The Naruto series is highly popular for its anime, but it also has other adaptations. Fans may be more familiar with the manga series, for example. However, what many fans might not know is that this series also has a musical adaptation.
This musical adaptation is called Live Spectacle Naruto. It was written and directed by Akihiko Kodama, and it first premiered in 2015. Different developments happened with this musical during its run.
10 The Musical Was Created To Celebrate 15 Years Of The Series
The making of the musical was part of a larger project called the Naruto Project, also known as Naruto's New Era Opening Project. This bigger-scale project was created, at the time, to celebrate 15 years of the series' run. In addition to the musical, this project included releasing databooks about the characters, exhibitions, movies, a miniseries, and even short novels connected to the world of the series.
The project also included re-releases of the manga in larger volumes. The project logo includes silhouettes of Naruto, Boruto, and Minato.
9 The Musical Only Incorporates Events From The First 27 Volumes Of The Manga
Naruto has seventy-two volumes of manga to work with. However, the musical only focuses on the first twenty-seven volumes. This can be attributed to there being only so much time to cover the series within a whole musical.
There are also only so many story arcs that can be covered within the timeframe of a musical as well. Focusing on the first twenty-seven also made the musical's story familiar to both fans that are new to the series and for those already well-acquainted. Either way, it turned out to be a success for fans both in Japan and those aware of it abroad.
8 The Musical Had Three Runs
The musical did so well that it had three separate runs in total. The first run was in 2015, to coincide with the Naruto Project. The next two runs occurred in 2016 and 2017.
Though all three runs occurred within places such as inside of Japan, they also had performances in places such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Macao. Unfortunately for American fans, the musical did not have a production anywhere close to the USA or Canada. However, clips of the previously-run productions can be found online to watch on platforms such as Youtube (with subs) for fans from abroad to watch and enjoy.
7 Every Run Of The Musical Added New Characters
Every single run of the musical, after its original 2015 run, added new characters to its main cast. These new additions included adding Orichimaru's Incarnation and Rock Lee in the 2016 run, for example.
In 2017, the musical added many more characters. These new characters included Itachi, Yamako, Sai, Deidara, Tobi, and Karin. All of these new additions resulted in there being twenty-two characters in the main cast by the 2017 version of the musical's run.
6 The Musical Changed Its Name For The 2017 Run
Naruto: Live Spectacle had a name change for its 2017 run. Instead, it was called Live Spectacle Naruto: The Akatsuki Investigation. This could be attributed to the musical adding more characters from the Akatsuki group for the 2017 run.
The name change was not the only major change to the musical's 2017 run. It also included additional characters other than the Akatsuki characters. This included the addition of Itachi and Yamato. The 2017 run removed a few characters previously featured in the 2016 run. Fans still enjoyed watching the 2017 version of the musical despite these changes, however.
5 A DVD Version Of The Musical Exists
A DVD version of the original 2015 musical was released on August 26th, 2015. Unfortunately for fans of the later versions, there are no known official DVD versions of the 2016 or 2017 versions of the musical.
However, all versions of the musicals can be found online on Youtube with subs included. They can be streamed again and again for fans to check out. This is the best route for fans from abroad to find the musical at all, considering that there are no American runs of the musical yet.
4 Most Of The Original 2015 Cast Reprised Their 2016 Roles
Most of the original 2015 cast reprised their roles again in the 2016 run of the musical. This includes characters such as Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Gaara. This is likely due to the success of the 2015 version. Bringing back the people who originally acted the roles in its 2015 version would ensure further success with its next run.
However, Anju Inami and Tsubasa Hattori, who played Ino and Shikamaru respectively, did not return after performing in the musical's 2015 version. They were replaced by Kaoru Fujiki and Tatsuya Kobayashi, respectively.
3 The Actor Acting As Naruto Was The Same For All Three Runs Of The Musical
Though some of the cast had a few changes over the years with each run, Kōdai Matsuoka acted as the titular character. He played the role of the character Naruto for all three runs in the musical. Fans enjoyed watching Matsuoka's energetic and lively performance of the series' protagonist.
However, Naruto's main actor is not the only one who played his role for all three runs. Sakura Haruno's actress, Yui Itō, also reprised her role for all three runs of the musical. Ryūji Satō acted the role of Sasuke for all three runs as well.
2 Rock Lee Only Exists In The 2016 Version Of The Musical
Fans of Rock Lee might be shocked to hear that Rock Lee only exists in the 2016 version of the musical. His character was not included in either the 2015 or the 2017 runs. His exclusion from the 2017 run could be due to the addition of other characters, such as Akatsuki members, as well as the additions of Itachi, Yamako, and more characters.
Some fans hope that Rock Lee will be back for a future run of the musical. Whether the musical will have any future runs, and whether they'll include Rock Lee in those runs is currently unknown.
1 Kabuto's Actor Changed For The 2017 Version Of The Musical
Tatsunari Kimura acted as Kabuto Yakushi for the 2015 and 2016 versions of the musical. However, Ryōsuke Okada replaced Kimura as Kabuto for the 2017 version. This was the only cast change made between the 2016 and 2017 versions for which actors came back.
Other changes to the cast for the 2017 version were adding characters such as Itachi, Yamato, Sai, and other Akatsuki members. It also included the removal of characters such as Rock Lee and Orochimaru's Incarnation. Otherwise, the cast from the 2016 version remained the same.
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