This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is a member of the genus Panthera and the largest living cat species native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail, and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is traditionally classified into nine recentsubspecies, though some recognise only two subspecies, mainland Asian tigers and island tigers of the Sunda Islands.
Since the early 20th century, tiger populations have lost at least 93% of their historic range and are locally extinct in West and Central Asia, in large areas of China, and on the islands of Java and Bali. Today, the tiger's range is severely fragmented. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as its range is thought to have declined by 53% to 68% since the late 1990s. Major reasons for this decline are habitat destruction and fragmentation due to deforestation, poaching for fur, and the illegal trade of tiger body parts for medicinal purposes. Tigers are also victims of human–wildlife conflict as they attack and prey on livestock in areas where natural prey is scarce.
The tiger is legally protected in all range countries. National conservation measures consist of action plans, anti-poaching patrols and schemes for monitoring tiger populations. In several range countries, wildlife corridors have been established and tiger reintroduction is planned..
The tiger is among the most popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It has been kept in captivity since ancient times and has been trained to perform in circuses and other entertainment shows. The tiger featured prominently in the ancient mythology and folklore of cultures throughout its historic range and has continued to appear in culture worldwide.
The Old Englishtigras derives from Old Frenchtigre, from Latintigris, which was a borrowing from Classical Greekτίγρις 'tigris'.[4]
Since ancient times, the word tigris has been suggested to originate from the Armenian or Persian word for 'arrow', which may also be the origin of the name for the river Tigris.[5][6] However, today, the connection between the animal and the river is doubted, and they are likely to be homonyms.[6]
Nine recent tiger subspecies have been proposed between the early 19th and early 21st centuries, the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South China, Siberian, Caspian, Javan, Bali and Sumatran tigers.[9][10] The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999 as most putative subspecies were distinguished on the basis of fur length and colouration, striping patterns and body size of specimens in natural history museum collections that are not necessarily representative for the entire population, it was proposed to recognise only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia and the smaller P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands.[11]
This two-subspecies proposal was reaffirmed in 2015 through a comprehensive analysis of morphological, ecological, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) traits of all putative tiger subspecies. The continental nominate subspeciesP. t. tigris constitutes two clades: a northern clade composed of the Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and a southern clade composed of all other mainland populations.[10]
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy in accordance with the 2015 two-subspecies proposal and recognised only P. t. tigris and P. t. sondaica.[12] Results of a 2018 whole-genome sequencing study of 32 samples from the six living putative subspecies—the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South China, Siberian and Sumatran tiger—found them to be distinct and separate clades.[13] These results were corroborated in 2021 and 2023.[14][15] The Cat Specialist Group states that "Given the varied interpretations of data, the [subspecific] taxonomy of this species is currently under review by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group."[16]
The following tables are based on the classification of the tiger as of 2005,[9] and also reflect the classification recognised by the Cat Classification Task Force in 2017.[12]
This population inhabits the Indian subcontinent.[17] The Bengal tiger has shorter fur than tigers further north,[8] with a light tawny to orange-red colouration,[8][18] and relatively long and narrow nostrils.[19]
This population occurred from Turkey to around the Caspian Sea.[17] It had bright rusty-red fur with thin and closely spaced brownish stripes,[21] and a broad occipital bone.[11] Genetic analysis revealed that it was closely related to the Siberian tiger.[22] It has been extinct since the 1970s.[23]
This population lives in the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea.[17] The Siberian tiger has long hair and dense fur.[24] Its ground colour varies widely from ochre-yellow in winter to more reddish and vibrant after moulting.[25] The skull is shorter and broader than the skulls of tigers further south.[19]
This tiger historically lived in south-central China.[17] The skulls of the five type specimens had shorter carnassials and molars than tigers from India, a smaller cranium, orbits set closer together and larger postorbital processes; skins were yellowish with rhombus-like stripes.[26] It has a unique mtDNA haplotype due to interbreeding with ancient tiger lineages.[12][27][28] It is extinct in the wild as there has not been a confirmed sighting since the 1970s,[1] and survives only in captivity.[15]
This tiger population occurs on the Indochinese Peninsula.[17] Indochinese tiger specimens are smaller with smaller skulls than specimens from India and appear to have darker fur with slightly narrower stripes.[29][30]
The Malayan tiger was proposed as a distinct subspecies on the basis of mtDNA and micro-satellite sequences that differ from the Indochinese tiger.[31] It does not differ significantly in fur colour or skull size from Indochinese tigers.[30] There is no clear geographical barrier between tiger populations in northern Malaysia and southern Thailand.[1]
This tiger was described based on an unspecified number of skins with short and smooth hair.[24] Tigers from Java were small compared to tigers of the Asian mainland, had relatively elongated skulls compared to the Sumatran tiger, and longer, thinner and more numerous stripes.[30] The Javan tiger is thought to have gone extinct by the 1980s.[23]
This tiger occurred on Bali and had brighter fur and a smaller skull than the Javan tiger.[32][33] A typical feature of Bali tiger skulls is the narrow occipital bone, which is similar to the Javan tiger's skull.[34] The tiger went extinct in the 1940s.[23]
The type specimen from Sumatra had dark fur.[35] The Sumatran tiger has particularly long hair around the face,[17] thick body stripes,[30] and a broader and smaller nasal bone than other island tigers.[30][19]
The tiger shares the genus Panthera with the lion, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard. Results of genetic analyses indicate that the tiger and snow leopard are sister species whose lineages split from each other between 2.70 and 3.70 million years ago.[37] The tiger's whole genome sequencing shows repeated sequences that parallel those in other cat genomes.[38]
The fossil species Panthera palaeosinensis of early Pleistocene northern China was described as a possible tiger ancestor when it was discovered in 1924, but modern cladistics places it as basal to modern Panthera.[39][40]Panthera zdanskyi, which lived around the same time and place, was suggested to be a sister species of the modern tiger when it was examined in 2014.[40] However, as of 2023, at least two subsequent studies considered P. zdanskyi likely to be a synonym of P. palaeosinensis, noting that its proposed differences from that species fell within the range of individual variation.[41][42] The earliest appearance of the modern tiger species in the fossil record are jaw fragments from Lantion in China that are dated to the early Pleistocene.[40]
Middle- to late-Pleistocene tiger fossils have been found throughout China, Sumatra and Java. Prehistoric subspecies include Panthera tigris trinilensis and P. t. soloensis of Java and Sumatra, and P. t. acutidens of China; late Pleistocene and early Holocene fossils of tigers have also been found in
Dynasty Warriors 6 (真・三國無双5, Shin Sangoku Musōu 5) is a hack and slash video game set in Ancient China, during a period called Three Kingdoms (around 200AD). This game is the sixth official installment in the Dynasty Warriors series, developed by Omega Force and published by Koei. The game was released on November 11, 2007 in Japan; the North American release was February 19, 2008 while the Europe release date was March 7, 2008. A version of the game was bundled with the 40GB PlayStation 3 in Japan.[9]Dynasty Warriors 6 was also released for Windows in July 2008.[10] A version for PlayStation 2 was released on October and November 2008 in Japan and North America respectively. An expansion, titled Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires was unveiled at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show[11] and released in May 2009.
This installment varies greatly from past games in the series. One of the game's key additions is the Renbu[12] system, a new way for characters to build up their attack combos. In previous installments in the series, combos were affected by the quality of weapon the character was wielding, with more powerful weapons allowing characters longer, more elaborate and often more powerful consecutive attacks. The Renbu system replaces this system with a gauge that gradually fills as you perform attacks. Performing attacks and dealing damage to the enemy fills the Renbu gauge, eventually earning a new rank/level, while taking damage and not attacking for a time drops the gauge; if you take a lot of damage or go for a long time without inflicting damage then the gauge may even drop back down to the previous level. However even at Renbu Rank 1 characters will be able to perform non-ending combos on the enemy. Without unlocking Renbu Ranks 3 and Infinite from the skill tree though, players can only progress to Renbu Rank 2 (with the exception of the temporary Rank Infinity acquired temporarily by collecting a certain item on the battlefield).
Another major addition is the skill tree, from which characters can earn higher Renbu Ranks, special abilities and improve their attributes. As the progression of the skill tree moves from left to right, those on the right side of the tree are harder to unlock than those on the left. Typically the one which unlocks Infinite Renbu is on the farthest right.
Unique movesets for each character have been largely reduced. Only characters who have Musou Mode receive original movesets (with the exception of Diao Chan); the rest of the characters playable only in Free Mode have cloned movesets based on the Musou Mode characters with altered properties (with the exception of Xiao Qiao, who retains her fan moveset). Due to the addition of Renbu system, the traditional "fourth weapon" from previous games have been removed with the three normal weapons no longer being quality-based. Each weapons obtained have random stats and effects implemented and the "weight system" from previous game have been replaced by weapon categories; Standard (default type), Strength (greater attack power at the cost of Renbu Gauge being kept for a smaller amount of time), and Skill (greater attack speed with low attack power). In addition to the new weapon system, it is now possible to block from any direction, for example, if a character is attacked from behind while blocking, they will rotate their body with their weapon in front of them to guard against the enemy's attack. This eliminates the need to quickly stop blocking, change direction, and press the guard button again. Unlike previous games, horses can be found by obtaining saddles randomly dropped from boxes or beaten officers. These horses can gain levels, skills, and some can even change into the legendary Red Hare, although this is very rare.
Musou Token which enables the use of Musou Rage have been removed. It is instead replaced by Tome item drop which allows the use of unique special attacks. There are five types of attacks; Swift Attack (increases the player's stats), Volley (launches waves of arrows), Fire (sets eruptions of fire), True Speed (boosts the player's speed), and Rockfall (launches giant boulders from above).
Dueling from Dynasty Warriors 4 returns, but has been revamped; duels now take place on the battlefield and the nearby soldiers will circle around the two fighters, and other officers may jump into the circle, as opposed to the duel taking place in an arena that appears out of nowhere.
Bases have been altered too; they are bigger and where, before, in order to open the outer gate to a base, the player had to defeat a defense captain, now they must simply break it down with attacks. There is also a new corporal unit which guards bases. Defeating troops and corporals within the base reduces the base's defense. When the defense of the base drops to zero, the player has claimed the base. However, defeating the corporal is worth defeating 20 troops while defeating the guard captain will automatically capture the base.
Two new 'innovations' to the series are the abilities to swim and climb ladders. The ladder means that the player can now climb onto castle battlements in scenarios such as the Battle of Hu Lao Gate, and dispose of enemy ballistas and the new 'guard' unit. The first ties in with the improvements to enemy AI, allowing them to travel across rivers and other bodies of water in order to attack you or allied bases. Swimming is now a part of scenarios such as the Battle of Fan Castle.
The original game features a total of 41 playable characters, a step-down from the previous installment in the series, which featured 48 playable characters. The seven removed characters are Da Qiao, Jiang Wei, Meng Huo, Pang De, Xing Cai, Zhu Rong, and Zuo Ci. Other than brief mentions in cutscenes and character biographies in-game, they otherwise do not make appearance in the game at all. Unlike previous games which featured Musou Modes for all characters, only seventeen of the playable characters received stories, while the others are playable only in Free Mode and Challenge Mode. Dynasty Warriors 6: Special adds Musou Mode for six more characters, while the PSP port of the game adds Meng Huo back to the roster, bringing the character count to 42.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game received "mixed" reviews and the PlayStation 2 version received "unfavorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregatorMetacritic.[37][36][35] In Japan, Famitsu gave the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions a score of one eight, one nine, and two eights for a total of 33 out of 40.[17]
GameSpot nominated Dynasty Warriors 6 for 'least improved sequel' in their 2008 award show.[38]
Ryan Clements of IGN said of the Xbox 360 version, "Dynasty Warriors 6 is not a good looking game, and it performs even worse on the PS3 than on the 360 (even when you opt to install the game data)." He did note that "Dynasty Warriors 6 does have a number of cool things to note. The amount of leveling up you can do is fairly impressive and each character's campaign takes at least a few hours to work through, providing you with quite a lot of content (despite the repetition)."[29]
Amanda L. Kondolojy of CheatCodeCentral gave the game one of its better reviews, scoring it at 3.4/5. Kondolojy enjoyed the game, saying that "One aspect of Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires that was surprisingly fun to tinker with was the character creator. Although DW5 Empires had a warlord creator, DW6 Empires gives you more creative control over your newly-made character. In addition to having a wide variety of costumes and customizable features, you can also integrate your character into the main Empire mode as a vagrant, and can work your way up to become leader of the land."
PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions[edit]
Dynasty Warriors 6 (真・三國無双5: Special) was released on October 2, 2008 on the PlayStation 2 in Japan and November 17, 2008 in North America. In this game, Musou modes for Ma Chao, Yue Ying, Cao Pi, Zhang He, Taishi Ci, and Ling Tong were added, and those six characters received new weapons and movesets (rather than being clones). There are also five new stages introduced in this game. The swimming and dueling abilities were removed, however. The graphics are also significantly reduced and the game suffers from heavy slowdown, most likely due to the memory capabilities.
This version of the game was also released to the PlayStation Portable on September 17, 2009. Likely to coincide with the inclusion of Meng Huo in the Empires expansion, he was additionally added as a Free Mode character in this game.
Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires was released May 11, 2009 in Japan, June 23, 2009 for North America and June 26 in Europe for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[54] Like all other Empires expansions, the basic premise of the game is to become a leader whose goal is to conquer and maintain all regions of China. However, the player can additionally become a Vagrant (unaligned wanderer) or a vassal serving a lord, in addition to becoming a ruler. The player can step down from any force at any time, betraying their liege, or defecting to another force. The player can also make oaths of friendship with fellow officers and marry other characters.
The level-up system for weapons similar to Dynasty Warriors 4 is introduced. The player can equip various skills and abilities to the weapons. The Renbu system also returns, although it is now merely an element determined by the character's weapons
Meng Huo, who was originally cut from the original game returns with new weapons as well as seven new stages. The game also kept all character changes and new stages exclusive to Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS2/PSP Version).
The Create Character option from Dynasty Warriors 4 returns and greatly revamped; players are given much more freedom in creating characters and the player can create up to 100 characters. Free Mode have been cut from this game however, as the game opted for a more full and rounded Empire Mode. Additionally, the game supports Downloadable Content which mainly includes new costumes for edit characters and music.
Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires received "mixed" reviews on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[52][53]
Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot said that "The combat is still dreadfully repetitive," "The visuals are still ugly," and "The sound effects and voice acting are still awful." VanOrd went on to say of Empires, "Environments are bland and lifeless; water looks awful; and character models, while clearly upgraded from Dynasty Warriors 5 Empires, still look primitive by today's standards," and gave it 5.5/10[43]
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Pantera (/pænˈtɛrə/) is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup consisted of the Abbott brothers along with Brown and Anselmo, who joined in 1982 and 1986 respectively. The band is credited for developing and popularizing the subgenre of groove metal in the 1990s.[1][2][3] Regarded as one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, Pantera has sold around 20 million records worldwide[4] and has received four Grammy nominations.[5]
Having started as a glam metal band, Pantera released three albums in the mid-1980s with lead vocalist Terry Glaze (Metal Magic, Projects in the Jungle, and I Am the Night), with little success. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera recruited Anselmo in 1986 and released Power Metal in 1988. They secured a record deal with major label Atco the following year. Their fifth album (which the band has since declared to be their official debut album),[6] 1990's Cowboys from Hell, popularized the groove metal genre, while its 1992 follow-up Vulgar Display of Power achieved an even heavier sound and increased their popularity. The subsequent seventh studio album Far Beyond Driven (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.[7]
Tensions began to surface among the band members when Anselmo, reeling from severe back problems brought on by years of intense on-stage performances, began growing distant from his bandmates in 1995, eventually becoming addicted to heroin as a result of his pain issues (he almost died from an overdose in July 1996). These tensions resulted in the recording sessions for The Great Southern Trendkill (1996) being held separately. The ongoing tension lasted for another seven years, during which only one studio album, Reinventing the Steel (2000), was recorded. Pantera went on hiatus in 2001 but lingering disputes led to the band breaking up in 2003. The Abbott brothers went on to form Damageplan while Anselmo continued to work on several side projects, including Down, which Brown joined as well.
On December 8, 2004, Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed on stage by a mentally unstable fan during a Damageplan concert in Columbus, Ohio. Vinnie Paul went on to form Hellyeah after his brother's death, and died of heart failure in 2018,[8] leaving Brown and Anselmo as the only surviving members of the band's best-known lineup. In July 2022, it was announced that Brown and Anselmo were reuniting in 2023 for Pantera's first tour in 22 years,[9] with Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante filling in for the Abbott brothers on guitar and drums, respectively.[10] The new lineup played its first show in 21 years at the Hell and Heaven festival in Mexico on December 2, 2022,[11] and the band's tour will continue into 2025.[12]
The band was originally named Gemini, then Eternity, before finally settling on Pantera[13] and consisted of Vinnie Paul Abbott on drums, Darrell Abbott on lead guitar, and Terry Glaze on rhythm guitar; the lineup was completed with two more members, lead vocalist Donny Hart and bassist Tommy D. Bradford. In 1982, Hart left the band and Glaze became the group's lead vocalist. Later, Glaze stopped playing rhythm guitar, leaving Darrell as the sole guitarist, doing both lead and rhythm duties. Later that year, Bradford also departed and was replaced by Rex Brown (then known as Rex Rocker) on bass.
Pantera became an underground favorite, though its regional tours in this era never took them beyond Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The band began supporting fellow heavy metal/glam metal acts such as Stryper, Dokken, and Quiet Riot. Pantera released their first studio album, Metal Magic, in 1983. Metal Magic was released on the band's record label of the same name and produced by the Abbott brothers' father, Jerry Abbott, at Pantego Studios.[14]
In 1984, Pantera released their second studio album, Projects in the Jungle. Although still very much a glam metal album, the band members crafted songs that had less overbearing melodic influences than songs from the previous album.[15] Another change was Terry Glaze's name, as he was henceforth credited as "Terrence Lee". In addition, a music video for the album's lead track, "All Over Tonight", was eventually created. Projects in the Jungle was also released on the band's independent Metal Magic Records label and produced by Jerry Abbott.
In 1985, Pantera released their third studio album, titled I Am the Night. As with Projects in the Jungle, this album saw Pantera's sound becoming heavier (though still rooted in glam metal),[15] and the heavy metal press took more notice of the band. Because of poor distribution, I Am the Night turned out to be a costly album to many fans. Around 25,000 copies of the album were sold. Pantera's second music video was produced for the track "Hot and Heavy". By 1986, Glaze's glam approach did not fit the band's developing style, and he and the other members parted ways.[16]
1986–1989: Anselmo's introduction and Power Metal[edit]
Pantera began a search for Glaze's replacement and initially auditioned Matt L'Amour, a David Coverdale lookalike. He sang a number of shows with the band in Los Angeles during the winter of 1986, but it became somewhat apparent that L'Amour could not hit the high notes Glaze was capable of. Together, with his lack of stage presence, this meant that Pantera could only play cover songs, leading to L'Amour's departure.[17] Pantera next auditioned El Paso native Rick Mythiasin, later to sing for Steel Prophet and Agent Steel; however, cultural and image differences – Mythiasin failed to adapt to the Southern culture of the other members – meant his tenure was even shorter than that of L'Amour.[18] A former schoolmate of the Abbott brothers, David Peacock of the band Forced Entry (who had supported Warlock),[19] joined the band as lead vocalist in the spring of 1986, but despite Pantera doing most of the work for their fourth album during the summer with Peacock, Rex and the Abbotts found Peacock's voice to be unsuited to the musical direction Pantera wished for.[20] By the end of the year, Pantera even revisited original frontman Donny Hart, but Hart himself knew that he was not the right man Pantera were seeking and Jerry Abbott was to fire him.
During 1986, New Orleans native Phil Anselmo had heard Pantera were looking for a singer.[21] At the end of the year, they invited him to audition, and the eighteen-year old Anselmo was hired as the new vocalist on the spot.[22] Anselmo had previously been the vocalist for the bands Samhain[14] (not to be confused with Glenn Danzig's band of the same name) and Razor White.[23] Upon playing with Pantera, Anselmo immediately clicked with the other three members.[22] The years 1986 and 1987 saw the release of several landmark thrash metal albums that would prove influential to Pantera's developing musical style. Among the most prominent of these were Metallica's Master of Puppets, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Anthrax's Among the Living, and Megadeth's Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?.[24] When Anselmo joined the band, he would bring his mixtapes with him and play bands such as Exhorder, Slayer, and Rigor Mortis to the other band members.[25]
In 1988, with Anselmo as the new vocalist, Pantera released their fourth studio album, titled Power Metal.[15]Power Metal, like Pantera's previous three albums, was released by Metal Magic Records, but showcased a change in their sound.[22] By far the band's heaviest album at this point, Power Metal had little resemblance to the power metal subgenre, but was a mix of 1980s glam metal and thrash metal, sometimes blending both styles in a single song.[22] Complementing the band's new sonic approach were Anselmo's harder-edged vocals compared to those of Terry Glaze.[22] After the release of Power Metal, the band members decided to seriously reconsider their glam metal image and sound.[22] Referring to the band's spandex appearance, Vinnie Paul remarked at a band meeting that "These magic clothes don't play music; we do. Let's just go out there and be comfortable, jeans, t-shirt, whatever, and see where it goes."[24][26] The band members would later no longer acknowledge their independent releases, including Power Metal, as they sculpted a new, heavier image to accompany their later groove metal sound. Their four independent albums are not listed on the band's official website and have become hard-to-find collector's items.
Shortly after Power Metal was released, Megadeth needed a guitarist and asked Diamond Darrell to join the band. Darrell insisted that his brother, bandmate Vinnie Paul, be included. However, Megadeth had already hired Nick Menza as their new drummer so Darrell declined the offer, and Dave Mustaine instead decided on Marty Friedman.[27]
1989–1991: Cowboys from Hell and mainstream breakthrough[edit]
The Abbott brothers refocused their attention on Pantera, and in 1989 they were given their first shot at commercial success. That year was also when the band formed their relationship with Walter O'Brien at Concrete Management (the management arm of Concrete Marketing), who remained their manager until they disbanded in 2003.[28]
After being turned down "28 times by every major label on the face of the Earth",[29]Atco Records representatives Mark Ross and Stevenson Eugenio were asked by their boss Derek Shulman, who was interested in signing Pantera, to see the band perform in Texas. Ross was so impressed by the band's performance that he called his boss that night, suggesting that the band should be signed to the label. Atco Records accepted, and at the conclusion of 1989, the band recorded its major label debut at Pantego Studios and hired Terry Date to produce it, in large part because of his work with Soundgarden, Metal Church, and Overkill, the latter of whose latest album at the time The Years of Decay was one of the sources of inspiration behind Pantera's transition away from glam/traditional heavy metal to thrash/groove metal, as well as Diamond Darrell's guitar tone on the album.[30][31][32][33][34]
Looking for their first big breakthrough, Pantera released their fifth studio album, titled Cowboys from Hell, on July 24, 1990, which was produced by Pantera and Date. Pantera showed a more extreme style on this outing, leaving behind its glam metal influences in favor of mid-tempo thrash metal dubbed "power groove" (groove metal) by the band. Although Anselmo still used some Rob Halford-influenced vocals, he also adopted a more abrasive delivery. Darrell's more complex guitar solos and riffs, along with his brother's faster-paced drumwork were evidence of the band's extreme transformation. The album marked a critical juncture in the band's history. Many fans, and the band itself, have referred to Cowboys from Hell as Pantera's "official" debut.[6]Cowboys from Hell included the tracks "Cemetery Gates", a brooding seven-minute piece that focuses on death and religion, and the thrashing title track, which gave the band members their nickname and asserted their raucous personality and style.
To promote the album, Pantera began the Cowboys from Hell tour by opening for thrash acts Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies. In 1991, Halford performed with the band onstage, which led Pantera (along with Annihilator) to open for Judas Priest on its first show in Europe. In addition, Halford collaborated with Pantera on the song "Light Comes Out of Black", which was featured on the soundtrack to the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[35] Pantera also opened for other bands like Sepultura, Fates Warning, Prong, Mind Over Four, and Morbid Angel, and co-headlined a North American tour with Wrathchild America.[36] The band eventually landed a billing for "Monsters in Moscow" with AC/DC and Metallica in September 1991, where they played to a crowd of over 500,000 in attendance to celebrate the new freedom of performing Western music in the Soviet Union shortly before its downfall three months later. The band was often found at the Dallas club "the Basement", where the band shot the videos for "Cowboys from Hell" and "Psycho Holiday". Pantera's 2006 home video compilation 3 Vulgar Videos from Hell features performances of "Primal Concrete Sledge", "Cowboys from Hell", "Domination", and "Psycho Holiday" from the show in Moscow.
1991–1995: Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven[edit]
Pantera's unique "groove" style came to fruition with their sixth studio album, titled Vulgar Display of Power, recorded in 1991 and released on February 25, 1992. On this album, the power metal falsetto vocals were replaced with a hardcore-influenced shouted delivery and heavier guitar sound, which firmly cemented the band's popularity among mainstream and underground fans alike. Two other singles from the album became two of Pantera's most notable ballads: "This Love", a haunting piece about lust and abuse, and "Hollow", somewhat reminiscent of "Cemetery Gates" from the previous album. The band would play the song "Domination" (from Cowboys from Hell) leading into the ending of "Hollow" (what is roughly the last 2:30 of the album version), forming a medley referred to as "Dom/Hollow", as can be heard on the band's 1997 live album Official Live: 101 Proof. Singles from Vulgar Display of Power also received significant airplay on radio as did the companion music videos on MTV. "Walk" became one of the band's more popular songs, and it appeared on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at the No. 35 position. The album itself entered the American charts at No. 44.[7] Pantera went on tour again, visiting Japan for the first time in July 1992 and later performing at the "Monsters of Rock" festival co-headlined by Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath in Italy. It was around this time that Darrell Abbott dropped the nickname "Diamond Darrell" and assumed "Dimebag Darrell", and Rex Brown dropped the pseudonym "Rex Rocker".
Pantera released their seventh studio album, titled Far Beyond Driven, on March 22, 1994, which debuted at No. 1 in both United States[7] and Australian album charts. The album's first single, "I'm Broken", earned the band's first Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" in 1995. "Planet Caravan", a Black Sabbath cover which appeared on Far Beyond Driven, was the band's first charting single in the U.S. as it peaked at No. 21 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The album saw Pantera continue its groove metal approach, while taking an even more extreme direction with its musical style. The album's original artwork (a drill bit impaling an anus) was banned, so it was re-released with the familiar skull impaled with a drill bit. A limited edition was released with a slip-cover case. Also, a boxed set called Driven Down Under Tour '94 Souvenir Collection was released in Australia and New Zealand to coincide with the tours there. It featured Far Beyond Driven (with its original banned artwork) with a bonus 13th track, "The Badge" (a Poison Idea cover), the five-track Alive and Hostile EP, and the Japanese collector's edition Walk EP, all presented in a special cardboard box with an eight-page color biography.
Pantera began touring again, starting in South America, along with being accepted into another "Monsters of Rock" billing. In late June, Anselmo was charged with assault for attacking a security guard after he prevented fans from getting on stage. Anselmo was released on a $5,000 bail the next day.[37][38] The trial was delayed three times.[39] In May 1995, he apologized in court and pleaded guilty to attempted assault and was ordered to undergo 100 hours of community service.[40][41] Pantera continued their tour of the United Kingdom in 1994 and eventually ended it in the United States where the band was opened for by fellow groove metal band Prong.
1995–1999: Band tensions and The Great Southern Trendkill[edit]
According to the Abbott brothers, Anselmo began behaving strangely and distanced himself from the band when they returned to the road in 1995. The rest of the band members first thought that Pantera's perception of his fame had gotten to Anselmo, but Anselmo cited back pain from years of intense performances as the reason for his erratic behavior. Anselmo attempted to alleviate his pain through alcohol, but this, as he admitted, was affecting his performances and "putting some worry into the band."[24] Doctors predicted that with surgery, Anselmo's back problem could be corrected, but that the recovery time could take up a whole lot more time than before. Unwilling to spend that much time away from the band, Anselmo refused, and began using heroin as a painkiller.
Anselmo's on-stage remarks became notorious during this time. After stating at a Montreal concert that "rap music advocates the killing of white people", Anselmo denied accusations of racism, and later issued an apology,[42] stating that he was drunk and that his remarks were a mistake.[14] In 1995, the supergroupDown, one of Anselmo's many side projects, rose to expectations. Their 1995 debut, NOLA, was a success, but shortly afterwards, the group members returned to their respective bands, leaving Down inactive for several years.
Pantera's eighth studio album, The Great Southern Trendkill, was released on May 7, 1996,[43] and is often considered their "overlooked" album.[29] Anselmo recorded the vocals for this release in Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor's studio in New Orleans while the rest of the band recorded in Dallas, evidence of the continued distancing between Anselmo and the rest of the band. In comparison to the band's previous efforts, there was a heavier emphasis on vocal overdubbing in a somewhat "demonic" fashion. Drug abuse is a recurring theme in The Great Southern Trendkill, as exemplified by tracks such as "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Suicide Note Pt. II", "10's", and "Living Through Me (Hell's Wrath)". "Drag the Waters" became the album's only music video. The album's other single, "Floods", achieved acclaim largely because of Darrell's complex guitar solo in the song, which ranked No. 15 on Guitar World magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" of all time.[44]
On July 13, 1996, during their tour with Eyehategod and White Zombie,[45] Anselmo overdosed on heroin an hour after a Texas homecoming gig.[46][47] After his heart stopped beating for almost five minutes, paramedics gave Anselmo a shot of adrenalin (or possibly Narcan) and sent him to the hospital. After he woke up in the hospital, the nurse working in his room said "Welcome back to life, oh and you have overdosed on heroin." Anselmo apologized to his bandmates the next night, and said that he would quit using drugs.[48] The revelation of heroin use came as a shock to Vinnie and Darrell, who were embarrassed by Anselmo's actions, according to Rita Haney, the guitarist's girlfriend. Anselmo said that he relapsed twice after this and was overcome with guilt.[24]
Pantera released their first live album, Official Live: 101 Proof, on July 29, 1997, which included fourteen live tracks and two new studio recordings: "Where You Come From" and "I Can't Hide". Two weeks before the live album's release, Pantera received its first platinum album, for Cowboys from Hell. Just four months later, both Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven were awarded platinum as well.[49] The band also received their second and third "Best Metal Performance" Grammy nominations for The Great Southern Trendkill's "Suicide Note (Pt. I)" and Cowboys From Hell's "Cemetery Gates" in 1997 and 1998, respectively. The release of their video 3 Watch It Go earned them a 1997 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award, when it was voted "Best Video Cassette".[50]
1999–2003: Side projects, Reinventing the Steel, and breakup[edit]
Around this time, Anselmo ventured into more side projects, such as playing guitars on Necrophagia's 1999 release Holocausto de la Morte, where he went as the alias "Anton Crowley", which combines the names of Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey and occultist Aleister Crowley. He also temporarily joined the black metal supergroup Eibon and contributed vocals to that band's only two songs. Another one of Anselmo's "Anton Crowley" projects was black metal band Viking Crown. The Abbott brothers and Rex Brown began their own country metal crossover project, Rebel Meets Rebel with David Allan Coe, around the same time.
Naruto[a] is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts: the first is set in Naruto's pre-teen years (volumes 1–27), and the second in his teens (volumes 28–72). The series is based on two one-shot manga by Kishimoto: Karakuri (1995), which earned Kishimoto an honorable mention in Shueisha's monthly Hop Step Award the following year, and Naruto (1997).
Naruto was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 1999 to November 2014, with its chapters collected in 72 tankōbon volumes. Viz Media licensed the manga for North American production and serialized Naruto in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Part I of the manga was adapted into an animetelevision series by Pierrot and Aniplex, which ran for 220 episodes from October 2002 to February 2007 on TV Tokyo. A second series, which adapts material from Part II of the manga, is titled Naruto: Shippuden and ran on TV Tokyo for 500 episodes from February 2007 to March 2017. Pierrot also developed 11 animated films and 12 original video animations (OVAs). The franchise includes light novels, video games, and trading cards developed by several companies. The story of Naruto continues in Boruto, where Naruto's son Boruto Uzumaki creates his own ninja way instead of following his father's.
Naruto is one of the best-selling manga series of all time, having 250 million copies in circulation worldwide in 47 countries and regions, with 153 million copies in Japan alone and remaining 97 million copies elsewhere. It has become one of Viz Media's best-selling manga series; their English translations of the volumes have appeared on USA Today and The New York Times bestseller list several times, and the seventh volume won a Quill Award in 2006. Reviewers praised the manga's character development, storylines, and action sequences, though some felt the latter slowed the story down. Critics noted that the manga, which has a coming-of-age theme, makes use of cultural references from Japanese mythology and Confucianism.
A powerful fox known as the Nine-Tails attacks Konoha, the hidden leaf village in the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Shinobi Countries in the Ninja World. In response, the leader of Konoha and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, at the cost of his life, seals the fox inside the body of his newborn son, Naruto Uzumaki, making him a host of the beast.[i] The Third Hokage returns from retirement to become the leader of Konoha again. Naruto is often scorned by Konoha's villagers for being the host of the Nine-Tails. Due to a decree by the Third Hokage forbidding any mention of these events, Naruto learns nothing about the Nine-Tails until 12 years later, when Mizuki, a renegade ninja, reveals the truth to him. Naruto defeats Mizuki in combat, earning the respect of his teacher, Iruka Umino.[ii]
Shortly afterward, Naruto becomes a ninja and joins with Sasuke Uchiha, against whom he often competes, and Sakura Haruno, on whom he has a crush, to form Team 7, under an experienced sensei, the elite ninja Kakashi Hatake. Like all the ninja teams from every village, Team 7 completes missions requested by the villagers, ranging from doing chores and being bodyguards to performing assassinations.
After several missions, including a major one in the Land of Waves, Kakashi allows Team 7 to take a ninja exam, enabling them to advance to a higher rank and take on more difficult missions, known as Chunin Exams. During the exams, Orochimaru, a wanted criminal, invades Konoha and kills the Third Hokage for revenge. Jiraiya, one of the three legendary ninjas, declines the title of Fifth Hokage and searches with Naruto for Tsunade whom he chooses to become Fifth Hokage instead.
During the search, it is revealed that Orochimaru wishes to train Sasuke because of his powerful genetic heritage, the Sharingan.[iii] After Sasuke attempts and fails to kill his older brother Itachi,[iv] who had showed up in Konoha to kidnap Naruto, he joins Orochimaru, hoping to gain from him the strength needed to kill Itachi. The story takes a turn when Sasuke leaves the village: Tsunade sends a group of ninja, including Naruto, to retrieve Sasuke, but Naruto is unable to persuade or force him to come back. Naruto and Sakura do not give up on Sasuke; Naruto leaves Konoha to receive training from Jiraiya to prepare himself for the next time he encounters Sasuke, while Sakura becomes Tsunade's apprentice.
Two and a half years later, Naruto returns from his training with Jiraiya. The Akatsuki starts kidnapping the hosts of the powerful Tailed Beasts. Team 7 and other Leaf ninja fight against them and search for their teammate Sasuke. The Akatsuki succeeds in capturing and extracting seven of the Tailed Beasts, killing all the hosts except Gaara, who is now the Kazekage. Meanwhile, Sasuke betrays Orochimaru and faces Itachi to take revenge. After Itachi dies in battle, Sasuke learns from the Akatsuki founder Tobi that Itachi had been ordered by Konoha's superiors to destroy his clan to prevent a coup; he accepted, on the condition that Sasuke would be spared. Devastated by this revelation, Sasuke joins the Akatsuki to destroy Konoha in revenge. As Konoha ninjas defeat several Akatsuki members, the Akatsuki figurehead leader, Nagato, kills Jiraiya and devastates Konoha, but Naruto defeats and redeems him, earning the village's respect and admiration.
With Nagato's death, Tobi, disguised as Madara Uchiha (one of Konoha's founding fathers), announces that he wants to capture all nine Tailed Beasts to cast an illusion powerful enough to control all humanity and achieve world peace. The leaders of the five ninja villages refuse to help him and instead join forces to confront his faction and allies. That decision results in a Fourth Shinobi World War between the combined armies of the Five Great Countries (known as the Allied Shinobi Forces) and Akatsuki's forces of zombie-like ninjas. The Five Kage try to keep Naruto, unaware of the war, in a secret island turtle near Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), but Naruto finds out and escapes from the island with Killer Bee, the host of the Eight-Tails. At that time, Naruto—along with the help of Killer Bee—gains control of his Tailed Beast and the two of them head for the battlefield.
During the conflict, it is revealed that Tobi is Obito Uchiha, a former teammate of Kakashi's who was thought to be dead. The real Madara saved Obito's life, and they have since collaborated. As Sasuke learns the history of Konoha, including the circumstances that led to his clan's downfall, he decides to protect the village and rejoins Naruto and Sakura to thwart Madara and Obito's plans. However, Madara's body ends up possessed by Kaguya Otsutsuki, an ancient princess who intends to subdue all humanity. A reformed Obito sacrifices himself to help Team 7 stop her. Once Kaguya is sealed, Madara dies as well. Sasuke takes advantage of the situation and takes control of all the Tailed Beasts, as he reveals his goal of ending the current village system. Naruto confronts Sasuke to dissuade him from his plan, and after they almost kill each other in a final battle, Sasuke admits defeat and reforms. After the war, Kakashi becomes the Sixth Hokage and pardons Sasuke for his crimes. Years later, Kakashi steps down while Naruto marries Hinata Hyuga and becomes the Seventh Hokage, raising the next generation.
In 1995, Shueisha released Karakuri, a one-shot manga by Masashi Kishimoto that earned an honorable mention in the Hop Step Award in 1996. Kishimoto was unsatisfied with his subsequent drafts for a follow-up, and decided to work on another project.[2] The new project was originally going to feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of Naruto for the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump based on the idea.[3][4] Despite the positive feedback it received in a readers' poll, Kishimoto was unhappy with the art and the story, so he rewrote it as a story about ninjas.[5]
The first eight chapters of Naruto were planned before it appeared in Weekly Shōnen Jump, and these chapters originally devoted many panels of intricate art to illustrating the Konoha village. By the time Naruto debuted, the background art was sparse, instead emphasizing the characters.[5] Though Kishimoto had concerns that chakra (the energy source used by the ninjas in Naruto) made the series too Japanese, he still believed it is an enjoyable read.[6] Kishimoto is a fan of Godzilla, and the tailed beasts mythology was introduced because Kishimoto wanted an excuse to draw monsters.[7] He has said that the central theme in Part I of Naruto is how people accept each other, citing Naruto's development across the series as an example.[8]
For Part II of the manga, Kishimoto tried to keep the panel layouts and the plot easy for the reader to follow, and avoid "overdo[ing] the typical manga-style".[9] He considers that his drawing style has changed from "the classic manga look to something a bit more realistic."[9] Because of wishing to end the arc involving Sasuke Uchiha's search for his brother, Itachi, in a single volume, Kishimoto decided that volume 43 should include more chapters than regular volumes. As a result, Kishimoto apologized to readers for this since volume 43 was more expensive than regular volumes.[10]
When he created Naruto, Kishimoto looked to other shōnen manga as influences for his work and tried to make his characters unique, while basing the story on Japanese culture.[11] The separation of the characters into different teams was intended to give each group a particular flavor. Kishimoto wanted each member to have a high level of aptitude in one skill and be talentless in another.[12] He found it difficult to write about romance, but emphasized it more in Part II of the manga, beginning with volume 28.[8] He introduced villains into the story to have them act as a counterpoint to his characters' moral values and clearly illustrate their differences.[13] As a result of how the younger characters were significantly weaker than the villains, Kishimoto made the ellipsis in order to have them age and become stronger during this time.[14]
Kishimoto made use of the Chinese zodiac tradition, which had a long-standing presence in Japan; the zodiac hand signs originate from this.[6] When Kishimoto was creating the primary setting of the Naruto manga, he concentrated initially on the designs for the village of Konoha. The idea of the setting came to him "pretty spontaneously without much thought", but admits that the scenery became based on his home in the Japanese prefecture of Okayama. Since the storyline does not specify when it is set, he was able to include modern elements in the series such as convenience stores.[15] He considered including automobiles, planes and simple computers, but excluded projectile weapons and vehicles from the plot.[15][16]
Masashi Kishimoto's home was close to Hiroshima where his grandfather lived. He would often tell his grandson stories of war and how it was related to grudges. In retrospect, Kishimoto commented he could not criticize anyone as a result of the war based on it was built.[clarification needed] Upon further researching, Kishimoto decided to create world war story arc for the manga's finale. However, unlike the stories he heard from his grandfather, Kishimoto wanted to give the war covered in Naruto a more hopeful feeling.[17] Nagato's arc paved the way for the ending of Naruto to occur. Nagato stood out as a villain due to suffering war and killing Naruto's mentor Jiraiya. Understanding the fears of war, Naruto's characterization was made more complex for him to experience the Fourth Great Shinobi War. These events end with Naruto forgiving Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato in the final battle.[14]
Due to unknown issues, the series' finale was delayed. Once volume 66 was released, Kishimoto commented he reached a moment from the narrative involving something he always wanted to draw.[18] When serialization began, Kishimoto decided the ending would feature a fight between two characters: Naruto and Sasuke. However, the writer felt the two were not equals as the former was not a victim of war like the latter whose family was killed to stop a possible civil war.[19]
Kishimoto chose Hinata Hyuga as Naruto's romantic partner from the early stages of the manga, since Hinata had always respected and admired Naruto even before the series' beginning, and Kishimoto felt this meant the two of them could build a relationship.[20] When Hinata first appeared, Kishimoto thought of expanding romantic plotlines.[21][22] but decided to leave Naruto's maturation through romance as an idea for the film 2014 The Last: Naruto the Movie where he worked alongside screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka, a writer more skilled at the theme of romance.[23] Similarly, the title character's relationship with his first son, Boruto, was explored furthermore in the 2015 film Boruto: Naruto the Movie to end Naruto's growth as the character had become an adult, but it was briefly shown in the manga's finale.[24]
Written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto was serialized for a 15-year run in Shueisha's magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 21, 1999,[25][26] to November 10, 2014.[27][28] Shueisha collected its chapters in 72 tankōbon volumes—27 for Part I, and the rest for Part II; they were released between March 3, 2000,[29] and February 4, 2015.[30] The first 238 chapters are Part I and constitute the first section of the Naruto storyline. Chapters 239 to 244 include a gaiden (side-story) focusing on Kakashi Hatake's background. The remaining chapters (245 to 700) belong to Part II, which continues the story after a 2+1⁄2-year gap in the internal timeline. Shueisha have also released several ani-mangatankōbon, each based on one of the Naruto movies,[31] and has released the series in Japanese for cell-phone download on their website Shueisha Manga Capsule.[32] A miniseries titled Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring,[b] centered on the main characters' children, began serialization in the Japanese and English editions of Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 27, 2015, and ended after ten chapters on July 6 of the same year.[33][34]
Naruto was scanlated (translated by fans) and available online before a licensed version was released in North America;[35] the rights were acquired by Viz Media, who began serializing Naruto in their anthology comic magazine Shonen Jump, starting with the January 2003 issue.[36] The schedule was accelerated at the end of 2007 to catch up with the Japanese version,[37] and again in early 2009, with 11 volumes (from 34 to 44) appearing in three months, after which it returned to a quarterly schedule.[38] All 27 volumes of Part I were released in a boxed set on November 13, 2007.[39] On May 3, 2011, Viz started selling the manga in an omnibus format with each book containing three volumes.[40]
The franchise has been licensed in 90 countries, and the manga serialized in 35 countries.[41][42]Madman Entertainment began publishing Naruto volumes in Australia and New Zealand in March 2008 after reaching a distribution deal with Viz Media.[43]Carlsen Comics has licensed the series, through its regional divisions, and released the series in German and Danish.[44] The series is also licensed for regional language releases in French and Dutch by Kana,[45] in Polish by Japonica Polonica Fantastica,[46] in Russian by Comix-ART,[47] in Finnish by Sangatsu Manga,[48] in Swedish by Bonnier Carlsen,[49] and Italian by Panini Comics.[50]
A spin-off comedy manga by Kenji Taira, titled Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden,[c] focuses on the character Rock Lee, a character who aspires to be strong as a ninja but has no magical jutsu abilities. It ran in Shueisha's Saikyō Jump magazine from December 3, 2010, to July 4, 2014,[51][52] and was made into an anime series, produced by Studio Pierrot, and premiering on TV Tokyo on April 3, 2012.[53] Crunchyroll simulcasted the series' premiere on their website and streamed the following episodes.[54] Taira also wrote Uchiha Sasuke no Sharingan Den,[d] which released on October 3, 2014, which runs in the same magazine and features Sasuke.[55]
A monthly sequel series titled Boruto: Naruto Next Generations began in the Japanese and English editions of Weekly Shōnen Jump in early 2016, illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto and written by Ukyō Kodachi, with supervision by Kishimoto. Ikemoto was Kishimoto's chief assistant during the run of the original Naruto series, and Kodachi was his writing partner for the Boruto: Naruto the Movie film screenplay. The monthly series was preceded by a one-shot, titled Naruto: The Path Lit by the Full Moon (NARUTO-ナルト-外伝 ~満ちた月が照らす道~, Naruto Gaiden ~Michita Tsuki ga Terasu Michi~), written and illustrated by Kishimoto, and published on April 25 of that same year.[56][57][58] The staff from Shueisha asked Kishimoto if he would write a sequel to Naruto. However, Kishimoto refused the offer and offered his former assistant Mikio Ikemoto and writer Ukyō Kodachi write Boruto: Naruto Next Generations as the sequel to Naruto.[59]
Another one-shot chapter by Kishimoto, titled Naruto: The Whorl Within the Spiral (NARUTO-ナルト-外伝 ~渦の中のつむじ風~, Naruto Gaiden ~Uzu no Naka no Tsumujikaze~), centered on Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze, was published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 18, 2023.[60][61]
The first Naruto anime television series, directed by Hayato Date and produced by Pierrot and Aniplex, premiered on TV Tokyo in Japan on October 3, 2002, and concluded on February 8, 2007, after 220 episodes.[62][63] The first 135 episodes were adapted from Part I of the manga; the remaining 85 episodes are original and use plot elements that are not in the manga.[64]Tetsuya Nishio was the character designer for Naruto when the manga was adapted into an anime; Kishimoto had requested that Nishio be given this role.[65][66]
The second anime television series, titled Naruto: Shippuden[e], was also produced by Pierrot and directed by Hayato Date, and serves as a direct sequel to the first Naruto anime series; it corresponds to Part II of the manga.[67] It debuted on Japanese TV on February 15, 2007, on TV Tokyo, and concluded on March 23, 2017.[68][69]
A series of four "brand-new" episodes, to commemorate the original anime's 20th anniversary, were originally scheduled to premiere on September 3, 2023;[70] however, in August of that same year, it was announced that the episodes would be postponed to a later date.[71]
The series was adapted into 11 theatrical films and 12 original video animations (OVAs). The first three films correspond to the first series, and the remaining eight correspond to the second. In July 2015, Lionsgate announced the development of a live-action film with Avi Arad through his production company Arad Productions.[72] The film will be directed by Michael Gracey. On December 17, 2016, Kishimoto announced that he has been asked to co-develop.[73] On November 27, 2023, it was announced that Tasha Huo will work on the script for the film.[74]
On February 23, 2024, Gracey had exited the project, and Destin Daniel Cretton had been hired to direct and co-write the film. Cretton received his blessings from Kishimoto, after a visit in Tokyo, with Kishimoto stating that when he heard that Cretton would be directing, he thought that he was the perfect choice.[75]
Twenty-six Narutolight novels, the first nine written by Masatoshi Kusakabe, have been published in Japan.[76] Of these, the first two have been released in English in North America. The first adapted novel, Naruto: Innocent Heart, Demonic Blood (2002), retells a Team 7 mission in which they encounter the assassins Zabuza and Haku;[77][78] the second, Naruto: Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village! (2003) was based on the second OVA of the anime.[79][80] Viz has also published 16 chapter books written by Tracey West with illustrations from the manga. Unlike the series, these books were aimed at children ages seven to ten.[81] Thirteen original novels have appeared in Japan;[76] eleven of these are part of a series, and the other two are independent novels unconnected to the series. The first independent novel, titled Naruto: Tales of a Gutsy Ninja (2009), is presented as an in-universe novel written by Naruto's master Jiraiya. It follows the adventures of a fictional shinobi named Naruto Musasabi, who served as Naruto's namesake.[82] The other independent novel, Naruto Jinraiden: The Day the Wolf Howled (2012), is set shortly after Sasuke's fight with Itachi.[83]
Itachi Shinden, which consists of two novels, and Sasuke Shinden, a single novel, both appeared in 2015, and both were adapted into anime arcs in Naruto: Shippuden in 2016, titled Naruto Shippūden: Itachi Shinden-hen: Hikari to Yami and Book of Sunrise respectively.[84][85]Hiden is a series of six light novels published in 2015 that explores the stories of various characters after the ending of the manga.[86]
Naruto video games have been released on various consoles by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. The majority of them are fighting games in which the player directly controls one of the characters from Naruto. The player pits their character against another character controlled by the game's
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