Naruto is written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, and the series started running in Shounen Jump in 1999, with the original one shot in 1997 (I think). When it FINALLY came to a conclusion at the end of 2014, it was quite sad for those of us that had been following it from near the beginning. There were times I wished it would just end, then it would draw you back in and keep you motivated to continue reading and is why I stuck with this for so long. The new Gaiden & Book chapters and movies were a great wrap up for the series, and give us some answer to questions we have been asking for a long, loooong time. With the Boruto movie coming soon, here’s a re-cap of some bits and pieces some people may not know about and most of them are part of the Naruto Project.
BOOK OF WIND: THE TRUTH OF HIS FACE…
As you may have guessed, more than anything else most fans want to see what Kakashi looks like under that damn mask! This is actually set back in the team 7 days, where they go on a little side mission separate to the original story. The illustrations are a bit sketchy and I am not sure if there is a more finished version available, but it is very rewarding at the end.
BOOK OF THUNDER: THE BEAST MARKED BY LOVE
Again the artwork looks a bit sketchy and unfinished with this one, so not sure if that is the final released version I have seen. It is a short story about Akamaru and Kiba where we get a bit of an inside look into Akamaru’s personality probably about 2 – 4 years after the war ended.
NARUTO HIDEN – LIGHT NOVELS
The six book light novel series Hiden are all written by different authors and illustrated by Kishimoto. Five books follow different characters and how they are fairing a few years after the Fourth Shinobi War, and the sixth book is the exception that follows Akatsuki. I am not sure if VIZ Media will be releasing these in English, I haven’t looked that hard into it yet. There have been quite a few novels made previously, and I think most of them follow the manga story line to some degree to re-cap it all in writing.
THE LAST: NARUTO MOVIE
Without spoiling much, this is basically how Naruto and Hinata got together, with a bit of action and awkward love thrown in. You get to see how Konoha is going a few years after the Fourth Shinobi War ends, and once again the hidden villages are taking action against a common foe.
NARUTO MANGA – CHAPTER 700, VOLUME 72
The last official chapter of the Naruto manga in it’s splendid full colour format is set at least 10 years after the War, maybe even about 15 years. It’s all a bit exciting because we get to find out who got with who, and the kind of freakish little offspring they had together.
NARUTO GAIDEN: THE SEVENTH HOKAGE AND THE SCARLET SPRING
Starting out with the students in class (first few in colour pages), it’s announced their graduation is coming up shortly and we get to see a few faces and names of the new characters. This Gaiden series is 10 chapters long, and follows Sarada (Sasuke and Sakura’s daughter) as she leaves Konoha on a personal mission to find Sasuke. ChouChou (Chouji & Karui’s daughter) tags along too and they get into a bit of trouble. This is an introduction to the Boruto movie, so a recommended read if you are gearing up for it!
BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE
Set to air in Japan nation wide on August 7th, and believe it or not this is the 11th film in the series franchise. With Kishimoto taking charge of character design and story line, and the likes of Kana-Boon giving us the theme song, you can be sure this is not going to be some mere filler movie side story.
