It’s no doubt that Naruto is one of the most successful anime franchise to come out of Japan. For many fans of the current generation, it is THE anime they grew up with. So when the creator, Masashi Kishimoto, compares a new anime to his extremely successful creation, you know that is high praise indeed.
Which is what recently happened when the mangaka released a drawing he did showing his beloved Naruto cheering on Deku, the main protagonist of Boku No Hero Academia (My Hero Academia).
I'm just gonna share this drawing of Naruto cheering Deku on by Masashi Kishimoto pic.twitter.com/Dq2DzXfY8g
— YonkouProductions (@YonkouProd) October 4, 2017
It is known that Kishimoto is a big fan of the Boku No Hero Academia franchise and if you look closely at both Naruto and the former’s story, they do bear some resemblances. Both protagonists start off at the bottom of the rung, one born without powers and the other shunned. It’s through sheer hard work that both improves and grows to be the heroes they are. So it’s no surprise the Kishimoto would be a fan.
Kishimoto’s Naruto manga ran between 1999 to 2014 with the first anime adaptation starting in 2002 and finally ending this year (2017). Since then, a sequel to Naruto called Boruto was released, which follows the adventures of Naruto’s own child Boruto. It also has an anime adaptation that is being shown concurrently with the manga release.
Boku No Hero Academia, on the other hand, is by Kōhei Horikoshi, and was first released in 2015 as a manga but has grown to be one of the key mangas in Weekly Shounen Jump even to the point of being called Naruto’s successor. Its first anime was released last year (2016) with the second season just ending and a third season confirmed for 2018.
It’s nice to see one generation of manga/anime creators passing the baton and cheering on the next generation and we’ll leave you this heartwarming fan-art about passing the baton for your enjoyment that kind of sums up this news pretty well.
