Ask John: Will the Naruto Anime be Coming to America?

Question:
I noticed that Samurai Deeper Kyo and .hack//SIGN were not licensed (or were not announced as licensed) for distro in America until the shows had completed airing on Japanese television. Does this mean that Naruto won’t be licensed until the entire series is concluded? I really want to buy R1 Naruto DVDs (and I’m sure a lot of other people out there do too), so I hope that it is licensed this year. What do you think?

Answer:
Actually, the .hack//SIGN anime TV series was officially announced as licensed for American release in May 2002, only a month after it’s Japanese television premier. The extent to which an anime series has been released in Japan is actually not necessarily a factor in its American licensing. Recent examples include Media Blasters licensing the 68 episode Juuni Kokki TV series which is still ongoing in Japan, Viz licensing the ongoing Inuyasha TV series, Warner Bros. licensing the currently ongoing Rockman.exe TV animation, and even companies including AD Vision, Media Blasters and TOKYOPOP licensing anime titles like Parasite Dolls, Shaolin Sisters, Mars, Mao Dante, and Varoom One before they even went into production in Japan.

At this point anything written here is just speculation. However, I’m guessing that American fans may see anime TV series including Slam Dunk, Naruto, Mammotte! Shugo Getten, and Grappler Baki released in America eventually. Both Viz and Gutsoon! have hinted that the animated versions of manga published in their respective magazines- Shonen Jump and Raijin Comics- may be coming to America. Out of the Shonen Jump titles that have anime adaptations, Yu-Gi-Oh, Dragonball, Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece are already licensed for American release. It wouldn’t be surprising then to see the Shaman King and Naruto anime also soon announced for American release. Gutsoon! Entertainment announced last year plans to eventually expand into importing animation. Although Gutsoon hasn’t yet delivered the premium DVD promised to inaugural annual subscribers, Gutsoon announced last June that inaugural annual subscribers to Raijin Comics (who selected the DVD as a free premium) would receive a free DVD disc containing the first TV episodes of the Baki the Grappler TV series and upcoming Souten no Ken TV series. This would seem to hint that Gutsoon! had plans to bring at least the Grappler Baki TV series to America eventually.

Considering that the Naruto anime is based on a best selling Shonen Jump manga title, the odds are that the animation will be fairly long. The Shaman King TV series lasted a relatively short 64 episodes. Yu Yu Hakusho had 112 episodes. One Piece is still going strong at 148 episodes and counting. Dragonball lasted through a total of 508 episodes. With odds in favor of Naruto being a fairly long television series, I’d guess that if it’s going to be announced for American release, the announcement will come while the series is still ongoing in Japan. And considering the phenomenal success of Shonen Jump’s American magazine, I have little doubt it will take very long for some American company to capitalize on that success by acquiring the American distribution rights to the Naruto anime.