Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto shares the genre of his next work, wants it to surpass Naruto

21:09 cherishe 0 Comments

Masashi Kishimoto, who turns 41 this year, made it very clear last month that after 15 years of drawing his hit manga series Naruto he wants to take a break from the world of ninja. But being a manga artist and all, he’s constantly thinking up potential character and story ideas for the future. In fact, it turns out that he’s already decided on some details about his next big work–along with the fact that he intends to make it into a bigger hit than the story of the legendary Konoha ninja himself.

Naruto is undoubtedly Kishimoto’s signature work to date, but the artist has also tackled other types of stories throughout his career. During the hectic serialization of Naruto, Kishimoto was even able to produce two one-shot stories, baseball manga Bench in 2010 and mafia manga Mario in 2013, which was a remake of his previous work:

A recently published interview with Kishimoto has revealed some details about his next work to come. Though the story is still in the planning stages, it should be welcome news for all of the fans waiting for the artist to pick up his pen once again.

“Interviewer: [Continuing after a previous comment by Kishimoto] That sounds like your next work is still undecided.

Kishimoto: About that–I’ve already decided on the material for my next work. I was brainstorming many ideas during Naruto‘s serialization, and I’ll be doing a sci-fi manga next. The work as a whole isn’t completely mapped out yet so I haven’t shown it to my supervisor, but the character designs are already solidified. I think this kind of protagonist hasn’t been seen up till now, and though I’m the one saying this by myself, I can feel a reaction (laugh).

I’ve written several one-shots besides Naruto up to this point. I’ve experienced the divide between what I’ve wanted to draw and what the readers have wanted to read firsthand, so this time I really want to think things through clearly beforehand. Naruto became an unexpected hit for me, but this time I’d like to make my next story a hit from the start.

I’m not sure when details about this new series will be announced, but please wait patiently. I’m planning to challenge myself in order to surpass the success of Naruto.”

▼ His quote is taken from the bottom section of text in this interview.

So there you have it, folks–Kishimoto will be working on a science fiction story next! If only we could get a glimpse of that character artwork…

Japanese net users shared their responses online:

“Kishimoto’s a big fan of Akira [a legendary post-apocalyptic cyberpunk sci-fi manga and anime film by Katsuhiro Otomo], so it makes sense.”

“Won’t the editorial department want to serialize a story about Naruto’s son, Bolt?”

“Akira Toriyama never found the same level of success after the conclusion of Dragon Ball. If you think of it that way, Rumiko Takahashi is really amazing with her succession of hits one after another [Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku, Ranma ½, Inuyasha, Rin-ne]…Good luck, Kishimoto-sensei.”

“Kishimoto wrote the Naruto side-story and a Bolt spin-off after completing the main manga–he has such a creative urge. Togashi-sensei, are you reading this? [Yoshihiro Togashi is the author of YuYu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. He frequently goes on extended hiatuses for his health, drawing the ire of his fans].”

“No matter what you say to Togashi-sensei, it’s useless (LOL).”

How do you feel about Masashi Kishimoto drawing a sci-fi manga next? Your comments are welcome below!

Source: My Game News Flash
Featured image: YouTube/Toho Movie Channel
Images: My Game News Flash, Imgur