2002 · 220 episodes · Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Shonen
Introduction Naruto is the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a 12-year-old orphan in the Hidden Leaf Village. The village fears him because a monster called the Nine-Tailed Fox is sealed inside him — the same fox that almost destroyed the village on the day he was born. Naruto does not know any of this at first. He only knows that people look away when he walks past. So he makes one big promise to himself: one day he will become Hokage, the leader of the village, and then everyone will have to respect him. The manga is by Masashi Kishimoto, and Studio Pierrot turned it into this anime in 2002.
The good stuff Team 7 is the heart of it — Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and their teacher Kakashi start as strangers who can barely stand each other, and slowly become a family you would fight for. The Chunin Exams are where the show catches fire: a simple test turns into a maze of new rivals like Rock Lee, Neji and Gaara, and some of the smartest, most emotional fights in all of shonen. The fights run on brains as much as power — small kids beat monsters with plans and teamwork. And the villains stay with you: Zabuza, Haku and Gaara are not evil for fun; they are broken people, and the show makes you feel their pain too. Above all, Naruto never gives up on anyone — not on himself, not on his friends, not even on his enemies. That one idea carries the whole series.
Where to start Start at episode 1 and just go. The early arcs — Land of Waves, then the Chunin Exams — are the hook. When this series ends, the story continues in Naruto Shippuden (500 episodes, 2007–2017), where the kids are older and the war gets real. Watch this one first: Shippuden hits ten times harder when you grew up with these kids here.
Before you jump in One honest warning: filler. Around 90 of the 220 episodes are filler, made while the anime waited for the manga to get ahead — fans track them on filler lists, and many viewers skip them and lose nothing. Also, this is a 2002 show, so the picture and pacing feel old in the first episodes. Give it a few episodes to warm up.
Who is this for? If you love underdog stories, tournament arcs and crying over fictional ninjas, this is home. If you want a short, tight series that ends in 12 episodes, this is not that — Naruto is a long journey, and that is exactly why fans never left.
Why it belongs on our shelf
Because this is the underdog story every other underdog story gets compared to. A loud kid with nothing, who refuses to stay nothing — I believed him then and I believe him now. Some anime you finish. This one raises you.