If you are a manga and anime fan, then there’s no need for an introduction to Masashi Kishimoto and the iconic character Naruto. It is considered one of the best Shonen universes in Japanese anime loved by fans all over the world.
Masashi Kishimoto initially brought Naruto to life through a one-shot manga in 1997, subsequently securing its place as a weekly series in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. Kishimoto’s manga Naruto revolves around a determined young ninja orphan, who has the power of a nine-tailed fox god locked in his body, and his journey from a badly behaved child to a formidable ninja leader.
This sweeping saga unfolds across 72 volumes and 700 chapters, its resonance extending to an anime TV series, cinematic adaptations, video games, and novels. Its literary impact is profound, ranking among the highest-selling works, transcending not only the realms of comics or manga but literature in general.
However, there are a lot of different and interesting characters in Naruto. So, you ever wonder? Would Naruto be a completely different story if it was told from another character’s point of view? Kishimoto did. And he chose a completely different character as a substitute for Naruto.
Who Would Masashi Kishimoto Choose to Tell a Different Version of Naruto’s Story?
In an interview with NYCC, Kishimoto came up with a potential sequel from Jiraiya’s point of view.
During the interview, he asked about his choice to tell a different version of the Naruto story and how would the story be different if he told it from another character’s point of view. He replied that:
I suppose one possibility would be to write the story from Sasuke’s perspective, or even the mentors, the teachers, especially like Jiraiya, because there’s a generational difference there too.
He explained his thoughts on Naruto‘s different version.
This actually just came to me but, for example, if I were to draw the story from Jiraiya’s viewpoint, from what we’ve already seen of Jiraya he’s very… not so much arrogant, but overconfident, blusterous, and very, very skilled.
But there was a time when he was still young, when he didn’t really know much and he was kind of dumb too. So it’d be interesting to show that contrast. Also, Jiraiya grew up in a time when the jutsu that we know now in the current Naruto worldview had not been refined, or even developed in some cases. So I think it would be fun to show that gap.
He added.
Also Read: The Real Life Character Naruto’s Masashi Kishimoto Based Everyone’s Favorite Waifu Hinata on
Why Did Misashi Kishimoto Choose Jiraiya as an Alternative for Naruto?
In the interview, a Japanese TV series about an orphan girl, Oshin was an inspiration for him to draw the same plot for Jiraiya. He told:
In fact, there’s a very famous TV series in Japan called Oshin. I’d forgotten this aspect of that show until now, but in the very beginning of Oshin, you see the woman as a very old woman, very rich, and all of a sudden it flashes back to when she was a kid and she was poor and destitute. It kind of triggers this thought in you, ‘Oh, how did she get there?’ That’s the kind of story I think would be fun to draw.
While there’s no guarantee he’ll ever create such a thing, it’s still cool to read about his ideas.
Source: Anime News Network
