It seems like Boruto is becoming a pretty popular anime/manga series. So much so, that Naruto‘s creator, Masashi Kishimoto, wants to take over the series himself. And soon, if the news from Twitter is any indication.

According to Boruto‘s official Twitter account, Masashi Kishimoto will take over the series from Ukyo Kodachi starting from Ch. 52 onwards. In terms of date, this means that Kishimoto will take over on November 21, 2020. That means starting this Saturday or Sunday, the chapters of Boruto you read on Weekly Shonen Jump will all be written by Kishimoto.

While this means that Kodachi will no longer be writing the story for Boruto, the original team isn’t entirely gone. Mikio Ikemoto, who did the art for Boruto, will still be doing so. Just under Masashi Kishimoto’s direction now. So…good for him?

Boruto Now Under Masashi Kishimoto’s Custody

Poster for Boruto
Now more like Naruto than ever before.

We’re not entirely certain what went on behind the scenes here, so this is basically pure speculation. Considering that Masashi Kishimoto basically took back Boruto from Ukyo Kodachi, it really makes you wonder what Kodachi did wrong, doesn’t it? Or rather, what Kishimoto thought Kodachi did wrong?

Based on the wording of the Tweet, it seems to suggest that Kodachi had his own vision of Boruto‘s story that Kishimoto did not agree with. The fact that the Tweet even mentioned Kishimoto’s original drafts suggests that he gave them to Kodachi to follow, but Kodachi rejected it for some reason. Thus, Kishimoto felt that the story wasn’t staying true to the spirit of Naruto, and took it over.

Minor spoilers for Boruto. Seriously, it was at the beginning of the story.

Now granted, I’ve only read Boruto up to that point where they first encounter that old veteran ninja with the prosthetics. However, the fact that the story started off with Naruto dying made me feel a bit iffy about it. It felt too dramatic, I think. Plus, that in media res opening seemed to suck some of the fun out of the later chapters. Since you know, Naruto is going to die at the end of it all. That puts a bit of a damper on things, doesn’t it?

Not sure if Kodachi was following Kishimoto’s script at the time, or if he was already going off-script. It feels a bit like prying. However, that fact might be interesting to know if either Kishimoto or Kodachi ever choose to reveal that.

Conclusion

Masashi Kishimoto, the original creator of Naruto, will henceforth take over the writing for Boruto from Ukyo Kodachi starting on Ch. 52 on November 21. We wish Kodachi-sensei luck on his next project, whatever it may be. Mikio Ikemoto, however, will still be doing the art for the series. So if you’re one of the ones worrying about any art changes in your new favorite ninja anime series, you needn’t be.

Source: Twitter