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Masashi Kishimoto: Fan letters from overseas made me realize the popularity of ‘Naruto’
Kishimoto: ‘Naruto’ reflects my childhood of 'inferiority,' breaks taboo of boys’ comics
translation source for the other parts => reddit
Résumé for this interview:
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Masashi Kishimoto: Fan letters from overseas made me realize the popularity of ‘Naruto’
You must be registered for see links
Ninja manga series “Naruto” on Nov. 10 marked the grand finale of its phenomenal 15-year run that gained international fame and surprised even its creator.
The manga work, written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, appeared in Shueisha Inc.’s Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology.
The story centers around the eponymous character who cooperates with friends, rises above his rivals and mentally and physically grows to become the greatest ninja.
The ninja saga, along with Eiichiro Oda’s “One Piece” pirate manga series, has been the driving force behind the popularity of Jump magazine.
Spanning 71 volumes, “Naruto” was also a big hit overseas, with global sales topping 200 million copies as of September.
Fifteen years after the adventurous story of Naruto first appeared in the magazine in 1999, the young ninja, who used to be seen as a dropout, finally saves the world from destruction and completes his long, difficult path in the manga’s 700th episode.
The Asahi Shimbun conducted an exclusive interview with reclusive manga artist Kishimoto just hours after he completed Naruto’s journey. Excerpts from the interview follow:
* * *
Question: What are you feeling now?
Kishimoto: Because I just completed the last episode less than 12 hours ago, I do not have any real feeling (that “Naruto” has ended).
I have had to meet a deadline every week for 15 years, so I feel that there’s a deadline for next week.
I thought of many things to do after (“Naruto”) ends, but I do not know where to begin.
I want to do something other than manga. Don’t worry, I will continue creating manga.
Q: When did you decide how to end “Naruto”?
A: Since the work was first serialized, I have been determined to end the manga series with the battle between protagonist Naruto and Sasuke, who has been his rival since the start of the story.
I later decided on the details, little by little, such as whether they would fight each other as friends or enemies, their feelings and dialogues, while I was drawing the series.
Around two years ago, I began to feel the story was approaching the finale.
When the series started, the editor responsible for my work told me, “Continue the series for at least five years.”
The tough work of continuing to draw “Naruto” for the weekly magazine occasionally made me think that I would like to finish the series.
I did not think “Naruto” would last for 15 years.
The story lasted for such a long period because the characters “stuck it out.”
When I attempted to quickly offer an answer (to issues raised in the story), the characters did not allow me to do so. If I had made them act as I wished, the reality would have been lost.
Because manga artists are always working inside rooms, it is difficult for us to see firsthand if our works are really popular.
It was not until I received many fan letters from overseas that I realized (“Naruto” is) popular outside Japan.
Some of those letters are written in languages I do not know, so I understand that my work is read by people in various countries.
One fan mail contained a photograph of a small child dressed as Naruto striking a pose.
Such attachments make me happy.
Q: Were you conscious of “One Piece”?
A: It is impossible to be unconscious. (Both “Naruto” and “One Piece”) are serialized in the same magazine, and “One Piece” has always been running ahead of the pack.
I have been able to work so hard writing “Naruto” thanks to “One Piece.”
Q: You will turn 40 years old on Nov. 8. How do you feel about that?
A: I remain a child in terms of mentality. Nothing has changed from age 25, when the series started.
I just worked at the desk to create high-quality, interesting manga, and 15 years passed before I knew it.
Q: What would you want to tell your old self?
A: I hope to tell my 23- or 24-year-old self, who painted Naruto and other characters on copy paper just as I wanted on the veranda of my family’s home: “Cherish him. You will write a serial manga for 15 years using the character.”
(This article is based on an interview by Atsushi Ohara.)
* * *
Editor’s note: This is the first article in a special AJW series featuring the “Naruto” ninja saga and its creator, Masashi Kishimoto.
Special feature pages on “Naruto” will be available soon on our Japanese website
The manga work, written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, appeared in Shueisha Inc.’s Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology.
The story centers around the eponymous character who cooperates with friends, rises above his rivals and mentally and physically grows to become the greatest ninja.
The ninja saga, along with Eiichiro Oda’s “One Piece” pirate manga series, has been the driving force behind the popularity of Jump magazine.
Spanning 71 volumes, “Naruto” was also a big hit overseas, with global sales topping 200 million copies as of September.
Fifteen years after the adventurous story of Naruto first appeared in the magazine in 1999, the young ninja, who used to be seen as a dropout, finally saves the world from destruction and completes his long, difficult path in the manga’s 700th episode.
The Asahi Shimbun conducted an exclusive interview with reclusive manga artist Kishimoto just hours after he completed Naruto’s journey. Excerpts from the interview follow:
* * *
Question: What are you feeling now?
Kishimoto: Because I just completed the last episode less than 12 hours ago, I do not have any real feeling (that “Naruto” has ended).
I have had to meet a deadline every week for 15 years, so I feel that there’s a deadline for next week.
I thought of many things to do after (“Naruto”) ends, but I do not know where to begin.
I want to do something other than manga. Don’t worry, I will continue creating manga.
Q: When did you decide how to end “Naruto”?
A: Since the work was first serialized, I have been determined to end the manga series with the battle between protagonist Naruto and Sasuke, who has been his rival since the start of the story.
I later decided on the details, little by little, such as whether they would fight each other as friends or enemies, their feelings and dialogues, while I was drawing the series.
Around two years ago, I began to feel the story was approaching the finale.
When the series started, the editor responsible for my work told me, “Continue the series for at least five years.”
The tough work of continuing to draw “Naruto” for the weekly magazine occasionally made me think that I would like to finish the series.
I did not think “Naruto” would last for 15 years.
The story lasted for such a long period because the characters “stuck it out.”
When I attempted to quickly offer an answer (to issues raised in the story), the characters did not allow me to do so. If I had made them act as I wished, the reality would have been lost.
Because manga artists are always working inside rooms, it is difficult for us to see firsthand if our works are really popular.
It was not until I received many fan letters from overseas that I realized (“Naruto” is) popular outside Japan.
Some of those letters are written in languages I do not know, so I understand that my work is read by people in various countries.
One fan mail contained a photograph of a small child dressed as Naruto striking a pose.
Such attachments make me happy.
Q: Were you conscious of “One Piece”?
A: It is impossible to be unconscious. (Both “Naruto” and “One Piece”) are serialized in the same magazine, and “One Piece” has always been running ahead of the pack.
I have been able to work so hard writing “Naruto” thanks to “One Piece.”
Q: You will turn 40 years old on Nov. 8. How do you feel about that?
A: I remain a child in terms of mentality. Nothing has changed from age 25, when the series started.
I just worked at the desk to create high-quality, interesting manga, and 15 years passed before I knew it.
Q: What would you want to tell your old self?
A: I hope to tell my 23- or 24-year-old self, who painted Naruto and other characters on copy paper just as I wanted on the veranda of my family’s home: “Cherish him. You will write a serial manga for 15 years using the character.”
(This article is based on an interview by Atsushi Ohara.)
* * *
Editor’s note: This is the first article in a special AJW series featuring the “Naruto” ninja saga and its creator, Masashi Kishimoto.
Special feature pages on “Naruto” will be available soon on our Japanese website
Kishimoto: ‘Naruto’ reflects my childhood of 'inferiority,' breaks taboo of boys’ comics
You must be registered for see links
People laughed at Masashi Kishimoto during his childhood when he said his dream was to become a manga artist.
Now, the native of western Okayama Prefecture has created one of the most popular and successful ninja manga series ever and can boast of legions of fans around the world.
Still, Kishimoto remains humble. He says he’s surprised that he could even enter the manga business.
Kishimoto’s rise to stardom resembles the journey of Naruto, the main character in the “Naruto” manga series that ended its spectacular 15-year run in the Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology on Nov. 10.
Naruto must overcome initial disappointments to finally fulfill his dream of becoming “Hokage,” the grand leader of his ninja village.
“(Naruto) is similar to me in some respects,” Kishimoto said in an exclusive interview with The Asahi Shimbun.
“I also love ramen.”
The artist said the Naruto character, who fell behind his peers, reflected Kishimoto’s own childhood.
“I was unable to do well in school and felt a strong sense of inferiority,” he said.
“When Naruto said, ‘I will be Hokage,’ people surrounding him laughed at his dream.
Since childhood, I also told others that I would be a manga artist but had no foundation.
“Unlike Naruto, I did not have the courage to declare that I will become a manga creator at any cost.
So I would just say in my mind, ‘It may be possible.’”
Kishimoto said his career in the comic world was unexpected.
“It is unbelievable that I am working as one of the manga creators who have to write stories and depict many characters, because I was poor at the Japanese subject in school,” he said.
“I could not answer questions requiring students to guess the feelings of characters in stories in school exams.”
Naruto is well known for his unique dialect “dattebayo,” which is sometimes translated into “believe it.
” At first, he was seen as a dropout in his ninja academy.
But the young ninja grows both mentally and physically through interactions with friends and battles with enemies.
The series features hand-to-hand combat, illusion arts and battles of wits.
Huge toads, a common symbol in traditional Kabuki plays, also appear in the action scenes that have gained widespread popularity both at home and abroad.
The series has sold more than 200 million copies around the world.
Naruto does not just defeat his enemies with force; he also uses words to achieve victory.
Kishimoto cited Naruto’s verbal persuasion to get Pain, one of his main enemies, to stop fighting.
“Boys’ comics inevitably feature violent scenes.
But I wanted to tell (readers) that enemies who resort to violence probably do so because of unavoidable reasons,” Kishimoto said.
“And if (the protagonists) defeat them without understanding their motivation, it could end up leading to a repeat of the same thing.”
Ending a battle through dialogue may have been almost taboo in comics for boys, he said.
Kishimoto said “Naruto” is also distinctive in the way the hero pursues the path to his dream.
“In most boys’ manga, the protagonists typically achieve dynamic growth in the first episodes and continue to behave the way they believe to be good and affect other characters,” the manga artist said.
“But Naruto faces the challenge of how he can create a world where there are no conflicts, as he battles Pain.
I could have made him go his way without agony, but I thought it would be wrong in some aspects.”
Kishimoto also had to overcome many difficulties before his great success with “Naruto.”
Although he had earlier won a manga prize, Kishimoto spent two years reading books on how to write scenarios and studied dialogue in films to learn about story structure and directorial techniques.
He also studied oil painting at an art collage.
Only after all that work did Kishimoto start the “Naruto” series in the magazine.
“Life is colorful,” Kishimoto said. “It is the reality of a manga protagonist to face obstacles.”
In the comment column of the Nov. 10 Jump magazine, the manga creator said farewell: “Otsukare-sama dattebayo!” (Good job and goodbye dattebayo!)
Visit the special feature pages on “Naruto” on our Japanese website (
By ATSUSHI OHARA/ Staff Writer
Now, the native of western Okayama Prefecture has created one of the most popular and successful ninja manga series ever and can boast of legions of fans around the world.
Still, Kishimoto remains humble. He says he’s surprised that he could even enter the manga business.
Kishimoto’s rise to stardom resembles the journey of Naruto, the main character in the “Naruto” manga series that ended its spectacular 15-year run in the Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology on Nov. 10.
Naruto must overcome initial disappointments to finally fulfill his dream of becoming “Hokage,” the grand leader of his ninja village.
“(Naruto) is similar to me in some respects,” Kishimoto said in an exclusive interview with The Asahi Shimbun.
“I also love ramen.”
The artist said the Naruto character, who fell behind his peers, reflected Kishimoto’s own childhood.
“I was unable to do well in school and felt a strong sense of inferiority,” he said.
“When Naruto said, ‘I will be Hokage,’ people surrounding him laughed at his dream.
Since childhood, I also told others that I would be a manga artist but had no foundation.
“Unlike Naruto, I did not have the courage to declare that I will become a manga creator at any cost.
So I would just say in my mind, ‘It may be possible.’”
Kishimoto said his career in the comic world was unexpected.
“It is unbelievable that I am working as one of the manga creators who have to write stories and depict many characters, because I was poor at the Japanese subject in school,” he said.
“I could not answer questions requiring students to guess the feelings of characters in stories in school exams.”
Naruto is well known for his unique dialect “dattebayo,” which is sometimes translated into “believe it.
” At first, he was seen as a dropout in his ninja academy.
But the young ninja grows both mentally and physically through interactions with friends and battles with enemies.
The series features hand-to-hand combat, illusion arts and battles of wits.
Huge toads, a common symbol in traditional Kabuki plays, also appear in the action scenes that have gained widespread popularity both at home and abroad.
The series has sold more than 200 million copies around the world.
Naruto does not just defeat his enemies with force; he also uses words to achieve victory.
Kishimoto cited Naruto’s verbal persuasion to get Pain, one of his main enemies, to stop fighting.
“Boys’ comics inevitably feature violent scenes.
But I wanted to tell (readers) that enemies who resort to violence probably do so because of unavoidable reasons,” Kishimoto said.
“And if (the protagonists) defeat them without understanding their motivation, it could end up leading to a repeat of the same thing.”
Ending a battle through dialogue may have been almost taboo in comics for boys, he said.
Kishimoto said “Naruto” is also distinctive in the way the hero pursues the path to his dream.
“In most boys’ manga, the protagonists typically achieve dynamic growth in the first episodes and continue to behave the way they believe to be good and affect other characters,” the manga artist said.
“But Naruto faces the challenge of how he can create a world where there are no conflicts, as he battles Pain.
I could have made him go his way without agony, but I thought it would be wrong in some aspects.”
Kishimoto also had to overcome many difficulties before his great success with “Naruto.”
Although he had earlier won a manga prize, Kishimoto spent two years reading books on how to write scenarios and studied dialogue in films to learn about story structure and directorial techniques.
He also studied oil painting at an art collage.
Only after all that work did Kishimoto start the “Naruto” series in the magazine.
“Life is colorful,” Kishimoto said. “It is the reality of a manga protagonist to face obstacles.”
In the comment column of the Nov. 10 Jump magazine, the manga creator said farewell: “Otsukare-sama dattebayo!” (Good job and goodbye dattebayo!)
Visit the special feature pages on “Naruto” on our Japanese website (
You must be registered for see links
).By ATSUSHI OHARA/ Staff Writer
translation source for the other parts => reddit
Résumé for this interview:
- Kishimoto tries to let the personality of the characters decide their actions, rather than try to influence them the way he wants them to do things. That’s why it takes twice the amount of pages than he intends to use.
- Finishing Pain with TnJ wasn't the original intention, they arrived at that sort of resolution of their conflict after discussing it with editors.
- He thought that using TnJ was taboo in shonen manga, (where things get solved via violence) but dared to it anyway. He was really worried about doing it. He argued with his editor over it.
- The cycle of hatred was inspired by real-world events, like 9/11, and wanted to send a message that we should try to understand eachother's motivations, or else it continues.
- He wanted Naruto to hit a brick wall trying to use TnJ with Pain, since all the other times, the villains were more willing to listen to him. It was more realistic.
- Kishi says that the nuance in the tailed-beasts and their balance of power represents nuclear warfare. Weaponizing them as military weapons is a bad idea for mankind.
- Kishimoto projected himself into Naruto, having experienced not being too great at studying in school, and being unsure if he could really become a mangaka, even thought he tried to encourage himself like Naruto does.
- Different kinds of jutsu and tactics were created with the help of editors and images from movies
- Shikamaru was difficult to write, since it would take a while for Kishimoto to come up with his elaborate plans. In manga-time, it takes Shikamaru only a moment.
- Infinite Tsukuyomi is symbolic of "escape", the antithesis of what an ideal shinobi should be, which is "to endure". Kishimoto says denying the idea of "escaping" (/just coasting by in "easy mode") was written into Naruto's objection
「キャラクターたちが粘った」 // Persevering Characters
Context:
物語がこれだけ長くなったのは、キャラクターたちが頑張って粘るから。僕が簡単に答えや解決に導こうと思っても、彼らがそうしてくれない。諦めず、あがいて、力を出し尽くして、ようやく納得してくれるというか、いいヤツになってくれるというか。もし、そこで僕が自分の都合で思い通りにキャラクターを動かしてしまったら、ウソくさくなる。キャラクターのリアリティーがなくなってしまう。だから、初めに自分の構想したページ数より倍くらいかかってしまうことになる。
Because the story was so lengthy, the characters held on and persisted.
I intended to simply try to guide the answers and resolutions, but (the characters) wouldn’t allow for that.
Not giving up, struggling, using all of my strength, finally, I thought that I understood (them),I thought that (they) became good guys.
So, therefore, myself, for my own circumstances and satisfaction, if I had been influencing the characters like that (the way that I wanted to), it would have been suspect (a lie).
The reality of the characters would have disappeared.
Therefore, in the beginning, for my own plots (/ideas), it would take about double the pages.
──例えば中盤の山場の「ペイン編」では、敵を率いていたペインがナルトの言葉で納得し、戦いをやめる。どういう言葉ならペインも、そして読者も納得するのか？ そこへたどり着くのが大変ということですね？
(Interviewer) For example, in the middle stage of the climax of the “Pain Volume”, as Pain lead the opponents, understanding Naruto’s words, the battle ended.
What sort of words from that will the readers and Pain understand?
How did you finally arrive at that? Was it difficult?
(Kishi) 岸本さん: ペインのシリーズは初め、戦って終わるのか、話し合いで終わるのか決めてなかった。話し合いで、と決めるまで時間がかかった。アクション場面を描きながら考えていった。それでも、キャラクターがそんなに素直じゃないんで、簡単にこっちが思ったように動かすことはできない。それをやったら僕が気持ち悪い。
At the beginning of the series with Pain, to finish the battle with a discussion, that wasn’t decided yet.
It took a long time until we decided that it would end with a discussion (between Naruto and Pain).
I thought about it while I was drawing an action scene. But still, that character (Pain) isn’t docile like that, I couldn’t influence (him) that way as simply as I had thought. I had a bad feeling (about it) if I had done it (that way).
「少年マンガのタブー」に挑む//Challenging Taboos of Shonen Manga
(Interviewer)──新聞記者的な見方かも知れませんが、「暴力が生む憎しみの連鎖」というテーマが浮かび上がってきたのは「９・１１」後の世界情勢の反映ですか？
Perhaps the viewpoints of newspaper reporters, the theme of “chain of violence giving birth to hatred”, came to be on one’s mind, after September 11th (9/11), (were you) influenced by the world affairs?
あまり現実の世界の「どこの国とどこの国が」みたいに当てはめて言いたくはないんだけど、暴力を振るってくる敵側も何か理由があってそうなったんじゃないか、どんな理由があるかを理解しないと、ここで敵をやっつけることができても結局同じことの繰り返しになるんじゃないか、と言いたかった。少年マンガだからどうしても暴力は出るので、そこに「暴力否定」みたいなテーマを持ってきたから解決が難しいことになった。最後に対話で解決、という方向を思い切って選んだけど、少年マンガ的にはタブーに近いことかも知れない。当時「これでいいのか？」と脂汗を流して悩んだ。ストーリーを考えようと机に座ってハッと気づいたら３時間経っていた、ということがあって、「意識が飛ぶ」という人生で初めての体験をした。これは精神的にマズいな、と思った。思い返すとあれが自分にとってスランプと言えばスランプだったのかも。
Kishi: I wouldn’t say that it applies too much in the reality of the world in “Any country, anywhere”.
There is some motive on the enemy’s side to exert violence , what kind of reason to that, we don’t understand.
That is here, being able to attack (and defeating) the enemy, it’s the probably the same situation and cycle (if we don’t understand their motives).
That’s what I wanted to say.
Therefore no matter what, in this shounen manga, with violence coming forth, that’s where it’s the “negation of violence”, to bring a theme similar to pacifism.
It was difficult to do that kind of resolution.
Finally, in the dialogue in the final resolution, though I boldly choose this direction, perhaps it’s the near the target of shonen manga taboo.
At that moment, I thought, “Is this alright?”, I was worried while pouring with cold sweat.
Trying to think about the story, sitting at the desk, suddenly then noticed that three hours had elapsed.
With that, I “jumped to awareness”, a first time experience of that in my life.
I thought that was mentally/emotionally unpleasant.
Thinking back on it, regarding myself, I’d call it a slump? It was a slump.
だいたいの少年マンガって、主人公が１話目で成長を遂げて、あとはずっとブレずに自分の信念の通りに動いて、周りに影響を与えて、出会ったキャラクターたちを変えていく。途中まで『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』もそれで進んでいった。でもナルトはペイン戦のあたりで、どうしたら争いのない世界ができるかという問題にぶつかって悩む。主人公だからずっと強いままで迷わず進んでいく、という道もあるけど僕はそれはちょっと違うなと思った。だからナルトは考える。僕も考えなきゃならない。すごくキツかった。担当編集者とも言い合いをした。「少年誌なんだからここはぶん殴ってスッキリした方がいい」「いや、殴ったら暴力でしょ」といった具合に。でも人生って、いろいろあるもの。壁にぶつかる主人公の方がリアルだと思う。
In general, in shonen manga, a main character accomplishes growth in one part of the story.
For a while afterwards, he moves along in keeping with his own way of beliefs, influencing those around him, and changes characters whom he happens to meet. Until midway of Naruto, that situation happened voluntarily.
However, around during the war with Pain, we were troubled by being struck with the problem that somehow, how can there be a world without conflict?
Therefore with the main character always being strong, I thought about it happening, (Naruto) walking that path willingly and without hesitation (in converting Pain).
I thought that it wouldn’t be a little different than that.
So Naruto thought about it.
I also absolutely thought about it.
I intensely thought about it.
I disputed it with the editor in-charge.
“This from a shonen story?
Because here, it better be a clean hit .” “If it’s a hit, then it’s violence, right?”.
That’s what I said about that matter.
However in life, there are various things.
Bumping into a wall in the main character’s way, it thought that was realistic.
ナルト、自分を投影//Naruto, a Projection of Myself
──『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』の世界は、五つの大国がそれぞれ、戦力である「忍びの里」と、強大なエネルギーの「尾獣」という魔物を抱えることで、パワーバランスを保っている。核保有国を連想させます。
(Interviewer): In the world of Naruto, there are each of five major countries, with war potential in “Shinobi Villages”, with very powerful energy in “Tailed-Beasts”, having those demons, it keeps the power balance.
Making suggestions about nuclear power.
そうですね。ニュアンスとして忍者は軍隊、尾獣は核兵器というイメージで、尾獣でバランスを保っているけど、本当に尾獣を使おうとすれば破滅へいたる危険がある。『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』にはそのバランスを崩し尾獣を使おうする『暁』という組織が出てくる。『暁』は里に属さない、傭兵（ようへい）組織のようなところがあって、筋立てとしてはリアルな世界でもあり得るもの。長く連載をやっていると、現実世界からインスピレーションを受けることや、重ね合わせて考えてみるようなところがでてくる。
Kishi: Ah, that’s right. As a nuance, shinobi are an army, and the tailed beasts are an image of nuclear weapons. However, in preserving the balance of the tailed beasts, if one is truly trying to use the tailed beasts, we would be in danger of destruction.
In Naruto, the balance is destroyed if the tailed beasts are going to be used.
So there’s an organization called “Akatsuki” that appears.
“Akatsuki” is not associated with a village.
They’re a like group of mercenaries.
That plot point can also be a part of the real world.
Doing a long-term serialization, I also received inspiration from the reality of the world that I thought overlapped at the time.
──ナルトって、岸本さん自身ですか？
(Interviewer): About Naruto, what about yourself, Kishimoto-san?
主人公だから似てるところはある。ラーメン好きだし。落ちこぼれのナルトは、勉強が苦手で劣等感が強かった自分を投影している。ナルトが「オレは火影になる！」（ほかげ＝ナルトの属する里の長の称号）と言うと、「なれるわけないじゃん」と周りに笑われる。子供の頃から何の根拠もなく「マンガ家になる！」と言っていた自分と重なる。「なれるわけないじゃん」と言われても僕はナルトみたいに「絶対なる！」とは言い返せなくて、「でも、なれるかもしれないよ」と心の奥でつぶやくくらいだったけど。それにしても、あんなに国語が苦手だった僕が、物語を作っていろいろな登場人物を描くマンガ家になるなんて信じられない。この場面の登場人物の心情を読み解いて答えなさいなんて問題は、テストで全然わかんなかったのに！
Because I resemble the main character. I like ramen, and similar to Naruto, who can’t really keep up at school, I had a strong inferiority complex because of poor studying.
That’s what I projected from myself.
Naruto says “I will become Hokage!” (which is the title of the head position of the village), people around me laughed a bit, I was saying “ Can I become that, there’s no reason, right?” With what(/no) basis from childhood, saying “I will become a mangaka!”, I thought that those thoughts overlapped with Naruto in that respect.
I said that again to myself like Naruto, “Absolutely, I will!”, but I couldn’t say it.
“However, I might become one!”, even though I murmured it inside my heart.
Nevertheless, to an extent, I was poor at Japanese language.
The various characters that I built in the story, drawn as a mangaka, it was unbelievable that I became like that. Those scenes of the character’s emotions, to read and understand them, it was as if I had an answer to such questions. Back then, I could not understand (such emotions of the characters), just like on a test!
無限月読は「逃げ」 // Infinite Tsukuyomi, “An Escape”
──砂や虫を使うといった多彩な忍術のアイデアはどこから？ 有効範囲はこうで、発動条件はこうで、といった技の設定も細かいですね。
(Interviewer): Using ninjutsu like things such as sand and insects, where did you get the idea for them?
Such a scope of jutsu, conditions to use them, how were the details of them created?
岸本さん技とかは、今まで見た映画とかのイメージがあるのかもしれないけど、担当編集者との打ち合わせの中であれこれ考えて出てきたもの。技について細かい設定やルールを決めたのは、縛りがあった方が面白いから。縛りがあった上で、駆け引きや相手をだます引っかけみたいなのをやりたいと思った。お話が進むとどんどん大がかりになっちゃうけど。
(Kishi): Skills like that, up until now, perhaps from an image in movies that I’ve seen.
In meetings with the editor in-charge, this and that sort of thing came up that I considered.
The finer settings and details and rules were decided, they came together in an interesting way.
At deadlines, the strategy and tactics, deceiving the opponent, seeing those ideas to capture them, things that I wanted to do.
Because as the story advanced, those techniques happened on a larger-scale.
──頭脳派のシカマルが仕掛ける作戦は面白いですね。うならされます。
(Interviewer): The intellectual aspect of Shikamaru, setting traps and strategies was interesting, right?
How did that happen?
岸本さんすごい頭のいいキャラクターに設定したので、僕が苦労した。僕が一生懸命時間をかけて複雑な段取りや何通りもの手順を考えて、マンガの中でシカマルがそれを一瞬のうちにやってしまえば、頭がよく見えるだろうと！という感じで描いていた。自分の能力の範囲を超えたキャラクターはあまり出さない方がいいな、とシカマルを描いて感じた。
(Kishi). He’s an amazingly intelligent character that I created.
I had troubles with him.
I put forth a lot of effort and time to make such complex plans and considering such procedures.
In the manga, Shikamaru can come up with it in an instant, it seems that you can see his intellect!
I described the feeling of that.
For that character, I better not do something that overly goes over the extent of my own abilities.
I sensed that when depicting Shikamaru.
──終盤で敵がしかける「無限月読（つくよみ）」は、地上の人間すべてを平和な夢の世界に閉じ込めるという大がかりな術です。それをナルトは拒絶し抵抗します。
(Interviewer): At the end, the opponent commenced “Infinite Tsukuyomi”, imprisoning all the people above the ground, putting them into a peaceful dream of a world with a large-scale jutsu.
Naruto rejected that with opposition.
岸本さん無限月読というのは「逃げ」なんです。「忍（しのび）とは耐え忍ぶ者」というのが『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』のテーマ。何をやるにもガマンが大切だけど、反対に、ガマンせず楽な方へ逃げたいという気持ちは誰にもある。僕も弱い人間なので、いついつまでにこの仕事を終わらせなきゃいけないという時についテレビやＤＶＤへ逃げたくなる。そうしたリアルからの逃避が無限月読。逃げたい自分を戒める思いを込めて描いていたところがある。
(Kishi). The reason is that “Infinite Tsukuyomi” is a means of “escape”.
“Shinobi” are those who endure, that’s a theme of Naruto.
However, persevering is also doing something important.
Also the converse to that idea: a way in comfort or ease without enduring something, wanting a means to escape. Everyone has that sort of feeling.
Since I’m also a weak human being, until eventually, one-by-one, I thought that I have to absolutely finish this work. I thought about that occasionally, just wanting to escape into TV and DVD’s.
Therefore from a real escape, that’s “Infinite Tsukuyomi”.
Wanting to escape, myself, I prohibited myself from doing that with these thoughts.
So that’s where I depicted it and included that idea (in the manga), those thoughts of warning.
Context:
物語がこれだけ長くなったのは、キャラクターたちが頑張って粘るから。僕が簡単に答えや解決に導こうと思っても、彼らがそうしてくれない。諦めず、あがいて、力を出し尽くして、ようやく納得してくれるというか、いいヤツになってくれるというか。もし、そこで僕が自分の都合で思い通りにキャラクターを動かしてしまったら、ウソくさくなる。キャラクターのリアリティーがなくなってしまう。だから、初めに自分の構想したページ数より倍くらいかかってしまうことになる。
Because the story was so lengthy, the characters held on and persisted.
I intended to simply try to guide the answers and resolutions, but (the characters) wouldn’t allow for that.
Not giving up, struggling, using all of my strength, finally, I thought that I understood (them),I thought that (they) became good guys.
So, therefore, myself, for my own circumstances and satisfaction, if I had been influencing the characters like that (the way that I wanted to), it would have been suspect (a lie).
The reality of the characters would have disappeared.
Therefore, in the beginning, for my own plots (/ideas), it would take about double the pages.
──例えば中盤の山場の「ペイン編」では、敵を率いていたペインがナルトの言葉で納得し、戦いをやめる。どういう言葉ならペインも、そして読者も納得するのか？ そこへたどり着くのが大変ということですね？
(Interviewer) For example, in the middle stage of the climax of the “Pain Volume”, as Pain lead the opponents, understanding Naruto’s words, the battle ended.
What sort of words from that will the readers and Pain understand?
How did you finally arrive at that? Was it difficult?
(Kishi) 岸本さん: ペインのシリーズは初め、戦って終わるのか、話し合いで終わるのか決めてなかった。話し合いで、と決めるまで時間がかかった。アクション場面を描きながら考えていった。それでも、キャラクターがそんなに素直じゃないんで、簡単にこっちが思ったように動かすことはできない。それをやったら僕が気持ち悪い。
At the beginning of the series with Pain, to finish the battle with a discussion, that wasn’t decided yet.
It took a long time until we decided that it would end with a discussion (between Naruto and Pain).
I thought about it while I was drawing an action scene. But still, that character (Pain) isn’t docile like that, I couldn’t influence (him) that way as simply as I had thought. I had a bad feeling (about it) if I had done it (that way).
「少年マンガのタブー」に挑む//Challenging Taboos of Shonen Manga
(Interviewer)──新聞記者的な見方かも知れませんが、「暴力が生む憎しみの連鎖」というテーマが浮かび上がってきたのは「９・１１」後の世界情勢の反映ですか？
Perhaps the viewpoints of newspaper reporters, the theme of “chain of violence giving birth to hatred”, came to be on one’s mind, after September 11th (9/11), (were you) influenced by the world affairs?
あまり現実の世界の「どこの国とどこの国が」みたいに当てはめて言いたくはないんだけど、暴力を振るってくる敵側も何か理由があってそうなったんじゃないか、どんな理由があるかを理解しないと、ここで敵をやっつけることができても結局同じことの繰り返しになるんじゃないか、と言いたかった。少年マンガだからどうしても暴力は出るので、そこに「暴力否定」みたいなテーマを持ってきたから解決が難しいことになった。最後に対話で解決、という方向を思い切って選んだけど、少年マンガ的にはタブーに近いことかも知れない。当時「これでいいのか？」と脂汗を流して悩んだ。ストーリーを考えようと机に座ってハッと気づいたら３時間経っていた、ということがあって、「意識が飛ぶ」という人生で初めての体験をした。これは精神的にマズいな、と思った。思い返すとあれが自分にとってスランプと言えばスランプだったのかも。
Kishi: I wouldn’t say that it applies too much in the reality of the world in “Any country, anywhere”.
There is some motive on the enemy’s side to exert violence , what kind of reason to that, we don’t understand.
That is here, being able to attack (and defeating) the enemy, it’s the probably the same situation and cycle (if we don’t understand their motives).
That’s what I wanted to say.
Therefore no matter what, in this shounen manga, with violence coming forth, that’s where it’s the “negation of violence”, to bring a theme similar to pacifism.
It was difficult to do that kind of resolution.
Finally, in the dialogue in the final resolution, though I boldly choose this direction, perhaps it’s the near the target of shonen manga taboo.
At that moment, I thought, “Is this alright?”, I was worried while pouring with cold sweat.
Trying to think about the story, sitting at the desk, suddenly then noticed that three hours had elapsed.
With that, I “jumped to awareness”, a first time experience of that in my life.
I thought that was mentally/emotionally unpleasant.
Thinking back on it, regarding myself, I’d call it a slump? It was a slump.
だいたいの少年マンガって、主人公が１話目で成長を遂げて、あとはずっとブレずに自分の信念の通りに動いて、周りに影響を与えて、出会ったキャラクターたちを変えていく。途中まで『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』もそれで進んでいった。でもナルトはペイン戦のあたりで、どうしたら争いのない世界ができるかという問題にぶつかって悩む。主人公だからずっと強いままで迷わず進んでいく、という道もあるけど僕はそれはちょっと違うなと思った。だからナルトは考える。僕も考えなきゃならない。すごくキツかった。担当編集者とも言い合いをした。「少年誌なんだからここはぶん殴ってスッキリした方がいい」「いや、殴ったら暴力でしょ」といった具合に。でも人生って、いろいろあるもの。壁にぶつかる主人公の方がリアルだと思う。
In general, in shonen manga, a main character accomplishes growth in one part of the story.
For a while afterwards, he moves along in keeping with his own way of beliefs, influencing those around him, and changes characters whom he happens to meet. Until midway of Naruto, that situation happened voluntarily.
However, around during the war with Pain, we were troubled by being struck with the problem that somehow, how can there be a world without conflict?
Therefore with the main character always being strong, I thought about it happening, (Naruto) walking that path willingly and without hesitation (in converting Pain).
I thought that it wouldn’t be a little different than that.
So Naruto thought about it.
I also absolutely thought about it.
I intensely thought about it.
I disputed it with the editor in-charge.
“This from a shonen story?
Because here, it better be a clean hit .” “If it’s a hit, then it’s violence, right?”.
That’s what I said about that matter.
However in life, there are various things.
Bumping into a wall in the main character’s way, it thought that was realistic.
ナルト、自分を投影//Naruto, a Projection of Myself
──『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』の世界は、五つの大国がそれぞれ、戦力である「忍びの里」と、強大なエネルギーの「尾獣」という魔物を抱えることで、パワーバランスを保っている。核保有国を連想させます。
(Interviewer): In the world of Naruto, there are each of five major countries, with war potential in “Shinobi Villages”, with very powerful energy in “Tailed-Beasts”, having those demons, it keeps the power balance.
Making suggestions about nuclear power.
そうですね。ニュアンスとして忍者は軍隊、尾獣は核兵器というイメージで、尾獣でバランスを保っているけど、本当に尾獣を使おうとすれば破滅へいたる危険がある。『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』にはそのバランスを崩し尾獣を使おうする『暁』という組織が出てくる。『暁』は里に属さない、傭兵（ようへい）組織のようなところがあって、筋立てとしてはリアルな世界でもあり得るもの。長く連載をやっていると、現実世界からインスピレーションを受けることや、重ね合わせて考えてみるようなところがでてくる。
Kishi: Ah, that’s right. As a nuance, shinobi are an army, and the tailed beasts are an image of nuclear weapons. However, in preserving the balance of the tailed beasts, if one is truly trying to use the tailed beasts, we would be in danger of destruction.
In Naruto, the balance is destroyed if the tailed beasts are going to be used.
So there’s an organization called “Akatsuki” that appears.
“Akatsuki” is not associated with a village.
They’re a like group of mercenaries.
That plot point can also be a part of the real world.
Doing a long-term serialization, I also received inspiration from the reality of the world that I thought overlapped at the time.
──ナルトって、岸本さん自身ですか？
(Interviewer): About Naruto, what about yourself, Kishimoto-san?
主人公だから似てるところはある。ラーメン好きだし。落ちこぼれのナルトは、勉強が苦手で劣等感が強かった自分を投影している。ナルトが「オレは火影になる！」（ほかげ＝ナルトの属する里の長の称号）と言うと、「なれるわけないじゃん」と周りに笑われる。子供の頃から何の根拠もなく「マンガ家になる！」と言っていた自分と重なる。「なれるわけないじゃん」と言われても僕はナルトみたいに「絶対なる！」とは言い返せなくて、「でも、なれるかもしれないよ」と心の奥でつぶやくくらいだったけど。それにしても、あんなに国語が苦手だった僕が、物語を作っていろいろな登場人物を描くマンガ家になるなんて信じられない。この場面の登場人物の心情を読み解いて答えなさいなんて問題は、テストで全然わかんなかったのに！
Because I resemble the main character. I like ramen, and similar to Naruto, who can’t really keep up at school, I had a strong inferiority complex because of poor studying.
That’s what I projected from myself.
Naruto says “I will become Hokage!” (which is the title of the head position of the village), people around me laughed a bit, I was saying “ Can I become that, there’s no reason, right?” With what(/no) basis from childhood, saying “I will become a mangaka!”, I thought that those thoughts overlapped with Naruto in that respect.
I said that again to myself like Naruto, “Absolutely, I will!”, but I couldn’t say it.
“However, I might become one!”, even though I murmured it inside my heart.
Nevertheless, to an extent, I was poor at Japanese language.
The various characters that I built in the story, drawn as a mangaka, it was unbelievable that I became like that. Those scenes of the character’s emotions, to read and understand them, it was as if I had an answer to such questions. Back then, I could not understand (such emotions of the characters), just like on a test!
無限月読は「逃げ」 // Infinite Tsukuyomi, “An Escape”
──砂や虫を使うといった多彩な忍術のアイデアはどこから？ 有効範囲はこうで、発動条件はこうで、といった技の設定も細かいですね。
(Interviewer): Using ninjutsu like things such as sand and insects, where did you get the idea for them?
Such a scope of jutsu, conditions to use them, how were the details of them created?
岸本さん技とかは、今まで見た映画とかのイメージがあるのかもしれないけど、担当編集者との打ち合わせの中であれこれ考えて出てきたもの。技について細かい設定やルールを決めたのは、縛りがあった方が面白いから。縛りがあった上で、駆け引きや相手をだます引っかけみたいなのをやりたいと思った。お話が進むとどんどん大がかりになっちゃうけど。
(Kishi): Skills like that, up until now, perhaps from an image in movies that I’ve seen.
In meetings with the editor in-charge, this and that sort of thing came up that I considered.
The finer settings and details and rules were decided, they came together in an interesting way.
At deadlines, the strategy and tactics, deceiving the opponent, seeing those ideas to capture them, things that I wanted to do.
Because as the story advanced, those techniques happened on a larger-scale.
──頭脳派のシカマルが仕掛ける作戦は面白いですね。うならされます。
(Interviewer): The intellectual aspect of Shikamaru, setting traps and strategies was interesting, right?
How did that happen?
岸本さんすごい頭のいいキャラクターに設定したので、僕が苦労した。僕が一生懸命時間をかけて複雑な段取りや何通りもの手順を考えて、マンガの中でシカマルがそれを一瞬のうちにやってしまえば、頭がよく見えるだろうと！という感じで描いていた。自分の能力の範囲を超えたキャラクターはあまり出さない方がいいな、とシカマルを描いて感じた。
(Kishi). He’s an amazingly intelligent character that I created.
I had troubles with him.
I put forth a lot of effort and time to make such complex plans and considering such procedures.
In the manga, Shikamaru can come up with it in an instant, it seems that you can see his intellect!
I described the feeling of that.
For that character, I better not do something that overly goes over the extent of my own abilities.
I sensed that when depicting Shikamaru.
──終盤で敵がしかける「無限月読（つくよみ）」は、地上の人間すべてを平和な夢の世界に閉じ込めるという大がかりな術です。それをナルトは拒絶し抵抗します。
(Interviewer): At the end, the opponent commenced “Infinite Tsukuyomi”, imprisoning all the people above the ground, putting them into a peaceful dream of a world with a large-scale jutsu.
Naruto rejected that with opposition.
岸本さん無限月読というのは「逃げ」なんです。「忍（しのび）とは耐え忍ぶ者」というのが『ＮＡＲＵＴＯ』のテーマ。何をやるにもガマンが大切だけど、反対に、ガマンせず楽な方へ逃げたいという気持ちは誰にもある。僕も弱い人間なので、いついつまでにこの仕事を終わらせなきゃいけないという時についテレビやＤＶＤへ逃げたくなる。そうしたリアルからの逃避が無限月読。逃げたい自分を戒める思いを込めて描いていたところがある。
(Kishi). The reason is that “Infinite Tsukuyomi” is a means of “escape”.
“Shinobi” are those who endure, that’s a theme of Naruto.
However, persevering is also doing something important.
Also the converse to that idea: a way in comfort or ease without enduring something, wanting a means to escape. Everyone has that sort of feeling.
Since I’m also a weak human being, until eventually, one-by-one, I thought that I have to absolutely finish this work. I thought about that occasionally, just wanting to escape into TV and DVD’s.
Therefore from a real escape, that’s “Infinite Tsukuyomi”.
Wanting to escape, myself, I prohibited myself from doing that with these thoughts.
So that’s where I depicted it and included that idea (in the manga), those thoughts of warning.
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