It's no secret that North American Naruto fans are way behind the Japanese releases. We haven't got to read half the content yet, and even the anime series seems to be a long ways away from airing the stuff the manga is now covering. Hoping to catch fans up at least a little, Viz is going to be releasing a batch of three manga at a time starting in February, culminating in a total of eleven books within a three month time span.

The recent release of Naruto's thirty-first volume (review coming shortly) isn't only a great book, but it's breaking records too. In its first week of release, Naruto jumped onto the USA Today's best-sellers list, landing at the twenty-fourth spot, which is the highest position a debut manga has ever achieved on the list.

I think it was Sakura who first pulled me in and got me hooked on the Naruto anime, eventually transitioning that anime love to the manga. I'm a sucker for cute anime girls with pink hair, but then again, aren't we all? Despite being initially drawn to the character, Sakura really hasn't been that great of a ninja, or ever a major part of any battle. However, has Sakura's training with Tsunade changed all of that, making her now a vital member of the team?

Things aren't looking too good for Gaara in the twenty-ninth volume of Naruto, which is the second release in the post time jump period. Volume 29 is much more action oriented than the last, but featuring two spectacular battles on epic proportions with some of the largest Naruto players being front and center for the action. Is slam-bang action enough for this volume or is something more missing?

For the Naruto fans that have adhered strictly to the North American releases of the manga, volume 28 is like a dream come true. Finally, for those who don't jump online to find the latest scans and fan translations, we can see what everyone is talking about when it comes to the post time gap series. So has the wait been worth it?

I'm a huge Naruto fan, collecting the manga, playing almost every game that comes out with the name attached, and watching the anime (well, except recently, because I hate the filler episodes). Naruto isn't just dominating my life, however, as the series' manga is being published throughout 23 countries and the anime is shown in over 60 countries. For all the Naruto haters, perhaps it's just time to jump on the bandwagon and give yourself over to the phenom before it completely rules the world.

The only quality Naruto of recent has been the numerous games and the manga itself, which has since moved on to the Shippuden series. When I heard the second Naruto movie was being released, I prayed that it would be better than the first one. I was pleasantly surprised by the second film, which managed to excel despite a few blatantly telegraphed story points. So why is the second movie a return to quality form?

I'm actually downloading iTunes right now for the first time, but whether I use it to purchase any anime episodes remains to be seen. The Anime News Network is reporting that iTunes has now added Bleach, Naruto, and Death Note episodes to its services.

"English dubbed versions of the first 41 episodes of Bleach, all 37 episodes of Death Note, and the first 25 uncut episodes of Naruto are now on the service."

Argh! I'm so frustrated by this! I don't have a clue at all as to what the characters are saying or even why Sasuke actually seems to be helping Naruto in this (I'm only three volumes deep into the Shippūden series since that's all that has come out in the States), but already I'm wanting to see this film. I miss my Naruto. Yes, there is still an hour of new episodes every week on Cartoon Network, but those fillers aren't very good at all. In fact, the only thing I like about the fillers is that they showoff many of the overlooked secondary characters of Naruto.

PS. I love Hinata...that is all. Go view the trailer.