is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, Naruto, which was in serialization from 1999 to 2014, has sold over 250 million copies worldwide in 46 countries as of May 2019. The series has been adapted into two anime and multiple films, video games, and related media. Besides the Naruto manga, Kishimoto also personally supervised the three anime films, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, The Last: Naruto the Movie and Boruto: Naruto the Movie, and has written several one-shot stories. In 2019, Kishimoto wrote Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru which ended in March 2020. From May 2016 through October 2020 he supervised the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. In November 2020 it was announced that he had taken over as writer on the series, replacing Kodachi.

A reader of manga from a young age, Kishimoto showed a desire to write his own manga, citing authors Akira Toriyama and Katsuhiro Otomo as his main influences. As a result, Kishimoto spent several years working to write his own shōnen manga for Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine which he was a fan of.

Early life

Masashi Kishimoto was born in Okayama Prefecture, Japan on November 8, 1974, as the older identical twin of Seishi Kishimoto. During his childhood, Kishimoto showed interest in drawing characters from the anime shows he watched, such as Dr. Slumps Arale and Doraemons titular protagonist.

In elementary school, Kishimoto started watching the Kinnikuman and Dragon Ball anime alongside his brother. During the following years, Kishimoto started idolizing Dragon Balls creator Akira Toriyama, enjoying not only his series Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump, but also Dragon Quest, a series of role-playing video games for which Toriyama is the character designer. While he could not afford to buy Weekly Shōnen Jump where the Dragon Ball manga was published, he followed the series thanks to a friend from school who had subscribed to the magazine. By high school, Kishimoto started losing interest in manga as he started playing baseball and basketball, sports he practiced at his school. However, upon seeing a poster for the animated film Akira, Kishimoto became fascinated with the way the illustration was made and wished to imitate the series' creator Katsuhiro Otomo's style. Other series he enjoyed reading are Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade; Ninku; and Ghost in the Shell. Upon entering college, Kishimoto decided he should try creating a Chanbara manga since Weekly Shōnen Jump had not published a title from that genre. However, during the same year, Kishimoto started reading Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal and Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin (the latter of which was published in Weekly Shonen Jump), which used the said genre. Kishimoto recalls having never been surprised by manga ever since reading Akira and found that he still was not able to compete against them.

In his second year of college, Kishimoto started drawing manga for magazine contests. However, he noted that his works were similar to seinen manga, aimed towards an adult demographic, rather than the shōnen manga read by children and teenagers. Wishing to write a manga for Shōnen Jump (which targets a young demographic), Kishimoto found his style unsuitable for the magazine. When watching the anime series Hashire Melos!, Kishimoto was surprised by the character designs employed by the animators and he started researching works from animators. He later met Tetsuya Nishio, the designer from the anime adaptation of the manga Ninku, whom he deemed a big influence. Having emulated the drawing style of multiple character designers from anime series, Kishimoto noted that his own style began to resemble that of shōnen series.

Career

Early works

Kishimoto's first successful manga pilot was , which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him an honorable mention in Shueisha's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising rookie manga artists. At this point he was assigned an editor, Kosuke Yahagi, and worked on a number of rejected drafts including a slice-of-life manga, , and an action manga, . In 1997, he wrote a one-shot version of which was published in Akamaru Jump Summer.

Following the failure of Karakuri, Kishimoto reduced his output and began moving in a seinen direction with drafts for a baseball manga, , and a mafia manga, , hoping to find better luck with a seinen magazine. but stopped when Yahagi called and asked him to instead develop storyboards for serialization. followed by over 93 million copies worldwide (outside Japan and United States) as of volume 36. This makes total sales for the series approximately 301 million copies.

Kishimoto was also the winner of "Rookie of the Year" for the series in the Agency for Cultural Affairs. It was adapted into two successful anime series,

Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. Kishimoto requested that Tetsuya Nishio oversee the character designs of Naruto when the manga was adapted into an anime series. The Naruto manga series became one of Viz Media's top properties, accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in the US in 2006.

War is a theme Kishimoto wanted to tell in the manga based on the Hiroshima crisis he was told from his grandfather. Despite understanding that war has no good side, Kishimoto wrote the concept of war in Naruto with a hopeful theme. While writing the manga, Kishimoto met Eiichiro Oda, author of One Piece who he considered his rival. When Naruto ended, Oda left a message in the series' final volume acknowledging him as a rival. According to Kishimoto "That felt so gratifying."

Additionally, before the anime adaptation's premiere of My Hero Academia, he praised Kōhei Horikoshi's work, believing it would be a success overseas. Additionally, Kishimoto referred to Yoshihiro Togashi as one of his favorite artists.

For the video game Tekken 6, Kishimoto redesigned its new character, Lars Alexandersson. CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama said he was attracted by this design and thus asked the Tekken staff if he could include Lars in the video game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. For Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution, Kishimoto was responsible for Mecha Naruto upon being suggested by the staff to include a new character. Kishimoto decided on adding a character that would create a big impact worldwide, which resulted in Mecha Naruto. CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama was surprised when seeing the new character.

For the ninth Naruto film, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto was responsible for both the story planning and the characters' designs. The designs used for the film were the designs Kishimoto made for a planned Part 3 of Naruto, however that idea was scrapped for Boruto so they were repurposed for The Last. To promote the film, Kishimoto worked in Motion Comic Naruto, a DVD that showed scenes from the manga in 3D that was given to the first 1.5 million people who went to the cinema. Regarding Narutos publication, Kishimoto told Tetsuya Nishio in July 2012 that the series would take over a year and a half to end. However, Kishimoto admitted that it now appears that the manga will continue beyond that timeframe.

Throughout 2014, Kishimoto supervised the film The Last: Naruto the Movie, which would act as a bridge connecting the series' conclusion and epilogue, providing the story concept and character designs. The Naruto series finally concluded on November 10, 2014, with The Last: Naruto the Movie premiering a month later on December 6, 2014.

Kishimoto also worked on several other projects during Narutos serialization. In 2010, Kishimoto produced a one-shot baseball manga, , as part of Jump's "Top of the Super Legend" project, a series of six one-shot manga by famed Weekly Shōnen Jump artists. In April 2012, it was announced that Kishimoto would publish a one-shot version of his long-postponed mafia manga, Mario, in Jump Square, based on the rough, 160-page manuscript he began working on before Naruto became serialized. Throughout 2013, several of Kishimoto's one-shots saw their English-language debut in issues of the Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine, including Mario, Bench, and the original Naruto pilot. In 2015, Kishimoto also illustrated the cover of violinist Chisako Takashima's album Strings on Fire.

After Naruto

Following Narutos conclusion, Kishimoto became involved in the Start of a New Era Project commemorating both the manga's conclusion and 15th anniversary. On the last page of the final chapter, Weekly Shōnen Jump announced that a spin-off miniseries, also authored by Kishimoto, would be released in 2015. The miniseries, Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, ran from April to July 2015, leading up to the premiere of Boruto: Naruto the Movie on August 7, 2015, which he supervised and co-wrote with Ukyō Kodachi. He also illustrated several light novels set during the same time period as The Last. When asked by Boruto Uzumaki's voice actress Yūko Sanpei to continue making Naruto films, Kishimoto stated that he was taking a break and could not physically do so.

In August 2015, Kishimoto announced that he already has finalized what he wants to do for his next manga series. A sci-fi manga, the series will feature a unique protagonist, with Kishimoto having already completed the character designs. He plans for the work to surpass Naruto in quality, and plans to release the series monthly via the digital magazine Shonen Jump Plus due to the taxing effort required for a weekly series. Kishimoto had not yet finalized when he plans to officially announce the series, as he wants to spend time with his family.

On December 19, 2015, it was announced that Kishimoto would supervise the monthly manga series beginning in Spring 2016. The new spinoff will be illustrated by Kishimoto's chief assistant on Naruto, Mikio Ikemoto, and written by his writing partner for Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Ukyo Kodachi. It was preceded by a Naruto: The Path Lit by the Full Moon one-shot written and illustrated by Kishimoto. In the June 10, 2019 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump it was announced that Boruto: Naruto Next Generations would transition to the magazine's sister publication, V Jump, beginning with its June 20, 2019 issue.

In December 2017 at Jump Festa 2018 it was confirmed that Kishimoto was developing a new science fiction adventure series tentatively scheduled to debut in 2018. A year later at Jump Festa 2019 the series was formally announced as . Kishimoto will be handling the script and rough storyboards, while Akira Ōkubo, a former assistant on Naruto and brother of Atsushi Ōkubo, is responsible for illustrating the final manuscript. The series debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump on May 13, 2019, as the magazine's first new series of Japan's Reiwa period, following a 4-page preview chapter on April 27, 2019, marking the end of the Heisei period. The series however failed to find an audience and concluded a year later in the 17th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump on March 23, 2020.

In November 2020 it was announced that after 51 chapters and 13 volumes Kodachi would step down as writer of the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga, with Kishimoto assuming full writing duties and Ikemoto continuing as illustrator beginning with chapter 52 in the upcoming December issue of V Jump magazine, published on November 21, 2020.

Video games

  • Tekken 6 — 2009, guest character designer
  • Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution — 2014, character designer and editorial supervisor
  • — 2008
  • — 2010
  • — 2015

Guides

  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of Meetings: Official Character Data Book (2002)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of Soldiers: The Official Fanbook (2002)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of Conflict: Official Character Data Book (2005)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of People: Official Character Data Book (2008)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of Everyone: The Official Fanbook (2009)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of War: Official Character Data Book (2014)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of Formation: Official Movie Guidebook (2014)
  • Naruto Secret Manual, Book of Nations: Official Movie Book (2015)
  • Naruto Kizuna: The Words That Bind — Heaven Scroll (2013)
  • Naruto Kizuna: The Words That Bind — Earth Scroll (2013)
  • Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Story Guide — Before the Reversal (2026)

Novels

  • Naruto: Hozuki Castle
  • — 2012, illustrator
  • The Last: Naruto the Movie
  • Boruto: Naruto the Movie
Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls series
  • — 2010, illustrator, co-author
  • — 2015, illustrator
Secret Stories series
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
True Stories series
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
  • — 2015, illustrator
New Stories series
  • — 2016, illustrator
  • — 2016, illustrator
  • — 2016, illustrator
  • — 2016, illustrator
Intense Stories series
  • Naruto: Kakashi's Story — The Sixth Hokage and the Failed Prince — 2019, illustrator
  • Naruto: Sasuke's Story — The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust — 2019, illustrator
  • Naruto: Naruto's Story — Uzumaki Naruto and the Spiral Destiny — 2019, illustrator

Other

  • Strings on Fire by Chisako Takashima — 2015, special album cover artist
  • Learning Japanese History Through Manga, Volume 1 — 2016, cover artist
  • Learning Japanese History Through Manga, Volume 5 — 2016, cover artist The couple has one son.

When Kishimoto was originally creating the Naruto series, he looked to other shōnen manga for influences while attempting to make his characters as unique as possible. Kishimoto cites Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series as one of his influences, noting that Goku, the protagonist, was a key factor when creating Naruto Uzumaki due to his energetic and mischievous personality. Kishimoto cited The Matrix as an inspiration for the redesigned character outfits. He has also cited Yoshihiro Togashi as one of his favorite manga authors,

Kishimoto has also cited other influences such as Takeshi Kitano and Quentin Tarantino. He also mentioned Michael Bay's technique "of shooting a scene against the background light" but found it difficult to make.

During the series' publication, Kishimoto got married and had children. The changes to his personal life affected the story as he made Naruto Uzumaki meet his parents, something the author wanted the character to feel based on his own experiences as a father. For instance, he used an airbrush for one illustration for a Weekly Shōnen Jump cover but decided not to use it for future drawings largely due to the cleanup required.

Masashi and his twin brother Seishi have been drawing manga together since early childhood; thus their styles are similar. As a result, each has been frequently accused of copying the other- not just artwork, but story elements as well. Seishi notes that the similarities are not intentional but are likely because they were influenced by many of the same things.

Kishimoto has admitted he made no plans in regards to the development of Narutos story developments. For example, when introducing Sasuke, the character says he wants to kill a person named "Itachi" who he had to redesign a number of times. By this time, Kishimoto only thought that Sasuke's brother, Itachi, had done a wrong deed in the past but was not certain of what was exactly. By volume 16 of the series which featured Itachi's actual introduction, Kishimoto decided Itachi was an agent working for Konohagakure to kill all members from the Uchiha clan except Sasuke. This is later revealed in volume 43 of the manga.

In the making of the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie Kishimoto paid tribute to several movies, the most notable being the 1996 film The Rock and the 2002 film Spider-Man. The tribute to The Rock was mostly done by using Kishōtenketsu, which is a common way of structuring stories in Japan. He also claimed he was a fan of Avi Arad, most notably his films based on the Spider-Man comic book character.

References