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North American professional esports organization Team Liquid has announced an apparel collaboration with the long-running popular anime and manga series Naruto Shippuden, which on Friday will be launching a line of stylized hoodies, long-sleeve shirts, and T-shirts. The synergy between both brands also marks a celebration of both Team Liquid and Naruto’s 20-year anniversaries.
“With both brands celebrating our respective twentieth anniversaries, this is the prefect time to team up,” said Alexander Lee, senior licensing manager at publisher VIZ Media, in a statement. “Anime and esports fashion is constantly evolving and we are ecstatic to be an integral part of this unique collaboration… Like our fans, we love anime, and Naruto is one of the most successful anime franchises of all time.”
Among other pieces, the new collection will include a leaf village denim jacket, rogue ninja hat, Naruto vs. Sasuke cargo joggers, and jonin-inspired parkas. Previous Team Liquid collaborations include Marvel Entertainment, tokidoki, and Stance. According to a release, licensing laws prohibit the sale of the Naruto items outside of the United States, but Team Liquid is “exploring expanding the countries we sell this collection to in the future.”
Naruto has been an expansive franchise that has spanned 72 book volumes, 220 anime episodes, 11 films, and many video games on various consoles. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, as its name implies, is a sequel/spin-off to the original series, which kicked off in 2016 and is still going strong with new issues rolling out this upcoming year.
