Why Kishimoto Chose Ikemoto to Write Boruto Series

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Summary

  • Ikemoto was Kishimoto’s assistant and helped with Naruto. He was chosen as the successor due to his familiarity and art style.
  • Kishimoto is not directly involved in Boruto but supervises the story. He reads scripts and provides feedback to Ikemoto.
  • Ukyo Kodachi was the initial scriptwriter for Boruto, contributing to a good portion of the series before being replaced by Mikio Ikemoto.

When Naruto came to an end, most fans were content with how the tale was wrapped up. Even those who believed the narrative could have had a different ending generally agreed that it was sufficient, and that there should be no follow-up series. The film “Boruto: Naruto the Movie,” released shortly after the manga ended, seemed like an appropriate culmination of the story.

Readers may not have been taken aback when Boruto was unveiled as a manga series, as some perceived it as an attempt to prolong the franchise. Yet, despite being a canonical sequel, Boruto is not penned by its original creator Masashi Kishimoto; instead, Ukyo Kodachi (chapters 1–51 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) and Mikio Ikemoto handle the writing duties. Now, many fans view Ikemoto as a potential successor to Kishimoto. However, the question remains, why did Kishimoto select him for this role?

Was Mikio Ikemoto Involved in Naruto?

During the publication of “Naruto”, Ikemoto served as one of Kishimoto’s associates from the very start. In some of the initial volumes, Kishimoto mentioned that Ikemoto primarily handled crowd scenes and background figures, and was in charge of adding shading and tonal effects to details like eyes, stars, and speed lines. Later on, Kishimoto disclosed that Ikemoto played a significant role in designing numerous “Naruto” characters. Given the extensive duration of the serialization, it’s understandable that assistants would gradually take on more responsibilities and collaborate more closely with the creator.

Given Ikemoto’s role in illustrating Kodachi’s scripts for a significant part of Boruto: NNG, it’s plausible that Kishimoto saw him as well-versed with the Naruto universe and its characters. Moreover, Ikemoto’s art style was likely deemed suitable to fans, given its proximity to the original manga’s style in a continuation like Boruto.

Why Was He Chosen As “Kishimoto’s Successor”?

Naruto concluded in the year 2014, and its creator, Kishimoto, seemed satisfied with the ending’s resolution, as were many fans. However, Shueisha expressed interest in a follow-up series. Given his need for a break and desire to explore new endeavors, such as creating Samurai 8 some years down the line, Kishimoto declined the offer but extended an invitation to Ikemoto to take on the project instead.

Despite not being the writer or illustrator of Boruto now, Kishimoto has previously expressed a desire for it to surpass Naruto. There are whispers that during the run of Naruto, Ikemoto considered departing to work on another series, but Kishimoto requested he stay. Offering Ikemoto the chance to pen a complete Naruto series independently could also be interpreted as Kishimoto’s way of expressing gratitude for Ikemoto’s support over the years.

Is Kishimoto Involved In Boruto?

It appears that Kishimoto plays a role in Boruto, as he oversees the plot development. In contrast to Toriyama and Toyotaro’s collaboration on Dragon Ball Super, where Toriyama would review Toyotaro’s drafts, making adjustments when they didn’t align with the story, Kishimoto’s involvement seems to be more of a supervisory role.

Initially, minor alterations have been implemented. However, over time, the narrative veers away from Masashi Kishimoto’s original plan. There are several reasons contributing to this deviation. Nevertheless, the primary reason is my desire to craft a distinct conclusion for the shonen genre and a concept for the seinen genre.

— Mikio Ikemoto

As a dedicated fan, I can’t help but speculate that Masashi Kishimoto might be diving into Kishimoto Yoshihiro’s scripts or plotlines and offering insightful feedback. He also sketches outlines for Yoshihiro to utilize in crafting the narrative. However, it seems that Boruto leans more towards being Yoshihiro’s brainchild, with Kishimoto still needing to give his seal of approval. This sort of “remote collaboration” is quite frequent when a creator allows another author to pen a spin-off tale.

Ukyo Kodachi’s Role in Boruto

Ukyo Kodachi served as the initial scriptwriter for “Boruto,” penning a significant part of “Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.” He also oversaw the storyline of the anime, which suggests he might have contributed to the creation of the filler episodes as well. Previously, Kodachi had worked on Naruto, though perhaps not as extensively as Ikemoto did, having written the “Gaara Hiden” novel. Additionally, Kodachi collaborated with Kishimoto in scripting “Boruto: Naruto the Movie,” and he also penned a novel adaptation of that movie.

Kodachi was selected for his understanding of Kishimoto’s vision for Boruto and because he had a background in writing. However, after Chapter 51, Kodachi departed from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. At that point, he expressed on social platforms that this wasn’t a sudden move; it was planned from the start. Ikemoto subsequently assumed both writing and illustration duties, and he now works independently on Boruto: Two Blue Vortex.

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex is available to read on MANGA Plus.

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2025-06-06 19:44