VIZ MEDIA has announced a special NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Design Contest, sponsored
by NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN licensee WeLoveFine (WeLoveFine.com), beginning today
and running through midnight, on Tuesday April 16th.
Fans are encouraged to channel their inner ninja and flex their
artistic muscle to create an original “stylized” or “super deformed” (Chibi-style)
rendering of a prominent NARUTO SHIPPUDEN character. All designs MUST incorporate characters and themes
from NARUTO SHIPPUDEN and not
from any previous episodes or manga volumes of the NARUTO series. Art pieces should be
scanned and submitted to WeLoveFine. Submittals must be 100% original; exact copies of NARUTO manga or anime will not be
accepted; do not trace any original NARUTO manga or anime artwork. Complete
contest details are available at: http://www.welovefine.com/contest/39-naruto-shippuden-design-contest.
Contest submissions will be judged and winners personally selected
by WeLoveFine, along with esteemed Guest Judges Masashi Kishimoto, the
creator of NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, Joe Otsuki, Editor of the NARUTO manga,
and Hayato Date, Director of the NARUTO SHIPPUDEN anime series.
The Grand Prize winner will received a paid 3-days
2-nights trip to attend Anime Expo 2013, the nation’s biggest anime convention set
to be held in Los Angeles, CA, July 4-7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Prize package includes a 4-day Anime Expo membership badge, 1 round trip
airfare (limited to U.S. domestic flights only) and lodging near the convention
center.
The three Guest Judges will also select their
personal favorite design for a “Judges Pick” winner, and each of those artists
will win $300 in cash! One
runner-up winner will receive a $150 gift certificate for WeLoveFine.com and five
Honorable Mention winners will each receive a $50 gift certificate for
WeLoveFine.com.
Created by Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first introduced in Weekly
Shonen Jump magazine in Japan in 1999 and quickly became that country’s
most popular ninja manga targeting tweens and teens. The manga series (rated
‘T’ for Teens, in print and digital editions) and animated counterpart (NARUTO
rated ‘T’ for teens, and NARUTO Shippuden rated ‘T+’ for older teens) are some
of VIZ Media’s most successful properties and have captivated millions of fans across North
America, Europe and South America. NARUTO is a
co-production of TV TOKYO, VIZ Media parent company Shueisha Inc., and Pierrot
Co., Ltd.
Author/artist
Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in the rural Okayama Prefecture of Japan.
After spending time in Art College, he won the prestigious Hop Step Award for
new manga artists with Karakuri (Mechanism).
Kishimoto decided to base his next story on traditional Japanese culture. His
first version of NARUTO, created in
1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted
in Weekly Shonen Jump in
1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in Japan.
In the NARUTO manga
and animated series, Naruto Uzumaki wants to be the best ninja in the land. He's done
well so far, but Naruto knows he must train harder than ever and leaves his
village for intense exercises that will push him to his limits. NARUTO
SHIPPUDEN begins two and a half years
later, when Naruto returns to find that everyone has been promoted up the ninja
ranks – except him. Sakura’s a medic ninja, Gaara’s advanced to Kazekage, and
Kakashi… well he remains the same. But pride isn’t necessarily becoming of a
ninja, especially when Naruto realizes that Sasuke never returned from his
search for Orochimaru. Plus, the mysterious Akatsuki organization is still an
ever-present danger. As Naruto finds out more about the Akatsuki’s goals, he
realizes that nothing in his universe is as it seems. Naruto is finding that
he’s older, but will he also prove wiser and stronger?
More information on
NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN is available at www.Naruto.com.
