One of the major anime debuts in the history of American TV is set for Saturday September 10th at 9pm  (ET, PT) when the Cartoon Network airs the first episode of the Naruto anime as part of its popular Saturday night Toonami Block.  The second episode of Naruto will follow at 9:30 and both episodes will be repeated starting at 10 pm.  On the following Saturday, September 17th, Naruto will air during its regular weekly broadcast slot at 9 pm (ET, PT).  Another popular Shonen Jump-based anime series, One Piece will follow Naruto at 9:30 pm and the wacky Bo-bobodo anime follows at 10:30.

Here in the States Naruto is one of the most eagerly awaited anime series in years.  Over 130 episodes of Naruto have aired in Japan, where the series ranked third in anime TV ratings earlier this year, trailing only Detective Conan (Case Closed in the U.S.) and One Piece.  The Naruto manga, published in the U.S. by Viz is a consistent top ten seller.  Bandai America recently acquired the license to create a Naruto Trading Card Game as well as Naruto videogames (see 'Bandai Gets Naruto TCG License').