"Masashi Kishimoto : Naruto's Real Master..."

"Masashi Kishimoto : Naruto's Real Master..."

Masashi Kishimoto (born November 8, 1974) is the author of the famous manga "Naruto". He debuted as a mangaka with his work "Karakuri", which was submitted to Shueisha in 1996. Beginning with 1999, his next work "Naruto" was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump manga magazine. Kishimoto had received the Hop Step Award, which was an award given to new artists once a month by Shonen Jump.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri, which he submitted to Shueisha in 1996. In 1999, Naruto was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump, winning its monthly "Hop Step Award". Naruto is still ongoing, with more than 45 volumes and just over 44 released in English, and has sold over 71 million copies in Japan and over 93 million copies worldwide as of volume 36, also being adapted into two successful anime series. The Naruto manga series has become one of Viz Media's top properties, accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in 2006. The seventh volume of Viz's release became the first manga to ever win a Quill Award when it claimed the award for "Best Graphic Novel" in 2006. In his interviews and exclusively in the Naruto manga, he commonly mentions his deceased plant, Ukki-kun. According to Kishimoto, the first time he had an office plant, due to missing the country atmosphere, he fed it undiluted plant food. He continued purchasing several other plants afterwards, but many of them perished.

Masashi Kishimoto

In closing, what advice would you give to fans who are interested in becoming artists themselves?

"Creating manga isn't just about drawing well, but writing a good
story. Keep the art and story real, and you can't lose. Also, watch a lot of
good Hollywood movies. Those who rail against the entertainment industry are just being close-minded."

- Masashi Kishimoto (An Interview with the Shonen Jump.)

source: Naruto Central and Wikipedia.org (Article) , Google Image Search (Pictures).