Mr. Kishimoto, Naruto has educated millions of young French children and has been the best-selling manga for a long time. Do you realize the love that France has for your work? (question asked by Urban)
- Masashi Kishimoto: I don't really realize it. I drew what I had inside me, and the readership understood me. That's the impression I have.
- Mr. Ikemoto, you were originally an assistant on Naruto, and you find yourself the author of its sequel, Boruto. For each of you, how did you experience this change? (question asked by Urban)
- Mikio Ikemoto: Indeed, I was Master Kishimoto's assistant on Naruto. I mainly drew the backgrounds. For Boruto, which is my manga, the work is no longer the same at all.
- Masashi Kishimoto: I think I improved my drawing for Boruto.
Which characters from the Naruto universe do you feel closest to in terms of personality? Why? (question asked by Le Point Pop)
- Masashi Kishimoto: I feel really close to Naruto. On the surface, I may seem fragile and a bit of an otaku. But inside, like Naruto, I have a mischievous and boisterous side.
- Mikio Ikemoto: For my part, I feel close to Boruto. Not in terms of character, but in relation to his situation. Boruto has a remarkable father, Naruto. I feel in the same context. And just like Boruto, I move forward and have doubts when I draw the series.
The Boruto series opens with a scene advanced in time before offering a very long flashback. Can you tell us about this choice of teaser and fratricidal duel? (question asked by L’Internaute)
- Mikio Ikemoto: It’s an idea from master Kishimoto. Originally, we were supposed to start the Boruto manga like the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations movie. Suddenly, Master Kishimoto had the idea to introduce the more adult characters at the beginning of the story. Since it wasn't planned, I had to draw the character designs of older Boruto and Kawaki quite quickly.
- Masashi Kishimoto: I hadn't thought deeply about this choice. But I thought that starting with older, more adult characters would allow readers to wonder what could have happened to get there. In terms of hooks and teasers, it was more effective. But I admit that at that time, I didn't have any specific ideas for the rest of the story. At the time of Naruto, I was used to following a weekly pre-publication. So I had a very short deadline to draw. When I had ideas, I threw them into the plot, like that, before seeing what I could do with them later.
Your antagonists are rarely completely bad. They often have a past that can explain how they got there. Do you sincerely think that you can't be bad without a reason? (question asked by L'Internaute)
- Masashi Kishimoto: It's true that I want to tell stories about humans. From the beginning, I had opportunities to make characters appear as super villains. But as One Piece already did, I wanted to do it differently with Naruto. My bad characters also had a story. Manga is also an industry in which we have to create what doesn't yet exist, which pushes us to try different approaches.
- Mikio Ikemoto: I try not to duplicate Naruto. That's why there are more pure villains in Boruto. Big villains.
Mr. Ikemoto, your characters have matured in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. How did you work on this in your drawings? (question asked by Japan Life)
- Mikio Ikemoto: Compared to the childhood part, there aren’t that many differences in the design. Three years have passed in the plot, so the characters have grown up quickly. Other than that, I haven’t felt any changes in my work as an illustrator.
Apart from manga, is there a film, a book, or a piece of music that has changed your vision of the world and shaped the person you are? (question asked by Le Vif)
- Masashi Kishimoto: I’ll mainly mention films that I saw and loved when I was a child, especially Star Wars. I also like anything in the fantasy genre like The Neverending Story and Back to the Future. For literature, there’s Run, Melos! by Osamu Dazai, which was also adapted into a film. This novel inspired me when I drew the original pilot chapter of Naruto. As for anime, I think of Akira and Ghost in the Shell. As for manga and comic book authors, there is Moebius, Katsuhiro Otomo and Taiyô Matsumoto. I have been influenced by a lot of works.
Mr. Kishimoto has a moment of doubt and asks if the question really concerns the manga medium.
- Masashi Kishimoto: Obviously, there is also Dragon Ball, I have not forgotten it!
- Mikio Ikemoto: As for cinema, I was influenced by the Matrix trilogy, especially in my way of drawing and in my compositions. In the first part, Neo appears as the savior while in the second, he manages to control his power. It is similar to what distinguishes the childhood part from the young adult part of Boruto. As for manga, my influence remains Dragon Ball.
The Fnac des Ternes in Paris has taken on the colors of Naruto and Boruto: Two Blue Vortex on the occasion of the authors' visit.
Mr. Kishimoto, what is your favorite character design by Master Ikemoto? (question asked by Kamal & Kita)
- Masashi Kishimoto: I would say Sarada in the young woman version, because she is sexy. I could never have drawn it.
- Mikio Ikemoto: For my part, among your characters, I really like Jiraiya. But concerning the design, my preference goes to Madara and Kakashi?
- Masashi Kishimoto: Oh, why?
- Mikio Ikemoto: Just by seeing them, we feel that they are not ordinary characters. They are convincing, they give off something.
- Masashi Kishimoto: It makes me happy! Well, it's true that it's weird to compliment each other here, in front of you... (laughs)
The master-student relationship is very present in Naruto and Boruto, even outside the shinobi education system. Do you think that learning must necessarily go through tutoring? (question asked by Le Point Pop)
- Masashi Kishimoto: Yes, I think that this system is important. I taught a lot of things to Master Mikimoto, if he draws so well it's perhaps thanks to his apprenticeship with me.
- Mikio Ikemoto: No, no, no!
- Masashi Kishimoto: I've been a little jealous lately. I think I taught him too much...
- Mikio Ikemoto: No! I also think that the master-student relationship is very important. Even if there are things that we can't do alone or goals that we can't achieve, the younger generation can take over and make sure to achieve them. It's a universal theme, but not only in manga. It also concerns real life.
What is the best advice that you have been given during your career? (Question asked by Le Vif)
- Masashi Kishimoto: In my case, two words have struck me. The first is from Kôsuke Yahagi, my first editor here. I'm more of the type to not have confidence in myself. It's not that I'm not motivated, but I lack confidence. There, Mr. Yahagi wrote me a letter to tell me: "You have talent." I believed in his words, they had an impact on me.The second one comes from my father. I was already a professional mangaka. It was hard, and I kept complaining to him. He told me: "If you do what you love, don't complain."
- Mikio Ikemoto: For me, it comes from master Kishimoto himself. It's not really about striking words, but from the fact that I observed him for 15 years, drawing every week. It was very hard, it was like he was going to die. But observing him and seeing his work taught me a lot, and I wanted to do like him. The second piece of advice that struck me comes from an interview with Mr. Kazuhiko Torishima, Akira Toriyama's editor on Dragon Ball. He said: "When you draw, even when the reader is in the middle of the series, you have to continue to attract them so that they always want to follow you." This is valuable advice that I try to take into account when I draw.
Mr. Ikemoto, in Boruto, there is a real desire to use black, more than shades of gray. Why? (question asked by Le Vif)
- Mikio Ikemoto: Maybe my character plays a role in this, because I like it when things are either white or black. Also, I can't be bothered to use the frames.
Have you been thinking more about the foreign market since the manga has been a colossal success there? For example, do you think about the reactions that the manga you draw can provoke in France? (Question asked by BFM)
- Masashi Kishimoto: Basically, no, I don't pay attention to what can happen abroad. On the other hand, for the animated adaptation, I have already selected animators who are able to please the whole world.
- Mikio Ikemoto: I knew that Naruto was very successful abroad and in France. Also, for Boruto, I have the rest of the world in mind, including France.
In your opinion, what is a good manga? (question asked by Le Vif)
- Masashi Kishimoto: I think it is an interesting manga.
- Mikio Ikemoto: It is a difficult question… but I think it is an interesting manga.
Mr. Kishimoto, is there a passage from Naruto that you would have liked to explore further? (question asked by Actua BD)
- Masashi Kishimoto: Yes, I would have liked to develop Sakura, the main female character, further. Since I am a man, it was more difficult for me to fathom a woman's heart.
How did you imagine this training stage in which Naruto recovers the experience generated by his clones? (question asked by L'Internaute)
- Masashi Kishimoto: It all started with this thought: "If only it could happen like this". Because let's say that I could clone myself, that all my clones could draw the panels of my manga and that I accumulated all the experience to improve my drawing? That would be ideal.
In your opinion, why is Naruto a hero who is still so popular, 25 years after his creation and 10 years after his end? (question asked by Le Journal de Mickey)
- Mikio Ikemoto: I think that many people can identify with Naruto depending on the situation or context. Those who cannot are much fewer. He is a hero for whom we have empathy and whom we understand.
- Masashi Kishimoto: I think it is because Naruto is an imperfect hero.
The Boruto series, unlike its predecessor, has a monthly pre-publication. What are the differences in the work pace and in the narration? (question asked by La Nouvelle République - Centre-Ouest)
- Masashi Kishimoto: I only have experience with the weekly, and I think that the monthly rhythm seems cooler.
- Mikio Ikemoto: I want to tell you that the monthly rhythm is still difficult. But I realize that I would be incapable of maintaining a weekly publication.
How do you communicate together? Do you work on the drawing and the scenario together, or separately? (question asked by Le Journal de Mickey)
- Masashi Kishimoto: In the case of Boruto, I initially wrote the outline of the story, but in a very succinct manner. We then held a meeting to discuss it. It is really Master Ikemoto who is fully in charge of Boruto.
- Mikio Ikemoto: At the beginning, Master Kishimoto did indeed share his story with me. But the further we go, the more the plot becomes different from what was initially planned. Today, I discuss the rest of the scenario with my editor, every month. So I think that Master Kishimoto does not yet know what will happen in the rest of Boruto.
- Masashi Kishimoto: I am just enjoying reading!
The last question spoils the end of Boruto: Naruto Next Generation and the beginning of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex!
The series entered a more serious phase with Two Blue Vortex. Where did the idea of making Boruto a renegade come from? (question asked by Le Journal de Mickey)
- Mikio Ikemoto: It's not that Boruto is really a traitor. When his adventure began, he had a situation opposite to that of Naruto in the past. He had friends and a family, his main problem being an absent father. So he didn't have any particular reason to surpass himself. But since he is the main character, we had to find a way to make him act. For his part, Kawaki has a similar situation to Naruto. I thought that swapping the positions between Boruto and Kawaki would allow for a better progression of the story. It's an idea I had relatively early on.
- Masashi Kishimoto: In Naruto, there is the rivalry between the hero and Sasuke. I had already imagined a situation where their situations would have been reversed. So Master Ikemoto experienced it. Through Boruto, I can see this change of position, but as a reader. I take full advantage of it, because I am the first to be able to read the manga in order to do the verifications. Being the first reader of Boruto is a joy.
- Mikio Ikemoto: Drawing a manga is really hard, but I will do my best to offer an interesting work. I count on your support.
Do you have any last words for us?
- Masashi Kishimoto: We should not always say that drawing a manga is difficult, otherwise young mangakas will be discouraged. It is true that it is hard, but I think that there will be more and more new authors, and that Japanese manga will continue to develop, including Shônen Jump magazine. There will also be very good animated adaptations. Manga is already an important element of Japanese culture, and it will continue to be so. Thank you for continuing to read manga!
- Mikio Ikemoto: I said that drawing manga is difficult, but rest assured, I love it. I enjoy being able to do it, don't worry.
