Genre: Fantasy/Comedy

Creator/Studio: Kashimoto Masashi/Studio Pierrot

Company: Viz

DVD Info: 200+ episodes, no DVD's at press time.

Summary: A young boy named Naruto wants to be hokage (head ninja) of his home, the Hidden Leaf Village. One problem--within him lies a nine-tailed fox spirit who destroyed the village ages ago. Can he control the beast within and fulfill his goal?

The Good: Because a more professional company is doing the translation and editing, you elitists can relax. It's much more faithful in these aspects. This is no chop-it-up-so-it's-kid-friendly approach. Viz is behind Inu-YashaandZatch Bell licensing and both are good efforts. (They're releasing both an uncut and an edited version.)Naruto is a hero who is easy to identify with. We've all felt like no one trusts us at some point. There's a lot of funny stuff, especially the "sexy jutsu".

The Bad: With over 200 episodes (and counting!) it's going to be slow in some spots.

Offensive Material: Mild to strong violence, depending on edits. Usage of magic throughout. Also, usually when Naruto does his "sexy jutsu" trick, he becomes a naked woman with smoke covering her naughty bits. It's no worse than when Bugs Bunny used to dress up like a woman to fool Elmer Fudd.

Overall: If you like action/comedy stuff like Dragonball, check this out.

My Review: 3.0 Category: B(edited)/C(unedited)

Comment: This is based on the manga and Shonen Jump feature. Studio Pierrot's credits include: Key the Metal Idol, Urusei Yatsura, Great Teacher Onizuka, Saiyuki, Fushigi Yugi, Yu Yu Hakusho Ghost Files, Twelve Kingdoms,and Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs.