Recently in Naruto Shippuuden Category

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

With the new year just around the corner, I find myself mulling over anime I saw this year. Some were horrible, a few were excellent but most were entertaining enough.

I noticed many of the shows I watched had a supernatural or magical theme. I don't even remember seeing anything mecha-related. Sorry but giant robots leave me cold.

I have to feed the artsy fartsy side of moi now and then so I gravitate toward shows that look unique, tackle an unusual subject matter or tell a tale in a way I haven't seen before. "Mononoke", which deals with the adventures of an unusual medicine peddler, fit that bill. You should check out the show when you have the chance. I suppose you could say "Mononoke" was a spinoff of "Ayakashi" since the peddler was a character in one of the featured tales there.


Yes, I also saw my share of shonen anime from "Naruto Shippudden" to "D. Grayman" this year. The latter ended recently and was a letdown. Since the manga isn't finished, the animators decided to end the show just after the Black Order's headquarters get attacked. Lame. I hope they later come out with movies.

Do stay away from the mess that is "Le Chevalier D'eon". It is loosely based on a historical figure who was a spy for the king of France and who had a fondness for wearing women's clothing. In the anime, he dons dresses when the ghost of his murdered sister possesses him. The show is a mishmash of historical figures involved in conspiracies, secret societies and other arcane stuff. While the animation is beautiful, the plot is too convoluted and unbelievable. And anyone who loves history better steer clear of this anime which plays fast and loose with the facts.

I enjoys fansubs like a lot of anime fans because I get to watch a series airing currently or just finished airing in Japan. However, I always make a point to buy the licensed versions of shows I like.

With the advent of the Internet, it has made it easier and faster for anime fans to see current shows. Not surprisingly, some anime companies are opting to license a series even before it finishes its run in Japan or they're choosing to show episodes online.

VIZ media announced that beginning January 15, it will begin streaming "Naruto Shippuden" just days after being shown in Japan. It will be free and available at www.Naruto.com There will also be an accelerated publishing plan for the "Naruto" manga beginning in February 2009.

"Naruto Shippuden" picks up the tale after a now 15-year-old Naruto returns to Konoha from his training with Jiraiya. Everyone in his group has advanced in rank except him. Gaara is now Kazekage and Sakura is now a medical ninja.

Here's the release from VIZ:

"This campaign is the latest expansion of VIZ Media's ongoing strategy to utilize the web to its maximum potential to stream a variety of hit animated properties.

Beginning on January 15, the latest episode of "Naruto Shippuden" (English-subtitled) will be available for free viewing on the official "Naruto" website, www.Naruto.com, within days of its original air date in Japan. A new English-subtitled episode will be added every Thursday thereafter.

On January 2nd, VIZ Media will also debut for free, eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes from the beginning of the "Naruto Shippuden" series on www.Naruto.com. Each Friday thereafter there will be an additional eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes added on Naruto.com until the series eventually catches up to the current third season of the hit program. Also, coming this week, an exclusive sneak peek of "Naruto Shippuden" debuting on Naruto.com.

On the manga side, VIZ Media has unveiled an accelerated publishing schedule for upcoming editions of the "Naruto" series, making them available to North American audiences sooner than ever before offered by VIZ Media. Beginning in February 2009, 11 new volumes of "Naruto" will be released over three months, moving the series from Volume 34 (February 2009) to Volume 44 (April 2009) before returning to a quarterly release schedule beginning with Volume 45 (July 2009).

Earlier "Naruto" episodes are also currently available for free through a variety of web-based, video streaming outlets that have partnered with VIZ Media, including HULU and JOOST."

A co-worker asked yesterday why I don't update this blog every day. Hmmm. I'd love to just do this instead of covering crime but I think my boss wouldn't be too thrilled with that.

Besides, someone has to chronicle the evil things that people do. Might as well be me. I've been covering crime so long, I'm pretty much not shocked by anything anymore. But I wouldn't subject anyone else to this. The world I cover isn't black and white but shades of gray. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Now back to yakking about anime which actually keeps me sane.

I finally managed to catch up on all those episodes of "Naruto Shipuuden" I've missed. SPOILER ALERT. Naruto and the gang have recovered Gaara's body. Chiyo-baba, the Sand Village elder, is thinking of reviving him using her life force.

Yep, it took a long time for her and Sakura to get rid of her evil grandson, Sassori, who was a member of Akatsuki and a former partner of Orochimaru. And did we really need those clone fights with Gai-sensei's team? I like Neji a lot but their fights just dragged on too long.

Next episode is the manga chapter where Chiyo-baba uses Naruto's seemingly endless supply of chakra to revive the dead Gaara.

"Kekkaishi" or "Barrier Master" has grown on me. It went from a ho-hum monster of the week show to a more interesting show with sibling rivalry, angsty half monsters and an evil organization doing everything to take over Karasumori which is that patch of powerful land Yoshimori and Tokine protect as the current kekkaishi of their families.

The evil organization has launched an all-out assault against our heroes to wrest Karasumori away from them. Their leader, a fox spirit called Princess, isn't going to last much longer and their headquarters will fall once she's gone. Or so that's what one of her minions said.

Why Yoshimori's grandpa, who is way more powerful than him, is just sleeping at home is beyond me. At least his cunning and powerful older brother, Masamori, has an excuse. The evil spy in his group has seen fit to dispatch Masamori and his team away from the fray about to break out over Karasumori.

In "D.Gray-man", the Millennium Earl is peeved that another exorcist has come into being when her crystal ball turned out to be actually Innocence. It is a substance the Earl's foes, the Black Order, uses to fight against him.

In addition to the storyline, I also like this show's character designs. Fans were out in force at the last Anime Expo looking really spiffy in their exorcist uniforms which were probably bought from some store. They didn't look handmade.

Anyway, there's only four more episodes left of the first season. There's going to be a second season of "D.Gray-man." Ditto with "Kekkaishi." I can't wait.

I saw this cover of a PS2 "Naruto Shippuuden" game. I haven't played it so I have no idea if it's good. I was just looking for images of an older Naruto to use.

Ja ne.

Spent most of the weekend catching up on "Bleach" shows I missed. I've seen up to episode 112 and still have aways to go. Yeah I saw the last three episodes related to the "Bounto" arc. Hate that storyline. Thank heavens the show is now back on track with the Arrancar/Vaizard storyline.

Also saw episodes 4 and 5 of "Naruto Shippuuden" which shows an older Naruto and Sakura besting their sensei Kakashi. But the main action is happening at the Hidden Village of Sand where two members of Akatsuki are trying to snatch Gaara who is now the head of the village or Kazekage. Gaara is currently fighting an Akatsuki member who uses clay to make animal figures that move and explode. The fiend in question has hands with mouths. The hands chew the clay and spit out these figurines. Creepy.

There's a flashback that show Gaara has turned his thinking around thanks to Naruto. He cares about others now instead of just fighting for himself and killing people. I know what happens to him on this story arc but I won't spoil it for the rest of you. Suffice it to say it's a tearjerker. Can't wait for that episode.

Photo I used features characters from "Naruto Shippuuden". The dude in white with spiky hair is how Sasuke looks now. The blond guy with a lock of hair covering one eye is the Akatsuki creep with the weird hands.

I stopped watching "Naruto" at episode 145 or so when it started doing stories that wasn't part of the manga. "Naruto" ended at episode 220.

Naruto Shippuuden or Naruto: Hurricane Chronicles started airing February in Japan. The show picks up the story when a 15-year-old Naruto returns to Konoha after two years training with Jiraiya. I saw episodes one to three this weekend and I must say I like it a lot.

I saw this on You Tube, it's the opening song of "Naruto Shippuuden". Not bad at all. What do you think?