Director: Distributor: Length: Available in the UK? Highest Certificate: 12 (vol 1) |
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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): DVD Extras (Naruto Shippuden): DVD Extras (Naruto the Movie, Ninja Clash in the
Land of Snow): DVD Extras (Naruto the Movie 2, The Legend of the
Stone of Gelel): DVD Extras (Naruto the Movie 3, The Guardians of
the Crescent Moon Kingdom): DVD Extras (Naruto: The Lost Story): Availability & Price: 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. |
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