| | |  | STUDIO GHIBLI LIBRARY | Home » » » Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Volume 1 | | | | | | | Description: | | Although some otaku (hardcore fans) have complained about the editing of the English dub of the popular ninja fantasy-adventure Naruto, the Uncut Box Set reveals the edits were quite minor. There's a little more blood in some of the fight scenes, and the opening and closing titles are the Japanese originals. In episode 3, Naruto's stomach problems are presented more vividly, and Kakashi delivers a more explicit jab to Naruto's butt in episode 4. More revealing differences turn up in the subtitles: In the English dub, Naruto declares he wants to become a great ninja so the whole village "will start treating me like somebody important"; in the original, it's "will acknowledge my existence." The three-disc Uncut Box, which includes the bound storyboards for Episode 8 (in Japanese), is a good buy. The first 13 episodes include Naruto's graduation from the Ninja Academy and his assignment to a team with Sakura (on whom he nurtures a crush) and Sasuke, his arch-rival. The reluctant trio begins to learn how to work as a team on their first mission under the supervision of Kakashi. The exotic jutsu (ninja techniques), stylized fights and slapstick comedy will keep any Naruto fan happy. (Unrated, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, tobacco use, risqué and toilet humor) --Charles Solomon | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Naruto | | Director:
| Hayato Date | | Format:
| Dolby, Box set, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled | | Language:
| English, Japanese | | Subtitle:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 3 | | Studio:
| VIZ VIDEO | | Run Time:
| 325 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| December 02, 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 77 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 77 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
112 of 132 found the following review helpful:
 Hontoni arigato, Viz! (and I never thought I'd say that to you guys...)Jul 15, 2006
By paxnirvana
This is the kind of respect an anime series should get. Just translate the story as-is and leave the 'interpretation' and reaction to the viewer. Blood and all. [They are ninja you know...] Watch it subtitled for the full effect!
Don't get me wrong -- I fully understand the financial and practical value of releasing a dub version in order to reach the widest possible market. I understand that there are many people who just don't care to read the dialog instead of listen to it. And others who just don't want their pictures cluttered up with words.
But there are still those (like me) who want their anime as close to the original form as possible; uncut and in the original language, and with the original seiyuu (voice actor's) performances intact. So if that's what you're looking for, oh Reader Of This Review, RUN out and buy this set as soon as you can. The translation is good (well... except for "believe it", *sigh* Okay, okay... I can ignore that), the presentation fine and you get a nice bonus in the story-board booklet. But most importantly you get the whole the story of Naruto as originally intended... not just the parts deemed 'safe enough' for general American audiences.
Thank you, Viz, for giving us Naruto fans that much respect - and a choice. I, for one, eagerly await the release of the next set in this uncut series -- money in hand.
...I only wish the ONE PIECE anime could get this same respectful treatment as well. *cries*
2008 EDIT: Yes, this has both a dubbed English track and the Japanese language track with English subtitles. And yes, Funimation does have One Piece and promises us an un-cut release later this month. Woo hoo! Let the Pirate vs. Ninja wars really heat up!
35 of 39 found the following review helpful:
Description of the ShowNov 29, 2007
By Pecos Bill
Most reviews don't seem to actually describe the show, assuming you've already seen it and simply are thinking about the DVDs. I'll see what I can do to describe the show and why it's so appealing:
The character of Naruto is a young ninja-in-training. His village once fought a terrible beast, the "Nine-Tailed Fox", and the only way to defeat it was to trap its soul in the body of an infant. That infant was Naruto.
His parents died in the battle and years later, Naruto finds himself a complete outcast from society. No family, no friends, and a village that doesn't seem to know he exists. He doesn't know the Nine-Tailed fox is imprisoned in him but the villagers all know and they shun him for the fear it causes them.
Naruto decides that the only way he's going to get the recognition he craves is to become the greatest ninja ever known.
Unfortunately for Naruto, his ninja skills are a bit, well, lacking. He is woefully inept at even the most basic ninja skills. Powers easily grasped by other trainees are difficult for him.
However, Naruto has several powerful strengths:
1) He has nearly unlimited energy. All ninjas use "chakra" (sort of like "spirit energy") to do special moves and Naruto seems to have more of it than anyone, thanks to the hidden power of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
2) He never gives up. Long past the point where anyone else would have quit, Naruto will keep trying.
3) Having grown up largely without family or friends, he takes great stock in his newfound campanions picked up in ninja school. Naruto is at his most powerful when his friends are in danger, and the full power of the Nine-Tailed Fox tends to manifest at that point.
4) Naruto has great charisma, of a type. His never-say-never attitude is highly infectious amongst other characters. A key turning point of many of the tales is not only how his hope never turns to despair, but that seeing this, many good people who were struck with despair manage to rally and try harder. If this loser Naruto hasn't given up, they reason, then there's no reason I should give up either. So he wields great power himself at times, but he also consistantly drives other people to work harder and to do the right thing, since none of them want to measure up short to this "hyperactive knucklehead".
5) Naruto is good at heart. One of the tales you'll get into later is Naruto vs Gaara. Gaara's character faced a situation growing up similar to Naruto, but he turned out evil, corrupt and thought that self-reliance was the most important thing. Naruto kept an essential goodness in his heart and knew that goodness was essential and a person's real strength is in his friends and family, no matter how despairing the circumstances seem to be.
All in all, it's a great tale.
Is it good for kids? I say so. Target audience is probably the 12+ range or so. Some of the images and concepts are disturbing, but everything in this show is a means to an end, and the most terrible scenes are a setup for a particular act of courage or moral goodness that counters it. You can find plenty of kid friendly shows out there, but their moral lessons tend to be fluff. Naruto is harder hitting, but the moral lessons are solid, core lessons. This isn't, "it's wrong to steal" or "sharing is caring", this is, "when things are at their darkest, redouble your efforts and keep trying" and "the decision between right and wrong is in your hands, and there is no proper excuse for doing wrong". It's a show with great heart, and I think you'd do well to watch it with your kids rather than simply pre-screening it. Keep an open mind about some of the situations it puts the characters in and wait for the lesson it delivers and I think you'll be well pleased.
As for the DVD set itself, I have two small complaints: the subtitles sometimes go by unnecessarily fast and the extra features are kinda...weak. I actually really like the English voice work, which I thought they did a really good job on, but I thought it would be interesting to hear the original voices so I've been rewatching it in Japanese with English subtitles. In places, the subtitles will literally only give you 2 seconds for quite a large blurb of text. I read fast but there are places where I have to rewind it because I didn't get a chance to read it all. And it's a shame the extra features don't have an interview with someone. Director? Writer? Artist? Voice actor? I'm not picky. I always love to see a "behind the scenes chat" with someone involved with a show and something like that would have been a real nice thing to have.
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
 Great Job on dubbing, but now worth the $$$Jan 03, 2007
By Jason Lee
"apocalyptic720"
>> 13 episodes (for those wondering)
This would be a great deal and worth getting if Naruto ended at episode 50. Unfortunatly the series is REALLY long (and ongoing) as well as loaded with slowely paced episodes which makes the box set not worth its price.
As the review before says, it ends right at the zabuza fight which is where Naruto actually gets interesting.
Just think about it, the best parts in Naruto are around the first 110 episodes, at 40 bucks for 13 episodes thats around 340 dollars! not to mention the series is well over 200 episodes now.
But, the series is amazing. If you're a big fan (like me) maybe you wont mind dishing out that much money for naruto... However, I managed to get a good discount on them which is why im even considering it. It was inevitable that the producers would take advantage of the ongoing Naruto fad.
I would probably wait off until they release more episodes on DVD and make a savings account to afford them when the all come out. That way you wont be left on any cliff hangers =)
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Naruto the hyperactive ninjiaJan 10, 2007
By Luella Peebles
"Gothic Photographer"
I love this series so far, I just wish there were more DVDs in each set. There is only 3 in this one totaling 12 episodes. But it is definitely the way to buy this series. The other way is buying it in singles and you don't get as much for your money.
On a note about the series, the characters all have there own issues. The hero of this story, if you can call him that, is Naruto a hyperactive ninja who wants to do well but keep getting in his own way. He is flanked by his two fellow genin ninja Sasuke and Sakura. Who are both are really good at what they do but have some social issues they need to work out. Mainly when dealing with Naruto. Sasuke wants to be the best and restore his family honor so he really doesn't pay attention to the other ninjas. Where as Sakura thinks Sasuke is the hotting this ever, and she wants to date him. The problem is he not interested, and what makes it all worst is that Naruto has the hots for Sakura. Their teacher is my personally favorite character Kakashi Hatake. Who attitude for teaching is unusually at best, but seems to work for these kids. These first episodes are the usual set up ones to get you use to all the characters. The real fun stuff starts at the end of these disc. I would personally advice switching back and forth from English to Japanese just cause certain characters sound better in each languages. I like the Japanese Naruto over the American one just cause his voice is a bit grading in the American one. Other than that if you like Japanese amine this is a great series to get in to.
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 Great Series Backed Up By Average Box SetsDec 30, 2007
By Shane Lucey
Let me clear this up right now before I even start this review: The Naruto series has many strengths. The characters in it are interesting and unique and the general storyline is great. Furthermore the animation and voicing are stupendous and make the show worth watching.
If I was rating based solely on the the TV series, Naruto would easily get 5 stars; but I'm not. I'm rating the box set as a whole, and honestly it is severely lacking. First of all the set only comes with 3 discs (12 episodes total). For around 50 dollars this is an enormous rip-off. Other series I have purchased recently (DBZ, Lost, Heroes, etc) come with 6-8 discs and over 20 episodes (most of them hour-long episodes) for around the same price if not a little cheaper! Plus each episode is less than half an hour long; that is just a horrible deal right there. Another thing that detracts from the Naruto sets is that it holds back on special features. If you are a fan like me, you love to poke around all the extra tid-bits usually crammed in similar box sets (ie making of, deleted scenes, interviews, etc)!
Finally, the box sets never end on a complete note; they all awkwardly leave off right in the middle of a story. To make this even more excrutiating, the majority of the run time of these discs is taken up by the theme song at the begginning and end and the episode recap. A lot of the animation is just recycled over and over again to eat away the time and plot development.
I give the this product 2 stars only because Naruto itself is a great anime show. Unfortunately the Boxed Sets leave a lot to be desired.
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