Naruto is one of the most popular manga/anime to have emerged from Japan in the last decade, with millions of fans worldwide.
Though the anime is still ongoing, the main Naruto manga ended serialization back in November 2014. Now almost two years later, Naruto creator Mashashi Kishimoto sounds like he is almost ready to reveal what his next project will be.
In an interview set to appear in an upcoming issue of the Japanese magazine Shueisha's Jump GIGA (via Anime News Network), Kishimoto says he is planning his next project and that he has already conducted research for it. He goes on to say in the interview that he believes he can announce the project sometime this year, though he didn't give a specific release date or release format for his new work.
It's not much to go on, but comments from Kishimoto at this year's New York Comic-Con provide a few more details. He revealed there that his new project would be some kind of science fiction story, but once again didn't dive into specifics. Regardless of details, fans of Naruto will definitely want to keep an ear open for whatever comes next from the talented creator.
Kishimoto, of course, has still been busy the past two years despite the end of Naruto. He wrote the one-volume sequel manga Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring and served as chief production supervisor on Baruto: Naruto The Movie, a spin-off about Naruto's son. Kishimoto continues to oversee the Baruto manga that started earlier this year. He did, however, take a much-needed vacation as well.
While the manga is over, the Naruto anime is still going strong after more than 500 episodes. Fans of the Naruto anime recently got a surprise in the form of a flashback episode that at long last revealed the face of Kakashi, after hundreds of episodes with the character hidden behind a mask.
The reveal might not have been exactly what fans were expecting. The events of the episode don't happen in the manga, and though viewers get to see Kakashi's face, Naruto and his friends aren't so lucky, despite their efforts all episode to do so. Kakashi turns the tables on his pupils by walking in plain sight among them disguised as somebody else entirely. You can read more about the big reveal here.
