Claim: Naruto is a fictional, animated character.

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto . It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki , an adolescent ninja who searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage , the leader of his village . The story divided into two parts , the first set in Naruto 's preteen years , and the second in his teens . The series is based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto . The first one , titled Karakuri , released in 1995 by Shueisha , earned Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha 's monthly Hop Step Award in 1996 . The second one , titled Naruto , published in the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump .   Naruto was serialized in Shueisha 's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from September 21 , 1999 , to November 10 , 2014 . Seventy-two tankōbon volumes were released . It currently is the third best-selling manga series in history , selling more than 220 million copies worldwide . The manga later adapted into an anime television produced by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex . It premiered across Japan on the terrestrial TV Tokyo and other TX Network stations on October 3 , 2002 , and ended on February 8 , 2007 , with 220 episodes . The English adaptation of the series premiered on Cartoon Network 's programming block named Toonami on September 10 , 2005 , and concluded on January 31 , 2009 . Naruto : Shippuden , a sequel to the original series , aired from February 15 , 2007 , to March 23 , 2017 , with 500 episodes . The English adaptation was broadcast on Disney XD from October 28 , 2009 , to November 5 , 2011 , and on Adult Swim 's Toonami block in January 2014 . Besides the anime series , Studio Pierrot has developed eleven movies and several original video animations -LRB- OVAs -RRB- . Other types of merchandise include light novels , video games , and trading cards developed by several companies .   Viz Media has licensed the manga and anime for North American production . Viz serialized Naruto in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine , publishing the individual volumes . The anime series began airing in the United States and Canada in 2005 , and in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2006 and 2007 , respectively . The films and most OVAs from the series were also released by Viz , with the first film premiering in movie theaters . Viz Media began streaming the two anime series on their streaming service Neon Alley in December 2012 . The story of Naruto continues with Naruto 's son , Boruto Uzumaki , in Boruto : Naruto Next Generations . Boruto wishes to create his own ninja way instead of following his father 's .