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.
Hinata Hyuga
Kishimoto had originally created Hinata as person who would not fight across the story, but in the end he chose to portray her as a kunoichi. In the making of the series, Kishimoto had decided Hinata would marry Naruto; however, the plot regarding their romance was conceived by screenwriter Maruo Kyozuka. Hinata's design has been modified by Kishimoto throughout the franchise's story in order to fit the character's growth. She is voiced by Nana Mizuki in the original animated series and Stephanie Sheh in the English adaptations. Critical reception to the character has been mostly positive due to her actions in the series and her bigger role in "The Last" — her interactions with Naruto and her engagement in a conflict with the film's villain have been praised. Hinata has also been very popular with the "Naruto" reader base, placing high in polls. Merchandise based on Hinata have been released, including action figures, key chains and figurines.