Naruto: Shippuden season 3

Lore & Background

The third season of Naruto: Shippuden adapts an anime-only story arc titled Twelve Guardian Ninja. It centers on Naruto Uzumaki's efforts to protect a monk named Sora, who is associated with Asuma Sarutobi, and to defeat the opposing Team Furido. The season marks a technical shift for the series, being the first produced in the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, replacing the 4:3 ratio used in all prior seasons.

The season aired on TV Tokyo from April to August 2008. Its opening theme was 'Blue Bird' by Ikimono-gakari, and its ending themes were 'Sunao na Niji' by Surface (used for episodes 54 to 63) and 'Broken Youth' by NICO Touches the Walls (used for episodes 64 to 71). The broadcast versions of episodes 70 and 71 include scenes from the second feature film, Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds, in their opening themes while retaining the original music.

Home media releases occurred in Japan on three DVDs between September 3 and November 5, 2008 by Aniplex. In English territories, the season aired on Disney XD from November 3, 2010 to March 9, 2011, and later on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from February 15 to June 21, 2015. Viz Media released it in two DVD boxes on January 25 and April 26, 2011, and Manga Entertainment released two boxes in the United Kingdom on May 16 and July 11, 2011.

Reader's Guide

The third season of Naruto: Shippuden holds significance as the first season to adopt the 16:9 widescreen format, a technical milestone that influenced the visual presentation of all subsequent episodes. Its anime-only story arc, Twelve Guardian Ninja, expands the series' lore by introducing original characters and conflicts not present in Masashi Kishimoto's manga. The season also bridges the series to its second feature film, Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds, which was released on August 2, 2008, and whose scenes were integrated into the broadcast versions of the final two episodes.

In terms of legacy, the season's English-language broadcasts on Disney XD and later on Adult Swim's Toonami block helped maintain the series' international popularity. The home media releases by Aniplex in Japan and by Viz Media and Manga Entertainment in English-speaking regions ensured the arc's availability for collectors and new viewers. The opening theme 'Blue Bird' became one of the most recognized songs associated with the Naruto franchise.

Did You Know?

• The third season is the first Naruto: Shippuden season produced in 16:9 widescreen instead of 4:3.
• The opening theme for the season was 'Blue Bird' by Ikimono-gakari.

Production & Story Premise

The inaugural season of Naruto: Shippuden was helmed by director Hayato Date, with production handled by the studio Pierrot in partnership with TV Tokyo. Drawing from Part II of Masashi Kishimoto's manga, the season picks up the narrative two and a half years after the conclusion of the original Naruto anime. By this point, Naruto Uzumaki and his teammates have grown into teenagers, and their central mission revolves around rescuing Gaara—who now holds the title of Fifth Kazekage—from the grips of the criminal syndicate known as Akatsuki. The season ran from February through October 2007 on TV Tokyo, establishing the tone and stakes for the entire Shippuden arc. This foundational run set the stage for everything that would follow in the franchise's second major anime phase, introducing a more mature cast and a darker, more dangerous world of ninja politics and organized crime that would define the series going forward.

Japanese Home Media & Special Features

In Japan, the season found its home media life through an eight-disc DVD set released under the title Kazekage Dakkan, a name that translates to Kazekage Rescue and directly mirrors the season's core plot of liberating the Kazekage from Akatsuki's clutches. The discs rolled out steadily from August 1, 2007, through March 5, 2008, giving collectors a new volume roughly every month. One particularly notable inclusion came with the seventh compilation disc, which bundled a special feature drawn from the series' second ending theme. Titled Hurricane! Konoha Academy Chronicles, this bonus content offered fans an alternate, lighter glimpse into the world of the ninja academy, adding a playful dimension to what was otherwise a season defined by high-stakes rescue operations. The staggered seven-month release window kept the franchise present in Japanese households well beyond its original broadcast run.

International Broadcast & Home Media

The season's journey beyond Japan was a multi-year, multi-platform affair. In North America, Disney XD carried the episodes from October 28, 2009, through April 21, 2010, while a separate eight-disc DVD set hit shelves between September 29, 2009, and April 6, 2010, with the final volume also dipping into second-season material. Viz Media offered an alternative three-box DVD collection from January 26 to August 3, 2010, similarly sharing its third volume with the following season. The series later found a second life on Adult Swim's Toonami block, airing from January 5 to August 10, 2014, introducing the show to a more adult-skewing audience. Across the Atlantic, Manga Entertainment handled the United Kingdom release with three DVD volumes between June 14 and October 4, 2010, followed by a comprehensive box containing the first 52 episodes on March 7, 2011. This layered distribution strategy ensured the season reached a wide and varied international fanbase over several years.

Musical Identity & Film Crossover

The season's sonic identity was built around five distinct musical themes—two openings and three endings—each tied to specific episode ranges. The first opening, Hero's Come Back!! by Nobodyknows+, carried episodes one through twenty-nine, before Distance by Long Shot Party took over for the remainder. On the ending side, Home Made Kazoku's Nagareboshi (Shooting Star) served episodes one through seventeen, Alüto's Michi (To You All) covered eighteen through twenty-nine, and Little by Little's Kimi Monogatari (Your Story) closed out the final stretch. Adding a layer of cross-promotion, the first Naruto Shippuden feature film dropped on August 4, 2007, and broadcast versions of episodes twenty-four through twenty-seven wove scenes from that movie into both the opening and ending sequences while retaining the original musical tracks. This integration blurred the line between episodic television and theatrical release, giving viewers a taste of the film's world within their regular weekly viewing routine.