Masashi Kishimoto
In September 1999, the serialized version of "Naruto" premiered in "Weekly Shōnen Jump 1999 No. 43" and quickly became a hit. "Naruto" ended on November 10, 2014 after more than 15 years of serialization, with a total of 700 chapters collected in 72 volumes. Sales have exceeded 113 million copies in Japan and over 95 million copies in the US, followed by over 93 million copies worldwide (outside Japan and United States) as of volume 36. Making total sales for the series approximately 301 million copies. Kishimoto was also the winner of "Rookie of the Year" for the series in the Agency for Cultural Affairs. It was adapted into two successful anime series, "Naruto" and "Naruto Shippuden". Kishimoto requested that Tetsuya Nishio oversee the character designs of "Naruto" when the manga was adapted into an anime series. The "Naruto" manga series became one of Viz Media's top properties, accounting for nearly 10% of all manga sales in the US 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. Responding to "Naruto"'s success, Kishimoto said in "Naruto Collector Winter 2007/2008" that he was "very glad that the American audience has accepted and understood ninja. It shows that the American audience has good taste... because it means they can accept something previously unfamiliar to them." While writing the manga, Kishimoto met Eiichiro Oda, author of "One Piece" who he considered his rival. When "Naruto" ended, Oda left a message in the series' final volume acknowledging him as a rival. According to Kishimoto "That felt so gratifying." Additionally, before the anime adaptation's premiere of "My Hero Academia", he praised Kōhei Horikoshi's work, believing it would be a success overseas. Additionally, Kishimoto referred to Yoshihiro Togashi as one of his favorite artists.
Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto is a playable character in the "Naruto" video games. In several titles, it is possible to access a special version of him enhanced with the power from the Nine-Tailed Fox. In several games from the he is playable with his own versions of Rock Lee and Might Guy's techniques while wearing their costumes. "" marks the first appearance of Naruto in his Part II form in a video game. For the series' 10th anniversary, Masashi Kishimoto drew an illustration of Naruto as Hokage. This portrayal of Naruto later appears as a secret character in the game "". He appears in several crossover video games that feature Naruto fighting against characters from other manga; these games include: "Battle Stadium D.O.N", "Jump Super Stars," and "Jump Ultimate Stars". A Naruto avatar made a guest appearance in the MMORPG "Second Life" for a "Jump Festa" promotion titled "Jumpland@Second Life". In "" Naruto's costume appears as an alternate costume for Goku. Outside "Naruto", the character also appeared in the first popularity poll from the manga "My Hero Academia" by Kōhei Horikoshi. When the "Naruto" manga ended, Eiichiro Oda drew a cover of a "One Piece" manga chapter where Naruto is seen eating with the "One Piece" characters.