Masashi Kishimoto, the Naruto series’s original creator, will be taking over as story writer for the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga.
As the new story of Boruto unfolds, several changes and new directions were made, such as the joining of Masashi Kishimoto in the production team.
Still on the sequel run are the Hidden leaf’s legendary trio, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, in more mature roles.
Masashi Kishimoto initially supervised the kick-off of the sequel. However, Ukyo Kodachi took over the writing duties, while Mikio Ikemoto made the illustrations.
A fresher direction from the master
To date, the Boruto series has already released 51 chapters. This time, it will be heading into brand new territory as the original creator will now be maneuvering the story.
He is expected to take a more direct approach as he will now be handling the writing and drafting duties. The matter is for the sequel manga’s next chapter and onwards.
NEWS: Masashi Kishimoto Takes Over Writing the BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS Manga
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— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) November 16, 2020
As per an announcement posted on the official Twitter account of the series, Chapter 52 will be Kishimoto’s kick-off. Kishimoto will be directly writing and storyboarding for the series starting November 21 in Japan.
As the previous writer Kodachi departing the project, the series’ future will now rely on Kishimoto. On the other hand, Ikemoto will still illustrate.
Boruto’s full statement
As translated by @Abdul_S17 on Twitter, the statement reads, “With regards to the manga, Boruto, with the publication of Boruto Chapter 52 in V-Jump December issue (on sale November 21), the structure of production will be changed. Work will start from the beginning with accordance to schedule.” It further stated its thanks to Ukyo Kodachi, who is about to depart the series, for his hard work.
“The serialization from henceforth will be following the original drafts of Masashi Kishimoto-sensei,” added by the post.
Meanwhile, Kishimoto’s previous manga was titled Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru, wrapped-up in Weekly Shonen Jump in March 2020. It’s clear now that the legend will have more time to be hands-on with his original series.
Image courtesy of IGN/YouTube Screenshot