Naruto/Episodes

Season 1 (2002-2003)
The first season was released in North America by Viz Media and in Europe and South America by Warner Bros. Television. The season is based on the Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto; The series follows the young teenager Naruto Uzumaki who wants to become the Hokage, the leader of the ninja village where he lives, in order to become a respectable ninja. He is assigned to Team 7, a three-person cell that has to complete missions for the village. The first season ran from October 2002 to May 2003 in Japan on TV Tokyo. The English airing of the first season was from September 2005 to May 2006. It aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami and YTV's Bionix programming blocks.

Season 2 (2003-2004)
The second season follows the final parts of the Chunnin Exams in which ninjas from several villages are tested in order to upgrade their ranks within the Hidden Leaf village. During the last test, a criminal known as Orochimaru orchestrates an invasion to the Hidden Leaf village alongside his allies from the village hidden in the Sand and the village hidden in the Sound. Following the invasion, two other criminals working for a mysterious organization go to the Hidden Leaf village to kidnap Naruto. The season aired in Japan between June 2003 and May 2004 on TV Tokyo. In North America, these episodes aired between June 2006 and April 2007 on both Cartoon Network's Toonami and YTV's Bionix programming blocks.

Season 3 (2004-2005)
The third season, titled "3rd Stage" in Japan, continues Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki's hunt for Naruto Uzumaki. After a legendary ninja known as Jiraiya makes them retreat, he goes with Naruto to search for his former teammate Tsunade so that she will become the Fifth Hokage, the new leader of the Hidden Leaf village. While most episodes following episode 98 are filler, a series of events cause Sasuke Uchiha to leave the Hidden Leaf village and a group of Sound ninja go to find him. The episodes aired in Japan from May 2004 to April 2005 on TV Tokyo. In North America, the English adaptation was shown between April 2007 to January 2008 on Cartoon Network's Toonami and YTV's Bionix programming blocks.

Season 4 (2005-2006)
The fourth season of the series, titled "4th Stage" in Japan. The season finishes the Hidden Leaf ninjas' mission to retrieve their defected comrade Sasuke Uchiha. While episode 135 concludes the mission in failure, episodes 136 onwards follow a series of short missions focused on the Hidden Leaf ninjas. The episodes aired in Japan from April 27, 2005 to May 17, 2006, on TV Tokyo. In North America, the English adaptation aired from January to August 2008. It aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami and YTV's Bionix programming blocks.

Season 5 (2006-2007)
The fifth and final season of the series, titled "5th Stage" in Japan. The season continues the missions of the Hidden Leaf ninjas until Naruto Uzumaki is taken by his teacher Jiraiya to train around the world. The storyline would be followed in the sequel Naruto Shippuden that premiered in Japan shortly after the original series ended. The season aired in Japan from May 24, 2006 to February 8, 2007 on TV Tokyo. The English airing of the fifth season was from August 2008 to December 2009. It aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, until its cancellation following the September 20, 2008 broadcast, and then outside of Toonami on Cartoon Network from October 4, 2008 to January 31, 2009 and YTV's Bionix programming blocks.

OVAs
Four original video animation episodes have been released for Naruto. The first two aired during Weekly Shōnen Jump's "Jump Festa 2003" and "Jump Festa 2004", respectively. The third was included as an extra in the DVD release of the first Naruto movie. The fourth was included on a bonus disc with the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 PlayStation 2 video game and provides hints for playing the game in RPG mode. An English only recap special feauturing the Chunin Exam Arc was also created and aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami block on September 23, 2006.