Naruto: Why Masashi Kishimoto Stepped Back From the Franchise (& Returned)

Masashi Kishimoto’s  Naruto found success during its initial serialization in 1999 and went on for 15 years before concluding in 2014. The manga received a long-running anime adaptation which covered all 72 volumes and 700 chapters with Naruto, himself, becoming one of the most recognizable anime characters even to those who aren’t anime fans. In addition, Kishimoto oversaw the production of most of the Naruto movies and worked to conclude the franchise with a peek into the next generation with Boruto: Naruto the Movie.

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Due to its success, Shonen Jump sought a follow-up. While the sequel series, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, was supervised by Kishimoto, the writing up until recently has all been done by Ukyo Kodachi. The official Twitter account for the franchise announced on November 15th that Kishimoto will be taking over writing and storyboarding duties from Kodachi starting with Chapter 52. With all of Naruto’s success, Kishimoto’s return to take lead on Boruto is a pretty big deal, so let’s take a look into why he stepped away from the franchise and perhaps why he returned.

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Since Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto has withdrawn from the franchise, choosing to pursue other works after contributing over a decade of hard work to bring fans the inspiring story of Naruto Uzumaki. When asked about his decision, he requested that fans “let him rest.” Being a manga artist requires a rigorous schedule that barely allows time for anything else, and the added pressure from such a popular series only intensified that experience. It’s understandable why Kishimoto decided to take a break from the series to seek a much more sustainable work schedule. Any creative individual can only imagine the burnout that would come from working on a single series for 15 years almost non-stop. No matter how much he loves the franchise and the characters, he simply needed a break.

Kishimoto then moved on to create a new series called Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru which ran in Shonen Jump from May 2019 t0 March 2020. It is a science fiction-samurai manga following a disabled boy, Hachimaru, who dreams of becoming a samurai as he journeys to find the seven keys needed to open Pandora’s Box. With this new story, Kishimoto wanted to explore his love for Japanese culture and science fiction. This new series was teased during Jump Festa 2018 where he showed off art pieces for his new work, though the series wasn’t officially announced until Jump Festa 2019.

Originally, Kishimoto stated that he wanted Samurai 8 to last at least 10 volumes with the potential to go on longer, but it concluded with only 5. Unfortunately, Samurai 8 was not well-received with complaints about the pacing, art and lack of editorial oversight. Its inability to find and secure a passionate audience lead to its early cancellation. The news of its cancellation came with mixed reactions.

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The official statement by Shonen Jump is that Kishimoto was always scheduled to return to the series, but fans are skeptical about this statement. There could have been many contributing factors to Kishimoto’s return to the franchise. For starters, his new series was axed less than a year after its debut despite being planned to have a much longer run. If Samurai 8 had been a success like he intended, Kishimoto would not have returned to the Boruto manga anytime soon. Additionally, without Kishimoto’s creative input, Boruto hasn’t been able to replicate the same success as Naruto. Placing Kishimoto back in a leadership position in terms of creative development has given many people fresh hope for the future of the series.

But even if the timing of Kishimoto’s return to the Boruto manga is no coincidence, he’s spent a few years away from the franchise and has most likely returned with ideas on the direction of the manga. His return has actually come at a crucial turning point in the series, with the possible deaths of Naruto or Sasuke being teased more than ever and building crossroads for Boruto’s character development. Whatever Kishimoto has planned for Boruto, his return will make or break everything the series has built so far.

KEEP READING: Boruto: Masashi Kishimoto Returns to the Series – and It’s About Time