Plus Licens: Naruto

Originally published in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan in 1999, Naruto was created as a manga comic by Masashi Kishimoto. So far, 35 volumes of the manga series have been published in Japan, with a total of 299 chapters written. Viz Media publishes a translated version in the American Shonen Jump magazine, which has become their best-selling manga series.

Targeting tweens and teens, the Naruto animated series debuted in Japan in October 2002 on TV Tokyo and quickly established itself as one of the channel's highest rated animated series. Today, Naruto is considered one of the most popular animated series in Japan's history and has achieved immense success not only as a manga and TV title, but also in the realm of licensed categories such as toys, trading card games and video games. The first series (part I) lasted nine seasons, followed by part II, Naruto: Shippuden, from February 2007. Three movies have also been produced based on the first series and so far two movies based on the second.

In addition to the original Japanese television series, which primarily targets teens and young adults, there are two edited versions in distribution, one from German RTL targeting 6-12 and one from Cartoon Network US targeting 8-14. All versions of the series are being sold by Plus Licens and can been seen on television in Eastern Europe, Sweden and Denmark. Scanbox Entertainment releases Naruto on DVD in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

In Plus Licens territories, the Naruto manga has been serialized in the Shonen Jump magazine and also published as a separate graphic novel series by Carlsen in Denmark, BonnierCarlsen in Sweden, Schibsted in Norway, Sangatsu Manga/Kolibri Kustannus in Finland, J.P. Fantastica in Poland and Mangafan Kiado in Hungary. Internationally, Naruto has sold more than 110 million copies as of fall 2008.

The story of Naruto takes place in another world where ninjas are the ultimate power. In the village of Konohagakure live some of the stealthiest and most respected ninjas in the land. But 12 years prior, Konohagakure faced a fearsome threat - a nine-tailed fox demon, which terrorized the village and caused massive destruction before it was finally defeated. The Hokage, the village leader and most powerful ninja, was able to subdue the fox by sealing its soul inside the body of an orphaned baby boy. Now that boy, Uzumaki Naruto, has grown up to become a ninja-in-training, learning the art of ninjutsu with his classmates Sakura and Sasuke. The trio of student ninjas study under the instruction of their teacher, Kakashi. With Kakashi, the group faces a series of dangerous and daunting tests and challenges. Through their adventures, the young ninjas learn the importance of friendship, teamwork, loyalty, hard work, creativity, ingenuity, and right vs. wrong.

The key characters are Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto, shunned by the village because he bears the taint of the fox demon imprisoned within him, is a rascally orphan who has grown into an attention-seeking troublemaker. Although his preoccupation with playful pranks leaves him struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy, he's determined to become the next Hokage. Sasuke, the top student in Naruto's class, comes from the prestigious Uchiha clan. Sasuke is driven by a secret desire to win revenge against a mysterious person who wronged him in the past. And the smart and studious Sakura is the brightest of Naruto's classmates, but she is constantly distracted by her crush on Sasuke. She hopes to some day win Sasuke's heart... if Naruto doesn't get in the way.

Plus Licens represents TV Tokyo for merchandising, television and video/DVD rights to Naruto in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekhistan.