Masashi Kishimoto has created an indelible mark on the anime community with Naruto. The extraordinary success and popularity aside, the most mind-blowing aspect of his career is that he worked on the same thing for more than a decade. He found an audience that stuck with him throughout the process, all because of the sheer dedication and talent conveyed through the pages of Naruto. 

What Kishimoto has achieved over the years is a dream for many. During an interview, he once shared an important piece of advice on how he made this dream come true for himself. His words perfectly describe Naruto, as he focuses on the two key aspects of creating a good manga. 

Masashi Kishimoto’s great advice for young manga artists 

Naruto is an indispensable part of anime history and the entry to the world of anime for many. The narrative is easy to understand with high-stakes fights and great emotional depth. While a few flaws could still be pointed out in the later parts of the story, it would be difficult to do the same for Masashi Kishimoto‘s art. From the interesting character designs to the landscapes of different villages, every panel in the manga feels alive. 

Even the fight sequences are not confusing, as Kishimoto does a great job in the planning and execution. Throughout the manga’s run, he was equally conscious of the story. This is simply because of his belief that if not more, the story is as equally important as the art. He spoke about this during a Shonen Jump interview (translations via Flickr.com). 

This isn’t the only time Kishimoto has spoken about his fondness for movies in an interview. He enjoys watching movies and has shared how renowned directors like Quentin Tarantino influenced his process. As for what he said, consuming a lot of creative content from different regions around the world can open up an artist’s mind to new possibilities. 

The fight choreography in Naruto is known to be among the best. Every fight seems carefully curated for the animation production. This approach makes the fights in the manga easy to visualize as the mangaka’s vision is extremely clear. 

The story and art of Naruto  

Following his own advice, Kishimoto maintained a good balance by focusing both on the story and the art of Naruto. The story does have a few weak spots, but up until the war arc, all the arcs were extremely engaging. Kishimoto never dragged them on for too long and followed a linear narrative. All the plot twists and surprises hit the right spots as a result of his brilliant execution. 

Admittedly, the female characters and the side characters deserved better. The quality of storytelling has improved significantly as new-age series reform shonen stereotypes, but even with all its flaws, Naruto remains the quintessential shonen experience.

Naruto is available to read on the MangaPlus app and website.