Masashi Kishimoto
For the ninth "Naruto" film, "", Kishimoto was responsible for both the story planning and characters' designs. To promote the film, Kishimoto worked in "Motion Comic Naruto" a DVD that shows scenes from the manga in 3D that was given to the first 1.5 million people who went to the cinema. Regarding "Naruto"s publication Kishimoto told Tetsuya Nishio in July 2012 that the series would take over a year and a half to end. However, Kishimoto admitted that it now appears that the manga will continue beyond that timeframe. In April 2012, it was announced that Kishimoto would publish a one-shot version of his long-postponed mafia manga, "Mario", in "Jump Square", based on the rough, 160-page manuscript he began working on before "Naruto" became serialized.
Boruto Uzumaki
McNulty expressed joy in how the viewer of the "Boruto" anime gets to see Boruto's days in the ninja academy which "Naruto" briefly showed and how Boruto does not have the same behavior as his father when being a child. While noting that Boruto has still to fight enemies possessed by "shadows" in the anime, Anime Now writer Sarah Nelkin found this more lighthearted than Naruto's actions in the first series such as his final fight against Sasuke Uchiha where both became friends after nearly killing each other. Upon the build up of the anime's first story arc, McNulty praised the fight between Boruto, Mitsuki and Sumire was praised for its animation with the reviewer also noting how Boruto inherited his father's ways of seeing on the good parts of his enemies in order to avoid violence. Viz Media senior director Kevin Hamric referred to Boruto described his differences with his father such as his lack of desire to become the village's leader and instead do other activities like playing video games. However, Hamric said he initially has the desire to surpass his father. Denki Kaminarimon's voice actress, Chihiro Ikki, said she liked how Boruto protects Denki from bullies in the series' beginning having once being bullied when she was younger. In regards to the flashforward with the destroyed village, Ikki said she had no idea what was going on but expects Denki will be in that future to aid the older Boruto to protect the ninja world from the antagonist threatening it.