Naruto (ナルト?) is a manga sequence written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who constantly seeks recognition and dreams of becoming Hokage, the leading ninja of his village. The story is divided into two parts, the first part is passed in the years of Naruto’s pre-adolescence, and the second part is passed in his adolescence.
The sequence is based on two one-shot manga from Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), and that because of him Kishimoto won an honorable mention in the Shueisha Hop Step Award The following year, and Naruto (1997). The publisher Panini Comics licensed and published the manga in three versions in Brazil, and in Portugal is the publisher Devir manga who licenses and publishes the manga. Naruto’s story continues with the son of Naruto, Boruto Uzumaki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
The Naruto chapters were published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from 1999 to 2014, with these chapters compiled and published in 72 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha Publishing house. The manga was adapted to an anime sequence produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex, which had its 220 episodes transmitted by TV Tokyo in Japan from 2002 to 2007; The Brazilian adaptation of the sequence was displayed on the Cartoon Network and SBT, and is currently displayed in the streaming services Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Claro Video. The Portuguese adaptation of the sequence was exhibited in Sic Radical, sic, sic K and Animax Portugal.
Naruto Shippuden, the sequel to the original series, debuted in Japan in 2007 and finished in 2017 after 500 episodes. The Brazilian adaptation was displayed on PlayTV from 2015 to 2017 and is currently displayed in the streaming services Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Claro Video. In addition to the anime series, Studio Pierrot has developed eleven films and several OVAs. In Brazil, some films were licensed and exhibited dubbed in the country by Viz Media. Other products related to Naruto as light novels, electronic games, and collectible letters were developed by several companies.
As of 2017, Naruto became the third most-sold manga sequence in history, selling over 220 million copies worldwide, where it was published in 35 countries outside of Japan. Critics praised the storyline, character development, and the fighting scenes of the manga. Critics also noted that the manga, which has a coming-of-age history, makes use of cultural references from Japanese mythology and Confucianism.
