Naruto Spin-Off May Be Getting An Anime

It been two years since the manga for Naruto ended, but the franchise is more alive than ever. Naruto: Shippuden is still in production and has collected twenty seasons, pushing the series' total episode count over 400. And, since the original manga ended, Naruto has continued on through Boruto who's the son of the franchise's titular hero. The spin-off has a feature-length film and manga of its own already, so it's not too surprising for fans to hear Boruto may be getting his own anime.

Fans have speculated about the existence of this new series for awhile, but a recent advert for Jump Special Anime Festa put those fans in a frenzy. The homepage for the event was updated with a list of 'screening anime' for the festival. And, of course, Boruto was featured in the update. The tagline for its advert writes, "Watch next-generation ninja!!" and both TV Tokyo and Pierrot are credited on the picture.

So far, there's been no official confirmation for the Boruto series, but many have been expecting its release. After all, Boruto: Naruto the Move premiered in Japan last year as a full-length film. The project introduced moviegoers to a new generation of Konoha ninja as the children of characters like Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura acted as the film's leads. And, before the film's release, a mini-series titled Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Homage and the Scarlet Spring fleshed out the backstory of these genin newbies.

Of course, this isn't the only extension of Naruto that's been created. Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals premiered back in April 2012, and a series of Hiden novels have been published which tell post-manga stories about Kakashi, Shikamaru, Gaara, Itachi, and more. Three of these epilogue stories are slated to be adapted into an anime of their own as well. More than likely, there'll be a connection between this new series and the Boruto anime, so it could be that the epilogue stories acts as a bridge to Boruto's show.

As for when the Boruto anime could air, fans are guessing the series won't debut until Naruto: Shippuden comes to an end. There's not an official end date for the long-running series yet, but many think the series will close sooner rather than later. So, don't be too surprised if we get an update by the year's end that confirms the Boruto adaptation. Because, for most fans, the announcement is a matter of 'when' and not 'if.'

[H/T] Kotaku