Naruto (Part I)

Naruto is one of the defining shonen properties of its era, and this grouping covers its first chapter specifically, before the time-skip that splits the saga in two. The anchor is the 2002 anime, which follows Naruto Uzumaki, a loud, lonely ninja-in-training chasing recognition and the dream of leading his village. It runs on a familiar underdog formula, but the warmth of its cast and the steady escalation of its fights gave it staying power.

The early years spread quickly into games and films. The Ultimate Ninja fighters turned the anime's signature techniques into arcade-style brawls, while Ubisoft Montreal's Rise of a Ninja and The Broken Bond rebuilt the village as an open world for Western consoles. A run of theatrical movies and OVAs filled the gaps between arcs with standalone adventures.

The throughline is character over spectacle: a hero defined less by raw power than by stubbornness, where rivalry and loyalty matter more than any single victory.

The Naruto (Part I) franchise spans 1 series, 5 games, 5 movies in the CrossBinge catalog.

Part of Naruto.