‘Boruto’ Writer Clarifies How Involved ‘Naruto’s Creator Is

Boruto is more than 20 chapters into its manga, and the sequel is still gaining steam with fans. With the Leaf Village under threat once more, fans have started to wonder how much control the creator of Naruto has behind this sequel, and it seems the creator has plenty of say.

Recently, the team behind Boruto sat down for a chat with Lucca Comics. It was there Mikio Ikemoto addressed how involved Masashi Kishimoto is with the sequel, and the creator is very much a part of the title.

According to translation summaries, Kishimoto is said to have given Ikemoto “carte blanche” control over the sequel’s character designs, but the artist admits he did go a bit far with Sarada at points. Still, Kishimoto was there to double-check all of the artwork, and the creator is still doing such checks.

“Kishimoto is still heavily involved with the series by defining every concept and initial idea,” one summary reads. (via Danbito)

While Naruto‘s creator may not be the one penning Boruto, he is taking every opportunity to direct the sequel. Ever since the title was announced, the artist has promised fans he would be with Boruto each step of the way, and it looks like Kishimoto has yet to fail fans on that front. So, if you’ve been unsure of whether Boruto should be called canon, it sounds like Kishimoto would be awfully offended by such second-guessing.

So, are you liking Boruto so far? Would you like to see Kishimoto take over the sequel one day down the line? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows 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 features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.