Source: @Tencent Animation World Style Feature

Introduction

On October 6, 2014, "Naruto", one of the three pillars of the "Shonen Jump" magazine that has been serialized for 15 years, officially announced that it was about to end, and one stone stirred up a thousand waves...... However, I'm afraid that when many people hear this news, their first reaction will be the same as the author - "Oh, it's been chasing this comic for fifteen years?" ”

To youth, about the fifteen years of the Hokage

Fifteen years is not a short time for an individual human being. Fifteen years, enough to make the innocent and romantic Zhengtai become a busy and boring office worker, enough to make the rebellious self-rebellious middle two sao years become a father, enough to be fresh and tender Lori beyond the expiration date...... For the readers of the Hokage, especially those who have been concerned about the ups and downs of the adventures of the young people of Konoha from the beginning, looking back on the past, compared to the present, everyone must have been very different from the beginning, whether it is growth or transformation, fifteen years is enough to imprint or wash the traces of time, but in the manga, Naruto is still chasing Sasuke relentlessly, Sakura's heart is still swaying between the two, and Hinata still has a weak sense of zài......

Although the two-dimensional world has a weak sense of time, after many years, even if the passion and love are not as good as in the past, the vast majority of people will still click on the web every week, follow the habits that have been formed for a long time, and see what new progress has been made in the love and hatred of ninjas this week. Once you think that from November 2014, this long-term habit will never be able to continue, I am afraid that there are few people who will not have a little sigh in their hearts.

After many years, Naruto, as a work in its own right, has long needed nothing more to prove its worth. The fact that it has survived for 15 years on "Shonen Jump", the leader of the Japanese shonen manga magazine, is the most intuitive proof of this, with more than 70 single books and a total sales of more than 100 million copies; Animation in the third quarter; More than 50 adaptations; Coupled with the products of many other media such as stage plays, radio dramas, novels, etc., the IP of "Naruto" has reached the national level, and the hot Cheng dù does not need to be repeated.

There are a thousand Hamlets in the hearts of a thousand readers, and for this classic work that has accompanied us for fifteen years, each reader must also have a unique and indelible memory in their hearts.

The unchanging picture, the flowing story, the still and the moving memory

Generally speaking, most of the shonen manga have such a characteristic, that is, in their long serial career, you can clearly see the flow of the author's drawing style. From the early "Dragon Ball" and "Ranma" to the later "OnePiece" and "Whirlwind Butler", we can see the formation of this evolution (interested friends can search for the "Shonen Sunday" cover comparison picture of the 10th anniversary of "Whirlwind Butler"), fifteen years is enough to make a manga artist's skills from immature to proficient, but this "law" does not seem to apply to the author of "Naruto" - Kishimoto Saishi.

Comparing Kishimoto's early and current painting styles, it is not difficult to find that although the time has spanned the turn of a century, except for some changes in storyboard habits and differences in background styles (the background should be more classified as an iteration of assistants), Kishimoto's thematic painting style has hardly changed significantly, and the modeling characteristics and expressions of the characters have almost remained the same for fifteen years.

In addition to the maturity of the artist's own techniques, the evolution of the painting style is often an attempt to find the best fit for the atmosphere of the story. But here in Kishimoto, the situation is a little different. From the very beginning, the picture style of "Naruto" has taken a simple and relatively realistic route, integrating traditional and modern aesthetics in terms of art, while the lines are simple, and the overall picture is more freehand. This is more closely related to the story atmosphere of "Naruto" from the beginning.

The story of "Hokage", at first glance, is a traditional shonen manga road, telling the story of teenagers who do not succumb to fate and do their best to struggle, but between the pictures and texts of the story, there is a bit of helplessness and heaviness, whether it is Naruto who constantly fights against fate, or Sasuke who does not hesitate to fall into the darkness for revenge and strength, it is generally not out of this way, corresponding to the picture, Kishimoto's relatively simple lines, completely hand-painted shadows and distressed effects, and appropriate white space, although these many characteristics are not exquisite and ingenious, But it is also quite relevant to the artistic conception atmosphere that the product wants to present. What is commendable is that Kishimoto established this very harmonious art style almost from the beginning of the serialization, which may be one of the reasons why he did not put too much effort into the "evolution" of his painting techniques after that.

Compared with the art style of Wen Dìng, the story direction of "Naruto" can still see the changes accumulated by the imprint of time, from the survival test chapter to the middle ninja exam chapter, to Sasuke's rescue chapter, and then to the second part...... Although on the whole, the story continues the inherent style of seeing blood in the slaughter and seeing hope in the cold, but with the appearance of Xiao, and the inevitable heavyweight lunch, the direction of the plot is inevitably contaminated with more and more dark factors, of course, given that "Naruto" is a royal hot-blooded manga serialized in "Shonen Jump" after all, this dark tone of Cheng dù is mostly just to the point, but it is as if the protagonists transition from teenager to youth with the advancement of the timeline, Kishimoto also keeps adding heavy weight to the plot, intentionally or unintentionally. Correspondingly, although the theme style has hardly changed, Kishimoto's lines have gradually become more and more rugged, and the depiction of the scene is more abstract and atmospheric, of course, you can say that this is just the author's laziness, or the new assistant in the studio is not proficient, but the author prefers to understand it as the reverse effect of the flow of the plot on the atmosphere of the picture.

The contrast between the plot that gradually descends into darkness but continues to redeem itself, and the seemingly spotless but undercurrent art style that is surging in the details can be regarded as one of the fun when reading "Hokage".

Revenge, power, responsibility, growing pains of swords and swords

As a typical shonen manga, combat is undoubtedly the most important theme of "Naruto", and this kind of combat is often burdened with a certain sense of helplessness that is difficult to escape. For Naruto, the reason for his fight went from the initial pursuit of the recognition of others, to the competition with Sasuke later, and finally to a clear understanding of his own responsibility, taking the path of a teenager who can be regarded as a royal road, although it is embellished with troubles and frustrations of one kind or another, but on the whole it is still decent and positive (although in the later stage there is a sense of deviation of "looking for Sasuke in the crowd", which will be discussed later), but Sasuke, as the second male protagonist of the work, his mental journey is more unique, and it is more with " The charm of the atmosphere of the world of Naruto.

Sasuke's character was not likable when he first appeared.,Cold and arrogant.,Mean words.,Although the setting is a cool brother who is popular with girls.,But from the current point of view, it's just a middle two sao year.。 His goal from the beginning was just as simple and clear: to become stronger, and then to get revenge on his brother Itachi, and that's it. This kind of character with a heavy hatred fate is not uncommon in juvenile comics, such as the standard in "Tide and Tiger", and for example, Scar in "Fullmetal Alchemist", generally speaking, this kind of character is often accompanied by unforgettable hatred, full of murderous anger, often three sentences of discord to get blood on the knife, but often do not know the protagonist, after several births and deaths, they will be touched by the protagonist's quality (aura), and become the backbone of the protagonist's lineup...... However, in "Naruto", the situation has changed slightly, although he is also burdened with the heavy burden of "revenge", Sasuke is formally on the side of the protagonist's camp from the beginning, but gradually descends into darkness as the story unfolds, which is quite a bit of Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars".

As for whether Sasuke finally became "Darth Vader", I won't make a conclusion here, but for a shonen manga, the protagonist is not to absorb the enemy for his own use, but to watch his comrade-in-arms (base) drift away step by step, and then spend most of his life abandoning the confidante around him, just for that old friend to look back at himself...... Ahem, far from it, this kind of development is not very common in shonen manga, and Kishimoto's somewhat sadistic plot is on the one hand describing the growth of teenagers who are constantly striving for self-improvement, and on the other hand, it may also lead the reader to think about the connection between power and responsibility.

That's right, there's nothing wrong with pursuing power for revenge, but once you're blinded by hatred and pursue power by any means, even if you swear at the beginning that you can control yourself and won't be influenced by power, but in the end, many things may not be as simple as you imagined. When Itachi, who had been chasing after him, fell in front of him and knew the truth, in addition to swallowing bitter tears, all that remained was a twisted will and paranoid ideas, which was indeed similar to Anakin, who gradually fell into darkness for revenge, and when he was finally woken up by Naruto's severed arm, looking back, I am afraid that this black-haired young man would feel like a world away.

Dialogue between life and death, soul and substance

Combat-themed works often struggle to escape the heavy element of death. Even shonen manga aimed at young readers is by no means shy away from talking about death. It's just that this kind of death is divided into relative and absolute, and the feelings brought by each other will be very different.

Although it is not the first of its kind, it is "Dragon Ball" that "relaxes" death in shonen manga, and because of the resurrection, the once irreversible death has become less terrible, and for readers, even if their favorite character unfortunately receives a bento, they can still hope that one day the author will be merciful and re-summon the character from the pile of old papers and reappear in style. "Hokage" also inherited this style in a certain way.

It is precisely because of this relatively "lax" death setting that the popular character Kakashi Hachiki was able to resurrect himself after being resurrected by the forbidden jutsu after his death, and continued to be active in the second part, and was even able to witness the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke...... But not everyone is as lucky as Kakashi, Naruto's mentor and probably the one who has influenced him the most - Jiraiya, although he has the strength of an immortal, he will eventually die a tragic death.

In fact, in the author's opinion, the resurrection of popular characters such as Kakashi and Orochimaru is more of a compromise of the author for the market, and at the same time, it is easier to accumulate popularity by reusing the role that should have gone to the grave, but deep down, Kishimoto should still regard death as a more strict and irreversible thing, in addition to attracting attention through guò to create a plot, it is more of a kind of responsibility and generational alternation.

The fall of Jiraiya can be seen as a sign that the era of the three ninjas has passed, although Tsunade is still alive and Orochimaru can come back from the dead, but for this stage that belongs to young people, the strong men of the older generation have reached the time when they need a curtain call. From spiritism to ** skills, Jiraiya taught Naruto without reservation, and he left vigorously, leaving Naruto with endless sentimentality, but at the same time, it is also a deep responsibility and expectation. As the male protagonist of juvenile comics, it is inevitable to bear some burdens that ordinary people can't bear, and this alternation of life and death is the last gift given to students by the teacher, and the last lesson is not necessarily the actual teaching, many times, a simple last word can contain a qiē. Jiraiya realizes that Naruto is a "child of fate" before his death comes, which is of course not too surprising from the reader's point of view, but in the plot, the effect of this iteration of responsibility is self-evident.

The end does not mean the end, the death of the teacher is sad, but this kind of death can be the best lesson, the dead are long, the living can still be chased, in "Yinying", Julian only really grew up after the death of Yang Willy, shouldering the heavy responsibility left by his adoptive father, in "Hokage", Naruto, who sat on the bench and sobbed after learning of Jiraiya's death, in addition to the mixed tastes, an invisible inheritance has also been achieved. With the words of Fukasaku of the immortals, and the tears that flow from Tsunade's cheeks, the reader and the characters in the play witness the end of one era and the beginning of another. Although it is cruel, it is probably the most real and touching form of death. Although the yin and yang are separated from each other, but across the barrier of soul and body, the two generations can still communicate spiritually, although it is embarrassing, but there is still a bit of inspiring power, and the flavor of shonen manga lies in this.

Even if you do not hold the hand of the Son, you must be with the Son

After discussing the slightly heavy topics above, let's finally take it easy and talk about the more entertaining and light-hearted content (which is weird).

As we all know, this is an era of consuming male sex, and in all kinds of artistic creations, it is not uncommon to use the "beyond friendship" of men and women as a sideline to serve readers to attract attention. Even in the traditional simple and direct juvenile comics with bright emotional dramas, there are constantly various service elements that are enough to make the majority of rotten girls and even rotten men YY. In "Hokage", what the majority of readers talk about is the "basic relationship" between Naruto and Sasuke that spanned fifteen years.

However, as mentioned above, for the interpretation of the so-called basic feelings, many times it is also due to the cognitive gap caused by different angles, the same relationship, in the eyes of straight male cancer patients, is at best just a deep emotion between brothers and sisters, and people who have a slight place in the rotten element in their hearts seem to be the ** spark that can be used for YY, and in the hearts of severely rotten women (men), it is irreversible true love (laughs).

If you want to say, at the beginning of the story, Sasuke didn't put Naruto into his eyes at all (not to mention the same sex, he didn't bother to take a look at the opposite sex), Naruto's revenge is higher than a little young master, who probably only uses low-level ninjutsu, who would have thought that when 669 times, the two of them could actually enjoy the love of broken arms together, let the blood ** melt, and lie together to watch the stars (slightly wrong). What happened in the middle, I believe that many readers know better than the author, and the experience is more real.

In any case, to the best of the author's knowledge, because of Naruto's touching story of chasing Sasuke for fifteen years and never giving up, and mocking "Naruto" as a BL manga, saying that "female characters are superfluous, as long as there are male characters are enough", from this point of view, Kishimoto's depiction of the basic situation is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in other senses.

Of course, what the author needs to constantly emphasize is that whether it is "base" or not often depends on the angle of observation and the judgment standard of the observer's own heart, at least the author himself has not put a clear label on the work, and it is up to you to judge what the meaning of the characters in the play represents.

However, it is true that the female characters in "Naruto" have a sense of zài weaker than other shonen manga, as the first heroine of Sakura, if it weren't for the later study of Tsunade, who stimulated her own potential, and then confessed to Naruto in the land of iron, which made her participation in emotional drama a little deeper, she may be able to rank in the top three in the list of "the thinnest actress in history". Another popular female character, Hinata, with her misty eyes (that's Hakutomi!) ), a weak personality (but it has since changed) and a spectacular upper circumference (?) In addition, the voice actor bonus once became a goddess candidate in the hearts of many readers, but under the light of Naruto and Sasuke's affection, our Hinata-sama also can't escape the tragic fate of having a weakened sense of zài.

The base is the bottom line, Kishimoto hasn't forgotten that jì "Hokage" is a royal school shonen manga, of course, it won't be a shocking BL ending at the end, so the two male protagonists each hugged the beauty, and the CP pairing is basically in line with the general taste of the people, can the two good friends who have been upgraded to fathers continue to be the foundation of the year in the days to come? Maybe we'll find out a little bit about it in the future theatrical version of the anime.

epilogue

Even in Shueisha, which is rich in long-form novels, fifteen years of serialization is still a commendable achievement. Fifteen years have seen ninjas grow up with their readers, witnessing each other's progress from immaturity to maturity. Maybe a long time will wear out the passion and produce burnout, but I believe that the vast majority of readers, like the author, have long been unable to change the habit of taking some time every week to catch up with the progress and care about Naruto's safety. With the end of the manga serialization, the "Naruto" studio was also disbanded, and when I saw Kishimoto's assistant tweet the news, I couldn't help but sigh. Regardless of praise or disapproval, we are still grateful to Kishimoto for bringing us these fifteen unforgettable times, a legend of blood, strength, responsibility and love has come to an end, but the legend of the Hokage has not yet come to an end. In the future, when I see other works related to Naruto, it would be great to be able to recall the manga we had chased together over the years.

===Dividing line===

Is Kishimoto Kishimoto's "Naruto" really going to end!?

Source: Baidu Jump Bar

To commemorate the official completion of the popular anime "Naruto", which has been serialized for 15 years, Kishimoto gave an interview to reporters, talking about his feelings after the end, his thoughts on the final battle and the theatrical version, and his outlook for the next work. The following is a translation of the interview.

Translation of the full text of the interview:

The final showdown between Sasuke and Naruto was decided from the beginning of the serialization.

Reporter: 15 years of long-term serialization, hard work.

Kishimoto: Thank you. In fact, it took 15 hours to draw the final words. After that, I took a short break and immediately gave this interview. It wasn't until this moment that I finally realized that the serialization was over.

Reporter: It's the so-called residual heat after the excitement. What kind of 15 years is it for a teacher!?

Kishimoto: I've always answered this question with "It seems long, but it's actually very short." But this time, my truest feeling was, "It's really long" (laughs). I guess it's because the serialization is over. Before, every week seemed to be chased by the deadline, and the week passed in the blink of an eye, but now looking back on the past 15 years, it feels really not ordinarily long.

Reporter: What was the feeling of the moment when you finished the last sentence!?

Kishimoto: When I first finished the original manuscript, the first editor came to see me with a bouquet of flowers. The moment I received the bouquet, I saw the scene of the rookie era in front of me. I think back to the time when the two of them were planning the serialization and the hardships they have gone through so far. That moment was really uncontrollable. But in front of his assistant, he stubbornly said, "It's not ......" (laughs). Because it would be too bad to cry, I held back my tears.

Reporter: In the end, the Sasuke vs Naruto fight is really a wonderful battle in line with the achievements of these 15 years. When did this ending begin to be determined!?

Kishimoto: In the end, it ended with the battle between Naruto and Sasuke, but it was actually decided from the beginning of the serialization with the original editor. When I changed editors, I was told that "I can't change that ending anyway", and at the same time added "This is your work, so it's your freedom to change it no matter what". Do you want me to change it or not? But I have no intention of changing this ending. As far as the result is concerned, I really want to carry out this ending unswervingly. However, there was no clue what kind of state everyone was going to usher in the final battle, and it was not until three years ago that the current story was finally determined. In the final battle, I didn't insist that Naruto and Sasuke were enemies, but that they both realized that they were fighting their best friends. Although that is the case, in fact, if there is anything that can save Sasuke in the end, it is only that. Sasuke is a stubborn and troublesome guy in many ways. I'm worried about him when I'm drawing him (laughs). And the only one who can accept that kind of Sasuke and stop him is someone with a relatively large amount of weapons like Naruto. Even Sakura, who likes Sasuke like that, suddenly had the idea of giving up when she wanted to stab Sasuke. But Naruto-kun refused to give up at all, because the ending ended with the loss of his best friend was really too sad. I took a gamble on Naruto like that myself, wanting him to pull Sasuke anyway.

キン肉ドライバー's brotherly love

(Note: キン肉ドライバー、A move in the Japanese man!) I haven't seen it and I don't know how Chinese is translated, it's the move on the first floor)

Reporter: Mr. Kishimoto really drew the theme of "friendship" that he wanted to portray to the end.

Kishimoto: It's really satisfying here. Friendship is the theme of many works, but for me friendship is the same thing as brotherhood and family affection, and losing this means losing oneself. And for teenagers, it's an even scarier thing. And that look, I have described many times in my works. This time, it is the culmination of these and the final battle table xiàn came out.

Reporter: Naruto and Sasuke, from the beginning to the end, are like twin brothers.

Kishimoto: Actually, I'm a twin myself. When I was a child, I could feel the feeling that Naruto felt, although this black history is more detrimental to the image and I don't want to say more...... That was when I was in elementary school. My brother and I are relatively small, and during our breaks, my brother is often used to perform this move in the muscle-man arena. It's not that I'm bullied or anything.,It's just that because of the small physique.,It's easier to be used this kind of move.。 Looking at a younger brother like that, it hurts as if he was being used for a move. Actually, I myself had times when I was being cast next to my brother. But the amazing thing is that every time I like this, I feel strongly that we are really brothers. It was probably the moment when I realized that my brother and I were connected. After that, when I became a high school student or a college student, when my friends fell out of love or something didn't go well, I felt the same way I felt when I was in elementary school. At this time, I will also realize again, "Sure enough, I really have a good relationship with this guy." So for me, friends are equal to brothers. In that sense, I think it's great to be born as twins. So the prototype of Naruto and Sasuke is simply me and my brother.

Reporter: Chapter 699 describes the plot of Sasuke leaving the village to go on a trip. And what is the intention of painting like this!?

Kishimoto: I've done so many excesses that it's hard to go back to the village and live normally. So one is a journey of atonement. And further, there is an inner setting in my mind, a journey with the purpose of solving the mysteries left behind in this world. If you don't understand who the final boss Kaguya in the original game is, the world will be once again involved in the catastrophe. This trip is also to stop this. However, if you go into a long story about this, you will be like, "Hey!? Do you want to continue!? So I just brushed it off. Because there are no reservations for painting there.

Reporter: Although the two children between the last episode and Hinata were instigated, how did Naruto and Hinata start to decide the ending of their marriage?

Kishimoto: It was decided a long time ago. There were also times of confusion when I wanted to end up with Sakura, but they all came to this point, and if Sakura changed her mind about Naruto again, then Sakura wouldn't be too much of a woman (laughs). And, actually, I think Sakura has a heart for Sasuke anyway.

The Hokage is painted until the summer.

Reporter: Unlike the original work with the theme of "friendship", the theatrical version released in December has become a story with the theme of "love".

Kishimoto: The idea for the theme of "love" was created by the animation system. Personally, I said, "If you don't have a good idea, it's better not to make a theatrical version," but the moment I heard about this proposal, I thought it was a "good idea." In the manga, there is only a description of the battle and there is basically no description of love, and the theatrical version also contains the meaning of supplementing this, and I also want to depict the growth of Naruto's love, and the idea of this swelling all of a sudden.

Reporter: As far as Kishimoto is concerned, what role did you play in the production of the theatrical version of zuò?

Kishimoto: When I first came to talk to him, the first draft of the script was actually completed. I'm just asking them to make changes on top of that, trying to get better. But because I felt the passion of the theater production staff led by the scriptwriter for Naruto's love, I couldn't help but be infected by this enthusiasm, and I unconsciously made them make countless revisions, not even letting go of a small detail.

Reporter: Because real love is basically not described at all in the original work, it is really difficult to imagine Naruto's love.

Kishimoto: I'd be very embarrassed if I was talking about love myself. Therefore, the original work also tried its best to avoid the description of love. In the end, I plan to end up like Dragon Ball in N years. And I think that only anime can really express love Xiàn.,As far as the result is concerned,The theatrical version and the ending of the manga are linked.,It's a good story.。

Reporter: In the end, I am very concerned about Mr. Kishimoto's future plans anyway.

Kishimoto: There will be a short-term concentrated serialization of the Hokage's new chapter in the spring of the coming year. And in addition to that, there will basically be work on the Hokage until the summer. So if you really want to draw a new manga, I guess it will be after that. In fact, his book is already full of all kinds of ideas, and he won't disappoint everyone. But because I'm 40 years old, it's really hard to come back to the weekly serialization. Although it is often said that you want to learn from Mr. Akimoto, Mr. Akimoto is very good. If you can、New serials or weekly magazines, let me go.。 First of all, it's almost time to calm down and prepare for your wedding trip and squeeze out time to play with your children. Although he has been married for ten years, he can't be idle at all thanks to the blessing of the Hokage. It's almost time to cherish your family as much as Naruto and the others. (laughs)