Development
During the 90s, new manga author Masashi Kishimoto sought to write a one-shot chapter that would feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of Naruto for the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump magazine based on the idea.[3] For the serialized version, Kishimoto incorporated traits he felt made an ideal hero in the creation of Naruto: a straightforward way of thinking, a mischievous side, and attributes possessed by Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise. Aiming to keep Naruto "simple and stupid",[4]Kishimoto avoided modeling him after anyone in particular, instead conceiving of him as naïve with a dark side resulting from his harsh past. Despite this, he is always optimistic, a trait Kishimoto said makes this character unique.[4] By and large, Naruto's personality is childish; the creator tried to convey this trait in his illustrations. Kishimoto notes as an example of this the cover of volume 10, where Kishimoto depicts Naruto mimicking a turtle as a child might do.[5] Naruto was Kishimoto's first published manga, and he focused on making Naruto's facial expressions consistent in difficult situations.[6] He commented: "It's rather awkward to talk about what makes Naruto appealing to audiences, but I think his being a knucklehead gives him an appeal." He believed it was Naruto's losses that made readers identify with him, although he wanted Naruto not to feel defeat again, which was his primary aim when writing the series.[7] Kishimoto has said that Naruto's burning desire to be a ninja was based on his own ambition to succeed as a manga artist.[8]
After fans likened Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno to the three main characters from Harry Potter fantasy books, Kishimoto noted that both trios began their careers in a classroom, though he added that the similarity was unintentional.[8] During the series' publication, Kishimoto married and had children. This influenced how he viewed Naruto's character. Naruto met his parents, and learned of their sacrifices in order to help him to control the Fox inside him so that he could protect their world. As a result, Naruto appreciated his life more and learned that his parents loved him, something the author wanted the character to feel based on his own experience as a father.[9] In the first chapters of the series, Kishimoto did not conceive the idea that Naruto would be the son of Minato Namikaze. However, as time passed on, the manga author made touches to Minato's face shown in the Hokage Mountain in Konoha to make them more similar to Naruto with an emphasis on their spiky hairs. However, in order to reduce too many similarities, Kushina Uzumaki's character was made to look like Naruto's face. Kishimoto's first editor, Kosuke Yahagi, praised the author for the way he handled Naruto's parents and his heritage.[10]
When first introducing Sasuke, Kishimoto wrote him as a rival who never noticed Naruto. However, as the series continued, Naruto became strong enough to be recognized by Sasuke as a rival. He also intended both as brothers due to the fact both characters suffered loneliness, something which made the readers relate to them as he noted through fan latters. By Part I's ending, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke was weakened as a result of their fight but still expected the time when the Sasuke accepted Naruto as an equal.[3]Kishimoto drastically changed Sasuke's character, and the plot, by making him one of the series' antagonists, comparing Sasuke and Naruto to the concept of yin and yang because of their notable differences. When one of the two progressed, Kishimoto made sure the other did too.[11] Before the serialization began, Kishimoto had decided the ending would feature a fight between these two characters.[12] He wanted the conflict to end with Naruto forgiving Sasuke as he had forgiven Nagato.[13] By 2013 when the series was reaching its climax, Kishimoto told the readers to look forward the final fight between the two characters.[3] In regards to the fight, Kishimoto wanted to focus on hand-to-hand combat rather than ninja techniques.[14]
Out of all the student-teacher relationships Kishimoto has created in the Naruto series, the bond between Naruto and Jiraiya is his favorite, noting that it makes drawing them "worthwhile".[15]Regarding bonds in the story, Kishimoto remarks the Jiraiya's death in his fight against Pain as in his last moments, he discovers the origin of Pain's multiple bodies and uses his last forces to send it as a message to Naruto so that he could send him as an advice to defeat him in his place.[3]
Naruto's romantic partner was decided during the early stages of the manga. Since Hinata Hyugaalways respected Naruto, even before the series' beginning, even before Iruka Umino, Kishimoto felt they were meant to be. This angered his wife who wanted Naruto to marry Sakura Haruno.[13] When Sakura was introduced, Kishimoto did not think of her as Naruto's future wife, as he saw them as being just friends and teammates, although once Hinata had appeared, the author thought of forming a love triangle between the three characters. He later regretted the love triangle as he considered Naruto a fighting series with little focus on romance, and he reiterated that "it was all about Naruto and Hinata getting married from an early stage".[16][17] Later, when seeing the staff's work to focus a film on Naruto's relationship with Hinata, he decided to oversee the project.[8] Nevertheless, he enjoyed seeing Naruto and Hinata's romantical scenes he did not write. In regards to Naruto's rank which remains as the lowest one, Genin, due to Naruto spending most of his Part II's time fighting and training, Kishimoto decided Naruto would skip the following ranks to become the Hokage, which he felt was appealing.[18]
In 2013, when Naruto was reaching its climax, Kishimoto envisioned the idea of Naruto becoming a father. This resulted in the creation Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto and Hinata's first child.[19]Kishimoto wanted Boruto to act like his father, but at the same time, have differences between each other. Despite not wishing to reveal much about Boruto due to developments of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he added that Boruto is not as direct as Naruto.[20] In the 2015 film Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto developed Boruto and Naruto's relationship from his relationship with his sons.[21]He wanted the film to depict the father and son relationship between Boruto and Naruto.[19]
In the original Japanese versions of Naruto, Naruto often ends his sentences with the addendum "-ttebayo" (which achieves an effect similar to ending a sentence with "you know?" in English). Kishimoto wanted to give Naruto a childlike catchphrase, and "dattebayo" came to mind; he believed that the phrase complements Naruto's character, and served as a verbal tic that portrayed him in a brattish manner.[22] Throughout the first episodes of the English dub version, "dattebayo" and "-ttebayo" were replaced with the phrase "Believe it!", both to mirror the effect, and to match the character's lip movements.[23]
Design
Original sketch for Naruto in Kishimoto's one-shot, Naruto, which went through several alterations for the manga series due its amount of details.
Although a real ninja wears black to be inconspicuous, Kishimoto gave Naruto an orange jumpsuit to fit the shōnen genre.[13] His wardrobe is based on clothing that Kishimoto wore when he was younger. According to him, a pre-existing design would not have made Naruto unique, whereas something original would have made him too distinctive.[22] Because Naruto is associated with spirals in terms of objects he uses, the designer incorporated swirl patterns into the costume.[24] Initial illustrations depicted Naruto in boots, but Kishimoto replaced these with sandals, because he enjoys drawing toes.[25] The goggles Naruto used to wear were replaced with a hitai-ite, or shinobi headband, because they were too time-consuming to draw.[26] One of the most difficult design choices was the color palette of Naruto's outfit.[27] The orange in his costume makes Naruto pop and the blue parts are complementary.[28]Kishimoto apologized to the anime staff for Naruto's design, as he considered it too difficult to animate.[27]
Kishimoto was satisfied with his character having blond hair and blue eyes, something rarely seen in Japanese anime or manga. This also appealed to an international readership, something the editor of the American magazine Shonen Jump has noted.[29]Of all his series' characters, Kishimoto most identified with Naruto.[29] When asked why Naruto's favorite food was ramen instead of kitsune udon, Kishimoto said that he himself likes eating ramen.[29][30] In the Naruto: Clash of Ninja video game series, Naruto is playable in various stages of the Demon Fox's manifestation, characterized by a red chakra. Kishimoto took inspiration from the games' presentation of these forms, imitating one of them for the manga cover of volume 26.[31]
When designing Naruto for his Part II appearance, Kishimoto changed his character's clothing to an orange and black top, orange pants, and black sandals.[32] He also gave him a red cape with black flames at the bottom when fighting Pain, a member of the Akatsuki.[33] He drew Naruto's forehead-protector wider to make his eyebrows easier to draw, something that had bothered him with his previous design. He also noted that Naruto's pants made the character look too childish. To remedy this, Kishimoto designed them to roll up, giving him a more mature appearance.[34] He gave Naruto this look in order to make him stand out during action scenes.[14]
Voice actors
Junko Takeuchi and Maile Flanagan, the Japanese and English actresses who voiced Naruto Uzumaki.
Although a male voice actor was sought for the Japanese adaptation of the Naruto role, the actress Junko Takeuchi was chosen instead over many male applicants.[35] Before recording the first episode, Takeuchi noticed several lines from the script that ended with exclamation marks, which helped her to define Naruto's voice. She noted difficulties in transitioning from the young Naruto to the older Naruto in the animated adaptation of Part II. She had to record the first episode of Part II when Naruto's character was older and more mature only one week after voicing the younger, immature character.[36][37] Nine years after first voicing the character, while still finding it tough to voice Naruto, Takeuchi's opinion of him changed with her feeling he was "a very reliable young man".[38] She admired his ability to prioritize and calmly make important decisions, and believes these traits will inspire viewers worldwide.[38]
The producers of the English version of the anime stated that Naruto was the most difficult character to cast, adding that Maile Flanagan "has Naruto down, from the mischievous side, that precocious twelve-year-old we learn to love, to the serious side".[39] Flanagan avoided listening to Junko Takeuchi's performance as she did not want to imitate it, stating she wanted to develop her own voice for the character.[40] Her performance has been praised as showing Naruto's brashness and later growth in confidence.[41] In a 2014 interview, Flanagan claimed she had never heard of Narutobefore her audition. She looked the show up after being chosen and felt the release of the English dub would be popular. She is recognized more for her work voicing Naruto than from other roles she has done in her career, although some fans did not expect that Naruto would be voiced by a woman.[42
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