It’s been quite a while since Naruto first hit the scene. Can you believe it’s already been 20 years since the ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village appeared in the pages of Shonen Jump? My how time flies.
Since his debut, the young ninja trainee has grown into his own and fulfilled his dream of finally becoming the Hokage of Konohagakure. His son has even picked up the torch and is starring in his own sequel series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generation.
To celebrate the success of the Naruto franchise, VIZ Media has announced on its official Twitter account that the “Year of Naruto” will kick off at New York Comic Con next month. And as we all know, there’s no party like a ninja party!
BELIEVE IT! We're excited to announce The Year of Naruto – a celebration of 20 years of the world's most-loved ninja! 🍥 pic.twitter.com/TqYDbqHOn2
— VIZ (@VIZMedia) September 5, 2019
These upcoming plans include “video games, events featuring pop-up installations, panel discussions and other special live programming, and an array of product activations and collaborations with top global lifestyle brands.”
An exclusive and numbered poster will be available at the convention along with an “official skateboard deck by Hypland.” We can only imagine what other awesome merchandise that’ll be available for purchase during the show.
It all sounds really exciting and we can’t wait to hear more things throughout the year. Keep your fingers crossed that there will be something planned for folks who won’t be able to make it out to NYCC.
Naruto was originally created by Masashi Kishimoto and was first serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. The manga series ran for 700 chapters, which was collected in 72 volumes. In 2002, it was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex, which included over 200 episodes and a number of animated movies. You can currently stream Naruto on Crunchyroll.
A sequel series was launched entitled Boruto: Naruto Next Generation and it featured the children of many of the key characters. That includes the children of Naruto and Hinata. This series can also be streamed on Crunchyroll.