Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto stands gracefully as one of the greatest Shonen series, which probably impresses fans by featuring a gripping plot. The tale of a young ninja determined to become the greatest shinobi in Hidden Leaf Village resonated with the fans. The protagonist featured interesting traits and qualities that highly resonated with viewers around the world.
Hence, becoming one of the many leading faces of the anime industry. With over 250 million sales in 47 countries, it is indeed one of the hottest-selling mangas out there. Kishimoto-San is immensely proud of it.
The mangaka opened up about how he had once cried tears of joy because his creation was adapted into a play. This sets a standard in the minds of the author and the fans of the series that a live-action project would have to be equally good or even better to move everyone to tears.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Creation Emotionally Stirred Him
Ever since the global pandemic, anime in particular has gained immense popularity, as nearly everyone in America is addicted to watching it. While several titles have seen a massive rise in viewership, one in particular witnessed a sky-high jump not only in viewership but also in popularity.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto became a global sensation around the world, and it is probably one of the first anime series that many have watched and enjoyed. Although the title is massively appealing to the viewers, they have raised eyebrows, especially when it comes to a live-action adaptation of the title.
Surprisingly, it’s not just the fans but the author himself who shared his thoughts on giving the green light to a live-action movie. In an exclusive interview with Cinema Today, translated via Tumblr, the interviewer asked him about his opinion of a live-action adaptation of his magnum opus.
The manga artist shared that he was quite impressed with one stage play that was based on his work, which he found so “interesting to watch” that it made him cry. He said,
Regarding stage plays, there are things I’m not familiar with, so I can only say my impression, rather than whether it’s good or bad, but although this stage play was based on my own creation, I found it interesting to watch, and I laughed. I cried over my own creation.
He further added how different stage devices were used to showcase the ninjutsu and how the actors’ performances and their dialogue resonated with the emotions of the characters.
When the actors were performing, their emotions and the lines were linked, so it felt real. It’s different from how it is expressed in pictures. The way they showed ninjutsu using devices was interesting, and the atmosphere that circulated in that place was fun.
Nevertheless, one question continues to linger in the minds of the fans: would the Boruto creator approve of a live-action project just like its rival One Piece?
Masashi Kishimoto Gave His Verdict on a Live-Action Movie Based on Naruto
The opinion following live-action adaptations of anime series has often been a negative aspect of the entertainment media because these projects are horrendous to watch. The creators of these shows would deviate heavily from the source material, which would fail to resonate with the very essence of the iconic work.
However, the live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece by Netflix has changed the scene because it knocked the ‘anime adaptation curse’ out of the park. In the same interview, the author shared his opinion about approving a live adaptation project. He said,
I would greatly approve of that. I think it would become something different yet from anime. I think the fans would treat what is played by actors as a different work. In contrast to the stage play, live action on film would become a world that even I have yet to see, so I think I would be happy if that story ever came.
Nevertheless, for the live-action film based on Naruto, the creators should be immensely careful in preserving the essence of the work.
More importantly, they should ensure that the work closely follows the source material, making subtle changes when necessary. Or else the final outcome would be something like Dragonball Evolution.
Naruto can be streamed on Crunchyroll as of August 19, 2024.
