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
Introduced as a young orphan boy of 13 years with blond, spiky hair, blue eyes and goggles, Naruto Uzumaki frequently wears an orange tracksuit. Following his ninja graduation he also wore a headband that denotes his position as a ninja from Konohagakure. In Part II of the manga, the now older and larger Naruto wears a different outfit. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within influences his body, causing Naruto to resemble the Fox over the course of his battles. While Naruto only shows small changes such as sharp teeth and claws initially, he later develops a red tail made of the Fox's vital energy, or "chakra". The red chakra starts by surrounding his body; once four tails are manifested, Naruto's blood begins to merge with the chakra, coloring his entire body red. As the sixth tail appears, Naruto appears to wear the Fox's skeleton, but once Naruto takes control of the fox's chakra, he is able to maintain his regular form while using it. As a ninja, Naruto carries many weapons, but relies mostly on his ninja techniques while fighting, specializing in making clones of himself. Nevertheless, late in the series Naruto starts wielding a pair of "bō" in combat.