10 things you didn’t know about Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto

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Naruto is one of the most popular anime series of all time. Its popularity helped save Shonen Jump from bankruptcy in the early 2000s, and many fans began their anime journey with Naruto.

Even anime fans who have never seen the series can easily recognize the characters. However, even die-hard Naruto fans don’t know much about the manga’s creator, Masashi Kishimoto.

Kishimoto is a highly respected manga artist who has inspired tons of other artists. Jujutsu Kaisen, for example, is strongly inspired by Naruto.

Kishimoto’s artistic style has had a considerable impact on modern anime, which makes the little-known facts about his career as a manga artist all the more interesting.

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10. Kishimoto’s twin brother is a mangaka

There’s nothing shocking about celebrities having siblings, but it’s always a surprise when fans learn that their favorite celebrity has an identical twin. Not only does Kishimoto have a twin brother, but his brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a popular manga artist.

Seishi Kishimoto is best known for his 666 Satan series, which follows Ruby, who wants to become a treasure hunter. Comparing the styles of the two manga artists, it’s obvious that they grew up drawing together. Their styles are so similar that they have even been accused of copying each other.

9. Kishimoto drew inspiration from his wife to create Hinata

It’s obvious that Kishimoto has a soft spot for Hinata. Aside from Naruto, she has one of the most interesting stories, and she’s the one Naruto ends up falling in love with. Given that Hinata is based on Kishimoto’s wife, this favoritism makes perfect sense.

The events of The Last: Naruto the Movie are partly inspired by Kishimoto’s relationship with his wife. She made a scarf and gave it to Kishimoto in real life, which inspired Hinata’s gift to Naruto. Apparently, all the animators knew where the scarf gift came from and liked to joke about it during the filming of the movie.

8. Kishimoto is a good friend of Eiichiro Oda.

Most people think that the creators of Naruto and One Piece are rivals. They’re both part of the Big Three, and anime fans often argue about which series is better. However, Kishimoto and Oda, the creator of One Piece, are not rivals, but very good friends.

Oda and Kishimoto like to reference each other’s work, and even feature each other’s characters in their manga. Naruto appeared in One Piece eating with Luffy, and Kishimoto drew One Piece in his own style. It’s clear that they admire each other and have even inspired each other’s stories.

7. Kishimoto created Karakuri before Naruto

Kishimoto’s most popular manga is Naruto, but it’s not his first published work. He also wrote a manga entitled Karakuri, which appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1998. Unfortunately, Karakuri was not a successful series, and was cancelled shortly after publication.

Despite this failure, it’s clear that Kishimoto drew a great deal of inspiration from his first series when creating Naruto. The protagonist shares similarities with Sasuke, who would become one of Kishimoto’s best characters, and many of his powers are similar to those featured in Naruto. It’s thanks to Karakuri that Naruto exists.

6. Naruto was supposed to be a ramen chef

Naruto is known as the world’s greatest ninja, but when Kishimoto created the series, it wasn’t about ninjas at all. Originally, Naruto was to be an apprentice ramen cook, which explains the character’s name and his obsession with ramen.

It’s hard to believe what Naruto would have been like if it had been a cooking show instead of an action-packed shonen. It’s likely that the series wouldn’t have had such a huge impact on the anime community, and fans can only be pleased that Kishimoto changed his mind and created one of the best ninja stories of all time.

5. Kishimoto didn’t anticipate things

Naruto’s world is well thought out and detailed, so it’s hard to believe that Kishimoto didn’t plan most of the story. Kishimoto has stated that he didn’t plan the romantic aspect of the series until later, which explains why Hinata and Naruto don’t interact for much of the story.

However, it’s not just the romance that Kishimoto imagined when creating the story. Orochimaru was supposed to be the main villain, but that changed with the creation of the Akatsuki and Madara Uchiha. The only thing Kishimoto had planned all along was the final battle between Sasuke and Naruto, because that’s how he wanted the series to end.

4. Kishimoto’s wife wanted Naruto to be with Sakura

Kishimoto didn’t plan anything in the way of romance, so it makes sense that many fans expected the characters to pair up differently. This is particularly true of Kishimoto’s wife, who thought Sakura and Naruto would always end up together.

Apparently, she was a big fan of the couple, and Kishimoto had to console her when Naruto ended up with Hinata. Kishimoto said he told his wife that Hinata had been inspired by her to make her feel better when Naruto ended up with Hinata instead of Sakura.

Funnily enough, many fans thought Naruto and Sakura should have ended up together, which makes it even funnier that his wife was one of those fans.

3. Kishimoto’s family influenced the story

The fact that Naruto is an orphan is an important aspect of his character. He wants to become Hokage because he feels rejected by those around him. For Naruto, being Hokage means being loved and respected. Kishimoto always knew who Naruto’s parents would be, but he never planned for Naruto to meet them.

This changed when Kishimoto married and became a father. As a parent, he realized the importance of the relationship between parents and children, so he wanted Naruto to have a chance to meet his family.

Naruto’s interactions with his parents are among the best moments, and it’s clear that Kishimoto was thinking of his own family when he transposed these moments into the manga.

2. Kishimoto almost gave up art

Growing up as an artist can be difficult, especially at first, when it comes to learning the basics. This was particularly true for Kishimoto, who loved to draw as a child, but struggled to improve. He even almost gave up on becoming a manga artist when his family criticized the quality of his drawings.

Fortunately, Kishimoto didn’t give up, as he was inspired by a poster from the animated film Akira. Kishimoto fell in love with the art style and wanted to improve so he could create something similar. Akira and Naruto are not similar, but it’s thanks to Akira that Naruto exists.

1. Kishimoto was inspired by Akira Toriyama and Jackie Chan

If Naruto, Bleach and One Piece are the big three of anime, Dragon Ball is the granddaddy. Dragon Ball has had a huge influence on anime, including Naruto, which is heavily inspired by the work of Akira Toriyama. Naruto is a happy, carefree protagonist who loves to eat, which is very similar to Goku’s personality.

However, Dragon Ball is not Kishimoto’s only source of inspiration. Jackie Chan’s films were a major inspiration for Kishimoto’s action scenes.

In particular, Jackie Chan uses the double-action technique, in which a punch is shown from several different angles. Kishimoto used this technique to great effect in Naruto’s fight against Haku.

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