Q. What order did you create the characters?
A. First was Naruto. At that time the theme was something like “to be acknowledged.” So I needed someone to acknowledge Naruto, so next born was Iruka. Once the world was set I figured the village needs a ruler so Hokage was created. And next Kakashi was created as Nartuo’s teacher.
Q. Sasuke and Sakura were after that?
A. Yeah, without Sasuke the series just seemed to have no where to go. I was thinking this was bad and I’d get cancelled after ten weeks. *laugh* The editor then suggested creating a rival. And what was born was Sauske. I then figured a heroine was needed so I added Sakura. Then it became so easy to write the rough drafts. Since the main character and rival are always competing, it’s easy to flesh out the characters. Like Goku and Kuririn from Dragonball. I wanted to make someone like Kuririn the main character. Since he’s not perfect, it’s easier, Like in Slam Dunk, which was great becasue the rival relationship was distinct.