Masashi Kishimoto has always been one to draw his characters with the utmost care and taste. Each and every character in Naruto and Boruto has unique and defining qualities about themselves. They become recognizable with just their hair or perhaps even a scar. That is the beauty of anime and manga, something that the author made perfectly good use of.
With the many characters he has made, there is always a possibility for those of whom helped him in making them. Some authors or even creators in general could take full credit for work others contributed to. As can be seen with his friendship, Kishimoto is more than willing to admit where he lacked and where he didn’t. So it is only fair that he gives credit to those who deserve it.
Masashi Kishimoto Did Not Make Them All
Masashi Kishimoto, during an interview with Weekly Shonen Jump, talked about how he was helped in many ways by his editors, inspirations, and most importantly, his assistant turned partner for Boruto, Mikio Ikemoto. The man who now stands as the artist of Naruto’s sequel series was once wholeheartedly helping the mangaka in making Naruto.
He has a really great aesthetic. When he was helping me out, I’d have him draw some background characters when we were short on time. One big contribution he made was Zabuza and Haku. He pretty much designed those two characters.
He acknowledged the fact that there wasn’t always enough time for Kishimoto to be able to do everything so Ikemoto would often find himself drawing background or side characters whenever they were met with a time crunch. In fact, the characters of Zabuza and Haku were primarily a result of his creation and not the mangaka’s.
The Chuunin Exams Arc had taken a toll on the mangaka and he needed help in every way he could. So the one person whose art Kishimoto truly admired was that of Ikemoto.
Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
Masashi Kishimoto admitted without any issues that it was Mikio Ikemoto who contributed into making the fan-favorite characters of Zabuza and Haku. In fact, he also had a hand in creating the Third Hokage’s battle outfit. These two were seen as a threat to Team 7 much before Orochimaru ever set foot in the series. Needless to say, they left an impression.
Zabuza changed his outfit at some point and I also had Mikio handle that along with the Third Hokage’s battle outfit.
Kishimoto had the perfect opportunity to take credit for himself and no one would have batted an eye, simply moving on as if the writer had dropped a simple fact. However, he chose to give credit where credit is due. He made sure Ikemoto got the praise he deserved.
Ikemoto’s contributions to the Naruto manga have been heavy for over a decade now. So for him to get the rightful recognition was only a matter of time.
Naruto is available to watch on Netflix.
