Naruto was published in Shueisha's magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 21, 1999 (No. 43), to November 10, 2014 (No. 50).[27] The manga was also published in tankōbon(book) form in Japan and other countries, releasing 72 volumes—27 for Part I, and the rest for Part II. The first 238 chapters are Part I and constitute the first section of the Naruto storyline. Chapters 239 to 244 include a gaiden(side-story) focusing on Kakashi Hatake's background. The remaining chapters (245 to 700) belong to Part II, which continues the story after a two-and-a-half year gap in the internal timeline.[28] The first tankōbon was released on March 3, 2000.[29] Shueisha have also released several ani-mangatankōbon, each based on one of theNaruto movies,[30] and has released the series in Japanese for cell-phone download on their website Shueisha Manga Capsule.[31] A miniseries titledNaruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (Naruto−ナルト−外伝・七代目火影と緋色の花つ月 Naruto Gaiden: Nanadaime Hokage to Akairo no Hanatsuzuki), centered on the main characters' children, began serialization in the Japanese and English editions ofWeekly Shōnen Jump on April 27, 2015, and ended after ten chapters on July 6, 2015.[32][33]
Naruto was scanlated (translated by fans) and available online before a licensed version was released in North America;[34] the rights were acquired by Viz Media, who began serializing Narutoin their anthology comic magazineShonen Jump, starting with the January 2003 issue.[35] The schedule was accelerated at the end of 2007 in order to catch up with the Japanese version,[36] and again in early 2009, with 11 volumes (from 34 to 44) appearing in three months, after which it returned to a quarterly schedule.[37] All 27 volumes of Part I were released in a boxed set on November 13, 2007.[38] On May 3, 2011, Viz started selling the manga in an omnibus format with each book containing three volumes.[39]
As of March 31, 2008, the franchise has been licensed in 90 countries, and the manga serialized in 35 countries.[40][41]Carlsen Comics has licensed the series, through its regional divisions, and released the series in German and Danish.[42] The series is also licensed for regional language releases in French and Dutch by Kana,[43] in Polish byJaponica Polonica Fantastica,[44] in Russian by Comix-ART,[45] in Finnish bySangatsu Manga,[46] in Swedish byBonnier Carlsen,[47] and Italian by Panini Comics.[48]
A spin-off comedy manga by Kenji Taira, titled Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden (ロック・リーの青春フルパワー忍伝, Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals) focuses on the character Rock Lee, a character who aspires to be strong as a ninja but has no magical jutsu abilities. It ran in Shueisha's Saikyō Jump magazine from December 3, 2010, to July 4, 2014,[49][50]and was made into an anime series, produced by Studio Pierrot, and premiering on TV Tokyo on April 3, 2012.[51] Crunchyroll simulcasted the series' premiere on their website and streamed the following episodes.[52]Taira also wrote Uchiha Sasuke no Sharingan Den (うちはサスケの写輪眼伝, Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend), which released on October 3, 2014, which runs in the same magazine and features Sasuke.[53]
A monthly sequel series titled Boruto: Naruto Next Generations began in the Japanese and English editions ofWeekly Shōnen Jump in early 2016, illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto and written by Ukyō Kodachi, with supervision by Kishimoto. Ikemoto was Kishimoto's chief assistant during the run of the original Naruto series, and Kodachi was his writing partner for the Boruto: Naruto the Movie film screenplay. The monthly series was preceded by a one-shot written and illustrated by Kishimoto.[54]
Tetsuya Nishio was the character designer for Naruto when the manga was adapted into an anime series; Kishimoto had requested that Nishio be given this role.[55][56] Directed by Hayato Date, and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo, the Naruto anime premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo October 3, 2002, and concluded on February 8, 2007 after 220 episodes.[57][58] The first 135 episodes were adapted from Part I of the manga; the remaining 85 episodes are original and use plot elements that are not in the manga.[59] Beginning on April 29, 2009, the original Naruto anime began a rerun on Wednesdays and Thursdays (until the fourth week of September 2009 when it changed to only Wednesdays). It was remastered in HD, with new 2D and 3D effects, under the name Naruto:Shōnen Hen (少年篇, "Youth Version").[60]Episodes from the series have been released on both VHS and DVD, and collected as boxed sets.[61][62][63][64]
