Young Adult Literature - Naruto

 

Bibliographic Data: Masashi Kishimoto. 2003. 

Naruto, Vol. 1: Uzumaki Naruto. New York: VIZ Media LLC; 1st Edition (August 16, 2003).

ISBN 1569319006

Plot Summary:
Welcome to the world of ninja. Naruto Uzumaki, an alienated kid who lives in the Hidden Leaf Village has a dream to become a Hokage, the best ninja in the village, and the one who supervises it. However, he isn’t very good at ninjutsu, thus he failed the academy exams three times. He is always alone, and kids don’t really want to have anything to do with him, same with teachers. Naruto is a prankster, usually doing nasty things in the village because he wants attention. That all changes when one of the teachers approaches him and offers him respect for a certain mission, he has to do for him. Naruto accomplishes the mission successfully only to realize he’s been fooled. He learns that the reason he’s being alienated is because of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, who destroyed the village 16 years ago. What follows after that is a story of pain, sadness and joy as Naruto tries to accomplish his dream of becoming a Hokage.

Critical Analysis:
We have the premise of the story that happens in Naruto. It’s very long series, having 72 volumes and 700 chapters. It’s a typical Shonen type story, with the main protagonist meeting new enemies each arc, getting more powerful because he needs to defeat them, rinse and repeat for the whole series. Since Naruto is very young at the start of the series, it’s easy to relate to him and his decisions. It’s one of those things that made me like it in the first place. Besides that, the story uses the supernatural element in form of ninjutsu. Now, some of you who haven’t had any contact with Naruto may be confused. How is ninjutsu a supernatural element? Well, in this series, ninjutsu isn’t the art of killing (not literally of course), it’s the art of using your strength to bring forth techniques that vary from making a clone, to busting out fireball from your mouth. It makes the story interesting, making you eager to see what techniques different characters possess and how will they impact the upcoming events. The characters are pretty much all ninja, as such, expect a lot of hand-to-hand combat. It’s really well done, and if you pay attention to the drawings, you’ll see even the slightest details that make a difference.

Strengths/Weaknesses: 
The story is, for the most part, really good and coherent. That is, however, up until certain point. The “unique” techniques impossible to obtain were handed over left and right like on a flea market sale. I kind of felt the same way, but when all is said and done, it’s still the same Naruto that you’ve started with, it’s good for what it is, and as long as you won’t be trying to find deeper meaning in a, what essentially is, battle Shonen series, you should be more than fine and appreciate it that much more.

Awards:

·        VIZ MEDIA'S MANGA SHONEN JUMP™ NARUTO™ NAMED WINNER OF 2006 QUILL AWARD

 

·        Volume 7 Of Hit Manga Series Declared A Winner Of "Consumer's Choice" Literary Award To Honor Excellence In Writing And Publishing