I'm doing my cousin's daughters 12th birthday cake and she wants a Naruto theme. I've looked up images and whatnot, but I have some questions for anyone who knows ANYTHING about this...

She was kind of liking the idea of a purse cake, also. So, I was thinking of having a purse tipped on it's side (or standing up) with her favorite character (Sasuke) popping out of it. But then, I also want some other symbols of Naruto coming out of the top of it. Problem is... I have no idea what symbols/items are associated with it. I know nothing about anime/magna (is there a difference?).

Does anime have those (sometimes) yellow exclamation bubbles like comics? (Ya know, the ones that say POW! BAM! etc.) If they do, I was thinking of a Happy Birthday type thing.

Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you!!

Anime does not have exclamation bubbles (at least Naruto doesn't).
You could make the headband that the character wears- make the plate out of gumpaste and paint it with silver luster and then make a fondant bandana. You could also make kunai knives or throwing stars, since these are their main weapons. If she like the character Gara (my daughter's favorite) you can make the gourd he carries.

I had no intention of outing myself in this fashion- but as a seasoned 'con mom' I just could not resist.
Here are some links to help you
Headband symbols- (Sasuke is leaf clan) http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs38/f/2008/348/2/6/Naruto__Headband_Symbols_by_sakuradbzgirl15.jpg
Sasuke--(he's the cool dude) http://s.bebo.com/app-image/7925954194/5411656627/PROFILE/i.quizzaz.com/img/q/u/08/03/21/Sasuke.jpg

Gara with his gourd-- http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.guildinn.com/gallery/images/717/1_gara.png&imgrefurl=http://littlezwolf.blogspot.com/2009/01/gara.html&usg=__Lu0vE_o2ExAzoCi4BKJLFaVAtbQ=&h=708&w=344&sz=212&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=Lod7m3g9QRJtMM:&tbnh=140&tbnw=68&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgara%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

Kunai knives--http://www.swordsswords.com/ProductImages/video_game_swords/naruto_kunai_knife_bk_2.jpg

Throwing star-- http://www.swords24.eu/images/products/en/Shuriken_-_Naruto_Throwing_Star_RC-014.jpg

Wow, thanks for all that! It's a big help!

When I did my Naruto cake last year, I found it to be a great help to watch a clip of the cartoon, and I also googled Naruto and looked at products that were for sale. That was how I too came up with throwing stars and shuriken and a really cool sword for the cake, and also I found figures that were surrounded by flames (only applies to Naruto not Sasuke) which was the only way I was able to figure out what the heck the birthday boy meant when he said he wanted the "nine tailed fox form." (HUH????!)

Just start poking around on the internet, and that along with the ideas from tmac670 will give you all of the info you need! I love the above ideas - and you know instead of making the headband bandanna itself, if you want you could just make the silver plaque with the symbol, and use that on the purse instead of whatever logo plaque the manufacturer would normally put on a handbag.

If you're handy with an Xacto knife, you could try making Happy Birthday in the fashion of the Naruto logo - that is what I did but I used the birthday boy's name instead (much easier--far fewer letters!!) I did it in three super thin layers of gumpaste: blue (background), white (outline layer) and red/orange (main letters) and then hand-outlined the letters in black to make them pop. Here's my cake, for what it's worth http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1322181

Wow, thanks ceshell for all that help. That's awesome. You're cake is amazing. I think I have a way better grip on it now and it doesn't seem thaaaat intimidating anymore. I'll be sure to post it when I'm done