Aion
Time-Traveller
First of all, allow me to apologize for the amateurish review. I'm not a reviewer or writer but, from time to time, I get the urge to go on a typing rampage and create a wall of text. I created it for Amazon and, since this is an anime/manga board where reviews are posted, I thought I'd share. 
--------------
Naruto's a name that brings lots of memories to the front of my mind. Many years ago, when I was 14-15 and hadn't watched anime for very long, I was told about this hugely popular title. Being new to anime at the time, discovering I had 60-80 episodes to watch before I'd catch up wasn't a worry; discovering Naruto's a lengthy story actually made me even more eager to catch up. I caught up within a week, finding myself addicted to it, the weekly episodes working as a sort of drug that kept me going until the next episode aired.
...But, sadly, nothing in life lasts forever. The Naruto anime eventually ended up becoming a joke after the first 135 episodes due to the anime evil known as 'filler'; original stories the animation studio come up with when they run out of manga material to animate. Older Naruto anime fans had to endure nearly two years of soul destroying stories, involving cooking ninja, postmen ninja and a Tony the Tiger lookalike. And, when the anime finally started to follow the real plot again, a combination of budget cuts and laziness meant it just wasn't enjoyable to watch any more.
After enduring so much, I decided that reading black and white pages to finish the story would be far more enjoyable than continuing to watch the anime adaptation. From that point onwards I've followed the manga instead of the anime weekly, starting from the point where the proper anime story restarted after the two year filler hell. I didn't read the first 250 or so chapters that came before because I already knew the story and reading all those pages would've taken a long, long time.
Now, as a Naruto fan, I'm sure you can imagine my joy a few weeks ago when I discovered a new Naruto Vol. 1-27 box set was just around the corner, it containing all the chapters I hadn't read. After being impressed with the box art images, I was fast to order when I saw that another store (who will remain nameless so my review doesn't get deleted) were selling it for £60; £2.23 per volume AND with a box to hold all 27 volumes - A bargain if there ever was one for an American import.
When it arrived a few days after ordering my initial reaction wasn't pure joy. The box my set was packaged in (which had been used for both the journey from America and to me) had some damage to a corner and, sure enough, one of the corners of the set inside had taken a nasty knock. My anger was cooled by the nameless store offering me a £18 refund on the day the set arrived, which I was quick to accept when the damage wasn't THAT bad and the volumes inside hadn't been damaged. I suppose it's hard not for such a heavy set to get damaged in some way when it travels such a long way...
Forgetting about the damage, the box looks fantastic. On the front is a large image of Naruto (green background), on the right side is an odd(ish) looking image of Sasuke (orange background), on the left is a cute image of Sakura (yellow background) and the back of the box has a cool looking shot of a huge chunk of the cast together. Although it would've been nice to see the Vol. 26-27 cover art used instead, I can't see any Naruto fan disliking the box art; most I'm sure would be very satisfied. It's also worth mentioning that the set has a small handle on the top that allows you to move it around with ease.
The box opens by pulling the right-hand side, that side being held by three velcro circles. Once inside, the 27 volumes are stacked on two blue shelves, with a small double-sided poster and booklet also included. Let me tell you, it's very pleasing on the eye for a Naruto fan to open the box and see the spines of 27 volumes, knowing they contain the best section of the Naruto story.
The volumes themselves are great. For a weekly manga, the art is top class and, unlike in certain other series, it's very easy to follow the action. There are even some pages in-between the chapters used for Kishimoto's personal thoughts, including some interesting information such as who his favourite character is, what manga attempts he made before Naruto, how he let a plant die by doing something silly, etc. His comments are great for Naruto fans who want to know more about the man who created what they love.
Overall, this set is truly wonderful and was created for fans who want to own the first half of the series in style. The only problem is the risk of it arriving damaged due to the distance it had to cover to reach the UK - You'd have to be a pretty damn lucky person for it not to have received at least some damage along the way.
Moving on, with my brief Naruto history and box description covered, I'm going to try to quickly describe the actual story and express my feelings about it a little more.
Naruto is a relatively simple story that steals from other famous shounen (young boy) series, namely Dragon Ball. In Naruto we, the readers, follow a young ninja called Naruto who has a big dream: He wants to become the Hokage; the champion/leader of his ninja village. This dream is not a very likely one when Naruto happens to have the lowest grade his class and be more well known for being a trouble maker than being a skilled ninja.
But, unknown even to Naruto, he has something special hidden inside him that sets him apart: Kyuubi (9-tails); the most deadly creature in existence that was sealed inside his newly born body as a last resort by the previous Hokage (at the cost of his life) when the Kyuubi attacked his ninja village (Konoha). Although a law was made preventing any of the adults revealing this afterwards, the adults hated Naruto because they saw him as the Kyuubi in a human form, and their hatred of him spread to their children even without them revealing the reasoning behind their feelings. This resulted in Naruto wanting to be respected, fuelling his dream to become the Hokage.
Using that plot as its base, the story goes on from there, quickly developing by putting Naruto in a team with two other rookie ninja: Uchiha Sasuke (Naruto's skilled rival) and Sakura (the brightest girl ninja, who just so happens to have a crush on Sasuke and hates Naruto). All three are distinctive characters that keep the the series interesting with their differences, the dialogue between the three never being dull.
One last plot related matter worth mentioning is the manga/anime differences...or rather, the lack of. Some filler additions and less blood/gore aside, the story you see in Vol. 1-27 (excluding Kakashi Gaiden) and EP1-135 is practically identical. There wouldn't be much point seeing both if you wanted to see changes.
Finally: My thoughts about Naruto...
Aside from Naruto having some of the best fights ever, what makes it stand out from the crowd is the diverse cast of likeable characters and absorbing world. All too often with stories you find yourself disconnected, not caring about the supporting cast or surrounding world very much, but Kishimoto (the manga author) somehow managed to create a huge amount of characters and make most enjoyable to pass time watching. The length of the story obviously helped, with Kishimoto having a lot of time to develop the cast, but it was more to do with his ability to create charming characters than anything else.
One of the accusations many throw at Naruto due to its worldwide popularity is that it's too simple. Sure, its story is simplistic and aimed at young/teenage boys, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth the time of adults when the characters receive excellent development and there are adult themes used constantly (Naruto is, after all, set in a world where ninja kill other ninjas). Lots of grown men in their 20s admit to loving Naruto, and that's because it's the sort of show any age can enjoy. Don't make the mistake of assuming that what's aimed at young boys in Japan is what's aimed at young boys elsewhere in the world - The Japanese aren't as overly protective as people in most other countries.
...Well, I think that's about it. I hope this wall of text helps at least someone!
Note: The images were submitted by somebody on Amazon.com. Credit goes to him/her for the images.
--------------
Naruto's a name that brings lots of memories to the front of my mind. Many years ago, when I was 14-15 and hadn't watched anime for very long, I was told about this hugely popular title. Being new to anime at the time, discovering I had 60-80 episodes to watch before I'd catch up wasn't a worry; discovering Naruto's a lengthy story actually made me even more eager to catch up. I caught up within a week, finding myself addicted to it, the weekly episodes working as a sort of drug that kept me going until the next episode aired.
...But, sadly, nothing in life lasts forever. The Naruto anime eventually ended up becoming a joke after the first 135 episodes due to the anime evil known as 'filler'; original stories the animation studio come up with when they run out of manga material to animate. Older Naruto anime fans had to endure nearly two years of soul destroying stories, involving cooking ninja, postmen ninja and a Tony the Tiger lookalike. And, when the anime finally started to follow the real plot again, a combination of budget cuts and laziness meant it just wasn't enjoyable to watch any more.
After enduring so much, I decided that reading black and white pages to finish the story would be far more enjoyable than continuing to watch the anime adaptation. From that point onwards I've followed the manga instead of the anime weekly, starting from the point where the proper anime story restarted after the two year filler hell. I didn't read the first 250 or so chapters that came before because I already knew the story and reading all those pages would've taken a long, long time.
Now, as a Naruto fan, I'm sure you can imagine my joy a few weeks ago when I discovered a new Naruto Vol. 1-27 box set was just around the corner, it containing all the chapters I hadn't read. After being impressed with the box art images, I was fast to order when I saw that another store (who will remain nameless so my review doesn't get deleted) were selling it for £60; £2.23 per volume AND with a box to hold all 27 volumes - A bargain if there ever was one for an American import.
When it arrived a few days after ordering my initial reaction wasn't pure joy. The box my set was packaged in (which had been used for both the journey from America and to me) had some damage to a corner and, sure enough, one of the corners of the set inside had taken a nasty knock. My anger was cooled by the nameless store offering me a £18 refund on the day the set arrived, which I was quick to accept when the damage wasn't THAT bad and the volumes inside hadn't been damaged. I suppose it's hard not for such a heavy set to get damaged in some way when it travels such a long way...
Forgetting about the damage, the box looks fantastic. On the front is a large image of Naruto (green background), on the right side is an odd(ish) looking image of Sasuke (orange background), on the left is a cute image of Sakura (yellow background) and the back of the box has a cool looking shot of a huge chunk of the cast together. Although it would've been nice to see the Vol. 26-27 cover art used instead, I can't see any Naruto fan disliking the box art; most I'm sure would be very satisfied. It's also worth mentioning that the set has a small handle on the top that allows you to move it around with ease.
The box opens by pulling the right-hand side, that side being held by three velcro circles. Once inside, the 27 volumes are stacked on two blue shelves, with a small double-sided poster and booklet also included. Let me tell you, it's very pleasing on the eye for a Naruto fan to open the box and see the spines of 27 volumes, knowing they contain the best section of the Naruto story.
The volumes themselves are great. For a weekly manga, the art is top class and, unlike in certain other series, it's very easy to follow the action. There are even some pages in-between the chapters used for Kishimoto's personal thoughts, including some interesting information such as who his favourite character is, what manga attempts he made before Naruto, how he let a plant die by doing something silly, etc. His comments are great for Naruto fans who want to know more about the man who created what they love.
Overall, this set is truly wonderful and was created for fans who want to own the first half of the series in style. The only problem is the risk of it arriving damaged due to the distance it had to cover to reach the UK - You'd have to be a pretty damn lucky person for it not to have received at least some damage along the way.
Moving on, with my brief Naruto history and box description covered, I'm going to try to quickly describe the actual story and express my feelings about it a little more.
Naruto is a relatively simple story that steals from other famous shounen (young boy) series, namely Dragon Ball. In Naruto we, the readers, follow a young ninja called Naruto who has a big dream: He wants to become the Hokage; the champion/leader of his ninja village. This dream is not a very likely one when Naruto happens to have the lowest grade his class and be more well known for being a trouble maker than being a skilled ninja.
But, unknown even to Naruto, he has something special hidden inside him that sets him apart: Kyuubi (9-tails); the most deadly creature in existence that was sealed inside his newly born body as a last resort by the previous Hokage (at the cost of his life) when the Kyuubi attacked his ninja village (Konoha). Although a law was made preventing any of the adults revealing this afterwards, the adults hated Naruto because they saw him as the Kyuubi in a human form, and their hatred of him spread to their children even without them revealing the reasoning behind their feelings. This resulted in Naruto wanting to be respected, fuelling his dream to become the Hokage.
Using that plot as its base, the story goes on from there, quickly developing by putting Naruto in a team with two other rookie ninja: Uchiha Sasuke (Naruto's skilled rival) and Sakura (the brightest girl ninja, who just so happens to have a crush on Sasuke and hates Naruto). All three are distinctive characters that keep the the series interesting with their differences, the dialogue between the three never being dull.
One last plot related matter worth mentioning is the manga/anime differences...or rather, the lack of. Some filler additions and less blood/gore aside, the story you see in Vol. 1-27 (excluding Kakashi Gaiden) and EP1-135 is practically identical. There wouldn't be much point seeing both if you wanted to see changes.
Finally: My thoughts about Naruto...
Aside from Naruto having some of the best fights ever, what makes it stand out from the crowd is the diverse cast of likeable characters and absorbing world. All too often with stories you find yourself disconnected, not caring about the supporting cast or surrounding world very much, but Kishimoto (the manga author) somehow managed to create a huge amount of characters and make most enjoyable to pass time watching. The length of the story obviously helped, with Kishimoto having a lot of time to develop the cast, but it was more to do with his ability to create charming characters than anything else.
One of the accusations many throw at Naruto due to its worldwide popularity is that it's too simple. Sure, its story is simplistic and aimed at young/teenage boys, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth the time of adults when the characters receive excellent development and there are adult themes used constantly (Naruto is, after all, set in a world where ninja kill other ninjas). Lots of grown men in their 20s admit to loving Naruto, and that's because it's the sort of show any age can enjoy. Don't make the mistake of assuming that what's aimed at young boys in Japan is what's aimed at young boys elsewhere in the world - The Japanese aren't as overly protective as people in most other countries.
...Well, I think that's about it. I hope this wall of text helps at least someone!
Note: The images were submitted by somebody on Amazon.com. Credit goes to him/her for the images.
