Naruto's Creator Learned of Its Overseas Popularity Thanks to Fan-Letters
Naruto has easily become one of the most popular Shonen anime series that was released by the [...]
Naruto has easily become one of the most popular Shonen anime series that was released by the weekly publication but the creator of the franchise, Masashi Kishimoto, didn't realize just how popular his creation had become until he began getting some fan mail expressing audiences' love for the Hidden Leaf Village. With the series beginning in 1997 via its manga, the series has continued through three different story lines of Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, and the latest generation of ninja in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations that tells the story of Naruto's son and his friends that make up the new class.
A publication in Japan titled Asahi Shimbun had an interview with the Naruto creator in Masashi Kishimoto, detailing when he had realized how big the series had become once he began receiving fan mail from across the sea in the West:
"Because manga artists are always working inside rooms, it is difficult for us to see firsthand if our works are really popular. It was not until I received many fan letters from overseas that I realized [Naruto is] popular outside of Japan. Some of those letters are written in languages I do not know, so I understand that my work is read by people in various countries."
On top of detailing his discovery of fans' love of the series from all around the world, Kishimoto also went into detail about how he had wanted to end the Naruto series before diving into the world of the seventh Hokage's son in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations:
""Since the work was first serialized, I have been determined to end the manga series with the battle between protagonist Naruto and Sasuke, who has been his rival since the start of the story. I later decided on the details, little by little, such as whether they would fight each other as friends or enemies, their feelings and dialogues, while I was drawing the series."
With the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations series focusing on the new villainous collective in the Kara Organization, in both the manga and the anime, fans are re-discovering their love for the Hidden Leaf and finding that there is plenty of "meat left on the bones" when it comes to the adventures of the ninja of Konoha!
What is your favorite series in the "Konoha trilogy"? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the Hidden Leaf Village!