at peace and a troublemaking kid named Naruto is struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy. His goal may be to become the next Hokage, but his true destiny will be much more complicated. The adventure begins now!
- ISBN10 1569319006
- ISBN13 9781569319000
- Publish Date 3 September 2007
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Viz Media, Subs. of Shogakukan Inc
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 192
- Language English
Reviews
Quirky Cat
Written on Apr 30, 2017
Most people that want to know about Naruto already know the basics, but I'll briefly cover them just in case. Naruto is the main perspective for the series, he's young, an orphan, and wholly determined to prove everyone wrong about him. The world in which Naruto lives in is a world full of ninjas and unique abilities. Children go to school to learn how to be shinobi, if they should choose to continue their training (it doesn't appear to be a requirement). Upon graduation the students are split into groups of three and assigned a sensei. Naruto is placed on Team Kakashi, as well as Sakura and Sasuke.
Volume one shows us a young Naruto, the class clown, despised for nothing he's personally done, and entirely alone. It's clear from the start that Naruto acts out the way he does in a desperate attempt to gain attention. It causes the reader to want to protect Naruto, and become frustrated as the townspeople continue to demean him. Later on it's discovered that the people blame Naruto for a series of events that happened when he was only a few days old, at most. A giant beast called the Nine Tails attacked and killed many; the Hokage (village leader/protector) was forced to seal the beast inside an infant, little Naruto. This is how all the hate and anger towards the Nine Tails was displaced onto Naruto. Despite all of this, Naruto is perpetually optimistic and hopeful. He refuses to give up or be dragged down emotionally. Even if he is a little annoying about it, it's hard not to respect him for it.
This is a greatly beloved series, and there is a reason for it. The world Kishimoto has built is fascinating and worth exploring. The characters on the whole are well designed and interesting. There are some exceptions to this of course. For example, the author has a lot of trouble designing and writing female characters. Many of them are drawn in unflattering manners, and while that was an offense I was originally willing to overlook, the problem becomes more pronounced as time goes on. It's a bit of a running joke among the fans actually, as we have many "pretty boys” but no such "pretty girl" until a good way into the series. Additionally we are shown female characters thinking, and the tone isn't right, and is usually a bit offensive for the girls. Sakura is almost always shown thinking about Sasuke or her weight/diet; it's all very shallow and frustrating to see.
I personally absolutely love the system Kishimoto created for his beasts, called Jinchuuriki and find myself actively looking forward to the point where we get to see more about them. Having read the series before, I know I'm in for a bit of a ride before we start hitting my favorite points.
To any fans that are just starting it now - it's worth it to read another volume or two before you make a decision against the series. It starts off a bit slow, taking lots of time building up, but it can and does get really intense very rapidly.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
melanchalina
Written on Jul 6, 2015
He alone is worth 5 stars.