Naruto

Reviewed By:  Carla Land

DVD Viz Media

Review based on disk 1 (episodes 1-4)

Rated T (Teen)

What it’s (basically) all about:. Naruto is a young ninja in training. He’s an orphan, and everyone but he knows that the spirit of a nine tailed fox that destroyed the village is trapped in his body. The story follows Naruto’s training- his desire to be liked instead of ostracized, his obnoxious behavior, and his determination to become the greatest ninja that ever lived. Will he accomplish his goal, or will he forever be the loser everyone says he is?

Nitty Gritty: Naruto likes to prank and he doesn’t always make good choices (stealing, graffiti, pretending to be other people), but when seen through the eyes of his sensei you can tell he’s just trying to get attention. He’s not a great role model, but kids are going to relate to him and learn the lessons he learns as well.

No real foul language, but Naruto has a “Sexy Jitsu” where he transforms into a naked, curvy blonde (covered strategically by smoke.) He uses this to try and get into the girls’ locker room at one point. Later on he combines it with another to create “Harem Jitsu” which is about 50 copies of the naked, curvy blonde.

Naruto also has a huge crush on one of his classmates, who, in turn, is in love with a classmate Naruto can’t stand. This little love triangle gets some boost when the three of them are teamed together in episode three.

DVD jumps right to previews of the two new Naruto video games available now, and the special features include a manga preview of the Naruto series. What’s cool about this is that it first gives instructions on how to read Japanese manga, then scrolls through the first couple of paged. It goes by quickly, but other than calling someone an “ass” it’s not for mature audiences. Other manga and video titles are previewed here as well. I was unable to find an alternate audio/ subtitle track, as well, but as I was watching this on an XBOX 360 I was probably just unfamiliar with how to get it to work.

One thing to watch out for is the release of a more graphic version of the show. Seeing as this one already has a Teen/ 13+ rating, I’d be sure to double check the packaging when buying.

Survey says: Teens aren’t as into this as the younger kids, but I’m not sure I’d put this in your children’s collections. Naruto is twelve and in those pre-teen years where more adult oriented storylines may be introduced along the line. Plus, he has the mind of a12 year old boy- bikini pictures on his wall, tries to get into the girls locker room. Overall, I think the show is appropriate enough for fourth grade and up.

Personal Ad: Well, LeVar says not to take his word for it, but you can take my word for this- Naruto was A LOT better than I anticipated. I thought this was a great show. At first I hated Naruto- he’s annoying, obnoxious, and a class clown gone bad- but after the first episode I understood why. He’s a kid reaching out for someone who will care about him, and I think since everyone can relate to that on some level that this is one of the better anime I’ve seen that I know kids have latched on to.