Development

Naruto was developed by Masashi Kishimoto who began writing and illustration of the first version of Naruto in 1997. The manga would make its debut in 1999 in the Weekly Shonen Jump. Naruto is still currently published in the Shonen Jump. Masashi Kishimoto, while creating Naruto, was influenced by the work of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series in the creation of the Naruto character. Other characters draw upon archetypal personalities common in Japanese manga for plot and development. While the setting is of rural Japan, it isn't set in a particular period during Japan's history. Although the architecture of the protagonist's hometown, Konoha, resembles that of Masashi Kishimoto's hometown, he insists there is no direct correlation. While the world of Naruto has access to some elements of modern technology (Electricity, trains, computers, ect..) the lack of automobiles and projectile weapons is intentional and direct contact with any technology is limited and used only to develop story line. 

The Naruto francize has spawned a number of games, an extremely popular anime series, major motion pictures, a live action major motion picture, books, trading cards and millions of fans around the world.

Masashi Kishimoto

Born in 1974, Masashi was born in rural Japan and studied art in college along with his twin brother (Also a manga artist/author). Masashi's first publication as a manga artist was sent into Shueisha (Publisher of Shonen Jump) and earned him the "Hop Step Award," reserved for promising new manga artists. After debuting in the Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto became an instant success. Masashi Kishimoto currently brings home a salary ranging from the mid one hundreds to four hundred thousand dollars a year, making him one of the highest grossing manga artists in Japan.

Plot

The plot of Naruto focuses, oddly enough, around the Naruto character. Currently the manga is split into two sections, the childhood years (Naruto age twelve) and the teenage years (Naruto age fifteen). The first section focuses on Team 7, a ninja group with members Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and leader Kakashi. Team 7, like all chunin (ninja adepts) teams, travels the country performing missions for their home town or "hidden village." The team bonds but eventually breaks apart and Sasuke seeks revenge for the death of his clan. Naruto's focuses changes from one day being Hokage to rescuing his friend Sasuke from himself.

                                    Young Naruto

The world of Naruto is made up of ninja towns or hidden villages that possess different clans of Ninja. Each clan possesses certain characteristic attributes or secret jutsu (Ninja techniques) that make them different from the other clans. For example there are bug clans (Bugs are used as weapons and to spy), animal clans (Members have strong bonds with animals with whom they use to fight), as well as special clans with different genetic abilities (The ability to use their eyes to mesmerize or see "chakra"). Jutsu is the main focus of ninjas and is broken into three groups:  ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Each clan specializes in a certain group. Ninjutsu allows wielders extra powers or abilities they normally would not have (i.e. lifting boulders or changing the world around them). Genjutsu is used to affect the nervous system of other ninjas, creating powerful illusions. Victims can be trapped in these illusions or merely stunned. Finally, taijutsu refers to physical prowess or hand-to-hand combat. Most ninjas specialize in one area but almost all have some ability in taijutsu along with their primary jutsu. Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are powered by "chakra" or internal energy. While this can be increased, certain ninja's are born with more potential for greater chakra. Naruto for example (Along with all hosts of tailed spirits) becomes the target of a secret group in the second section because of the power that the nine-tailed beast gives him.

                                  Sharinga, an eye genjutsu

After Sasuke leaves in the first section of the manga, Naruto leaves Konoho to train with Jiraiya in order to increase his powers. After three years of training he surpasses Jiraiya and returns to Konoho to renew his efforts at bringing Sasuke back home. The manga is currently continuing the story of the second section as Naruto faces his own powers, loses friends, fights those who wish to take the nine-tailed beast from him and comes to terms with Sasuke's hatred of Konoho for allowing his family to be destroyed.

                               Teenage Naruto learning from Frog Sage (Frog Elder)

The main theme behind Naruto is accepting people for who they really are and never giving up. There are no super heroes, no one without problems. Naruto changes those around him because he accepts what happens to him and continues to fight for what he believes in, regardless of whether or not the people he is fighting for want him to fight for them. Naruto never gives up, never abandons responsibility, regardless of whether he was given the responsibility or merely takes it without question. Ideals matter more than possibility. Naruto uses ideals to shape what is possible.

The world of Naruto's greatest ideal is that of the ninja, self-sacrifice. Naruto sacrifices himself for his friends (Which happen to be almost everyone). Sasuke sacrifices himself for his hatred. Everyone in Naruto sacrifices themself for something, often power, sometimes friends, and most gloriously of all, their hidden village.

Characters and the stereotypes

Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki (うずまき ナルト, Uzumaki Naruto) is the primary protagonist of the Naruto series. Naruto is an orphan and also the host of the fearsome nine-tailed demon fox, Kyūbi no Yōko. Regarded as a natural disaster, Kyūbi no Yōko was sealed within Naruto to protect the village by his father (The village leader, or Hokage), who died in the act of sealing the creature away. Naruto only learns of this after he has come of age as the third hokage (Who came out of retirement after Naruto's father, the fourth) forbade anyone in the village to speak of Naruto's father (In the sense that he was Naruto's father) or of the nine-tailed beast itself. He spends his childhood not knowing and is constantly looked down upon by the majority of the rest of the village for unknown reasons. Naruto however has ambitions of becoming Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure. He compensates for his hard life with his cheerful and boisterous personality, and over the course of the series, manages to befriend many foreign and Konoha ninja, often changing those around him with his determination. Naruto develops a strong relationship with Sasuke Uchiha (Also an orphan) and tries to turn him away from his path of revenge.

Sasuke Uchiha

Sasuke Uchiha (うちは サスケ, Uchiha Sasuke) is one of the members of Team 7. He was created to be a rival to Naruto, as well as a "cool genius", which Kishimoto believed was an integral part of an ideal rivalry. He is one of the few remaining members of the Uchiha clan along with his brother. His brother, Itachi Uchiha, killed the rest of their family. Sasuke's sole desire is to kill his brother, and he develops a cold and withdrawn personality. His interactions with his fellow teammates, especially Naruto, make him focus less on revenge at the start of the series but his focus returns to revenge. Sasuke eventually leaves Team 7 and Konoho to seek out his brother and aquire the power to do so along the way. The majority of the manga is spent focusing on Naruto's and Sakura's attempt to rescue Sasuke from himself as Sasuke falls head first down a path of revenge that costs him friends and what family he had.

Sakura Haruno

Sakura Haruno (春野 サクラ, Haruno Sakura) is the sole female member of Team 7. As a child, Sakura was taunted by other children because of her large forehead, a feature Kishimoto has tried to emphasize in Sakura's appearances. During the first major section of the manga (Childhood), Sakura is infatuated with Sasuke, and spurns the advances of Naruto Uzumaki. After Sasuke leaves the village, she resolves to become stronger by training with Tsunade (A healer and Hokage during a portion of the first and second sections). As the manga enters the teenage years of Team 7, Sakura begins to become fond of Naruto as their powers grow.

Kakashi Hatake 

Kakashi Hatake (はたけ カカシ, Hatake Kakashi^?) - where Kakashi is literally Japanese for "scarecrow" - is the leader of Team 7 and the sensei of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Kakashi treats his leadership position with a detached manner, and is consistently late to meetings as a result. In a gaiden on Kakashi's past, this is shown to be the result of an incident in which he witnessed the death of one of his teammates, Obito Uchiha, who gave Kakashi his Sharingan eye and imparted many of his habits, including his tardiness. With Obito's Sharingan, Kakashi has amassed a reputation as a skilled and powerful ninja, earning the moniker "Copy Ninja Kakashi" (コピー忍者のカカシ, Kopī Ninja no Kakashi^?). Although he mentors all three members of Team 7 early in the series, he concentrates on training Sasuke as the series continues, teaching him his Chidori technique; however, he is unable to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village to seek Orochimaru for greater power. Kakashi was a pupil of Jiraiya, the "Perverted Hermit," who will eventually also teach Naruto.

Jiraiya

Jiraiya (自来也) is a Konohagakure ninja and one of Naruto's teachers. As a child, Jiraiya was under the tutelage of the Third Hokage, along with his teammates, Tsunade (Also a Hokage) and Orochimaru (The main vilian in the first chapter [Childhood] of the manga). Jiraiya is known throughout the Naruto world as the "Toad Sage" (蝦蟇仙人, Gama Sennin^?) due to his toad-related jutsu (He is also known as the perverted hermit because of his attempts to see the opposite sex naked). Although still affiliated with Konohagakure, he spends much of his time traveling and writing. Jiraiya's personality is openly lecherous, and he proudly describes himself as a "super pervert", authoring a series of best-selling adult romance novels. During Part I, he takes Naruto as his student, and returns him to Konoha in Part II. Naruto's return signals the start of the second section of the manga.

Stereotypes and archetypes 

Naruto, like most manga in Japan (and comics in America for that matter) follows a very stereotypical cast theme. One main character (Naruto) is combined with a sidekick (this character varies); Sakure fulfills the role of the nurturing, caring female character while Kakashi and Jiraiya are placed in the roles of the older mentor. Unlike comics some of these characters also find themselves to be the victims of unquily Japanese archetypes.

Naruto falls into the realm of the "obnoxious novice." This character is often shown as the least intelligent of the group but is almost always the loudest. He relies on hard work and determination to accomplish his/her goals and is always optimistic. In Japanese culture this character (like Naruto) is often shown in flashy clothing that is never dark or "cool." This character often starts out as a loner (Not by choice) that makes friends if for no other reason than because they insist upon it. He is never the object of affection for the female characters (At least initially).

To complement the obnoxious rookie, the "dark, cool" or sullen character is the most intelligent. This archetypal personality is completely dedicated to their goal. They have no other focus and in general their ultimate goal is revenge. The dark cool character almost never has any friends and is never on the lookout for new ones. He is not interested in the opposite sex even though he is the object of their affection. Often seen in black he is marked by his arrogance and smug disposition. Sasuke compliments Naruto in this way.

The perverted hermit is a unique Japanese character. Jiraiya, in Naruto, is always dreaming of, going after or trying to sneak peaks at younger adolescent girls. While he is often very intelligent and experienced (In an area related to main character development) he is mostly used for comedic distraction.

Anime

Kakashi vs. Sasuke

Jiraiya vs. Pein Fight Scene

Jiraiya vs. Pein Fight 

Awards and Achievements

Over one hundred million copies of manga volumes sold in Japan. Over four million in the United States

Seventh most searched term on Yahoo in 2008, fourth in 2007

Continuosly recognized in USA Today's Top 150 Book List

The freely streamed episodes from Naruto: Shippuden have an average of 160,000 viewers a week

Accounted for nearly 10% of all Manga sales in Japan in 2006

Volume 28 became the top selling manga volume of 2008 as well as the second best-seller book in North America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Naruto

http://naruto.viz.com/ - Official Naruto Site

http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/ - You can view the manga here

See also

Manga, Ties Between Anime and Japanese Mythology