Naruto fans, get ready! Starting April 15, 2009, free episodes of your favorite series, this time English-dubbed and uncut, will be available on both Joost.com and Hulu.com. In fact, in celebration of the initial launch, VIZ is posting five free episodes.

Then on every Wednesday after that, a new episode will be uploaded. Each one will stream on the sites for about five weeks, before moving aside to accommodate the next week's posting. American viewers can watch the instalments of the series on both Joost and Hulu, while Canadians can view them on Joost alone.

VIZ has been working for some time now to make many of its most-loved series available in legal forms, through popular video-streaming sites. The advantage of websites like Hulu or Joost is that these videos can be viewed at all hours of the day, on demand. In addition, users can embed them on social networking pages, or forward them to friends via email.

Ken Sasaki, Vice President, Strategy & Business Development for VIZ Media, is pleased with the new move. "We're very excited to launch uncut dubbed Naruto episodes on both Joost and Hulu and offer fans the opportunity to watch their favorite ninja online for free anytime. ... [W]e invite fans to visit each Wednesday for a fun new adventure featuring the world's most popular ninja!" He also hopes that this availability will reach new fans as well, who haven't yet discovered the enjoyment of the Naruto anime.

Joost.com features more than 48,000 different program elements (including TV series, movie and short films, and music videos) from at least 300 partners, while Hulu.com offers more than 41,000 items (TV series, and show and movie titles) from about 140 partners.

Neither site is a stranger to the Naruto series; subtitled versions of the anime have already been streaming since September of 2008.

Source: VIZ press release, April 12, 2009