'Naruto' Creator Reveals New Naruto, Sasuke Sketch

Masashi Kishimoto may have officially put an end to the Naruto series several years ago, the [...]

Masashi Kishimoto may have officially put an end to the Naruto series several years ago, the franchise has remained as popular as it is today as it was when the series was ongoing. This has led to all sorts of great projects.

Not only is there a sequel series in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, there is also a live-action project in the works that's now being promoted with a brand new sketch of Naruto and Sasuke drawn by Kishimoto himself.

Naruto will soon be getting a special Kabuki live theater event in Japan. Kabuki plays are a mainstay in Japan dating back as early as the 1600s, and a newer version of this will be receiving a Naruto coat of paint. Veteran Kabuki actors Minosuke Bandou and Hayato Nakamura will portray Naruto and Sasuke respectively, while Ichikawa Ennosuke and Ainosuke Kataoka will both portray Madara Uchiha through the play's run.

To celebrate this new Kabuki play, Kishimoto released this sketch featuring Sasuke and Naruto in traditional clothing while also being a nice flashback to their youthful looks in Naruto: Shippudenrather than their adult looks found in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

For those unfamiliar with Naruto, it has quite a storied history. Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, the series ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows Naruto, a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations recently made TV Tokyo's list of Top 5 Anime in sales and profits, coming third in sales and fifth and profits. The anime has been such a success that the Naruto franchise as a whole stills holds a top spot in many anime profits rankings as well. The series even managed to cross 235 million copies of the manga sold worldwide. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was even given a major bump of approval as it just took over a more familiar timeslot, airing in the same time and day that its predecessor Naruto: Shippuden once did.

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