Anime Review: Narut (English dubbed version)

Naruto has become a surprising hit in America, gaining an audience that spans far greater than the age group it was originally intended. A number of theories have sprung up to explain this, but the richly detailed, highly believable characters may be the culprit, along with a storyline that delves deeper than your usual action-based shonen anime.
The show's true beginning starts twelve years before the first episode, when a nine-tailed fox demon threatens to destroy Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The Fourth Hokage, the ninja champion of the village, sacrifices his own life to conquer the demon and seal it away in the body of a newborn boy-Naruto. Fast forward to the start of the series, where the orphan Naruto is largely shunned by everyone in the village due to his connection to the fox demon. His dream is to become Hokage and earn the respect of his people, but his antics gain him more consternation than admiration from the villagers. He is soon teamed up with his crush Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha, the latter of which has begun the path to becoming a ninja for far more serious reasons.

The main draw of the story has been the remarkable development of the characters throughout the series, going into its second season in America and still going strong in Japan. Characters that started as wooden two-dimensional stereotypes have grown significantly to display thoroughly detailed backgrounds, with realistic results based on individual choices and actions. Other characters are also included as the trio endures grueling competitions and exams, such as ninja sensei and teams from rival villages, each with almost as complete backgrounds as the main characters. Even the villains aren't in the series simply to be evil; each of them has a specific reason for acting as they do, and nothing is superfluous.

Naruto as a series has managed to strike a critical balance between drama, action, and comedy to create a rare show that appeals to a larger audience than first intended. While on the surface the show seems to be another Dragon Ball Z clone with the endless fighting and epic battles, Naruto focuses more on the underlying plots within the fights, adding a texture that would otherwise leave the series feeling empty. In many instances, the fight itself isn't nearly as interesting as what's being said between the opponents or the ulterior motives behind the fight. What's more exciting, watching a battle between cousins or witnessing the culmination of a lifelong struggle between them?

The animation isn't uniform, although in its better moments it's quite striking. However, it does have some of the problems inherent with longer-running anime series with budget; as a result, some of the scenes seem hastily drawn or the colors don't match exactly the way they should. Still, overall the animation is quite good, and the times the animators seemed to be having an "off day" are a minor inconvenience at best and are far and few in between. The music is typical of your action-based shonen anime, making the songs unremarkable and slightly annoying, but this too is only a minor inconvenience within the larger scope of the series.

Naruto is a show made for pre-teen boys with images that match the criteria, though the English version has been slightly toned down from its Japanese counterpart. Younger children may or may not be ready for a series of this type; older teens and adults have both found something of value in the show. Overall, it had a slow start here in America but is very promising, and if the rest of the series will be as well-planned as it has been so far I believe fans of any age will be in for a treat.