English-dubbed uncut episodes of "Naruto" started airing on Joost.com and Hulu.com on Wednesday, according to VIZ Media.

Joost and Hulu are online video services that offer TV shows, movies and clips for free. The first five episodes of "Naruto" were made available April 15 with a new English-dubbed episode launching every Wednesday. Each episode will stream on both Joost (US and Canada) and Hulu (US) for about five weeks then rotate off the site making room for the next new episodes.

Joost.com and Hulu.com began showing episodes of "Naruto" with English subtitles last September.

For more info on the show and if you want to watch free episodes of "Naruto Shippuden" (English subtitled), head to www.Naruto.com.

Attention Naruto fans.

VIZ Media announced today that the latest installment of "Naruto Shippuden" will be shown free March 26 on its official Naruto Web site, www.naruto.com , the same day it will air in Japan.

Episode 101 (with English subtitles) can also be viewed in Canada but on www.Joost.com

VIZ points out that this is the first time the official U.S. Naruto Web site will air an episode with the broadcast in Japan. As the company says in its release: "The special simulcast is part of VIZ Media's ongoing plan to bring hit animated properties and the latest content to its audience via the Web."

I suspect it's a way to bypass fansubs.

"Naruto" is a popular anime and manga here and in the land of the Rising Sun. Anime conventions always seem to have tons of fans dressed up as the teen-aged ninja Naruto or other characters from the show. OK the correct term for such a fan is a "cosplayer".

Final parting shot from VIZ. Earlier "Naruto" episodes are available for free on several Web-based, video streaming outlets that partnered with VIZ Media, including HULU and JOOST. "Naruto Shippuden" episodes can be viewed for free on www.naruto.com

As part of a promo, VIZ Media announced that the first episode of "Blue Dragon" can be downloaded for free on the iTunes Store until March 10. Go to www.itunes.com/tv/bluedragon.

The animated series is based on the Xbox 360 role playing game. As the company describes it: "Seven Soldiers of Light must awaken the Shadow within themselves in time to overcome a despotic power and bring peace to their land. Their ensuing journey through a rich fantasy world is also an internal journey to awaken the great power within each of them."

The Xbox 360 game "Blue Dragon" was developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi who is the creator of Final Fantasy. The anime aired on TV Tokyo in Japan on April 7, 2007 and was produced by Studio Pierrot.

For more information on the show, head to Bluedragon.viz.com, which features trailers, character descriptions, artwork from the animation and news related to the show.

A powerful spirit masquerading as a gluttonous cat that loves to drink and an orphan with the ability to see spirits are back this winter in "Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou."

Yes, Nyanko-sensei and Takashi Natsume are back for a second season. Viewers first met them in "Natsume Yuujinchou" which chronicled how Takashi ended up living with a kindly couple in a small town, met the cat who wasn't a cat and learned that his late grandmother possessed the same ability as he did.

Reiko Natsume could see spirits but unlike her placid grandson, challenged these otherworldy beings. When they lost to her, she would take their real names and jot it down in what would later be called "The Book of Friends." Takashi inherited the book and much of season one dealt with him returning the names of the spirits.

I loved the first season because I'm a sucker for supernatural anime that doesn't fit the norm. Some folks might find the show too slow. Consider it a break from shows where middle schoolers carry weapons that blow up half the town or giant robots stomp all over the bad guys.

In the second season, Takashi is more comfortable with his power and continues with his fair treatment of spirits and non-humans. He found a dragon egg, helped it hatch and protected it from a spirit who wanted to eat the young. It didn't look like a dragon though when it grew up, more like a bird. And when it hatched, it adopted a humanoid shape.

Takashi doesn't tell his foster parents about his ability. He fears he will lose the only stable home he ever had.

His supposed bodyguard, Madarao or Nyanko-sensei, is still with him. Everyone sees Nyanko-sensei as the fat cat that tags along after Takashi. He claims he's only around because the teen promised him "The Book of Friends" after he's gone. But you know he is fond of the human boy. And Takashi likes having the fat furball around too.

Watching the series for me is a weekly treat. And just when I think that animators are churning out more and more crappy anime just to please fanboys and fangirls, along comes a show like "Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou" to change my mind.

That's not the case with "Toradora" which is a show I actually look forward to seeing every week. It's set in a high school and deals with the lives and loves of several students. The lead characters are Ryuji Takasu who is unfortunate enough to be born with his father's mean eyes so people think he's a juvenile delinquent and Taiga Aisaka, the short petite girl with a horrible temper who lives alone and is called the "Palm top Tiger." Taiga sounds like tiger, get it? Anyway, she's vicious enough for the nickname to stick.

The show is a play on their names. Ryu is dragon and tora is tiger in Japanese. And if you try to say "dragon" in Japanese, one would say doragon. Or so Wikipedia says.

Taiga has a huge crush on Ryuji's friend, Yusaku Kitamura, who once upon a time confessed his affection to her. And Ryuji harbors this big crush on Taiga's bubbly friend, Minori Kushieda.

Their paths cross when Ryuji accidentally gets the lover letter Taiga wrote for Yusaku. She comes to Ryuji's house at night intending to beat the crap out of him. They end up agreeing to help each other win their respective crushes.

Despite his beady eyes, Ryuji is really a sweetheart who can cook well and is obsessed with cleaning, He ends up being Taiga's caretaker of sorts when he finds out she lives alone in this big messy apartment next to his small house and subsists on takeout, She can't stand her father and stepmother.

But "Toradora" is not just your run of the mill high school anime revolving around romance. Most of the characters have depth to them and some of the episodes make you reach for a tissue.

Ryuji learned to be cook and housekeeper since his widowed mother works nights as a hostess at a bar. He is perceptive and kind but finds it hard to tell Minori how he feels. Lately though, he's become a little braver asking her to the Christmas party, And when she said she wouldn't come, he yelled that he would wait for her. Aaaaw.

At the same time, Ryuji's feelings for the little terror who eats and hangs around his house is changing. It bothers him that their fellow classmates are rooting for Taiga and Yusaku to be a couple.

Taiga, who is used to being on her own, doesn't think twice about Ryuji cooking her meals, packing her lunch or cleaning her apartment for free. She calls him her "dog" but feels comfortable enough around him to tell him the reason why she really likes Christmas. At his insistence, she gave her father another chance to be a parent. Now instead of just Minori, she also has him on her side.

You don't have to be a psychic to know the two will end up liking each other as more than friends, But the show sure makes the trip to this likely path enjoyable.

VIZ Media announced it will be releasing the following shojo manga series during the first quarter of 2009.

Published under the company's Shojo Beat imprint, the new series will include "Heaven's Will," The Magic Touch" and "Otomen" as well as VIZBIG editions of "Fushigi Yugi" and "Hot Gimmick."

The VIZBIG titles is bigger than a regular manga and has new cover art and added content such as author interviews, updated text and character art.

"FUSHIGI YUGI VIZBIG · Rated "T+" for older teens. $17.99. Available now. The fantasy series is from Yu Watase, one of Japan's top manga creators. It is a tale of a normal junior-high-school girl who is transported into a fictional version of ancient China after reading a strange book called "The Universe of the Four Gods". While there she becomes a High Priestess and encounters an array of villains and dashing heroes but yet she still manages to worry about her grades and her next school banquet. Each VIZBIG edition contains three volumes, bonus color content, and updated text.

HOT GIMMICK VIZBIG · Rated "T+" for older teens. $17.99. Available March 17, 2009
In tiny, company-owned rabbit-hutch apartments live tenants who can't afford to live anywhere else. This apartment complex, in which high-school girl Hatsumi Narita lives, is ruled over by the rumor-mongering, self-righteous Mrs. Tachibana. Get on her bad side and life becomes hell. One day Hatsumi buys a pregnancy test for her popular but flirty sister Akane. Mrs. Tachibana's son, Ryoki, who used to bully Hatsumi as a kid, promises not to tell the world about Hatsumi's secret, only if she will become his slave. Soon after a boy named Azusa, who was Hatsumi's protector in their youth, reappears to save her again! He's moving back into the neighborhood, and despite a budding romance between Hatsumi and Azusa, Ryoki continues to have control over her through the secret pact that could ruin the lives of everyone in Hatsumi's family. Usually a sensible and mild-mannered young girl, Hatsumi suddenly finds herself in a swirl of drama that threatens to drive her totally crazy.

Miki Aihara, who created "Hot Gimmick", made her debut in 1991 with Lip Conscious!, which was published in the Bessatsu Shojo Comic anthology and she remains a major contributor to the magazine.

HEAVEN'S WILL · Rated "T" for Teens. $8.99. Available now
Sudou Mikuzu has a very special talent/power - she can see ghosts. And because of this, she's become a magnet for all sorts of unwelcome spirits and monsters. Lucky for her she's just met Seto, a friendly, cross-dressing young exorcist. Sudou needs protection from all the creepy phantoms bugging her and Seto needs to practice his exorcism skills. Consequently, the pair decides to team up and help each other. In return for Seto's help, Sudou promises to bake him a cake every time a ghost gets zapped!

Created by Satoru Takamiya, HEAVEN'S WILL first appeared as a short story in Chu Chu magazine, a Japanese shojo manga anthology for teen girls published by Shogakukan.

THE MAGIC TOUCH · Rated "T+" for Older teens. $8.99. Available February 3, 2009.
Aside from being the star of her high school's Massage Research Society club, Chiaki Togu is a normal, quiet girl--until she falls head over heels in love with a gorgeous back, which happens to belong to Yosuke, the hottest guy at her school! Unfortunately, Chiaki's attraction to Yosuke is thwarted by her own insecurity and the scheming of other girls, especially those of her twin sister Sayaka! Although Yosuke seems out of Chiaki's league, she will do almost anything to give him a massage. The two eventually strike a deal where she will be allowed to touch his back if she can make him fall in love with her. What Chiaki doesn't know is the real reason Yosuke wants to hang around her: to avenge his younger brother, who was allegedly deceived and dumped by somebody named Chiaki Togu! Is this a simple case of mistaken identity or the beginning of a tragedy?

THE MAGIC TOUCH was created by Izumi Tsubaki, who began drawing manga during her first year of high school. She was soon selected to be among the Top 10 artists selected by manga anthology Hana to Yume and went on to win the publication's Big Challenge manga contest. THE MAGIC TOUCH was a best seller in Japan.

OTOMEN · Rated "T" for teens. $8.99 US. Available February 3, 2009
Asuka Masamune is a guy who loves girly things-sewing, knitting, making cute stuffed animals and reading shojo manga. But in a world where boys are expected to act manly, Asuka must hide his beloved hobbies and instead play the part of a masculine jock. Ryo Miyakozuka, on the other hand, is a girl who can't sew or bake a cake to save her life. Asuka finds himself attracted to Ryo, but she likes only the manliest of men! Can Asuka ever show his true self to anyone, much less to the girl that he's falling for?

OTOMEN, created by Aya Kanno, is currently being serialized in Japan's BetsuHana magazine. OTOMEN is a best seller in Japan, with each new volume appearing in the Top 15 of Japan's Tohan rankings that chart manga popularity and sales."

Here's the latest news from VIZ Media which could mean less money in the pockets of the anime and manga addicts out there.

"VIZ Media announced a partnership with Zazzle to launch a new line of J-Pop, manga and anime-inspired apparel, stationery, and other items. VIZ Media's J-Pop Style Stop at Zazzle is located at www.zazzle.com/vizmedia and offers a variety of visually compelling and original designs inspired by a love of Japanese pop culture available on an on-demand basis with most products produced within 24 hours of ordering.

The Zazzle partnership represents VIZ Media's first foray into the 'on-demand' arena and is focused initially on several original (non-licensed) designs. The result will allow fans and the general public to show their enthusiasm for Japanese pop culture in a unique way with fun designs. The partnership is the initial phase of a larger projected product rollout with Zazzle that will tentatively include shojo (female)-focused fashion designs and other special designs to come in 2009.

The first VIZ Media design phase offers graphics that are available through Zazzle.com on T-shirts, note cards, real US postage, bags, and other fun items. The program allows fans and the general public alike to show their adoration for manga and anime by being able to choose from some great designs and customize them to their liking. This first phase of designs will include graphics with wording such as a manga panel that says 'I Love Manga' and a similar one that says 'I love Anime', available on T-shirts, note cards, stamps, bags and more.

Digital printing is considered the leading technology for on-demand apparel customization. It provides literally millions of colors and makes it affordable to manufacture even a single item, as opposed to other more cumbersome processes, which offer a limited color palette and often require the customer to order in bulk quantities because of high setup costs.

This partnership is just the first step for VIZ Media into the original design and the 'on demand' world - both of which will better serve fans old and new. This launch is the beginning of a projected 'bigger picture' rolls out with Zazzle, which ultimately may include more shojo-focused fashion designs, bigger statement 'otaku' (fan of anime and manga) designs and additional popular designs

Some of the new J-Pop designs were also included in the official gift bags that were distributed to the talent that presented and performed at the 2008 SPIKE TV Video Game Awards in December, where the VIZ Media-licensed video game, Ubisoft's Naruto: The Broken Bond, was one of the nominees for Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show."