One of the main reasons why Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto works so well in sync with the main character is because it is told from his perspective. While there are other narratives and storylines, most of the major components of the story are created from Naruto’s point of view, which makes the manga series empathetic for the fans.
However, this doesn’t change the fact that Naruto has an array of characters who could have done an even better job as the protagonist of the series. Be it Kakashi Hatake or Itachi Uchiha, these characters have certainly proved themselves worthy of a personal narrative of themselves, and it would work perfectly as the spin-off for Naruto.
Kishimoto once himself accepted the fact that if the story is told from a different perspective, it would work brilliantly and would open new possibilities in the Narutoverse. He even gave an example of what the plot would look like if it were told from Jiraiya’s point of view.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Idea for a Naruto Spin-Off
In 2015, during the New York Comic-Con, Anime News Network got a chance to sit with Kishimoto and talk to him about his magnum opus. One of the questions was regarding the difference in the story if it was told from the perspective of another character. Kishimoto chose Jiraiya as an example and explained the situation.
He stated:
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.
Talking about the timeline of Jiraiya’s story, Kishimoto stated:
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.
According to the mangaka, if he were to draw the point of view of Jiraiya, he would focus on the contrast of the character from being a dumb and young kid to becoming one of the legendary Sannin and how he developed his confidence and skills during his journey and adventures. Also, the gap in the timeline from the current Naruto manga would also be fun to draw for Kishimoto.
Masashi Kishimoto Compares Jiraiya’s Story To Oshin
Further talking about Jiraiya’s spin-off, Masashi Kishimoto drew similarities between his narrative and the plotline of the live-action historical drama Oshin, which premiered in 1983. The mangaka pointed out that the story of Oshin was portrayed in a flashback, and it would be interesting to draw Jiraiya’s story in a similar manner.
Kishimoto pointed out:
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.
Narrating a story in a flashback triggers interest in the audience about the journey of the protagonist, and if this theme is combined with the exciting adventures and emotional plot points of Jiraiya, it would certainly be intriguing for fans.
And as the story would be more authentic to Naruto’s original elements, it would leave Boruto biting the dust.
You can watch Naruto on Hulu.
