Masashi Kishimoto (岸本 斉史, Kishimoto Masashi?, born 8 November 1974[1]) is a Japanese
manga artist, well known for creating the
manga series
Naruto. His younger twin brother,
Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series
O-Parts Hunter (
666 Satan) and
Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (
Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (
Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on
Naruto.
[2][3][4]
Works
Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was
Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to
Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the
Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of
Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－?), published in
Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a
Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of
Karakuri in
Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of
Naruto began publication in
Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.
Naruto is still ongoing, with
more than 52 volumes and just over 50 released in English, and has sold over 100 million copies in Japan and over 4 million copies were sold in the US
[5] followed by over 93 million copies worldwide (outside Japan and United States) as of volume 36, also being adapted into two successful
anime series. The
Naruto manga series has become one of
Viz Media's top properties,
[6] accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in 2006.
[7] The seventh volume of Viz's release became the first manga to ever win a
Quill Award when it claimed the award for "Best Graphic Novel" in 2006.
[7] In 2009, Kishimoto designed an extra costume for the video game character Lars Alexandersson for
Tekken 6, and in 2010 this character appeared in
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 as part of a special cross-promotion.
[8] In 2010, Kishimoto also produced a one-shot
baseball manga,
Bench (ベンチ, Benchi?), as part of
Jump's "Top of the Super Legend" project, a series of six one-shot manga by famed
Weekly Shōnen Jump artists, also including
Sorachi Hideaki,
Konomi Takeshi,
Usuta Kyosuke,
Akimoto Osamu, and
Akira Toriyama.
Influences
When Kishimoto was originally creating the
Naruto series, he looked to other
shōnen manga for influences while attempting to make his characters as unique as possible.
[9] Kishimoto cites
Akira Toriyama's
Dragon Ball series as one of these influences, noting that
Son Goku, the protagonist of
Dragon Ball, was a key factor when creating
Naruto Uzumaki due to his energetic and mischievous personality.
[10] When redesigning three characters for the series, Kishimoto cites
The Matrix, one of his favorite movies, as an inspiration for such outfits.
[11] He has also cited
Yoshihiro Togashi as one of his favorite manga authors,
[12] while the manga
Sasuke by
Sanpei Shirato, a series which Kishimoto likes, inspired Kishimoto in the development of the character
Sasuke Uchiha.
[13]
When drawing the characters, Kishimoto follows a five-step process that he consistently follows: concept and rough sketch, drafting, inking, shading, and coloring. These steps are followed when he is drawing the actual manga and making the color illustrations that commonly adorn the cover of
tankōbon, the cover of
Weekly Shōnen Jump, or other media, but the toolkit he utilizes occasionally changes.
[14] For instance, he utilized an
airbrush for one illustration for a
Weekly Shōnen Jump cover, but decided not to use it for future drawings largely due to the cleanup required.
[15]
Manga
- Karakuri one-shot (1996, Hop Step Award winner, published in Hop Step Award Selection 18 ('95~'96) (1996), Akamaru Jump Winter (1997), and Naruto: The Official Premium Fanbook (2009))
- Naruto pilot (1997, published in Akamaru Jump Summer (1997) and Naruto: The Official Fanbook (2002))
- Karakuri (April 1998 – May 1998, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
- Naruto (November 1999 – ongoing, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
- Bench one-shot (October 2010, published in Weekly Shōnen Jump)
Books
- Naruto: First Official Data Book (NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·臨の書]キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Naruto Hiden: Rin no Sho Kyarakutā Ofisharu Dēta Book?, lit. "Naruto [Secret Book: Record of Confrontation] Character Official Data Book")[16]
- Naruto: The Official Fanbook (NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·の書]オフォシャルファンBOOK, Naruto Hiden: Hyō no Sho Ofisharu Fan Book?, lit. "Naruto [Secret Book: Record of Warriors] Official Fan Book")[17]
- The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki (岸本斉史画集 UZUMAKI, Kishimoto Masashi Gashū: Uzumaki?, lit. "The Art of Masashi Kishimoto: Uzumaki")[18]
- Naruto: Second Official Data Book (NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·闘の書]キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Naruto Hiden: Tō no Sho Kyarakutā Ofisharu Dēta Book?, lit. "Naruto [Secret Book: Record of Battle] Character Official Data Book")[19]
- Paint Jump: Art of Naruto (PAINT JUMP Art of NARUTO－ナルト－?)[20]
- Naruto: Third Official Data Book (NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·者の書]キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Naruto Hiden: Sha no Sho Kyarakutā Ofisharu Dēta Book?, lit. "Naruto [Secret Book: Record of Someone] Character Official Data Book")[21]
- The Art of Naruto: Naruto (NARUTO―ナルト―イラスト集 NARUTO, Naruto Irasuto-shū: Naruto?, lit. "Naruto Illustration Collection: Naruto")[22]
- Naruto: The Official Premium Fanbook (NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·皆の書]オフィシャルプレミアムファンBOOK, Naruto Hiden: Kai no Sho Ofisharu Puremiamu Fan Book?, lit. "Naruto [Secret Book: Record of Everyone] Official Premium Fan Book")[23]
Other
- Tekken 6 (2009, guest character designer)
References
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2002-10-04) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·兵の書]オフォシャルファンBOOK. Japan: Shueisha. p. 205. ISBN 4-08-873321-5.
- ^ SHONEN JUMP talks with NARUTO creator MASASHI KISHIMOTO: The Hokage Speaks, American Shonen Jump (May 2006)
- ^ Naruto Vol. 24, p. 169.
- ^ Naruto vol. 6, p. 66.
- ^ Vizmedia/Shueisha (11 August 2009). "The Origin of Naruto - Naruto Shippuden - Official U.S Site". Press release. http://naruto.viz.com/manga.php.
- ^ Viz Media (7 March 2006). "USA Today's Top 150 Best Seller list features Viz Media's Shonen Jump's Naruto manga at number 29". Press release. http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2006/03_naruto.php.
- ^ a b "Naruto Nabs Quill Award". ICv2. 2006-10-12. http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/9450.html. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ^ Ciolek, Todd (5 August 2009). "The X Button Guilty Motivation". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/the-x-button/2009-08-05. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 138. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 139. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: The Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 127. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (December 4, 2009) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·皆の書]オフィシャルプレミアムファンBOOK. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. p. 74–81. ISBN 978-4-08-874834-4.
- ^ "Interview: Tracking Down the Source". Shonen Jump Naruto Collector 3 (Viz Media). August 2007.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. pp. 112–114. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 118. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 July 2002) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·臨の書]キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-873288-X.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 October 2002) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·兵の書]オフォシャルファンBOOK. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-873321-5.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2 July 2004) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト― 岸本斉史画集 UZUMAKI. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-873706-7.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 April 2005) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·闘の書]キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 4-08-873734-2.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 April 2008) (in Japanese). PAINT JUMP Art of NARUTO－ナルト－. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-782168-0.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 September 2008) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·者の書]キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-874247-2.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (8 July 2009) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―イラスト集 NARUTO. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-874823-8.
- ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 December 2009) (in Japanese). NARUTO―ナルト―[秘伝·皆の書]オフィシャルプレミアムファンBOOK. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-874834-4.
External links
| Persondata |
| Name | Kishimoto, Masashi |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
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| Date of birth | 8 November 1974 |
| Place of birth | Nagi, Okayama, Japan |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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Masashi Kishimoto
