The Naruto Pilot Is Almost Unrecognizable

If you are a fan of Naruto, then you may consider yourself an expert on all things ninja. The beloved story made its debut 1999 under Weekly Shonen Jump, but its premiere issue was not the first Masashi Kishimoto ever wrote up. Before Naruto turned into the ninja fans know and love today, the character was fleshed out in one trippy pilot that has almost nothing in common with Naruto‘s final take.

In 1997, Kishimoto created his first incarnation of Naruto for a one-shot story in Akamaru Jump. The self-contained story was the artist’s first entrance into the the Naruto universe, and much of its content is wildly different from the Naruto fans know now.

The one-shot follows a young character named Naruto who is a fox demon. The deity lives his life in disguise as a human, but he is still disliked by the village he grew up in. After all, Naruto’s father did rampage the town, and the fox was only allowed to live when his home’s elder allowed for it. The powerful ninja was only survivor of the nine ninja who brought down Naruto’s father, and the young fox learned ninja arts from the old man. Still, Naruto suffered as he was unable to make any friends, so the village chief sent the fox-boy into the big city for a new life.

As for the issue moves forward, the pilot shows Naruto as he navigates his way around a massive metropolis. Rather than focusing on Genin exams or ninjutsu training, the pilot follows Naruto as he stumbles upon a gruesome crime. In many ways, the one-shot is totally different from the Naruto story which fans are familiar with, but fans can connect the dots. The introductory piece allowed Kishimoto to familiarize himself with the protagonists he’d come to flesh out, and some basic ninja lore was established as well. The one-shot is not something casual Naruto fans may be into, but it is something diehard otakus may take pleasure in perusing. Seeing how Kishimoto turned his Akamaru Jump story into an internationally loved franchise is staggering at the very least. And, for those of you who love Naruto, the story gives you a better look into how the knuckle-headed character got his start.

You can check out Viz Media’s synopsis of Naruto below:

“Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja!”

Author/artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Like many kids, he was first inspired to become a manga artist in elementary school when he read Dragon Ball. After spending time in art college, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his story Karakuri. After considering various genres for his next project, Kishimoto decided on a story steeped in traditional Japanese culture.

His first version of Naruto, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits; his final version, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in the world. The series would also spawn multiple anime series, movies, novels, video games and more.