Anime News Network has posted a CN press release detailing the coming airing of Naruto. While it doesn’t go into much, the section saying it attracted a huge following through DVD releases and bootlegs was quite an interesting acknowledgement.

Here’s the meat of the press release, hopefully it can give us an accurate idea of how closely the English dub will follow the Japanese original.

The story of Naruto begins 12 years ago, when the evil Nine Tailed Fox demon terrorized The Hidden Leaf Village. The Fourth Lord Hokage sacrificed himself to seal the demon inside the body of a baby, bringing the decimation to an end. For fear that the boy, Naruto, would abuse the powers inside him and release the demon within, a rule was made that forbad anyone to tell him that he possessed the spirit of the Nine Tailed Fox. Raised as an orphan and with no one believing in him, Naruto grew up unaware of the reason that the villagers shunned him.

Now a teenager, Naruto attempts to earn the respect of the villagers by training to become the Village Hokage, the top ninja in the village. As a student at the ninja academy, he is earnest and hardworking, yet clumsy. As Naruto develops as a ninja, he must learn to control his special powers to become the respected master ninja.