#Kishimoto interview

[badgalsasuke]

Translation from Google Translate, QuillBot and DeePL

Q今回、ナルトとヒナタの恋愛を描いた物語に驚きました。

Q: I was surprised by the story this time depicting the romance between Naruto and Hinata.

僕の中では、 「NARUTO-ナルト-」 の少年期が終わって、青年期 に入って少し経った頃から「ナルトはヒナタとくっつく」と決まっ ていました。

For me, it was decided that Naruto would end up with Hinata a little while after his childhood arc in "Naruto" ended and he entered his adolescence arc.

でも別に二人の恋愛話に僕はあまり思い入れがな くて(笑)、そういう話を描くつもりはなかったんです。

But I don't really have any emotional attachment to the love story between the two of them (laughs), and I didn't intend to write such story.

ただ、漫画 の最後は、ナルトに子供が生まれて、それがナルトみたいなやん ちゃな男の子で、 火影になったナルトの火影岩にその子の落書 きがあるっていう風にして、漫画の第一話に戻る感じにしたかっ た。

However, for the end of the manga, I wanted it to feel like returning to the first chapter by having Naruto have a child who is a mischievous boy like him, and his graffiti on Naruto's Hokage rock.

ですから僕の中には当初なかった発想で、 今回劇場版を作 る時に、 ぴえろの方とか、 脚本の経塚 (丸雄) さんが、 「今度の映 画でそこを描いたらどうか」と提案されて、こういう形になった 感じです。

So, it was an idea that I didn't initially have, but when we were making this movie, people from Pierrot and the screenwriter, Mr. Kyōzuka (Maru), suggested, "How about depicting that in this movie?" and that's how it came to be.

物語を原作の2年後にしたのも、恋愛話にするなら二 人が18歳を超えていないと、という僕のこだわりです(笑)。

The reason I set the story two years after the original is because I insisted that if it was going to be a love story, the two characters had to be over 18 years old (laughs).

Q なぜナルトとヒナタがくっつくと決めてらしたんですか?

Q: Why did you decide that Naruto and Hinata would get together?

ヒナタはナルトが最初から頑張ってるところをちゃんと見て、 ずっと応援していた唯一の子なんです。ナルトはうまくいかない けど頑張っていて、諦めないところが格好いいって分かってる。

Hinata is the only one who has seen Naruto working hard from the beginning and has always supported him. She knows that Naruto is trying his best even though things are not going well and that it is cool that he never gives up.

サクラもそのことに途中で気づきますけど、やっぱり最初から 見ていたヒナタが報われないのは可哀想だと思って(笑)。

Sakura also realizes this halfway, but I thought it was a pity that Hinata, who has been watching from the beginning, is not rewarded (laughs).

EDIT: I've found and translated the complete interview if you're interested [LINK]

Kishimoto here is admitting that.

He didn't plan NH from the beginning but from the middle of the manga. (I suppose after the Hinata v. Pain fight when her popularity skyrocketed)

He didn't intend to write a love story between Naruto and Hinata and feels no attachment to this ship.

It was Studio Pierrot that suggested The Last plot/story and pitched it to Kishimoto. In another interview he talked about how he made a few corrections to the script here and there.

He finds Hinata pitiful (he feels the same for Sakura)

He's also lying about Hinata being the only one who's seen Naruto working hard from the beginning like who do you think you're fooling, old man? we read the manga and saw how you wrote that was Iruka and Sasuke.

[sneezemonster15]

Naruto fans - KiShiMoTO wrOTe a GaY loVE storY acCIdentally. He doeSN't knOw wHAt hE iS DoinG. No WaY a straIghT JapaNese duDe caN intentIonallY wriTE sOmeTHing LiKe tHIs.

Again, this is not rocket science, you can read the manga and easily tell how much work Kishi put into it and how seamless it was, for the most part. You hardly need interviews, his work speaks for itself. But if you don't get the work, cuz evidently you don't, then read the interviews, since you rely so much on them anyway. Perhaps it will break those flawed and ignorant preconceptions you entertain without a grain of accountability. No story comes out of oblivion. For a story to be good and believable, a lot of thought and work needs to go into it. Everything is worked out properly. Just because YOU don't get it, doesn't invalidate the actual story. And you really don't get it.

SNS deniers are embarrassing af. Like I just can't take you seriously, no one who actually gets storytelling will.

[al-hekima-madara-blog]

“Naruto is the main character, so there’s similarities between us. I love ramen. I didn’t do well in school and felt a sense of inferiority. When Naruto said “I’ll become Hokage!” people around him made fun of his dream. When I was a child, I said “I’ll become a mangaka!” without any basis. People told me “there’s no way that’s happening!” But unlike Naruto, I didn’t have the confidence to respond with “it definitely will!” instead, I just whispered to myself “But, it might actually happen…” — Kishimoto

source : Interview with Kishimoto for Asahi Shimbun, November 11, 2014 2014

[cecil2311413]

I think about this every day, it makes me cry I’ve never understood a character like I understand sasuke, I’ve never felt so connected with a character like I feel I am with him, I’ve never cried so much for a character like I do for him, not even close.

[krafterwrites]

Occasionally I remember that the next mainline game is being developed right now and get excited

[boybolt]

What are your favorite Naruto and/or Boruto characters to draw?

Kishimoto : My favorite is and will always be Jiraiya.

Ikemoto : For me, I think it's Boruto, I'm very attached to him.

[sasukeless]

while i’m extremely picky with naruto and sasuke’s relationship to the point even the slightest thing while have red alarms blaring inside my mind. i actually love to play dolls with menma and charasuke. because since there’s barely anything about them the possibilities are endless and 99% i can say anything and there’s no devil/angel in my shoulder going “well canon debunks this” so it’s really fun

[sueske]

The Kishi poll is so funny. ‘You know what he did’

Some people will vote for making the worst hetero ships canon, while others will vote for putting the ‘gay agenda’ in their fav shounen. Some for Boruto existing.

I wish we knew exactly what Kishi actually wanted with his story and what changes his editors forced but it’s hard to say. Especially with how his interviews contradict each other.

One of the longest running things I’ve heard about Kishi is how he’s a misogynist because his male characters are always more powerful and female ones suck. And his story is always worse for female characters. I don’t think making a shounen story having OP male characters is enough to be called a misogynist, especially when the target demographic is young-teen boys, but it also feels weird how none of the Konoha 11 girls are in any way amazing or their canon version memorable compared to their male counterparts. What are your thoughts on the ‘Kishi is a misogynist’ debate?

I mean most of his contradictory interviews are about the endgame couples. kishi said he wanted more mission type arcs like the low but his editor made him write a tournament instead. he wanted the sns vote2 battle to be a close fist fight but jump said no to the point that kishi said they really bothered him about it. I guess they settled on a compromise. he fought 5 years to include the reverse harem jutsu in before editors said okay. he also said that a lot of the ideas he had were unshonen like. he also said he had a lot of trouble writing the pein arc, and I think this is where he really struggled with those unshonen like ideas. he also said that because it's a shonen, even though he doesn't agree with some of what's in the manga, it's shonen so it has to be 'hopeful' - although for the last two links there don't seem to be proper sources for and I can't be bothered to dig too deep into them, so take them as you will. anyways he was fine with ending naruto how it was without boruto, from the start he envisioned the end as sns' reconciliation. so it seems there's lots of stuff he fought for/had to change but at the very end he said everything he wanted to put in the manga he did which is like? (I think that's the source, it's one of those post series interviews that he said that in but I'm not gonna watch all of that again sorry). I guess he gave up on other things but what was most important to him (obviously the bond between sns) he fought for until the end to write.

as for the misogyny bit there's a poll running check it out here 😀 as for my own personal opinion on it hmm I think I'll keep my thoughts to myself for now.

[badgalsasuke]

Kishimoto interview with Kobayashi for Mandō Kobayashi broadcasted on Fuji TV Dec. 13th 2014

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW

This is a transcription of (most of) the interview. Please watch the video of the interview that I already linked above the image while reading the transcription because there are times where Kishimoto and Kobayashi are discussing a manga panel or notes from Kishimoto's concept notebook and if you're not seeing it then the transcription won't make sense to you.

Also keep in mind this is a very long interview that lasts 54 minutes in video.

INTRO (0:00-6:32)

Kobayashi: Let's start the mission now.

Kishimoto: Excuse me! Hello!

Kobayashi: Nice to meet you, my name is Kento Kobayashi

Kishimoto: Nice to meet you, I'm Kishimoto

Kobayashi: Are you Kishimoto-sensei?

Kishimoto: Yes.

Kobayashi: So, we came here from a show called Mandou Kobayashi, but first of all, congratulations on the end of your series. Today, rather than coming here on request, we actually came to surprise you. Is it okay if we ask you a bunch of questions?

Kishimoto: Please feel free to ask me anything.

Kobayashi: Thank you for your permission, let's go in. So is this the workplace?

Kishimoto: This is the workplace.

Kobayashi: Until recently, fierce battles were taking place here too, right?

Kishimoto: It's hell. (Kobayashi laughs)

(I don't know what they're saying from 0:53-1:02)

Kobayashi: Isn't this good? This freezer is amazing.

Kishimoto: This is a freezer.

Kobayashi: Yes. It's a second-hand one, isn't it?

Kishimoto: That's right. I got this one that was used at Jump Festa.

Kobayashi: Kishimoto-sensei?

Kishimoto: Yes.

Kobayashi: You really wanted this one?

Kishimoto: Yes, well actually, I wanted Goku. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: I wonder where Goku is now?

Kishimoto: Goku is at Oda's house right now (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: You'd have an assistant here? (Kobayashi points to desk)

Kishimoto: Yes, that's right. The assistants here had already finished the manuscript, so they packed up and went home.

Kobayashi: I see.

Kishimoto: There's nothing here anymore. It feels kind of lonely.

Kobayashi: It feels kind of lonely, isn't it?

Kishimoto: There's nothing to mess with. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: What's this? The adjustable desk?

Kishimoto: Since it's the desk over there, it feels like I'm writing the manuscript here.

Kobayashi: As I thought, when you write a color manuscript, you need vitamins, sensei. (Kobayashi grabs bottle of vitamins)

Kishimoto: So that's what it was, huh? I just ate it a moment ago. (Everyone chuckles)

Kobayashi: Hey, the staff didn't set something up like this.

Kishimoto: This is different.

Kobayashi: Are you trying to imitate us sneakily? Huh?

Kishimoto: I bought it out of my own pocket. I mean, I technically bought it under the company's expenses. (Everybody chuckles)

Kobayashi: You're kidding, right? If only you had told me that, sensei. Oh, but it would be really helpful for inventory control. That kind of thing, really.

Kishimoto: Well, this is… I found some old drama manuscripts, so I've left them here for a while. Kobayashi: Do these things ever get returned to the authors? Kishimoto: Yes, they do. Kobayashi: So, how much is it? 80 pages?

Kishimoto: I don't remember either... Oh Hinata, it's just Hinata. Not a movie script though. (laughs)

Kobayashi: Well, it turned out to be quite a coincidence sensei. (laughs)

Kishimoto: No, no, no. Kobayashi: As expected from a writer who has written such an epic masterpiece, how do you think he was able to digest all that foreshadowing?

Kobayashi: Surely this should be kept in a bank safe or something.

Kishimoto: It's just sitting there with kids' clothes on top of it…

Kobayashi: That is dangerous.

Kishimoto: Some of it might disappear in a little while.

Kobayashi: is it like a movie concept notebook? For sensei's movies, you first sometimes come up with the original idea and the script, right?

Kishimoto: Well, a little, but generally the screenwriters let me do this and that. I'm not the kind of guy who nitpicks or complains at all. There are things written there that have nothing to do with Naruto.

Kobayashi: Things that have nothing to do with Naruto? For example, what do you mean?

Kishimoto: Like stories I'd like to tell Mammone someday. (everybody laughs)

Kobayashi: Someday.

Kishimoto: I'd like to do something like that.

Kobayashi: It seems like this is the kind of design I thought of when we met.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Ok, ok, ok.

Kishimoto: It has nothing to do with Naruto at all.

Kobayashi: You just write down everything that comes to mind.

Kishimoto: Well, I guess I'll write it here, around here.

Kobayashi: [The Day] The Earth Stood Still*

*action movie, 2008

Kishimoto: I watch movies around here and think, "If it were me, I would do it this way," and then I write various things down here... what is this, a read-through?

Kobayashi: It's a one-shot…

Kishimoto: It's a one-shot… Have you read it?

Kobayashi: But it's quite… Can I just say something? Like… Like panel illustrations…

Kishimoto: Ah, that's right.

Kobayashi: So the course is quickly drawn here, like a panel layout.

Kishimoto: I think it's an image of Kaguya…

Kobayashi: Kaguya!

Kishimoto: being sealed away, and Gai's final special move was supposed to be something like that, but in the end it was just a kick. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Look at this course. At the end, Sasuke and Naruto make a sign of reconciliation. It was already written here.

Kishimoto: That's right. I wrote it around here. This is the original draft for Naruto, and it was only the first chapter…

Kobayashi: This is the most important part, so to speak, for a young manga artist, the draft.

Kishimoto: Before it started serialization.

Kobayashi: Do you really have to write this much for a draft?

Kishimoto: That's right. When you're starting, rookies need to have a good image and there's a solidarity meeting for that, and in order to pass it they make a good impression by trying their best and doing as much as possible.

Kobayashi: That's it.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Isn't that just like the first chapter?

Kishimoto: If I don't write it in that much detail, the image won't be conveyed. And I'm not trying to pander to anyone but...

Kobayashi: "I'm a guy who can work hard and I want to show that".

Kishimoto: Yes, show that.

Kobayashi: But somehow, you can see what Kishimoto-sensei has created, you know?

Kishimoto: I quite like hero stories.

Kobayashi: There are a lot of hero stories.

Kishimoto: I quite like them.

Kobayashi: Toriyama-sensei is definitely someone great from that generation.

Kishimoto: That's right. Surprisingly, my generation and everyone else feel like he's a god.

Kobayashi: That's true, isn't it?

Kishimoto: This is called a "gela/geller" and it means that only the parts related to Naruto are taken from Jump and then checked with this to see which parts of the manuscript need to be corrected before it actually becomes a comic.

Kobayashi: Sensei, you change the wording of the book quite a lot, don't you?

Kishimoto: Yes, but I guess I change it since the deadline isn't met, just a little bit..

Kobayashi: Were you under a lot of pressure? After all, it was a weekly serialization.

Kishimoto: Yes, there were. Like with the Shadow Clone Jutsu…

Kobayashi: I was planning to ask about that later but I'll ask here.

Kishimoto: Okay, okay.

Kobayashi: Our investigation has shown that Sensei may have dugged his own grave.

Kishimoto: That's right. I messed up.

Kobayashi: Since you already did it in the first chapter, you can't afford to power down from there.

Kishimoto: That's right. You're constantly growing so you're getting more powerful, and the number of clones increases.

Kobayashi: They just keep increasing, don't they?

Kishimoto: I messed up… (Everyone laughs)

END OF INTRO, BEGINNING OF INTERVIEW (6:32-50:07)

Kobayashi: First of all, thank you so much for your hard work on that series. Kishimoto: Thank you very much.

Kobayashi: First of all, I want to ask about this Naruto work. I've made a timeline here, so please take a look at the first part. It starts with the Ninja Academy, then the Team 7 decisive test, the Land of Waves arc where they fight Zabuza and Haku, the Chunin Exams, Konoha's destruction and Gaara, Itachi and Akatsuki appear, the battle of the Legendary Sannin, Sasuke's defection, and a bit of Naruto's past. So, I was curious about where you started when you first thought about creating the Naruto series?

Kishimoto: At first, it was just a normal story about a ramen shop…

Kobayashi: That's something you hear a lot about, but is it a joke?

Kishimoto: Seriously, I seriously wanted to draw a ramen manga.

Kobayashi: You seriously wanted to draw a ramen manga.

Kishimoto: I drew a story about a ramen owner and a boy who comes to eat there, and the ramen soup and noodles would be bland on their own, but when they are combined they become many times more delicious, and I used this as an analogy to life, creating a really spectacular, super-sensational story, but then the first editor in charge at the time said, "You're way off the mark".

Kobayashi: It certainly doesn't feel like it'd fit in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Kishimoto: First, it was like, "You don't understand manga", so after that I wrote a story about an elementary school kid picking up some money and going on a detour…

Kobayashi: What are you talking about? (everyone laughs)

Kishimoto: I was told that it was off, so I looked into it a bit. Well, I liked Dragon Ball, so I realized halfway through that I should draw something like Dragon Ball. It took quite a while, but I got there (Kobayashi laughs). And the ramen thing, which I thought was kind of lame, turned out to be surprisingly perfect for me, so I couldn't let it go. That's how the name Naruto came about.

Kobayashi: First thing is the Naruto name and that he loves ramen, Ichiraku ramen. Did you originally want to draw something about ninjas?

Kishimoto: When I was doing the one-shot it was about monsters, and in that monster story it was originally a fox that turns into a human, and it was a mixed story between human and monster, but that deviated from that.

Kobayashi: From the target?

Kishimoto: It deviated from the target, and I quickly made it a human, redrawn it, and when I released it, it was approved.

Kobayashi: Indeed, we really did a lot of research, or rather, verification, but it seems like it's completely the opposite of the usual ninja stuff.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: When you think about it, ninjas are depicted as being very extreme, right? This is the world of the shinobi, or rather, it's about not letting them do that, right?

Kishimoto: Yes. Since there have been quite a few up until now, like Sanpei Shirata*...

*Mangaka of Ninja Bugeicho, 1959; Sasuke, 1967; etc

Kobayashi: Yes.

Kishimoto: I thought that if I did the same thing, it probably wouldn't stand out, so I did the opposite.

Kobayashi: With blonde hair.

Kishimoto: Blonde hair. Not Japanese, but foreign looking. And rather than dying, how should I put it, they're more about saving than hiding. One time I got a fan letter asking "is this character a ninja?".

Kobayashi: Was it a simple question from a child?

Kishimoto: A simple question from a child, and then I was like, Ah! it got off track again. (Everyone laughs)

Kobayashi: The serialization had already started.

Kishimoto: But there was nothing we could do about it so we just went ahead with the deviation, and my editor at the time said it was fine to go with it, that this little deviation was fine.

Kobayashi: Actually, this isn't off.

Kishimoto: This isn't off.

Kobayashi: That's why manga is so difficult.

Kishimoto: It is difficult. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Do you remember when the "dattebayo" line and things like that came about?

Kishimoto: I was thinking about what a typical Jump manga protagonist would be like, and I thought that if a grandmother were to like a clumsy character, it might be well-received or liked. So, I thought of making him a bit awkward, like someone who can't speak properly or stumbles over his words, and adding a catchphrase like "Dattebayo" to make him endearing...

Kobayashi: Slurring his words?

Kishimoto: Slurring his words, I say.

Kobayashi: You put in characters who were classmates, or people of the same generation, right? Did you think about that in detail?

Kishimoto: No, I didn't actually intend for it to be like that, I just wanted the missions to be more detailed.

Kobayashi: I think I'll ask about that later.

Kishimoto: Okay.

Kobayashi: There was a mission in Wave Country, right?

Kishimoto: The Land of Waves exists, and this time the mission is in a different village where there’s a teacher and three subordinates. Then, some guys from a different team come out, and Kakashi's real identity is that he’s a rival to other teachers...

Kobayashi: Kakashi had rivals outside (the village) too?

Kishimoto: Yes, I talked with the editor about wanting to do it with that setting, but he said there’s no time to be messing around like that.

Kobayashi: Did he say something like, "There's no time to be dawdling around"? (Kishimoto laughs)

Kishimoto: He said to release everything at once and to release characters all at once with others too. But he said, "Let's do it, let's have a tournament." I don't have that kind of strength right now. I'll die if I do that. But then I said I'll do it. I said I'll do it even if it means I die.

Kobayashi: That's what the Chunin Selection Exam.

Kishimoto: That's how the Chunin Selection Exam came to be.

Kobayashi: The result of being rushed

Kishimoto: So, I still kind of wish I could have done that (the missions).

Kobayashi: Actually, I wanted to see a few more missions too.

Kishimoto: Right? we decided on the characters on the spot. Even while writing the manuscript, if we didn't have any ideas, it was tough for a newcomer to create dozens of characters all at once...

Kobayashi: Here comes the newcomer.

Kishimoto: So, I asked the editor to design them for me. (Kobayashi laughs) The editor suggested something like an old Jackie Chan movie, and something really strange came up, and that was Gai.

Kobayashi: It was Gai and Lee. I see. But when I was listening to the earlier conversation, I heard that there was a system like this in the Land of the Waves too, of course with an academy, and when I thought about Kakashi's rival appearing, I heard that maybe this Gai version was planned for there.

Kishimoto: That's right. I thought it would be better to have a rival…

Kobayashi: It actually wasn't from Konoha.

Kishimoto: but I thought there wasn't enough of them, We set it up so that there would be a rival in our village. We thought it would be better to have that kind of setting, so we made it happen within a year.

Kobayashi: Right. In other words, the Chunin Exam and the Hidden Leaf battle with Gaara are two different things, but they're all correlated, and yet they keep moving forward.

Kishimoto: During the Chunin Exam selection test, we gained popularity. But even though we were gaining popularity, the editor in charge at the time said that if we just let it end with a regular victory, it would be too ordinary. It wasn't the right time for a tournament.

Kobayashi: This is not the time to be dragging your feet. Bang.

Kishimoto: They told me, "Come on, this character named Orochimaru is going to come out and wreck everything. He's going to destroy the tournament". I had worked hard to introduce so many characters. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: That's true.

Kishimoto: I was having fun wondering who would win and things like that.

Kobayashi: Even for you, were you subtly wondering who the winner would be on social media?

Kishimoto: I was planning on making it Shikamaru.

Kobayashi: Were you planning on making Shikamaru?

Kishimoto: Yes. That's right.

Kobayashi: Shikamaru's fighting style got really good in the Chunin Selection Exam.

Kishimoto: I had decided that only Shikamaru would become a chunin.

Kobayashi: Yes, yes, yes. And that's exactly what happened.

Kishimoto: I just wrote "IQ 200," but I don't have an IQ of 200. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: You digged your grave again. Just like with the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It would require someone with an IQ of 200 to write in such a way that they would think about other people with IQ 200, so it's certainly difficult.

Kishimoto: It's not that it's difficult, it's that is just impossible, isn't it? So I struggled with this, I really struggled.

Kobayashi: Let's keep moving the story along. No, in The Land of the Waves arc, we suddenly have the formidable enemy Zabuza.

Kishimoto: I think it would be better to show a strong ninja out of the blue, and then Kakaishi-sensei would get serious about it. I thought it would be easier to show Naruto and the other ninjas from the older generation in a real ninja battle...

Kobayashi: Growing towards that point.

Kishimoto: I thought it would be easy to understand that we were going to continue to do this, so I decided to show that first.

Kobayashi: But if you think about it, the settings that are introduced in the Land of Waves arc and continue up to the final chapter, for example, the Kekkei Genkai and the Sharingan come out one after another here, right? How far did you plan this out?

Kishimoto: No. I think it would have been better to just go ahead and bluff it out here.

Kobayashi: Were you bluffing from the beginning?

Kishimoto: It seems like a bluff, so I didn't think about what would come next at all.

Kobayashi: First, you just went ahead and created the framework.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: So you're rushing ahead with the serialization while also thinking about it?

Kishimoto: Yes, that's right.

Kobayashi: So you suddenly mentioned Sasuke's past, right?

Kishimoto: He wanted to kill someone.

Kobayashi: That there was someone he wanted to kill.

Kishimoto: I was thinking that he'd have an older brother, and that he had done something bad. I had thought about that, but not much else…

Kobayashi: It was quite vague…

Kishimoto: That part was vague.

Kobayashi: So maybe you just said that Itachi was just a bad guy?

Kishimoto: No, by the time Itachi was brought out I had already decided he was a good guy.

Kobayashi: There's circumstances that make Sasuke feel this way.

Kishimoto: At first, the Sharingan was supposed to be able to closely observe and copy the opponent's movements, but it gradually went in a different direction.

Kobayashi: It's the first chapter in the history of world entertainment to be themed around eyeballs, and it went up to volume 72.

Kishimoto: I never thought that the idea of ​​the eye as a Dojutsu skill would be so useful. (Kobayashi laughs) The Sharingan is mentioned in a very old story called The Tale of the Hero Jiraiya, in which it is revealed that Jiraiya actually has the Sharingan.

Kobayashi: Jiraiya, that one.

Kishimoto: The character has it, and it's often seen in kabuki and other performances. However, if Jiraiya were to use it, his character would become too prominent, so we decided to give it to the Uchiha clan instead.

Kobayashi: And Kakashi's has them, so it's like he got the eyes because of some kind of grudge or connection.

Kishimoto: That's right. Why does he have those eyes when he's not a part of the Uchiha clan? That's what we make into a mystery to keep the story going.

Kobayashi: So, Kakashi's Sharingan comes from the Uchiha clan. I see, so that's what it was, one of the major recoveries, a part of the mission. There are three main characters in this concept, right?

Kishimoto: Rin, Obito, and Kakashi

Kobayashi: The photo of Rin, Obito, and Kakashi came out pretty early, right? Like around the fourth chapter or so.

Kishimoto: I wonder if there are any photos of Kakashi. I'm thinking about this for now. When I get back, I'll have him be Naruto's dad.

Kobayashi: Ah, had it already been decided at this point that he would be Naruto's dad?

Kishimoto: It had been decided.

Kobayashi: Ah, this had been decided?

Kishimoto: It had been decided, at that time.

Kobayashi: Ah, is that so? Ah, had it also been decided that Obito would be the Uchiha?

Kishimoto: Yes.

Kobayashi: It had been firmly decided, really.

Kishimoto: That's…

Kobayashi: That was about 16 chapters in.

Kishimoto: Yes, that's right. We decided on that part too. Initially, it's not so much that we decided that the Fourth Hokage, Minato, was Naruto's dad, but rather that we thought we had to reveal that Naruto's dad was the Fourth Hokage. So we properly created the Hokage Rock with the Fourth Hokage's face, and originally, it was a dog's face, so the Fourth Hokage had a dog's face.

Kobayashi: Dog? Dog as in dog?

Kishimoto: Dog as in dog. Dog Dog. Well, there's that character with fangs, Kiba, right? So if there's a human with fangs, then why not have a dog become Hokage too, right?

Kobayashi: It was a dog?

Kishimoto: It was a dog.

Kishimoto: Yahagi-san, editor Yahagi-san...

Kobayashi: The person in charge?

Kishimoto: Yes, he told me I was off the mark again when I got there. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: You'd finally managed to fix the misalignment, and now it's off again?

Kishimoto: So, I decided to make him the protagonist's father. So it was decided on the first playthrough, sort of speak.

Kobayashi: I see. So you were excited about that part beforehand. But, you know, with Kakashi, did you have some kind of premonition that he'd become popular?

Kishimoto: Not at all.

Kobayashi: Eh, speaking of Kakashi, isn't he the most popular character?

Kishimoto: That's right. I had no idea why a guy like that would become so popular.

Kobayashi: Kishimoto-sensei, that's off the mark. (Everyone laughs) Kakashi is so cool, he's gonna be popular.

Kishimoto: Why can you only see with one eye? (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Jiraiya is popular too, isn't he?

Kishimoto: Jiraiya was really popular too.

Kobayashi: I guess it's just that somewhere, are there any characters who are perverts at heart that become popular?

Kishimoto: That's true.

Kobayashi: There's a "make out paradise" between those two.

Kishimoto: That's why the characters I thought were cool and would be popular didn't become popular at all. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Is there anyone else? This guy?

Kishimoto: I drew Sai thinking he'd be popular.

Kobayashi: Did Sai not become that popular as a character

Kishimoto: No, I also drew a character called Kimimaro thinking he'd be popular, but he pulls out his bones and turns them into swords and he seemed to be a little popular at some point, but the minute he pulled out his backbone he lost popularity.

Kobayashi: Did they have an allergic reaction? Women and such were like, "Wow, this guy is like this." What about Sakura-chan?

Kishimoto: I drew Sakura because I thought she was cute. It's not that she's a girl's true nature, but I drew her realistically.

Kobayashi: Her inner thoughts came first.

Kishimoto: Yes.

Kobayashi: Like appearing in a TV show*

*Like the confessionals of reality tv shows

Kishimoto: I thought she'd be popular with girls, but it seems like they just didn't like her.

Kobayashi: Don't like her? Was there a lot of people who disliked Sakura?

Kishimoto: Right. They said that little kids hate her, so we tried a lot of things, but they just backfired. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: They backfired. I'm sorry. It's a painful memory.

Kishimoto: It's a painful memory. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: You didn't intend to make them fall in love with her like that, but that's how it is. But you know, we had a little meeting about why only Sakura is like that, and it turns out that the Haruno clan isn't depicted, or rather, it was in the movie, but not in the original work. However, not that far ahead; once the recognition system is established, the parents of each clan and their relatives are depicted, and they participate in battles. So, what's up with the Haruno clan? Why aren't they depicted? She's only one girl from an ordinary family, or rather, a girl without any struggles.

Kishimoto: The truth is that Sakura wasn't popular, so even if we expanded on that... (Everyone laughs)

Kobayashi: So the truth is because she isn't popular you wouldn't expand on it.

Kishimoto: Right. (Everyone laughs harder)

Kobayashi: But once it's out you can't backtrack on it, right? The cover of volume 4, and the cover of chapter 4 already have the details of each summoning.

Kishimoto: That's right, in chapter 4.

Kobayashi: And wasn't it this? If it's already out here, we can't take it down now, right?

Kishimoto: That's right. We have no choice but to keep going, so it was pretty much decided by this point that those three, Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade, would each become a mentor.

Kobayashi: It's already being passed down.

Kishimoto: I drew this cover while looking at the faces of Hollywood actresses.

Kobayashi: So you were trying to draw what is commonly called a beautiful person?

Kishimoto: Yes. I was thinking of drawing a cute girl. I was sketching and so on. Naruto and Sasuke, I can just draw them quickly, but for this character [Sakura], I had to look at reference materials while drawing.

Kobayashi: You were very careful about that, weren't you, sensei?

Kishimoto: I was extremely careful.

Kobayashi: If you could say it like that, you were pushing it. In other words.

Kishimoto: That's right. We were pushing her so hard that it didn't get through to her at all. Only Hinata kept getting more and more popular. I didn't draw Hinata much, and like Sakura, she wasn't doing much either, but her popularity was skyrocketing, so I thought maybe I should make her the heroine. I thought maybe I should make her closer to heroine status. That's why she has a bit of a standout moment at the end.

Kobayashi: I see, it feels like all the characters have been introduced, but the second part was amazing too. First, there was the mission to rescue the Kazekage from the Sand Village, the Tenchi Bridge reconnaissance mission, then the battle between Team 10 and Hidan and Kakuzu, Sasuke's formation of Hebi, Jiraiya vs. Pain, Sasuke vs. Itachi, Hebi becoming Taka, Pain's death, the Five Kage Summit, the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto vs. Sasuke, and then the epilogue. So, was there a specific reason for structuring it into two parts?

Kishimoto: That's right, in some parts, Naruto and the others are, well, let's say, weak, right?

Kobayashi: That's right.

Kishimoto: As expected because they're genins, the Akatsuki, which is like a collective of powerful yet disenfranchised enemies.

Kobayashi: Akatsuki.

Kishimoto: That's right, they're genin and the Akatsuki are a strong enemy that's like a collection of disenfranchised people but even the jonin can't do anything about them.

Kobayashi: It's like even jonin can't catch them.

Kishimoto: So this is bad and for now I cut it and made them grow up all at once. I also wanted to change the clothes and so on, it's hard to draw this weird thing on the left shoulder, it's small, or rather the fluffy thing in around his neck, it hides his face when he lifts his shoulders or makes any movement.

Kobayashi: It was a bit wimpy when he was a kid. When he was a boy, it was wimpy and it got in the way when he was performing action. Even though it's neat like this, it still keeps you warm.

Kishimoto: I thought it doesn't look like a top garment if his neck isn't covered. I also added this headband here so that it flutters a bit and stands out when he performs action.

Kobayashi: Well, as we talked about Akatsuki earlier, Akatsuki was really exciting. As a reader, when all the silhouettes of the characters suddenly appeared, it was just too much. Itachi, Kisame, Pain, Konan, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, Tobi, Zetsu. My favorites were Hidan and Kakuzu.

Kishimoto: Ah, that's the same for me.

Kobayashi: Oh, really?

Kishimoto: I like Hidan the best too.

Kobayashi: I like Hidan the best too! It's like, this is what dangerous evil is, and I think it would be great if this kind of thing could be applied. I really, really like it. And the fact that two immortals are immortal for different reasons is also really interesting to me.

Kishimoto: That's right. At that time, I actually quite liked how the abilities were portrayed, so things like Hidan stabbing himself with the kunai and the feelings behind it.

Kobayashi: This scene is great, he pierces himself and that causes damage to Asuma. Team 10 was great. Sensei previously said it was hard, but from here on it becomes a battle of IQ 200s, right?

Kishimoto: With Shikamaru in it, it's a bit tough.

Kobayashi: No, but this cigarette scene is really different from previous Naruto, it's a bit of a man's world, a grown man's worldview, you know?

Kishimoto: It's surprisingly brutal, with heads chopped off and stuff.

Kobayashi: Yes, there was a scene where his head gets chopped off.

Kishimoto: They said that couldn't be done in the anime.

Kobayashi: I said that one line, but it made me a bit worried. Is this okay in today's world?

Kishimoto: Well first, after being told that it couldn't be done, there was a discussion about changing it because Shikamaru smoking was also a no-go, but the editor said not to worry about it and just go ahead and do it. However, the higher-ups would always check with the editor each time, saying things like, "Isn't this a bit too much? It's a shonen magazine after all."

Kobayashi: Would we be able to show this scene now?

Kishimoto: Add this here.

Kobayashi: Add this and then cut the left and right sides.

Kishimoto: It looks like it's peeking out. (Kobayahi laughs)

Kobayashi: It's amazing, isn't it? This head rolls around and suddenly starts talking again.

Kishimoto: I tried to hide the cross sections as much as possible.

Kobayashi: I see, the cross-section is beautifully concealed. This lighter texture is also quite nice, isn't it? I think many people have asked you about this, but is Hidan still down below?

Kishimoto: Yes, so I think I could have dug him up and have him join the battle if I wanted to, but when it comes out, I still get carried away and have to hide all the cross-sections, so it would be tough.

Kobayashi: I couldn't stand it if it became any more troublesome to draw, but Shikamaru's smoke stings my eyes. It was a clean story right up to the point where he just throws it away at the end, and yet the hard-boiled sense is quite rare even for Jump.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Did Sensei was always into that kind of world?

Kishimoto: Surprisingly, I actually like those kinds of movies and used to watch them a lot, so I ended up doing everything I wanted to do in a shonen magazine, even though it wasn't really appropriate.

Kobayashi: Well, Akatsuki isn't just an organization, it's got all sorts of intertwined intentions, some that even the other people don't know about. Did you give that a lot of thought?

Kishimoto: There's places like that.

Kobayashi: Around here?

Kishimoto: In the real world, companies have started hiring mercenaries to engage in private wars, so I wanted to explore that.

Kobayashi: Like a professional group.

Kishimoto: I thought that if we introduced a leader who could bring everyone together, it would bring out a sense of charisma. So, I considered developing the character's profile with that in mind. Pain.

Kobayashi: That's Pain. When he first appeared, he said he was conquering the world on his back. That scene was difficult, wasn't it?

Kishimoto: It was hard.

Kobayashi: It's a scene looking down on the world.

Kishimoto: That was hard to draw.

Kobayashi: It really seemed like sensei was pushing himself too hard, he drew a lot of scenery seen from above the city.

Kishimoto: I draw the rough draft to a certain extent, but my assistants do the inking and stuff, so I leave that to them.

Kobayashi: This is another scene looking down at a different city, but did the assistant only do the inking, and the basic drawing is done by you, right?

Kishimoto: I did the rough draft.

Kobayashi: Wow, this is amazing.

Kishimoto: If it's not like that, the layout and feel of that time can't really be conveyed just by talking about it.

Kobayashi: Indeed, the world view of this village is thoroughly filled with such elements.

Kishimoto: It was the same with Pain.

Kobayashi: This is it, right? The sensei wrote it, what was it called, the handkerchief?

Kishimoto: This is that Bobobobobobobobobo manga*.

*Manga serialized from 2001-2005

Kobayashi: Oh, that's right, now that I think about it, the deadline is a week, right?

Kishimoto: Yes, that's right. You only have about three days to draw.

Kobayashi: Three days. You can spare about three days. Since we're talking about illustrations, I would like to ask you a bit about that kind of artwork. You have a unique composition style, don't you? This is a fisheye perspective, right? It's a view of Deidara from above. And again, a fisheye perspective from above.

Kishimoto: I quite like fisheye views from above.

Kobayashi: "I like fisheye views from above" is like a tongue twister.

Kishimoto: I really liked the feeling that the characters were standing on the ground, and Akira was also very precise about that.

Kobayashi: By Otomo-sensei.

Kishimoto: I look at various pictures and draw them by changing the depth of the fisheye lens, like Otomo-sensei's fisheye.

Kobayashi: Look at this cover of Chouji, the photographer left during the shoot. He said, "Please wait a moment." This is the kind of composition you see in Chihuahua photo books, right? This camera is really only used for skateboarding PVs and Funkiller AVs.

Kishimoto: There's no way I would study while watching AV down here. That's not happening.

Kobayashi: It's more like a sunview.

Kishimoto: That's the image I had in mind…

Kobayashi: Haku, right?

Kishimoto: Yes. The "bang" when someone is punched is a common cinematic technique known as double action. For example, when Jackie Chan punches an enemy, the camera slightly pulls back and then zooms in again, making the punch stand out. I wanted to create an image like that in this manga.

Kobayashi: We were looking for something like this, showing the same scene from three different angles, and I had a question, in Naruto, even when he uses his signature move, there isn't a name for it at that moment, but his face isn't shown when he lands the move. Is this intentional?

Kishimoto: I thought it would be cooler if his face was not shown.

Kobayashi: How is that cool?

Kishimoto: If the face isn't in the picture, the attention goes to the body, right? To the back and the body. That way it feels like the body is speaking or expressing itself, but if you show face, the power of the face is so strong that it takes over, or rather, becomes the focal point of the scene.

Kobayashi: Rather than talking about the expressions in this scene, you want people to just look at the dynamism and things like that.

Kishimoto: That's why I actually have to draw faces in decisive scenes.

Kobayashi: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I noticed that a lot, like when the decisive scene doesn't show the face, it's like a deliberate act, right? There were also scenes where the battle progresses from both sides, like in Sasuke vs. Naruto.

Kishimoto: This is unique to manga, so it's not shown like a movie on a timeline, and you can look at either side from above and if you just look from above, you can see both at once. This is a manga-like presentation that I came up with, so I thought I'd go with that. It's more about matching or being the same...

Kobayashi: Normally you have to read it like this, so now you can read it like this.

Kishimoto: That kind of feeling. I tried to keep the details as simple as possible so that it's easy to read. I wanted it to be simple, so I didn't focus too much on the details.

Kobayashi: This is an incredibly complicated panel. Are you even listening? (Kishimoto laughs)

Kishimoto: Yes, this area is…

Kobayashi: To begin with, we abandoned the interrogation, and now it's a huge mess. So, what is this supposed to be?

Kishimoto: I deliberately made it look this cluttered, so that you don't know where to look…

Kobayashi: It was a chaotic battle. It was happening at an incredible speed.

Kishimoto: I wanted to create something like in movies where the action is so fast that you can't tell what's happening.

Kobayashi: Like directing a production?

Kishimoto: That's exactly it.

Kobayashi: You were saying you'd put it out this next time but it was difficult to put out. You were trying to make it as simple as possible, so I think it's fine to put out this one. Well, the time is almost up, so I'll have to rush through this. Was the Great Ninja War really difficult?

Kishimoto: It was difficult. They said "you will be experiencing wars from now on". By that point, it had been decided to go to war. I was trying to get him to experience war once and then face it, so he couldn't escape, or rather...

Kobayashi: Well, I guess it's inevitable.

Kishimoto: I thought so.

Kobayashi: It's like everything that has happened so far has come to light in these three wars, right?

Kishimoto: There were a lot of things I hadn't been able to do before, but I wanted to tie everything together there, so I did that. So I did a lot of battles between old men, which is unimportant, like Hanzo and Mifune. And I did something that shouldn't be done in a boys' magazine, which was to have those old men clash in the first chapter of the volume.

Kobayashi: A boys' magazine that violates morals.

Kishimoto: The old man was getting a lot of heat in a boys' magazine..

Kobayashi: An old man's duel.

Kishimoto: That's something you'd expect from Torishima-san*

*Editor in chief of Shonen Jump and Akira Toriyama's editor for Dragon Ball

Kobayashi: From Mashirito-san*

*Anagram of Torishima

Kishimoto: From Mashirito-san. Torishima-san asked me what I was doing and told me to bring out Naruto right away and that I didn't need the old men and I got scolded.

Kobayashi: But, sensei, please listen, is this the fight that the director in charge thought was the best about?

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Hanzo vs. Mifune.

Kishimoto: That's nice to hear.

Kobayashi: I think this is great. It's something that people who don't give up on things can achieve. As they fight, they remember things from the past.

Kishimoto: There's a seppuku scene, and I wanted to depict that. I'm gradually becoming an old man, so I feel like I want to depict that kind of seriousness.

Kobayashi: How was it? How popular was Mifune in the boy's fantasy genre?

Kishimoto: Not at all. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: No, it's cool, but you know, there was a setting where they branched out from samurai and grew up to become ninjas, and then they started fighting like ninjas.

Kishimoto: It's not that.

Kobayashi: It's not that because it's that samurai are samurai because they persevere.

Kishimoto: They don't run away.

Kobayashi: It's a well-portrayed scene, but it's a bit too much for shonen.

Kishimoto: It was like "old men are fighting, I wish it would end quickly, I wish the main character would appear soon". (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: My favorite character in that match was the second Mizukage, I think? He kept saying his own weaknesses while fighting, like "Hurry up and defeat me" or "Am I strong?" I really liked this character.

Kishimoto: Ah, that's right.

Kobayashi: This one is still a bit old-fashioned for me, though.

Kishimoto: This character was surprisingly popular.

Kobayashi: It was great, wasn't it? He kept talking and revealing his weak points, defeating his opponents one after another, while telling them to defeat him quickly.

Kishimoto: I thought it was kind of interesting.

Kobayashi: Edo Tensei was really difficult, wasn't it?

Kishimoto: Yes, well, ever since the Pain arc, Naruto has been unable to just defeat, beat, and kill people to settle things. Instead, they end with discussions. It's something you shouldn't really do in a shonen manga, so from then on, when he fights, he considers who he is up against and what kind of person they are.

Kobayashi: Like cultivated clones.

Kishimoto: Because it was something that fundamentally doesn't exist as a living being, it couldn't be defeated.

Kobayashi: Did you have the fighting puppets decided on exactly what they would be? So that's why Edo Tensei meant that Jiraiya, Hidan who was buried and Konan who was scattered didn't appear, right?

Kishimoto: I mean, I didn't want to bring back Jiraiya.

Kobayashi: Well, he was a good character and had a good way of dying.

Kishimoto: That's right. I couldn't write a better death than that one and in a sense, with Jiraiya dying, Naruto understood Sasuke's feelings about how it feels when someone important to you dies. If he were to come back, it would be a bit difficult to handle that. Also, I wanted to use Madara as a hook, so that's pretty much everything.

Kobayashi: I see, isn't that a bit of a complicated Rinne Tensei no Jutsu? Madara himself is quite complicated as well.

Kishimoto: He is resurrected through Rinne Tensei and Edo Tensei, so it's a bit complicated how it works.

Kobayashi: The forbidden technique of Edo Tensei, you see, with the element of Orochimaru, this brings out the connection with Kabuto in the battle. Throughout this, there has been a persistent push from Mr. Kishimoto and the main cast, and then there was the incident where Sakura received a love letter.

Kishimoto: This is... a mislead story, but why did I put it here? It's because if the anime continues with the war, it will soon catch up with the manga. So, I created a gap here and then moved on to the next part.

Kobayashi: There was some outrageous fortune-telling involved in this love letter incident, wasn't there?

Kishimoto: Did you also wonder what I was writing? (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: So, it's called a love letter, huh? I was wondering what I was writing. Wow, I got to hear some good behind-the-scenes stories. When you think about it, there were a lot of casualties, but why did Neji have to die in the war among the well-known characters?

Kishimoto: Well, I had decided on Hinata as the heroine, so it was quite some time ago…

Kobayashi: Ultimately

Kishimoto: So, I wanted elements that would bring Naruto and Hinata closer together. There was a scene during the Pain fight where Hinata came out and said something, but this time, Naruto consciously says he's happy to have Hinata by his side. So, there was that aspect, and that's why Neji, well, let's just say...

Kobayashi: Well, it was the trigger.

Kishimoto: Yes, well, it was like he was playing the role of Cupid, so I was a bit nervous about that. And then we basically decided on the name Boruto for their son.

Kobayashi: Is that so?

Kishimoto: Once we decided on it, Boruto was also known as Neji*, so the idea was to have him take on the name of the uncle who assisted Cupid…

*they both mean screw.

Kobayashi: Well, when I saw it, I cried a little.

Kishimoto: We decided on Neji.

Kobayashi: Is that how it turned out?

Kishimoto: So from now on, for example, this might be a bit harsh, but if I were to write a manga about Boruto, then the scenes with Neji would be important.

Kobayashi: Is it okay if I play this now? Is it alright if I go ahead with this?

Kishimoto: it's alright.

Kobayashi: Thank you. Well, this match is really amazing, so let's move on to the final battle, Naruto vs. Sasuke. I haven't been able to hear much about Sasuke until now, though.

Kishimoto: They start off as rivals and then fight at the end as rivals to close it out.

Kobayashi: What's that place called?

Kishimoto: Valley of the End.

Kobayashi: Valley of the End. It took quite a while to draw out this ending, didn't it? It's been a long time since Sasuke left, hasn't it?

Kishimoto: Yes, it has been quite a long time since Sasuke flew away.

Kobayashi: That one is definitely longer.

Kishimoto: Sasuke was sulking the whole time.

Kobayashi: He's been sulking the whole time, hasn't he?

Kishimoto: While writing, I was like, "Who is this guy?" (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Eh, did you hate Sasuke?

Kishimoto: No, there were a few parts where I was a bit more annoyed. But I think I understand what Sasuke does…

Kobayashi: Well, I understand why Sasuke does what he does.

Kishimoto: I wanted people to understand that, so I wrote it with quite a bit of emphasis, but surprisingly, I wasn't capturing Sasuke's character expressions well. I often had to tell my editor, "This isn't right; this doesn't look like Sasuke"...

Kobayashi: Isn't this part of the face a little different?

Kishimoto: It took a lot of fixing.

Kobayashi: Wow, so you were quite tormented throughout the serialization.

Kishimoto: That's right, I was pretty much tormented by Sakura and Sasuke. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: So the journey up to volume 72 was one in which you were tormented by two out of the three main characters.

Kishimoto: Yes, it was long and painful.

Kobayashi: It was difficult.

Kishimoto: And Kakashi is Kakashi, but surprisingly, since he only has one eye, it's difficult to convey expressions, ah.

Kobayashi: I see, so his expressions are halved?

Kishimoto: That's right, and that's why it was so difficult.

Kobayashi: Isn't this a cycle of hatred? We're talking about breaking the cycle of hatred, but we're actually creating more hatred, aren't we? (Kishimoto laughs)

Kishimoto: Yeah, that's right. So I was thinking about how to do it, and in the end, it really turned into a battle between men. I didn't want to resolve it with ninjutsu or anything like that. I wanted a straightforward fistfight. Gradually running out of strength and continuing to fight is, after all, the spirit of Jump. I thought, "Come on, just pull through," but somehow, it worked out.

Kobayashi: They say both of their right arms are blown off.

Kishimoto: Naruto being right-handed and Sasuke being left-handed, so he loses his left hand. In Ninjutsu, there is a tradition called Ninja Kumite where when two friends fight, they put one hand forward as a sign of reconciliation...

Kobayashi: It was a memorable scene.

Kishimoto: In the end, it seems like reconciliation is impossible or rather they're unable to due to the loss of their hands. I felt that these two didn't want to simply reconcile, nor could they, so it didn't seem like the right fit. The concept of reconciliation was similar to the conflict between Indra and Ashura, who were reincarnated. The hands of Madara and Hashirama overlapping are the representation of the symbolized reconciliation.

Kobayashi: I see.

Kishimoto: So, I expressed it this way, with the two of them above, even though they don't have hands but still.

Kobayashi: Well, sensei's character continued to suffer, but it's a great final scene. You know, these two really brought it about.

Kishimoto: We've finally made it this far. That scene has been something I've wanted to draw for a long time, and it was a scene I hinted at at the end of part one, so I'm really glad to finally be able to draw it.

Kobayashi: Yes, it's a relief, the daimyo* feudal lords are safe. This daimyo, when you look at him like this, he looks a bit like me.

Kishimoto: The cat, that's the cat I have.

Kobayashi: Did it make an appearance? Is it okay to touch on this bit? I was quite moved by this cheer battle. It was kind of…

Kishimoto: More like comrades…

Kobayashi: More like comrades… I suppose the two of them are comrades, but I feel like I'm a comrade too. In the video, the three of us were standing. Me, Oda-sensei, and Kishimoto-sensei, the three of us were standing together. (Kishimoto laughs)

Kishimoto: Well, let's do that.

Kobayashi: So you have some thoughts about it?

Kishimoto: I think everyone has their own things going on, you know, it's just like…

Kobayashi: It's clearly written here, isn't it? Friends and rivals. A serialization that we did together for 15 years.

Kishimoto: I'm grateful. I feel the same way and I want to convey those feelings to Oda-san.

Kobayashi: It's not the first time I've seen something like this, but everyone has a valuable message for sensei.

Kishimoto: That surprised me.

Kobayashi: You didn't hear about it in the volume?

Kishimoto: I wasn't informed about it.

Kobayashi: That shows that he was an incredible sensei who left behind some amazing works, and therefore a very precious teacher.

Kishimoto: Thank you.

Kobayashi: Well, there have been some announcements, like a new generation project.

Kishimoto: Yes.

Kobayashi: Do you have any plans like that for your next work?

Kishimoto: Yes, you're thinking about what you want your next work to be

Kobayashi: Their silhouettes are shown, but there is also a new generation project.

Kishimoto: The fact that the children have appeared up to this point means that that's what it means, and that I want to depict them.

Kobayashi: Seriously?

Kishimoto: Naruto also makes a few appearances, but I think that Orochimaru, who didn't appear in the final episode, and Kabuto and Karin are connected, and once it becomes clear that there's a change of generation, then it'll be over.

Kobayashi: Well, there are things that have been announced, like the new generation project and so on.

Kishimoto: That's right.

Kobayashi: Do you have any plans like that for your next work?

Kishimoto: Yes, I'm thinking about what I want to do with my next work.

Kobayashi: The silhouette is reflected but it's also a new generation project.

Kishimoto: The fact that we've included children up to this point means that that's what I want to depict.

Kobayashi: Seriously?

Kishimoto: Naruto will also make a brief appearance, but I think it will be complete once the connections with characters like Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Karin, who didn't appear in the final episode, clearly show a generational shift.

Kobayashi: Yeah, that's good. I was just thinking about Karin earlier. When I saw Karin's abilities, I honestly thought, "Wow, the teacher must be really stressed," but was that the hardest time for you? (Kishimoto laughs)

Kishimoto: It was difficult. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: I think you had a lot of free time.

Kishimoto: That's right. I was really lucky, but that was a really bad thing.

Kobayashi: It's work that requires you to sit down, after all. It's a job that you can't do without sitting down.

Kishimoto: That was painful. I think it was both the mental and physical aspects that built up a lot of stress.

Kobayashi: It's a sitting job, after all. It's a job that can't be done unless you sit.

Kishimoto: It was painful. Probably both the mental and physical aspects were affecting me, and I was quite stressed.

Kobayashi: Sir, it seems you've acquired some special abilities. In this world, I have high hopes that we might be able to see such things. Do you have any thoughts about getting something entirely new from Kishimoto-sensei in the next world?

Kishimoto: Well, of course, I thought about taking a break, but I just can't seem to settle down. So I called in an assistant and we talked together, and I guess I'll ask him to help me with some work and we talked about it.

Kobayashi: Is that so? So it's like it's actually moving around a bit.

Kishimoto: That's right, so I want it to be like this, and like this, and with this setting and the main character is like this.

Kobayashi: What's the story about?

Kishimoto: That's a total secret.

Kobayashi: Well, right.

Kishimoto: It's a bit of a secret.

Kobayashi: It's a bit of a secret, isn't it? Is it wrong to ask about this sort of thing? For example, will it be in Jump?

Kishimoto: Weekly Jump.

Kobayashi: Weekly Shōnen Jump, etc.?

Kishimoto: Well, I want to, but only if I have the stamina.

Kobayashi: There's also G, you know.

Kishimoto: First, the surgery. (Kobayashi laughs)

Kobayashi: Ah, yes. That's the best. You should definitely be able to find more time than before. First, please take it easy, really. I know there are many things that make it hard to relax. So, let's talk about the highlights of the movie at the end. Please make sure to mention them here.

Kishimoto: I thought it was something I'd never done before, and if I was going to do it anyway, I should try a theme that hadn't been done in the main story or the original work, or something like that, so I thought it would seem new and interesting, and so I embarked on the adventure of trying my hand at a romance.

Kobayashi: It was more like a straightforward romance than an adventure. I got to see it, and actually, there's a work here that was written after the serialization ended. It's a gorgeous two-page one-shot.

Kishimoto: It took a while, so please check out those two pages. Kobayashi: Everyone please watch the movie too.

Kishimoto: I want you to watch this. Looking at this, well, I don't know if I should say it, but there are parts that were lacking in the manga that might still be completed, so I wanted to do it with Hinata.

Kobayashi: Please take a look, everyone. So, is this Naruto 10, which means it's cloe to the new year? Haven't they? Is this coming out next year?

Kishimoto: Yes, I think this will be quite moving next year.

Kobayashi: Will we also be able to see the colored illustrations by sensei?

Kishimoto: Yes, you can see it there. I haven't shown you my old setting materials and such.

Kobayashi: You were hiding it a bit today, huh? Well, I guess that's over there, over there, right?

Kishimoto: No, no, no, that's not the case. I just had a few notes lying around.

Kobayashi: Earlier, during the notebook time, it didn't come out easily.

Kishimoto: No, no, no, it's not good at all.

For some reason, Kishimoto's demonstration and whatever comment he and Kobayashi were making were muted in the video linked, sorry about that.

[sneezemonster15]

Kishimoto -

Miura -

Araki -

Btw Araki uses the word 'Utsukushi' for beautiful men, which is the same term Orochimaru uses to describe Sasuke.

Nagisa Oshima -

J. R. Ackerley (he was a prolific writer who worked for BBC, he was openly homosexual in a homophobic England of the mid twentieth century) -

Anti SNS Sasuke Stans - Remember, Kishimoto comes from a very small village and is from a different generation altogether; so the odds of him penning anything even close to the “sexual categorizations” of the post-modern western sexual-domains are less than the second coming of Christ.

Me-

[elly-sea]

In Masashi Kishimoto's December 2014 interview with FujiTV, he shed some light on his early planning process for the Sasuke - Itachi backstory.

Subtitled to the best of my abilities, but any corrections would be welcome :)

Full interview is available at:

[fullscoreshenanigans]

#i am shooting laser eyes directly at shonen jump with their barbaric working conditions and crunch times. they are the true enemy

Say this on discord repeatedly but so viscerally real

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 5 | "Tracks to the Neverland" December 2020 Exhibition Interview)

(TPN Wiki Page on Chapter 134 | @TPNManga's translation of WSJ's Editorial Department Note)

(October 2020 Series Completion Commemorative Interview)

(Discussion of Dragonball author Akira Toriyama's and One Piece author Eiichiro Oda's work schedules | Sample Schedule of an Anonymous Weekly Mangaka | Naruto author Masashi Kishimoto's typical schedule)

(Notes by @1000sunnygo on this post)

This is why I personally can't fault Shirai for ending the series when he did while trying to maintain his sense of artistic integrity, even with my complaints about the back half of the series.

escape arc is easily the best tpn arc and there are critiques to be had about the pacing in later arcs but if you say everything post-escape is unoquivocally bad you are simply wrong and dumb i'm so sorry

[philosophicalparadox]

Interesting Itachi notes

(And a bit more about his ancestors because it’s relevant)

//Tumblr is letting me edit posts again, so some info has been corrected for//

Alright, well, I did not anticipate my Kisame list to be so popular — apparently some of that was NOT common fandom knowledge lol. So I figure why not do the same with his partner, especially after I’ve done labors of love to find this information over the years lol

Starting with VA’s first, once again the boy gets duped by translators. I will forever not forgive Crispin Freeman for not cutting loose like he usually does (I.e. Alucard from Hellsing) because it would have matched the energy of the way Itachi speaks in Japanese so much better lol. Contrary to English speaking fandom interpretation, Itachi talks in Japanese pretty much exactly the way Sasuke does (sassy, scathingly sarcastic, dramatic), minus the cussing and with a few more odd word choices. Itachi is fond of, not puns, precisely, but using words and phrases that have deliberately obscure or double meanings. Which is terribly ironic because he’s very direct and to-the-point about a lot of things; he does in fact mince his words, but he also doesn’t waste time talking at length unless he needs to explain something, but even then he is usually pretty short and almost, if not actually, rude about it. He also is, true to fandom interpretation, rather philosophical, which gives him a pretty idiosyncratic way of speaking; he’s bordering on rudely casual (with other Akatsuki members) if not outright being a bratty lil shit (Kisame, and when he’s dissing Madara to Sasuke) but he’s also patently well versed. He reminds me the most of Sasuke and Kakashi when he talks if that helps lol it’s so hard to explain

HOWEVER there’s one exception right at the beginning: when Itachi encounters Kakashi during their trip to Konoha, his entire (informal, rude-ish) register changes, and kicks up to a more polite but still familiar one. He essentially talks to Kakashi like he’s an old colleague, which he is, but that’s really the first clue we get about that. Asuma amd Kurenai also get a formal attention, but it’s more distant; I can only imagine Kisame had lots of questions about that after the fact lolll.

In addition to this, Itachi refers to Jiraiya as -sama, the highest order of honorific, which isn’t unusual for Jiraiya, since he’s a Sannin, however, Itachi pointedly is quite rude to and about Orochimaru, and appears to avoid even saying his name, where possible. This may be to avoid the impression of anything like closeness, since dropping an honorific can mean either disrespect or closeness such that it isn’t a requirement.

According to the Hiden and interviews with Kishimoto He’s basically a pseudo-piscivarian, in that he largely prefers to eat vegetables, especially crunchy ones like cabbage and peppers, and actually detests beef and most meat* . That said, we see him eat fish and chicken in canon, so he probably doesn’t mind white meats. Consensus on pork is non existent. He also, yes, prefers sweet foods, but also likes bitter things. His least favorite flavor profiles are Umami/savory (beef, mushrooms), acidic or spicy food and anything oily or fatty. (He shares the latter in common with Sasuke, though he’s the polar opposite in pretty much every other regard.)

His “hobby” according to Kishimoto is visiting traditional tea houses/shops. He really likes tea, and the relaxed atmosphere is soothing to him. Conversely, and unsurprisingly, he doesn’t like visiting bars or other “crowded” places.

Speaking of hobbies and habits, yes, Itachi does like to cook and clean. There’s canon evidence for this, but Kishi also has confirmed it in interviews.

The Itachi Shinden novel implies that he’s at least baseline knowledgeable about traditional medicine. (More on that later) Whether that’s normal-ish knowledge for ninja, an Uchiha thing, or a quirk of his is unclear. Kakashi has similar knowledge, and he’s a total bookworm, so perhaps they are both simply well read lol.

Maybe it’s well known, but I don’t often see people acknowledging that Itachi 1, specializes in gathering Intel, and 2. That he worked closely with Konoha’s intel division consequently. This is acknowledged directly late in the series by Aoba, Itachi’s genin sensei, who also works for Intel under Ibiki.

I’ve mentioned this in another post, but his name has a triple/quadruple meaning— “Itachi” does translate to “weasel”, but it’s also an old catch-all term for any shape-shifting Youkai, though in particular it’s often associated with Tanuki. It’s also a derogatory term for people that are dubiously trustworthy or whose intentions aren’t always clear, as well as a descriptive word whose best English equivalent is the word “skulking”, or moving around like a fox, acting benign or innocent but clearly up to something.

As a related aside, the in-canon reason for his name probably comes from Izuna, in that he was possibly named after him. “Izuna” translates as “stoat/ermine” — like a mini weasel but far more vicious lol. The name Izuna has multiple meanings also, but is a far more common old name because ermines, the winter form of a stoat, were prized for their snow white pelt— consequently, “Izuna” as a descriptor refers to something that’s pure white, or something that’s easily tainted because of its purity (like ermine pelts, which stain easily).** Which gives Madara’s name, meaning “speckled/blotched/piebald/particolour” at the surface and has a double, derogatory meaning of “blemished, scarred, (as by smallpox)”*** some degree of irony lol.

Back to Itachi though —

Let’s talk about his fighting style: there’s no official data about this, but if you watch martial arts enough it’s fairly obvious that Itachi specifically uses a very Aikido inspired style— aikido is a Japanese martial art that began in Korea, and it specializes in non-lethal disarmament by way of holding or locking an opponent into a particular position where they can’t do shit until they exhaust themselves or give up lol. It’s also a defensive style that relies on the opponent doing most of the attacking, with, again, the intent of the Aikido being to arrest their movements or otherwise disarm them principally by using their own attacks/momentum against them, and by feinting dodges to direct their attacks into prime grappling/locking position. Philosophically, Aikido strongly emphasizes non-violence and is more of a self defense art. A classic example of this that he (sort of) uses in canon is when he (as his fake self) locked Kakashi’s clone into a neck hold that forced eye contact — that is based on an actual move in Aikido that is designed to communicate intent and read the opponent’s, but in his case it just happens to work fantastically with his abilities lol. Probably the reason Kishi chose it as the basis of his moveset.

Speaking of abilities, again there’s no official data on it, but from canon interpretation it’s pretty clear that Itachi’s Genjutsu abilities (especially the Tsukiyomi) rely on the opponent seeing him, not the other way around. He can be totally blind (and in the manga at least he mostly is) and his powers still work fine as long as they seek out eye contact with him. Nearest we can tell the base sharingan works in a similar way, but also requires the user to at least be able to see their victims chakra; it can however be used to enhance other genjutsu that doesn’t originate from the Sharingan itself, as evidenced by Sai’s encounter with Sasuke, so 🤷‍♀️. Who knows how it works; I was just thinking about the fact Itachi doesn’t need hand signs to cast a genjutsu even with just his base sharingan active. He could’ve been bluffing Naruto, but if it’s true that the Sharingan can enhance a genjutsu already cast, it would lend itself to explaining that ability. (Or, in HC territory, maybe he’s taught himself to project some of the Sharingan’s power, much like Shisui could.)

Evidence that Itachi’s illness is probably respiratory comes from two things — in the Shinden novel, he uses an herb called Japanese Knotweed in English, which has medicinal uses principally related to the lungs and heart, since it’s a bronchodilator, and two, from the fact that any time a character in Naruto is severely ill they all seem to have respiratory diseases lol. Hayate dying of what looks like tuberculosis, side characters on their sickbeds with coughs, etc. there’s a cultural and industry reason why that’s so — one, lung diseases are ✨dramatic✨ and two, just like how the Victorians romanticized “consumption” (aka, tuberculosis) Japan did something very similar after an outbreak hit Kyoto in the late 1800’s, probably from a different strain brought by Dutch ships. So the image is engrained.

To add a few notes:

* The fact Itachi hates beef and isn’t fond of meat has…potentially interesting, implications. Meat, especially beef,= masculinity in Japan, so being vegetarian has long since been a very UnMasculine thing to do, and therefore is associated with cross dressers and Queer men in Japan. That he also appreciates feminine pastimes like cooking, cleaning, and tea houses (and by extension ceremonies) sets up a bit of a queer code for him lol.

** I’m not done talking about Izuna lol because, as you’d expect, it’s very often a girl name. Because yknow, purity culture stuff. Yeah Japan had it too.

*** a historical note about Madara because I just can’t justify making another list for him, 1. Madara is a common name for calico cats, especially rare male calicos, and 2. It’s not surprising that there’s a ton of correlation between Madara and historical Nobunaga, but I honestly think he got his name partly because of a stand out feature Nobunaga had — he was severely scarred from smallpox as a child. So it’s possible, though there aren’t historical accounts of it, that he might’ve been jeered at with the derogatory form of Madara. Certainly Oda Nobunaga’s clan fucking hated him lol

Anyway, I’m done for now unless I think of something else. Do with this information what you will. 🕊️

[kakashihasibs]

Obito wanted Kakashi to destroy the seal on his heart so he must have been fairly sure he'd be unable to convince Kakashi. Unless, he really did hope to convince him and his backup plan was just explaining what he needed Kakashi to do.

I can't believe Obito went from being so angry with, and dead set on, killing Kakashi to trying so hard to, in his mind, save Kakashi — give Kakashi his own literal paradise. With the promise of Obito being there exactly as Kakashi wants him!

[sourinartt]

kishimoto is really doing everything to get sns into boruto.

the characters now act like sasuke/naruto did and they celebrate and ship it but there are still people who deny sns

sarada is doing everything possible so that no one attacks boruto, and even though people tell her that she can't protect a "traitor" in that way, she still continues to protect him. for people, this is really the peak of romance and it is "clear to the tongue that sarada likes boruto." but if naruto does the same to sasuke, he is simply a madman

there's also a new pair of lovers, who, despite being enemies and in love, have to kill each other. why don't they do it? for love. but if naruto/sasuke is doing this throughout the entire manga, is it simply a very "strong" friendship or are they brothers and you are a fetishist

They are stealing tropes like the moon and the sun and this is what Boruto says to Mizuki and there are people who could even see that this seemed more like a very loving act

also since memorable times Kishimoto is making boruto like a son of Narusasunaru, naruto gets into an argument with sasuke about whether boruto has his appearance or sasuke's. (even though sasuke didn't give birth to him) In the end, Sasuke ends up taking better care of him and even calms the anger that Bort had towards his father and they all end up fighting as a family against villains.

And if we talk about appearance, nh is crazy about this topic, they bring up an interview where Kishimoto talks about bort's appearance where he only talks about his hair. and all so the world knows that boruto is hnt's son, but this doesn't even matter to Kishimoto. not when it's the same one who emphasizes that boruto looks like his father, with a sasuke-like personality, then makes boruto be called "uchiha kid" and then sasuke talks about how boruto still resembles his father

An interview is nothing when your own creator has always been known to contradict himself almost always, manga is where he has time to reflect, think and draw and kishimoto just made boruto a sns kid and other characters can see that.

It's funny how when they run out of ideas to continue with the manga, they take a step back to take sns as inspiration...

he will never surpass them....

[guidaozongshi]

I know Kishimoto probably wrote sns gay on accident but sometimes I see things and it look on purpose like double suicide. No way he didn't know what it meant.

I strongly disagree with the idea that Kishimoto unintentionally wrote Naruto and Sasuke's relationship with homoerotic and romantic elements.

While I am in disagreement with many of Kishimoto's writing choices, claiming that he or even the editors working at Jump don't understand what he is writing about is just condescending.

Firstly, let's make one thing clear: no Shonen mangaka since the 1990s has ever unintentionally put homoerotic subtext in their work.

Statements like :

" Shonen mangakas accidentally make their male characters gay because they can't develop their female characters "

Is simply not true.

Shonen Jump deliberately allows homoerotic subtext in their works because it is profitable; it attracts a considerable female audience, i.e., fujoshi, to be interested in their series. This is not a recent phenomenon but something that can be traced back to the 1980s with the advent of series like Gundam, which at that time had a primarily female audience due to the intense personal relationships between the cast.

Take this snippet from an interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of Gundam

What I want modern day Gundam fans to understand is that Gundam wasn't nurtured by the PlaModel enthusiasts. It was young women who first came to the after recording studio, and Gundam is a work that began with their support. And it was a work that had no connection to the popularity of Gundam PlaModels. So I think the most important thing is creating a work that will attract those kind of girls to it again. I don't think movies as an entertainment industry can succeed without touching on that kind of fundamental portion.

The girls he is referring to are those people who are invested in the emotionally charged male-male relationships of the series.

A lot of people mistakenly believe that Weekly Shonen Jump solely targets boys, which is understandable given its name. However, the strategy of WSJ has continuously evolved alongside its readership, and for many of its series, more than half of the audience is female. In fact, many of its titles, such as Prince of Tennis, Kuroko no Basuke, Haikyuu, etc, have a primary female audience, you can guess why. The homoeroticism and shoujo-esque elements are deliberately added.

To quote a blog that does scholarly work on manga

I also want to make it clear i think any analysis of shonen manga especially Jump manga being soooo friendly to fujoshi and m/m shipping due to misogyny in writing falls flat when you think the authors and editors are thick headed and have no idea how the readers could possibly get that kind of interpretation from their works when Jump has been a STAPLE of the comiket yaoi corner ever since the mid-80’s and their whole shtick is being hyper aware of reader opinion. they know and have always known how female readers read into the works and authors who enter jump only get more and more savvy about how to feed into it. You can’t see the accidental kiss gag and trick yourself into thinking Kishimoto didn’t know what he was doing with that

Now that we have made it clear that whatever written was deliberate, let's discuss whether Kishimoto wanted to portray Sasuke and Naruto in a romantic relationship. This is something I cannot give definitive answers on.. as there are certainly mixed messages

Once again to quote the same blog

When talking about fujobaiting boys manga from now on i will have to put an asterisk on Naruto bc yes i know Kishimoto knows what he’s doing but this really isn’t normal behavior

-

The way that he does everything from being self aware by having the boys get called a slur ( homophobic ) for trying to save Sasuke to the lol wouldn’t it be gross and funny if Kakashi and Gai were gay for each other moments it all contrasted by Sasuke and Naruto playing out a fantasy novel marketed to girls where Sasuke (love interest) turns to the dark side and Naruto (the protagonist) misses him and yearns to have their time together back and is conflicted about the idea of having to fight him one day and the person who comforts him the most during this is Sakura (secondary love interest who gets the short end of the stick) like they can try to repeat the line that they’re like brothers but Naruto doesn’t have siblings like 🤨 how is he sure 🤨🤨 simultaneously to all this Gai and Kakashi are called gross old men for giving each other piggyback rides

But you are right. Kishimoto invokes a lot of romantic tropes that are impossible to ignore altogether or even dismiss as a simple fujobait, and concludes that he never intended to portray Naruto-Sasuke in a romantic light in the text. Libraries worth of content has been written about their relationship so I wouldn't be saying anything new that hasn't been said before.

As you mentioned, the prospect of Shinjū (心中), meaning "double suicide" is invoked between Naruto and Sasuke. At a point in their relationship, Sasuke stands against Konoha. He asks for an ultimatum from Naruto whether he would kill Sasuke to save Konoha or be killed by him, and Naruto says he wants neither. But they will inevitably have to face off against each other because of their obligations as a Uchiha annihilated by Konoha and a Jinchuuriki bound to Konoha. It's also inevitable that when they both clash, they will have died together since they are both equally matched in power. Naruto is ready to face Sasuke's hatred against Konoha and to die along with him. Naruto then says that if the above happens, in the next life they would be able to meet each other without their respective obligations.

This is an obvious romantic trope, especially how straightforward it's played in Naruto that doesn't allow for any other interpretation.

In Japanese theater and literary tradition, double suicides are the simultaneous suicides of two lovers whose personal feelings (人情, ninjō) or love for one another are at odds with giri, social conventions or familial obligations.

Lovers committing double suicide believed that they would be united again in heaven, a view supported by feudal teaching in Edo period Japan, which taught that the bond between two lovers is continued into the next world.

Dying together, because of their respective obligations, despite their feelings for each other, with the hope of being able to unite again in the next life. Is this literally not Naruto and Sasuke?

When one talks of the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, the Land of Waves arc is considered one of the most pivotal points in the trajectory of their story. Their relationship is frequently made analogous to that of Haku and Zabuza.

And one of the most controversial points I will make is that Kishimoto added blatant romantic intent in Haku and Zabuza's relationship, portraying them as lovers, to make their relationship resemble wakashūdō.

In the warrior (samurai) class it was customary for a boy in the wakashū age category to undergo training in the martial arts by apprenticing to a more experienced adult man. The relationship was based on the model of a typically older nenja, paired with a typically younger chigo. The man was permitted, if the boy agreed, to take the boy as his lover until he came of age; this relationship, often formalized in a "brotherhood contract", was expected to be exclusive, with both partners swearing to take no other (male) lovers.

Wakashū were prominently featured in Edo-period woodcuts, where they are often distinguishable from the female beauties in the same pictures only by a sword or the shaved spot on the crown of their head. In erotic prints ( shunga ), they are often depicted as more feminine than their female partners.

You can't possibly believe that Kishimoto, who is known to imbue Japanese historical and mythological motifs throughout the series, does this by accident.

Why would Kishimoto make Naruto and Sasuke's relationship be compared to that of Haku and Zabuza, two people with heavy romantic implications? It also doesn't just stop at Land of Waves. Even the ending scene of the series, where Naruto and Sasuke lie together, is made to be a direct parallel to the final moments between Haku and Zabuza.

I am not condoning 'shipping' Zabuza and Haku at all, and I think people have the right to be repulsed by a romantic reading of their relationship, but this is a very obvious observation.

Even to an average viewer without any shipping intentions, Zabuza and Haku's relationship has always been weird and it has spawned countless discussions speculating the nature of it

Kishimoto could have easily used a less controversial and more recognisable platonic relationship as the one that onsets the trajectory of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, but he didn't.

Why?

Decide for yourself.