Kishimoto Has ONE REGRET About This Naruto Character

Naruto’s 700 chapter story allowed many characters to develop their own story arcs and make impressions on the fan community. However, there have been some complaints about how Kishimoto handled some characters, and it seems that even Kishimoto agrees with the sentiment.

During the signing event in France organized by manga publisher Kana between August 24-25th, there were two major interviews organized by Kana and Animation Digital Network (ADN). In the first one, as Kishimoto and Ikemoto did a live drawing of Boruto and Naruto,  Kishimoto was asked if there was a character or a scene in Naruto could have been explored further. This was Kishimoto’s response:

Kishimoto: I would have liked to delve deeper into the character of Sakura Haruno. She’s the only one whose parents weren’t actually drawn. I should’ve talked about them earlier in the story, but I missed the chance. And it became too complicated to do so in the middle and at the end of the story. In the movie version, I showed her parents a little. But in the main story, I would’ve liked to develop a scene centered around Sakura’s family.

Sakura nation we won won but at what cost (Kishimoto said he wanted to talk more about Sakura's back story) pic.twitter.com/qW6Qw9o0Gn

— 开's 🐻신 🤎 Gouvernement Français Hate Account (@jonginvanilla) August 24, 2024

To note, Kishimoto did design Sakura’s parents into “Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie” in 2012. During this time, Kishimoto noted that he failed to find the time to insert Sakura’s parents into the narrative but had intended for the clashing personalities of Sakura and her parents to be part of the plan for the movie.

Fans have often called Sakura “useless” and Kishimoto’s writing of female characters bad. However, Kishimoto and Ikemoto have given a lot of thought to the design of Naruto and Boruto’s female cast.

Character Designs for Female Characters

In the same interview, Ikemoto explains how fashion is inseparable from the character design of Boruto. First, the writer must know if the character cares about clothing or not at all. Whether or not the character intentionally chooses a clothing style, that style is reflective of their temperament and psychology.

"An outfit is the result of psychological factors at work. Sarada wears a top so large it reveals her shoulders. That's because it's a men's clothing brand that Boruto likes and wears. When Boruto leaves the village, feeling lots of emotions, Sarada buys a garment from this shop" pic.twitter.com/LW36Wyn2ez

— Hσwl (@howlxithree) August 24, 2024

Ikemoto’s two most prominent examples are Boruto and Sarada in the post-timeskip “Two Blue Vortex”. Unlike his younger, more privileged self, Boruto does not focus on his clothing during his time on the run. However, he pays attention to Sasuke and mirrors his behavior as a tribute to his teacher. This intentionality comes from Boruto’s high self-esteem and positive family background, which makes him the opposite of Kawaki, whose indifferent to clothes is due to his harsh upbringing in Kara.

Ikemoto notes that, in the post-timeskip, Sarada dresses up with Boruto’s brand of jacket to remember him. This fits with the story where Ada switched the positions of Boruto and Kawaki, with Sarada and Sumire being the only ones immune to Omnipotence

Ikemoto also notes how he reads comments of people saying that female ninja wearing high heels makes no sense. Ikemoto clarifies that because most ninja have mastered chakra control, wearing high heels does not impede women in their missions. This logic also allows Ikemoto to design the women of Boruto to his liking.

Kishimoto also remarked in the August 25th interview that he enjoys drawing the female characters of Naruto. The interviews also reveal the creative process behind the writing of Boruto.

Naruto is a series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto and serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014. In 2016, Kishimoto would continue the story of Naruto with “Boruto”, the story of Naruto’s privileged son Boruto, whose journey to fulfill a different path would lead him to an unexpected twist, which continues into the sequel “Boruto: Two Blue Vortex” serialized in 2023.

Source: Twitter