Masashi Kishimoto

In this Japanese name, the family name is "Kishimoto".
Masashi Kishimoto
Born Kishimoto Masashi
岸本 斉史
November 8, 1974 (1974-11-08) (age 37)
Nagi, Okayama, Japan
Residence Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Occupation Manga artist
Known for Naruto
Relatives Seishi Kishimoto (twin-brother)

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 666 Satan (O-Parts Hunter) 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]

Contents

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 95 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

While as a child, Kishimoto enjoyed reading manga, he was inspired to write one after seeing a promotional image for the film Akira. This made him analyze the artwork of Akira's original author, Katsuhiro Otomo, as well as Akira Toriyama, another artist he admired. Realizing both had their own style regarding the designs, Kishimoto decided to draw manga while crafting his own images.[9] 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.[10] Kishimoto cites Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball series as one of his influences, noting that Goku, the protagonist of Dragon Ball, was a key factor when creating Naruto Uzumaki due to his energetic and mischievous personality.[11] When redesigning three characters for the series, Kishimoto cites The Matrix, one of his favorite movies, as an inspiration for such outfits.[12] He has also cited Yoshihiro Togashi as one of his favorite manga authors,[13] while the manga Sasuke by Sanpei Shirato, a series which Kishimoto likes, inspired Kishimoto in the development of the character Sasuke Uchiha.[14]

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.[15] 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.[16]

Manga

Guides

Artbooks

Novels

Other

References

  1. ^ 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. 
  2. ^ SHONEN JUMP talks with NARUTO creator MASASHI KISHIMOTO: The Hokage Speaks, American Shonen Jump (May 2006)
  3. ^ Naruto Vol. 24, p. 169.
  4. ^ Naruto vol. 6, p. 66.
  5. ^ "The Origin of Naruto - Naruto Shippuden - Official U.S Site" (Press release). Vizmedia/Shueisha. 11 August 2009. http://naruto.viz.com/manga.php. 
  6. ^ "USA Today's Top 150 Best Seller list features Viz Media's Shonen Jump's Naruto manga at number 29" (Press release). Viz Media. 7 March 2006. http://www.viz.com/news/newsroom/2006/03_naruto.php. 
  7. ^ a b "Naruto Nabs Quill Award". ICv2. 2006-10-12. http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/9450.html. Retrieved 2008-04-07. 
  8. ^ 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. 
  9. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2006). Naruto, Volume 10. Viz Media. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-4215-0240-3. 
  10. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 138. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9. 
  11. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 139. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9. 
  12. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: The Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 127. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9. 
  13. ^ 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. 
  14. ^ "Interview: Tracking Down the Source". Shonen Jump Naruto Collector 3 (Viz Media). August 2007. 
  15. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. pp. 112–114. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9. 
  16. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (2007). Uzumaki: the Art of Naruto. Viz Media. p. 118. ISBN 1-4215-1407-9. 
  17. ^ 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. 
  18. ^ 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. 
  19. ^ 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. 
  20. ^ 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. 
  21. ^ 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. 
  22. ^ 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. 
  23. ^ Kishimoto, Masashi (4 April 2008) (in Japanese). PAINT　JUMP　Art　of　NARUTO－ナルト－. Naruto. Japan: Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-782168-0. 
  24. ^ 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. 

External links

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