•        



 


Titles:
Naruto
Naruto: Shippuden
Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
Naruto the Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel
Naruto the Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom
Naruto: Shippuden The Movie
Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds
Naruto: Shippuden The Movie 3
Naruto Special: Find the Crimson Four-Leafed Clover!
Naruto Special: Battle at the Hidden Falls, I am the Hero!
Naruto Special: Konoha Sports Festival
Naruto OVA: Jounin vs. Genin ! Indiscriminate Grand Melee Tournament Meeting

Director:
Hayato Date; Tensai Okamura (Movie 1), Hirotsugu Kawasaki (Movie 2), Toshiyuki Tsuru (Movie 3)

Distributor:
Manga Entertainment (Series & Selected Films)

Length:
Naruto - 25 min x220 Episodes
Naruto: Shippuden - 25 min x?? (Ongoing Series)
Naruto the Movie - 82 mins
Naruto the Movie 2 - 96 mins
Naruto the Movie 3 - 95mins
Naruto Special - 17 mins
Naruto Special 2 - 40 mins
Naruto Special 3 - 11 mins
Naruto OVA - 26 mins

Available in the UK?
Yes (Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Movie 1, 2, 3 & Specials only)

Highest Certificate:  12 (vol 1)
__________________________________________________

Sakura Haruno
_________________________


Other Info:
 
The Naruto anime series is being released in 13 episode box sets in the UK by Manga Entertainment.  Even though the series ran continuously for its entire 220 episode run in Japan, the UK release is broken up in to 26 episode seasons.  Each box set contains three discs with a combined running time of approx. 325 minutes and comes in a card slipcase.  The series has been shown on Digital TV channel Jetix, albeit with edits to remove smoking, blood and some violence.  The UK DVD release, going under the title Naruto Unleashed, is uncut.

Naruto Shippuden is set three years after the events of the original anime series, and features older characters and a more mature storyline.  It has been licensed by Manga Entertainment and is currently being released in the UK.

Five Naruto Movies have been released in Japan, with the first two set during the original Naruto series, the third in between the original series and Shippuden and the fourth and fifth during Shippuden.  The films have all done well in Japan but only the first four have had a western release as yet.  A sixth movie, again set during the Shippuden series, has been released in Japan.  The first three Naruto films, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, Legend of the Stone of Gelel and Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom have been released on DVD in the UK by Manga Entertainment.  The third Naruto special is included as an extra on the Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow DVD.  The first Naruto Shippuden film is due for release by Manga Entertainment in July 2010.

The first Naruto special was shown as part of the 2003 'Jump Festa', an annual expo run by the Japanese publisher Shueisha to showcase their 'Jump' manga anthologies.  Anime shorts based on manga titles from Shonen Jump magazine are common at these events, and are sometimes the first anime incarnation of a manga series.  The second Naruto special was part of the 2004 Jump Festa, and its increased length shows how popular Naruto had become.  The third Naruto special was actually a short shown before the first movie in Japanese cinemas, although it has subsequently been shown on Japanese TV.  Its focus on toilet humour was widely disliked by fans, but it has been included as an extra on the UK DVD release of the first Naruto film.  The second Naruto special was released here in March 2008 by Manga Entertainment, under the title Naruto: The Lost Story.  The DVD also contained the first Naruto special as an extra.

The Naruto OVA was an anime special included as an extra on the third Naruto Ultimate Ninja console game on the Sony PlayStation 2.  The story ties in with the game and gives hints and tips on how to play it.  It is not available separately and was not included with the UK release of the game.
___________________________________________________________________________

DVD Extras (Naruto Unleashed):
English dub, Japanese dub, English subtitles, Manga to Anime Transition, Storyboards Booklet, Clean Opening and Ending sequences, Manga trailers.

DVD Extras (Naruto Shippuden):
English dub, Japanese dub, English subtitles, Production Art gallery, Manga trailers.

DVD Extras (Naruto the Movie, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow):
English dub, Japanese dub, English subtitles, Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival anime short, Manga trailers.

DVD Extras (Naruto the Movie 2, The Legend of the Stone of Gelel):
English dub, Japanese dub, English subtitles, Manga Trailers.

DVD Extras (Naruto the Movie 3, The Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom):
English dub, Japanese dub, English subtitles, The Story of Naruto English documentary, Teamwork: The Art of Group Recording dubbing featurette, Shooting for the Moon production discussion, Manga Trailers.

DVD Extras (Naruto: The Lost Story):
English dub, Japanese dub, English subtitles, Naruto Special 1 - Search for the Crimson Four Leaf Clover, Manga trailers.
___________________________________________________________________________

Availability & Price:
The whole of the original Naruto is available in the UK on DVD from Manga Entertainment in nine series.  The first eight series were released in three-disc, half series (13 episode) box sets which each had an RRP of £24.99, whilst the shorter ninth series was released as a single three disc set.  All of these DVD sets can be found cheap online and in high street shops like HMV.  Unusually the prices don't vary that much between the internet and high street, so don't assume that online retailers like Play.com offer the best prices.  The first eight series can be also be bought as box sets with an RRP of £39.99 each, which can again be found much cheaper pretty much everywhere.  Manga Entertainment also announced plans to release a box set containing all nine series, this Ultimate Naruto Unleashed Collection Box Set will contain all 220 episode and is slated for release in August 2010.

Naruto Shippuden is currently being released on DVD by Manga Entertainment in the UK, and s with the original run it's being released in half-series (13 episode) box sets each retailing at £24.99.  However, this time the box sets contain two discs rather than three.  Again, check online for the best prices.

The UK DVD release is very similar to the US release, which makes importing the US release a bit pointless.  However, the edited version of the original Naruto is only available on DVD in America, so if you want that you can pick up each four episode volume for around £12 from import sites like PlayUSA and DVD Pacific.  Box sets of the Uncut DVDs are also available in America, but are pretty much the same price as the UK release.

If you want the films and specials you'll have to make do with just the first three films and the first and second special at the moment.  The films have an RRP of £17.99, but can be picked up cheaper on online retailers like Play.com.  The DVD for the first film includes the third of the Naruto Specials as an extra.  The other two specials are available together on the Naruto The Lost Story DVD.  The DVD has an RRP of £12.99 due to the short running time of the specials, and is available from most high street DVD retailers and online shops.  The first Naruto Shippuden film is set for release in July 2010 with an RRP of £17.99.  The other films and specials are only available in Japan at the moment but will be released here at some point.  If you can't wait  then be warned - Japanese import DVDs can cost as much as £35 and rarely have English dubs or subtitle tracks and Blu-Ray has different region coding and costs far more, so you'll be better off waiting for a UK release.  However, if you are desperate to see them they can be picked up from Otaku UK, CD Japan and YesAsia.
___________________________________________________________________________