‘Boruto’ Creator Addresses Sarada’s Controversial Design

Naruto still stands as one of anime’s most famous titles, and its legacy is thriving these days. Sure, the main series may have ended, but Boruto Uzumaki is keeping the Leaf Village alive with his sequel. However, the ongoing series has prompted a bit of backlash, and its artist is addressing one such issue.

Recently, Lucca Comics and Games hosted Mikio Ikemoto, the artist behind Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The artist was joined by Weekly Shonen Jump‘s editor-in-chief Hiroyuki Nakano along with personal editor Mr. Taguchi. The trio opened up about the sequel, and it was there Ikemoto admitted he went a little overboard with Sarada Uchiha.

According to one translator’s summary, Ikemoto made sure to address his design of Sarada. The artist admitted Naruto‘s creator Masashi Kishimoto gave him free rein with character designs, but he knows he went too far with Sarada in Boruto.

In fact, according to translation summaries, Ikemoto admits he “exaggerated a bit too much” with her design.

For those of you unfamiliar with the debacle, Boruto fans only recently let the debate die down. Sarada Uchiha might be the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura, but her strength has been overshadowed at times to make room for her sexy looks. Despite being a young teen, the ninja was sketched in some rather revealing clothing, and fans were quick to condemn Ikemoto for his inappropriate design.

In recent volumes, Boruto has managed to avoid sexualizing Sarada or any of her female comrades. This change of pace was welcome to fans, and it is a far cry from how things were last December when the manga released its controversial 19th chapter. The update came with some hotly debate cover art depicting Sarada and her genin comrade Sumire wearing clothes many felt to be age inappropriate. Wearing mini dresses and buckled high heels, the heroines’ outfits left readers feeling rather uncomfortable, and it turns out Ikemoto agrees he took his work on Sarada a step too far.

So, what do you think about this adorable throwback? 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.