Is Naruto for Kids: Parents Guide & Age Rating

Naruto was serialized from 1999 to 2014 and was later released in book form. The manga was adapted into an anime television series that broadcast a total of 220 episodes in Japan from 2002 to 2007. Naruto: Shippuden, a sequel to the original series, premiered in Japan in 2007, and ended in 2017, after an incredible 500 episodes. The story of Naruto today continues with Naruto’s son, Boruto Uzumaki, in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Naruto has been one of the most popular anime titles for years now, but is it appropriate for your kids? With Naruto being one of the most important anime series in history, we have decided to tell you whether the series is appropriate for kids or not.

Naruto is categorized as TV-PG in the United States; in Japan, the show is listed as being G. Naruto is a very family and kid-friendly show and is a typical representative of the shonen genre, which is why there is absolutely no doubt that it is appropriate for all audiences who can follow the plot. Some scenes might be more exaggerated, but they don’t influence the overall tone of the series.

In the paragraphs that follow, we are going to elaborate on this answer and give you some additional information on the show’s content. You’re going to find out whether Naruto is appropriate for children, how scary and gory it is, whether there is sex, nudity, and profanities, as well as what age it is appropriate for. This is going to be your ultimate parents guide for Naruto.

What age is Naruto appropriate for?

As per the official ratings, Naruto is rated as “PG”, which means “parental guidance”. That standard is defined as follows: Most parents will find this program suitable for all ages. Japan lists the series as a G one, whereas most other countries have it listed in similar age categories (12-16, depending on the country). No countries have applied a stricter standard for Naruto, which says enough about the maturity of its content.

This means that Naruto is a show that is appropriate for teenagers and older fans. Children under the age of 14 should not be able to watch the series, as there is content that might be inappropriate for them as per the standard. This is the official rating for the show and we are now going to observe how things stand in several different categories.

Naruto: Sex & Nudity

As we could have seen, the series has a very mild level of nudity and some very benign sexual references, but over the course of the series, there haven’t been many such scenes and they were – in most cases – shown in a very comical context. Here is an example of some scenes involving nudity and/or sexual references:

• There are sexual innuendos thrown in from time to time, but they’re benign and comical.
• Some brief nudity is shown, although it’s always brief and never explicit.
• Naruto has a technique called “Sexy Jutsu” which makes him transform into a seductive, handsome woman. Some other male characters know this technique as well. It’s mostly comical and never explicit.
• References to dating and jokes about dating are also present.

As you can see, this is really not much, and while some scenes might be a bit suggestive, they are very limited.

Naruto: Violence & Gore

The violence of the fights in Naruto has also been described as moderate in general, although there are certain scenes that are both milder and more violent than others, which is why certain moments would definitely earn a PG rating, the number of such scenes is very small and limited overall; the uncut version has more of them, but as stated, it’s nothing over the top. The fight scenes are epic, and violence is depicted in the show as per the plot, but it’s nothing over the top and it’s not particularly graphic or gory.

Most of the violence portrayed in Naruto is cartoony and you won’t have any trouble with it, and neither will your children. There are scenes that suggest some deeper violence, but they are mostly comical. As the series progressed, the violence and the fights become more intense, there is more blood and even some morbid elements, but it’s still not over the top, and its part of the series’ inherent realism.

Naruto: Profanity

As far as profanities are concerned, they are not heavily featured in Naruto, although they are present. Examples of words that can be heard are “ass”, “goddamn”, “ass”, “jackass”, and “bastard”, and we can hear the word “bitch” used once during the series. Now, this might bother some viewers and it is something that children shouldn’t really repeat, but it adds to the realism of the show, doesn’t it?

First of all, we have to state that the characters of Naruto are teenagers and ninja heroes who fight and face various threats in their daily adventures to save their friends and families, and people don’t really tend to watch their language while they’re fighting a superpowered ninja, don’t they? It would be silly if these characters didn’t curse from time to time, wouldn’t it? This is only realistic and the series adds to it by adapting the language to be appropriate for a specific situation.

So, profanities are certainly present in the show but we don’t think it’s something bad. It simply adds to the show’s realism and it helps the viewers to better understand the characters, the world, and the complete setting. Anything else would be completely out-of-character, which is why we can only praise the authenticity of the show. And, on top of that, they are really not heavily featured and are not severe.

Should you allow your kids to watch Naruto?

Naruto is one of the more child-friendly anime series you can find today and is a remnant of the old anime generation. The show focuses on teenage issues and is a typical example of the shonen genre. This is why there is nothing overly exaggerated in Naruto, as all three major categories – sex & nudity, violence & gore, and profanity – are generally mild, with some moderate violence present in the fights, but it’s not over the top. The series focuses on adventures and the daily struggles of its protagonists.

Settings such as Naruto‘s are nothing strange when Japanese art is concerned, and there are many other manga and anime that portray such worlds and that is why the shonen genre is so popular around the world. Naruto is quite faithful to the original material, although there is also a lot of filler material in the series, but that’s just how things were done back in the day. So, should you allow your children to watch Naruto?

Well, the official ratings do suggest that children under the age of 14 should not watch Naruto but it all comes down to your parental approach. We at Fiction Horizon honestly don’t think that there is anything bad in watching such animated shows (yours truly has personally grown up watching Dragon Ball, where he was exposed to a fully naked kid Goku, blood, characters piercing other characters’ bodies, and whatnot), and Naruto doesn’t really cross any borders which would make it overly inappropriate for children (for example, there is no cannibalism involved, no mutilations, no torture, no sexual violence, etc.).

Children under the age of 13 might be a tad confused if they cannot follow the plot, but we don’t think that those older than 13 or 14 will have any problems with the show. If your younger children can follow the plot, they can also watch Naruto because they could also learn a lot about friendship and heroism. So, in our opinion, Naruto is appropriate for all ages and for children of all shapes and sizes, so if your child wants to watch it – we absolutely support it. Naruto is so important that we actually encourage you, as parents, to introduce your kids to Naruto because they’ll definitely love it.