Naruto Epilogue Novels Will Be Adapted Into Anime

Believe it! Never doubt Naruto's ability to make a comeback. The knuckle-headed ninja might have seen his main Naruto manga come to an end back in 2014, but the character - and his friends - have already appeared in over 10 epilogue novels since then. And, now, several of those stories are about to be adapted into an upcoming anime.

According to Shueisha, an anime will air later this winter that adapts three of the Naruto Hiden & Shinden epilogue novels. The stories being animated are Shikamaru's Story, Konoha's [Hidden] Story, and Sasuke's Story. While there's little information available now as to how these three stories will be combined, fans are simply excited to know their favorite Naruto characters will be animated post-manga.

Of course, Naruto Shippuden is still on air as the long-running anime seems to have entered its last arc. Following an extended period of filler episodes, the anime recently returned to its main storyline, so the show should theoretically be gearing up to show Naruto's final chapters. Fans, though wary of the promise, are hoping the anime will do its manga justice. I mean, if you've finished reading the manga, then you've got to be stoked to see Naruto and Sasuke's ultimate showdown. Like, you just have to.

With its predecessor coming to an end soon, fans are of course wondering whether the epilogue anime is meant to bid viewers farewell and ease them off the franchise. But, until the official end date for Naruto Shippuden is released, fans can only wonder how the new show will tie-in with the franchise's anime canon.

If you're curious about what's seen in these novels, Viz has published several of the titles like Kakashi's Story and Sakura's Story. And, by next spring, the publisher plans to also release Sasuke's Story to eager readers. Fans of Itachi's Story were already treated to an adaptation of the story as Naruto Shippuden incorporated it into its filler arc, and fans reacted favorably to the installment. So, hopefully, their reactions are an indicator of how Naruto's epilogue anime will be.

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