Long ago in the The Village Hidden in the Leaves, a fearsome nine-tailed fox waged a horrific war against its citizens, destroying their way of life. The spirit was subdued by a man known as the Fourth Hokage, and its spirit sealed within the body of a baby boy. Twelve years later that boy, Naruto, has grown up to become a hyperactive ninja-in-training who's more interested in pranks than schoolwork. Feared by many for the beast locked deep inside him, Naruto feels alone and ostracized from those around him. In order to show everyone that he is worthy of the love and admiration he's lacked his entire life, Naruto sets off on a a long and difficult quest to becoming Hokage. With the help of Sasuke and Sakura, two reluctant teammates, Naruto and his friends will learn more about each other then they ever previously thought possible; if they can survive the dangers of ninja life first.

Naruto debuted on Toonami Saturday, September 10th, 2005 at 9pm (EST) with an hour long premiere (two back to back episodes). The series had been long anticipated amongst anime fans and self-proclaimed 'Narutards'. Controversy surrounded the decision for Cartoon Network to air the series rather then their sister-network Adult Swim, because of the amount of violence, blood, and otherwise content that normally is not allowed for Toonami audiences. However as a result, the series was amongst the first to bring TV-PG content to the block, and as of this writing the series proves to be one of Toonami's strongest hitters.

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.:Episode Guide

01: Enter: Naruto Uzumaki 02: My Name is Konohamaru 03: Sasuke and Sakura: Friends or Foes? 04: Pass or Fail: Survival Test 05: You Failed! Kakashi's Final Decision 06: A Dangerous Mission! Journey to the Land of Waves! 07: The Assassin of the Mist! 08: The Oath of Pain 09: Kakashi: Sharingan Warrior 10: The Forest of Chakra 11: The Land Where a Hero Once Lived 12: Battle on the Bridge! Zabuza Returns! 13: Haku's Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors 14: The Number One Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja Joins the Fight! 15: Zero Visibility: The Sharingan Shatters 16: The Broken Seal 17: White Past: Hidden Ambition 18: The Weapons Known as Shinobi 19: The Demon in the Snow 20: A New Chapter Begins: The Chuunin Exam 21: Identify Yourself: Powerful New Rivals 22: Genin Takedown! All Nine Rookies Face Off! 23: Start Your Engines: The Chunin Exam Begins 24: Chunin Challenge: Rock Lee vs. Sasuke! 25: The Tenth Question: All or Nothing 26: Special Report: Live From the Forest of Death 27: Eat or be Eaten: Panic in the Forest 28: Naruto's Counterattack: Never Give In! 29: The Chunin Exam Stage 2: The Forest of Death 30: The Sharingan Revived: Dragon-Flame Jutsu! 31: Bushy Brow's Pledge: Undying Love and Protection! 32: Sakura Blossoms! 33: Battle Formation: Ino-Shika-Cho! 34: Akamaru Trembles: Gaara's Cruel Strength!

45: Surprise Attack! Naruto's Secret Weapon! 46: Byakugan Battle: Hinata Grows Bold! 47: Gaara vs. Rock Lee: The Power of Youth Explodes! 48: A Failure Stands Tall! 49: Lee's Hidden Strength: Forbidden Secret Jutsu! 50: The Fifth Gate: A Splendid Ninja is Born 51: A Shadow in Darkness: Danger Approaches Sasuke 52: Ebisu Returns: Naruto's Toughest Training Yet! 53: Long Time No See: Jiraiya Returns! 54: Summoning Jutsu: Wisdom of the Toad Sage! 55: A Feeling of Yearning, A Flower Full of Hope 56: Live or Die! Risk it All to Win it All! 57: He Flies! He Jumps! He Lurks! Chief Toad Appears! 58: Hospital Besieged: The Evil Hand Revealed! 59: The Final Rounds: Rush to the Battle Arena! 60: Byakugan vs. Shadow Clone Jutsu! 61: Ultimate Defense: Zero Blind Spot! 62: A Failure's True Power 63: Hit it or Quit it: The Final Rounds Get Complicated! 64: Zero Motivation: The Guy with Cloud Envy!

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.:Misc.

• Gaara's tanuki demon is named Shukaku. This coincides with a Japanese legend about a priest named Shukaku, who supposedly enchanted a teapot to never be empty at a party.



• There is a short Manga that preceeds the events in both the Manga and the anime. This short Manga is called Karakuri.



• The names of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru (The three Sannin) refers to the "Legend of the Gallant Jiraiya" in which each of whom had a special magic they learned - toad, slug, and snake.



• Kankuro is named after a famous Kabuki actor. Likewise the character's outfit is that of a typical Bunraku puppeteer, and his weapon is the use of puppets, which are widely used in Bunraku theater.



• Naruto originally wore goggles instead of a head-band, or 'Forehead protector'. The original Manga artist replaced the goggles with the forehead protector after deciding goggles too took long to draw.



• The series has over 100 consecutive episodes of 'filler'.



• Naruto is one of the first series to be able to use the TV-PG rating on Toonami; of which it now can use freely.



• Originally Toonami producers stated Naruto would NOT be able to use TV-PG



• All edits Viz Media made, needed to be approved by Studio Pierrot as did the decision of who to cast as Naruto

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