Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The episodes of the Japanese anime series Naruto, based on the manga series of the same name by Masashi Kishimoto, were directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The episodes have been released in North America by Viz Media. They incorporate twenty-seven volumes of the source material over 135 episodes. The remaining 85 episodes are filler, utilizing plot elements not seen in the original manga. The series centers on the adventures of Naruto Uzumaki, a young, excitable ninja of Konohagakure who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become a Hokage, the ninja in his village that is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all. The 220 episodes that constitute the series were aired between October 3, 2002 and February 8, 2007 on TV Tokyo in Japan. The English adaptation of the anime began airing on September 10, 2005 on Cartoon Network''s Toonami. On September 20, 2008, Cartoon Network ended its Toonami block, but the channel continued sporadically airing episodes of Naruto in the time slots originally occupied by Toonami''s programming.