Naruto fulfils all the key points of a Shonen Manga friendship,
great effort, and victory, whilst also giving us insight into
Kishimoto’s mental state. Kishimoto admitted his own feelings and life
experiences played a big part in influencing both the plot and Naruto’s
character. “For example,” he explains, “when I started the series, I had no idea
about the feelings of a parent towards their child, so I created a
scenario in which Naruto had no parents. However, as I grew older, got
married and had children of my own, I understood how it feels to be a
parent, and, although it may seem selfish, I wanted Naruto to understand
the love his parents had for him too. That was why I had Naruto’s late
mother appear to him in a time of crisis.”
Masashi Kishimoto’s “NARUTO” has sold over 200 million copies worldwide over 15 years, and now the 72nd and final volume of the super popular series is ready for release.
When questioned on his feelings after the series ended in Weekly Jump magazine, Kishimoto smiled and gave a somewhat bitter-sweet reply:
“Weekly publishing work was tough. But I was happy when readers told me they enjoyed it. It felt as if (writing Naruto) was the only thing that gave my existence any value, so I was able to keep at it.”
The Naruto series also gained a lot of positive attention for focusing on important current affairs; in particular for reminding people that war makes a victim out of children, and that constant cycles of fighting and revenge get us nowhere; sometimes it is necessary to negotiate in order to gain peace. Kishimoto says he “want(s) people to remember that a story like this could really be taking place somewhere in the world.”
The final volume of the series sees Naruto finally becoming a Hokage and making himself a family. His son Bolt will be the new hero of a new movie due for release this summer. Kishimoto’s final comment is a bashful, “thank you, for making me into a manga artist.”
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