The history of ninja anime is inextricably linked to the medium's earliest roots, especially when introduced worldwide. A full 34 years before Naruto's 2002 premiere, its vastly influential predecessor graced TBS Television's airwaves in 1968, named Sasuke. Now, courtesy of AnimEigo, the full anime run is faithfully restored on Blu-ray for North American audiences for the first time ever.

Sasuke's anime, cleanly preserved in its made-for-television format, highlights a different anime era of the 1960s, the decade to which anime's earliest major series like Astro Boy belonged. While it may be fair to perceive as a relic, the manga it adapts, and the mythologized namesake hero it features, is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, influencing Naruto in fascinating ways.

Sasuke W

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