Created for Japanese television by Masashi Kishimoto, the half-hour anime series
Naruto
was set in the "ninja village" of Konoha. Protagonist Naruto Uzumaki was a misfit ninja-in-training who resorted to mischief so that people would notice him. Although circumstances had led the villagers to assume that Naruto was a demon, he was actually destined to become the "Hokage," or leader, of Konoha, but he was in desperate need of the input and support of his friends and fellow ninjas in order to accomplish this goal. Iruka and Kakashi were Naruto's main instructors at the Ninja Academy; his rival was Sasuke, heir to the fabled Uchicha ninja family, whose mission in life was to avenge the deaths of his loved ones; and Sakura was a gorgeous female ninja trainee, who was in love with the tactiturn Sasuke -- and who in turn was loved by the moonstruck Naruto. First telecast in Japan on October 3, 2002,
was seen in the U.S. courtesy of Cartoon Network beginning September 10, 2005.