When it comes to Naruto, it was, until fairly recently, considered one of Jump's two great titans alongside ONE PIECE.
The anime was naturally hugely popular too, and even after the main series ended, its sequel, BORUTO, is being serialized to great acclaim in V Jump.
Even those who don't know BORUTO surely know NARUTO.
Naruto Uzumaki is a boy who lost both parents right after birth in the 'Hidden Leaf Village,' one of the five great ninja nations. Because he's a jinchuriki—meaning the soul of a vicious fox demon is sealed within his body—he's hated by everyone in the village. His dream is to become the 'Hokage,' the leader respected by everyone in the Hidden Leaf Village.
Aiming to be a ninja, Naruto attends the Academy, and under Kakashi-sensei he's put on a three-man cell, 'Team 7,' with Sakura-chan, whom Naruto adores, and Sasuke Uchiha, whom Naruto can't stand. At first they did nothing but fight, but as they take on missions together, Naruto deepens his friendship with Sasuke, and the two become good rivals.
On Kakashi's recommendation, Team 7 takes part in the Chunin Exams. Genin candidates for chunin gather from each village in the Hidden Leaf, and through the exam Naruto and the others meet fellow rookies from other Leaf teams as well as Gaara, the prodigy of the Hidden Sand Village. Naruto also succeeds in becoming the disciple of Jiraiya, a great ninja hailed as one of the 'Legendary Sannin' within the village. But behind this exam, Orochimaru—a terrorist who, like Jiraiya, was hailed as one of the 'Legendary Sannin' yet defected from the village for his own ambitions—was scheming alongside the Hidden Sand and Hidden Sound villages he had manipulated, and they finally rise up in revolt during the main exam. Though this battle is somehow suppressed through the valiant efforts of Naruto and the other Leaf ninja, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—the village leader whom Naruto and the others looked up to—loses his life in battle against Orochimaru.
After the battle, thanks in part to the efforts of Naruto and Jiraiya, the Hidden Leaf appoints Tsunade, another of the 'Legendary Sannin,' as the new Hokage and presses on with rebuilding. Along the way, Naruto succeeds in mastering the high-difficulty ninjutsu 'Rasengan.' Meanwhile, a mysterious organization called 'Akatsuki' begins to show signs of stirring within the village. Furthermore, Sasuke—who sought revenge against his older brother Itachi Uchiha, an Akatsuki member who once slaughtered his entire clan and defected from the village—defects himself in pursuit of power and runs to Orochimaru. After that, Naruto sets out on a training journey with Jiraiya.
And that's the story of the original NARUTO version, which comes before NARUTO Shippuden.
From the original NARUTO version to NARUTO Shippuden, the composer changed from Toshio Masuda / the Musashi Project to Yasuharu Takanashi / -yaiba-.
This NARUTO Shippuden's score is extremely highly regarded—it won the JASRAC Award 'International Prize' in 2013, and went on to win again in 2014 and from 2020 to 2024 (seven times in total), making it the work with the most International Prize wins ever.
So let's take a look at the score.
First, the main theme, Shippuden.
It's a cool track that practically symbolizes Naruto—you can picture him doing the 'Naruto run' with his arms spread wide, dashing toward the sun.
Next is 'Hidden Power.' It's a quiet track that conjures the image of power slowly awakening. Just what is the source of that hidden power—good, or evil...?
Finally, 'Turning the Tables.' It's such a cool track that it's no exaggeration to call it NARUTO Shippuden's execution BGM. Man, hearing this at a live show would get the crowd pumped.
And that's it—three NARUTO Shippuden tracks, every one a masterpiece, which made them tough to choose.
