It’s been almost a decade sinceBoruto: Naruto Next Generationsstarted, andNaruto’s creator has finally spoken about why it’s so different. Late intoBoruto’s run, it was announced that Kishimoto would take over asBoruto’s writer after previously just being in an advisory role, and since then, he’s often taken the brunt of the blame forBoruto’s biggest criticisms.
As easy as it is to blame Masashi Kishimoto forBoruto’s failings, that’s actually far from the truth.In a recent interview with Masashi Kishimoto andBorutoartist Mikio Ikemoto, Kishimoto said that, despite being billed as the writer, he’s still just an advisor, and Ikemoto is the one who’s really in charge of the story.
“Ikemoto is completely in charge of the story and main illustrations. Boruto really is Ikemoto’s manga.” - MASASHI KISHIMOTO
If anything,Masashi Kishimoto feels he made things difficult for Mikio Ikemoto by using all his best ideas inNaruto, and it paints a perfect picture of whyBoruto: Naruto Next Generationsoften falls short ofNaruto.
Why Is Naruto’s Creator Being Billed As Boruto’s Writer?
Now that it’s abundantly clear that Masashi Kishimoto isn’t the one in charge ofBoruto, the big question is why Shueisha tried to make people think that he is. For starters, despite the manga opening with good sales, it’s done progressively worse with each new volume, so making people think Kishimoto was writing it was probably an attempt to boost sales.
The timing of it all was also great in theory. Masashi Kishimoto’s new manga,Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, had just been unceremoniously canceled, so the idea of Kishimoto returning toNarutowas billed as him returning to what worked and even fixing the issues people were having, although withBoruto’s increasingly poor critical and financial reception, it doesn’t appear to have helped much, if at all.
Boruto’s True Writing Situation Perfectly Highlights Its Problems
Why Boruto Falls Short Of Naruto
Above all else, the confirmation that Masashi Kishimoto isn’t writingBorutoperfectly highlights its biggest problems. It’s one thing for Mikio Ikemoto’s artwork not to be as good as Kishimoto’s, butBoruto: Naruto Next Generationshas always failed to capture what madeNarutogreat as it draws too much focus toward a lackluster cast and an increasingly convoluted plot, and since Kishimoto isn’t writingBoruto, it’s easy to see how that happened.
Borutowill always be inferior toNaruto, and while the simplest solution would appear to be letting Masashi Kishimoto write it for real, he even said that he used his best ideas inNaruto, so there probably wouldn’t be much of an improvement. It’s not thatBoruto: Naruto Next Generationsis completely without merit, but it rarely ever reachesNaruto’s highs, and now, people know why that is.
