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.
Jiraiya (Naruto)
At the 2015 New York Comic-Con, when asked which character besides Naruto is his favorite, Kishimoto chose Jiraiya. Due to the fans' preference, Kishimoto drew a sketch of Jiraiya in front of the audience at the event. He stated he felt nostalgic since this was the first time he had drawn Jiraiya or any other character in the series for a while. However, Kishimoto did not remember how to draw Jiraiya initially, and thus he used a person among the spectators who was cosplaying Jiraiya as a reference. After being asked which character's point of view he would choose to tell the story from instead of Naruto's if given the possibility, Kishimoto listed Jiraiya as one of his choices. He elaborated on this by stating Jiraiya did not have much knowledge when he was young, feeling that this aspect would have created an interesting contrast with Jiraiya's "not so much arrogant, but overconfident, blusterous, and very, very skilled" adult self and that the story presenting Jiraiya's development would have been "fun to draw". Kishimoto further mentioned that jutsu was still in the process of developing during Jiraiya's childhood, and he felt this would have been an engaging subject to depict in the series. Jiraiya is played by Hōchū Ōtsuka in the series' original animated adaptation, while David Lodge voices him in the English dub.