The day all Naruto fans have awaited impatiently has finally arrived and brought exciting surprises! After much speculation over a mysterious teaser and hundreds of fan theories weaving out of it, the anime fans heaved a sigh of relief on December 17, 2022.
This weekend, at the manga and anime expo Jump Festa 2023, many announcements were made on the “BORUTO AND NARUTO” Super Stage. The event was broadcast live on YouTube. Fans watched with bated breath for the announcement that the franchise had teased for weeks prior on Naruto’s official page and through videos and shorts throughout the internet. The popular anime adaptation first aired on October 3, 2002, and is grandly celebrating its 20th anniversary, with major events scheduled for the next year. Here’s the rundown:
1. NARUTOP99
A worldwide character popularity vote has gone live on the official Naruto site. You can vote for your favourite Naruto character from a list of 488 names. The poll will be live until January 31, 2023. Moreover, fans can vote once every day, allowing for multiple votes throughout the poll. The long list features fan favourites like Tsunade, Gaara, Gamatatsu, and Hinata Hyuga. Masashi Kishimoto (the original manga’s creator) will draw illustrations of the Top 20 characters which garner the most votes. Additionally, he will draw a manga dedicated to the poll’s winner. So go ahead and vote at https://narutop99.naruto-official.com/en.
2. Naruto The Live
A musical concert featuring popular artists like Kana-Boon, CHiCO with HoneyWorks, Flow, and others will take place at Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba, Japan, on the 2nd and 3rd of September 2023. All of these artists are fan favourites as the series has their songs used in it on different occasions. For instance, the most iconic song, “Silhouette” by Kana-Boon, was used as the 16th opening theme for Naruto Shippuden. Tickets for the concert are already on sale!
3. Live Spectacle NARUTO: The Final Chapter
The Naruto stage play series titled Live Spectacle NARUTO will get its final chapter next year. Masaki Nakao will reprise his role as Naruto. The last show aired in October and was titled Ninkai Taisen, Kaisen (Shinobi World War, Outbreaks). The first of these plays aired in 2015, and there have been five productions to date.
4. Sasuke Retsuden
Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha Descendants and the Heavenly Stardust is a light novel written by Jun Esaka and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. Its manga adaptation began publication on October 23, 2022. The anime adaptation will air on January 8, 2023, as episode 282 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and will feature Sasuke’s story.
5. Saikyo Jump #2 Cover Art
The franchise is closely associated with the Jump magazines because the original Naruto manga appeared in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1999-2014. Masashi Kishimoto will draw the cover of next year’s Saikyo Jump Issue #2 as a homage to the original manga’s first cover in Weekly Shonen Jump. In addition, the special issue will include a paper stand and postcards from the Uzumaki family as collectibles.
Happy 20th, Naruto! Don’t forget to vote, folks!
I think it’s time for another bingeing sesh.
