Masashi Kishimoto

Masashi Kishimoto (岸本 斉史) (born 8 November, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist, most well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan.

Works
Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri, which he submitted to Shueisha in 1996. In 1999, Naruto was serialized in Shonen Jump magazine, winning its monthly "Hop Step Award". Naruto is still ongoing, with more than 40 volumes, and has sold over 71 million copies in Japan as of volume 36, also being adapted into two successful anime series. He names Akira Toriyama, creator of the famous manga series Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball, as among his major influences. When asked in an interview with Shonen Jump what his favorite plot of the Dragon Ball story and character was, Kishimoto replied that he enjoyed it until the arrival of Freeza and that he admired Kuririn, a character whom he could equal himself. Kishimoto has also insinuated that the Akira motion picture impacted his artwork significantly, including its manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo.

In his interviews and exclusively in the Naruto manga, he commonly mentions his deceased plant, Ukki-kun. According to Kishimoto, the first time he had an office plant, due to missing the country atmosphere, he fed it undiluted plant food. He continued purchasing several other plants afterwards, but many of them perished.

Manga

 * Karakuri (Published in Akamaru Jump)
 * Naruto Pilot (Published in Akamaru Jump)
 * Naruto (Published in Weekly Shonen Jump)

Art books

 * UZUMAKI MASASHI KISHIMOTO

Others

 * First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
 * Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)