Naruto Creator Reveals Their Favorite Manga Series

Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, has great taste in manga.

By Megan Peters

The creator of Naruto knows what it takes to make a hit. Back in 1999, the artist hit the drawing board and brought the Hidden Leaf to life. In the decades since, Naruto has become a household name with manga readers, and the series has inspired countless of new mangaka. So honestly, it is no surprise that Kishimoto had his own inspiration sources for Naruto.

Recently, Kishimoto opened up about his favorite manga during a trip to France. The artist went abroad with Boruto artist Mikio Ikemoto to talk about Naruto and its legacy. It was there the pair chatted with La Nouvelle Republique, and the two creators shared their top three manga series. So if you want to know what the pair like, you can find their picks below:

  • Kishimoto: Dragon Ball, Akira, Blade of the Immortal
  • Ikemoto: Dragon Ball, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Parasyte

As you can see, the two artists have one top title in common, and that is Dragon Ball. Like millions of other fans, Kishimoto was greatly inspired by the story made by Akira Toriyama. Beyond Dragon Ball, Akira's sci-fi future and the historical drama of Blade of the Immortal struck a chord with the creator. You can see pieces of these manga titles in Naruto, and the same goes for Ikemoto's influences on Boruto.

Related:

How to Catch Up on Naruto

If you have not had the pleasure of reading Naruto, no sweat. You can find the series easily enough as Kishimoto's manga is on the Shonen Jump app. Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is the series' latest title, and new chapters go live each month. So for those wanting to know more about the original series created by Kishimoto, you can read its official synopsis below:

"Twelve years ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a fearsome threat. A nine-tailed fox spirit claimed the life of the village leader, the Hokage, and many others. Today, the village is at peace and a troublemaking kid named Naruto is struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy. His goal may be to become the next Hokage, but his true destiny will be much more complicated. The adventure begins now!"

What do you think about this latest confession from Kishimoto? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

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