Naruto Creator Comments on Special Anniversary Boruto Anime Arc

Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto reached the monumental age of 20 this year, and the franchise is celebrating this huge anniversary in a pretty surprising way. Along with a big event in Japan that will feature special highlights from the anime franchise, and a collaborative event with Viz Media, the Boruto anime will be going into brand new arc which will feature Boruto crossing time and space to team up with a young Naruto from the original incarnation of the series. The announcement of this arc surprised fans, but apparently the original idea stems from series creator Kishimoto himself.

In the original announcement about the upcoming Naruto anniversary arc, a message from Kishimoto teases that the creator not only pitched the original idea of this time travelling arc, but that the new arc will feature cameos from other characters outside of the young Naruto.

As Kishimoto states, "The anime staff have sincerely answered to my crazy idea, 'It must be exciting if Boruto and Naruto in his childhood meet.' In addition to Boruto, Naruto, and Sasuke, I have heard that other familiar characters will also return! Please enjoy watching this festival!"

Although details for the new arc are currently scarce, it is currently scheduled to premiere sometime this October. With Kishimoto's statement, it certainly implies that Boruto will somehow travel back in time to meet the younger Naruto and other characters from the first iteration of the series. Then it begs the question of just how the two fireballs will interact with each other.

Boruto eventually grew to respect his father, and the reverse is true as well, but will the younger Naruto accept Boruto so easily? If the original concept for this arc came from Kishimoto himself, then it certainly will be a fun new arc to explore. As the Boruto anime has come under fire for its filler arcs in the past few months, fans will surely flock to this one that seems to be pure fun and celebratory of the series as a whole. At the very least, it should be nostalgic seeing the younger Naruto in a brand new adventure.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which 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.

via Crunchyroll