Kishimoto’s Original Story Plan For Naruto Will Shock You

Kishimoto's Original Story Plan For Naruto Will Shock You



This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.



Summary

  • Kishimoto intended Naruto to be a story centered around a yokai protagonist
  • Early ideas for Naruto involved a ramen shop and a fox shapeshifter protagonist
  • Uncertain if Kishimoto’s early ideas would have been successful compared to the eventual Naruto series.

Musashi Kishimoto, the creator of the Naruto series, wrote a phenomenal series that still resonates among the fans and rightly so. Naruto is a story that inspired countless people from all over the world and to this day, set the standard of what a modern Shonen series should be like. At the same time, at the core of Naruto was a beloved protagonist, who still stands among the very best characters in all anime and manga.

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While Naruto is a story that fans have come to love dearly, it wasn’t always going to be like that from day one. Just like any other author, Kishimoto had unique plans for the Naruto series at first, which were starkly different from what the story turned out to be. In fact, Kishimoto’s original plans for Naruto were so shocking that some fans might not even believe that he actually intended to write them.



Naruto’s Journey From The Beginning To The End

  • Naruto wanted the acknowledgement of people
  • Naruto became the 7th Hokage in the end

Fans know Naruto’s journey to be a very beautiful one, although, at the same time, one filled with pain and misery. Naruto was revealed to be an orphan at the very beginning of the story, and to make things worse, quite easily the most hated person in the entire Village, despite being just a kid. Having been ostracized from a very early age, Kishimoto set the tone for Naruto to be the underdog and at the same time, one who set out on the journey to prove everyone around him wrong. Naruto set lofty ambitions for himself. With the aim of wanting to become the Hokage and get everyone to acknowledge him, fans resonated with his journey quite a lot, and this story is what eventually came to be known as one of the very best in anime and manga.


I don’t quit and I don’t run. I never go back on my word. That’s my ninja way! – Naruto Uzumaki

Over the years, Naruto Uzumaki proved his worth as a fighter, and more than that, fans got to see incredibly exciting plot points being constructed around this character. Naruto lived up to all expectations of the fans, and when an incredibly exciting side cost, and at the same time, villain group is thrown into the mix, fans get what can be considered to be one of the greatest stories ever told. By the end of the series, Naruto Uzumaki reached great heights. He had already earned the recognition of everyone around him, and was striving to save the world. Naruto was the hero of the Fourth Great Ninja War, and not only did he save his village, but the entire planet.


Naruto Uzumaki Seventh Hokage

On top of that, his dream of surpassing everyone else in the village certainly came to pass as well, and even though Naruto did not become the Hokage at the end of the war, fans got to see him live out his dreams and conclude his story on a high. Although Naruto was, in no way, perfect, it certainly gave fans quite a lot of joy, and at the same time, had peaks that have led to the story being immortalized.

Kishimoto’s Early Ideas For Naruto Were Strange

Kishimoto Intended For A Yokai To Be The Protagonist


Fans know Naruto to be a story of an underdog who set out against the world and managed to change it. But, Naruto wasn’t always supposed to be a story like that. In fact, fans know that Kishimoto’s early ideas for the series were rather bizarre, and, if the story had actually gone on with this idea, it is highly likely that it wouldn’t be half as successful as it ended up being. Of course, one absolutely cannot say anything for sure, but, at first glance, it becomes clear to the fans that Naruto’s initial idea was very questionable.

Persevering is what makes us Shinobi. – Narrator

During an interview in 2014, Naruto’s author, clearly stated that his original plan for the series was surrounding a ramen shop and a guy who passes by often. The idea here was supposedly to craft a story about straightening lives, and, while this concept in itself was interesting, it did not live up to the expectations of the publishers at the time.


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Even Kobayashi, whom Kishimoto conducted the interview with, stated that it did not have the elements of a Shonen Jump story. This was only the beginning of Kishimoto’s ideas. He continued to work on them with time but took the name Naruto from the failed story attempt. With time, Kishimoto then went on to craft a story that wasn’t about ninjas, but about Yokai instead. That’s right, the original Naruto series wasn’t even about ninjas and in it, the protagonist was a fox who could shapeshift into a human. But, once again, this idea wasn’t something that the publishers were too fond of and, eventually, one thing led to another and the fox was turned into a human instead. In this version of Kishimoto’s story, they were more than just one Yokai and it appears that the idea of having all these creatures as the main characters really appealed to him. Perhaps, the reason why Kurama is humanized the way he is is down to Kishimoto’s original ideas.


Would Naruto Have Succeeded With Kishi’s Early Ideas?

It is Difficult To Say Whether Naruto Would’ve Been A Success Or Not

Naruto Uzumaki Sad Childhood

It is hard to predict whether Kishimoto’s early ideas would have led to a successful story or not. On paper, they certainly don’t look like great ideas. A story centered around a ramen shop, and at the same time, a main character that was actually a fox that can shapeshift into a human doesn’t look as appealing as what Naruto offered. The reason why Naruto was as successful as it was was down to the fact that it made a very strong impression and the main character was someone that fans could relate to. Kishimoto has also stated in the past that Naruto is a very relatable individual even to him. With a fox who can shapeshift into humans, and a story revolving around setting lives straight, the same feeling would certainly not have been conveyed.


Then again, these different stories could have worked their magic upon the fans in different ways. One really can’t say for sure whether they would’ve been a success or not, but, it is highly unlikely that Kishimoto’s early ideas for Naruto would have been as successful as what fans eventually saw with the final product.

It is also interesting to note that Kishimoto’s second manga, Samurai 8, was ultimately a failure, which means that quite a lot of Kishimoto’s ideas are likely not that good. But, he only needed one bright idea to turn Naruto into a legendary story, and fans are glad that the story of Naruto went the way it did.

Kishimoto has recently stated his intention to work on a new manga, and hopefully, he delivers in a massive way when he does return to Jump.

Naruto is available to read on the MangaPlus and the Shonen Jump app. Fans can read the official release and support the author by doing so.

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Naruto

Writers
Masashi Kishimoto

Number of Episodes
220

Streaming Service(s)
Netflix , Crunchyroll , Amazon Prime Video , Peacock , The Roku Channel , Amazon Freevee , Hulu , Hoopla , Pluto TV , Tubi

Directors
Hayato Date

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