Naruto Creator Reveals How Involved He Is With Boruto Sequel

Naruto might have ended its original manga run with Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine some time ago, but the creator behind it all revealed just how hands on he is with the ongoing sequel series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and its own sequel, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. Naruto continues to be one of the most successful franchises to ever come out of Shonen Jump as not only did the original series go on to massive success worldwide, but it has continued its story with an official sequel series that has gone on to have its own worldwide success with fans too.

Although Naruto series creator Masashi Kishimoto has largely moved on to new projects such as the swiftly canceled Samurai 8, the creator has had some input when it comes to the official sequel, Boruto as well. The art and story for the series are handled by former Kishimoto assistant Mikio Ikemoto, and Kishimoto recently revealed during a special interview just how involved he is with the new series. As the creator debunks rumors of his heavy involvement, Kishimoto states, “It really is Ikemoto’s manga.”

How Much Naruto’s Creator Works on Boruto Sequel

With a special interview shared on Naruto‘s official website, Kishimoto was asked about just how involved he is with Boruto compared to how much work went into the original series. It’s here that Kishimoto settled the debate over whether or not Ikemoto truly is in charge of the new series, “It was a completely different workflow. For Naruto, I was in charge of both the story and the main illustrations while Ikemoto helped with things like illustrating backgrounds and drawing shadow doppelgangers. For Boruto, Ikemoto is completely in charge of the story and main illustrations. It really is Ikemoto’s manga.”

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Ever since Kishimoto was noted to be more involved with Boruto: Naruto Next Generations following Samurai 8‘s cancellation, fans had been wondering what it meant for Ikemoto. But as Kishimoto clearly states, Ikemoto is “completely in charge” of the story and art for the sequel series. So while Kishimoto is likely to be offering input of some kind of ways to continue the series, Ikemoto is driving it forward. Whether or not that’s going to be good news to fans is likely still going to be a debate as the Boruto: Two Blue Vortex manga continues, however.

Naruto Creator Reacts to Its Popularity

The popularity of the franchise on a whole seemed to take Kishimoto by surprise too as the Naruto creator revealed, “I mean, I never expected it to run so long at the start, nor did I expect it to become so popular in countries outside Japan like France. When I see the reactions of fans such as you all, I can really feel how beloved Naruto is, and that brings me a lot of joy.” But that popularity also came with the fact that the creator needed to remind himself to temper his expectations.

“However, nothing ever goes well all the time, and I’ve had to remind myself over the course of the series not to get carried away with excitement or, conversely, get bogged down in despair,” Kishimoto continued. “One thing I learned from creating Naruto was how to maintain my own equilibrium despite the current situation, and still live in a healthy manner throughout the series’ ups and downs.”