If you read manga, you've likely heard of Naruto. You should have seen this even if you don't read manga. Naruto is one of the most popular things that has come out of Japan in the last 20 years, and he has a lot of fans. Besides, here's the gist: It's about a boy named Naruto Uzumaki who wants to be the leader of his ninja village, but there's one thing that's holding him back. His body is filled with powerful fox demons. As far back as years before that, that monster had caused a lot of death and destruction.

In general, manga is very simple to read. Unlike in traditional superhero comics, there aren't a lot of big events that affect the continuity of the story. The characters don't appear very often in other shows. Most of the time, there aren't 50 years worth of back issues that make up a canon. With a manga, all you have to do is start with volume 1 and keep going until you get to the end, which is the last one. Until the end, it will be a whole story. Refreshing, isn't it?

Naruto, on the other hand, is a little different. It has a main series, but it also has a spin-off, many sequels, and other things that are connected to it. To that end, I thought I'd put together a Naruto reading guide for people who aren't already fans (and maybe some old ones too). A lot of people might be afraid to read it, but I don't think they should be.

The Main Series

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto is the main manga series. It tells the story of Naruto from when he was a child ninja no one took seriously to when he became a powerful fighter who could move the hearts of friends, enemies, and even monsters. If you want to read about Naruto, you need to start with volume 1 here. I won't now. A lot of people think the main series is long even for shonen. As a whole, it's 72 volumes, which is a lot of money. VIZ has been putting out 3-in-1-volume "omnibuses," and savvy digital readers can sometimes find discounted bundles of electronic books. Naruto is broken up into two parts as a series. In Part 1, there are volumes 1-27, and in Part 2, there are volumes 28-72. Because there is a three-year time gap between them, they are split into parts. In the anime, Naruto does Part 1 and Naruto Shippuden does Part 2.

The Sequels

Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring by Masashi Kishimoto

It's a single volume called The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring. It takes place after the end of Naruto, when the original characters are adults. That person's son, Sasuke Uchiha, is Sarada's father. She is on a quest to find out the truth about who she is.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations by Mikio Ikemoto (art) and Ukyo Kodachi (story)

There is a new episode of Naruto that just started! Boruto is about the next generation of ninja, just like the title says. Naruto's son, Boruto, is the star of the show. Boruto isn't drawn by Masashi Kishimoto, like Naruto and The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, which were drawn by him. Instead, he is drawn and written by different mangaka. (Kishimoto, though, is in charge of the show.) If you read superhero comics, you might think this is normal. Manga readers, on the other hand, are not used to this kind of thing. In the past, we have been used to having only one mangaka from volume 1 to the end. Most of the time, there are no trade-offs. In fact, you're more likely to see a series end abruptly if the creator can't finish it, rather than the other way around. For now, there isn't enough material for a volume. If you want to read the chapters as they come out, you'll have to subscribe to Weekly Shonen Jump.

The Spin-off

Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals by Kenji Taira

Naruto isn't the only long shonen manga series that has a lot of people in it. And when you have a lot of people supporting you, one or two of them often become the heart of the fans. Rock Lee is one of those people. Rock Lee doesn't have any special supernatural ninja skills like other people in the show. All he has is physical strength. But Rock Lee shows that hard work and a lot of heart can get you far. It's called Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals, and it's a fun spin-off. The art is drawn in a super-deformed style and there are no main plot lines. The anime is licensed in English, but the manga is not. To cheer yourself up, Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals will come to your aid.

The Anime Films

Like many popular manga series, Naruto not only has a TV show but also movies that are shown in theaters. There are a lot of them, but I've chosen to focus on two of them in this post.

The Last: Naruto the Movie

This is two years after the end of the main Naruto TV show, and it's called "The Last" (but before the epilogue found in volume 72). This movie, like the other ones, is about an adventure. It also tells the story of how Naruto and Hinata met and fell in love, like the other movies. Manga fans are used to seeing anime adaptations and theatrical films make up plot lines, so they don't usually think this material is canon. However, The Last was written by Kishimoto himself, so it is part of the canon, good or bad.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie

Boruto takes place after the volume 72 epilogue, but before both of the manga series that follow it. It shows how Naruto and his son have a hard time getting along, and how far Boruto will go to get his father's attention. This movie has some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen. A big thanks to Kishimoto.

The Books

The Naruto Novels

After the original manga came to an end, the Japanese publisher started releasing light novels that explained more about different parts of the world. As told by people who are not the main characters, we get to see how some relationships came to be and learn about other parts of the story. Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Sakura's novels have been released so far. There are still a lot more to come, including Gaara's, Jiraiya's, and Itachi's novels, so stay tuned!

And those are the main things about the Naruto series, as well. This should be good. In the event that you have any questions, you know how to get in touch with us.

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