Naruto Isekai'd - The New Anime Was Not What Fans Expected At All
The long-awaited anniversary episodes turned out to be a crossover with a forgotten 90s anime that many Naruto fans had never even heard of.
Viz Media presented the four-episode anime NARUTO x NINKŪ at New York Comic-Con. According to Anime Corner, this is the very anniversary project that was supposed to be released back in September 2023, but was postponed for quality improvement.
As it turned out, as a gift for the anniversary, the creators were preparing a crossover of Naruto with the Ninku manga and anime. According to the plot, Kakashi assigns Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura a new mission, but cannot go with them himself. Therefore, command temporarily passes to Naruto. On the way, the heroes enter another world, where they meet Fusuke, the main character of Ninku.
Koji Kiriyama's Ninku manga was published intermittently from 1993 to 2011 and even received an anime adaptation in 1995-1996. However, it did not achieve the same popularity as Naruto. At the same time, Masashi Kishimoto admitted that it was the desire to see a continuation of Ninku that once prompted him to create Naruto. Now he himself proposed the idea of a crossover to finally fulfill a long-held dream:
"I created Naruto because I myself wanted to see a continuation of Ninku. I think many of you have already noticed how much Ninku influenced Naruto. Without Ninku, there would be no Naruto. Simply put, Fusuke is Naruto's secret mentor. Over time, I began to dream of bringing this teacher-student relationship out of the shadows and making it part of a real story. Kiriyama-sensei, who is as much a mentor to me as Fusuke is to Naruto, kindly agreed to my selfish request. He personally met with me and provided tremendous help, thanks to which my long-held dream became a reality. Finally, I managed to create a continuation of Ninku in the fullest sense of the word. In total, it consists of four episodes, and I hope you enjoy watching them to the very end!"
Ninku creator Koji Kiriyama also shared his joy about the upcoming crossover:
"The worlds of Naruto, Fusuke, and their friends will meet and intertwine, and I am sincerely happy about it! This miracle was made possible thanks to Kishimoto-sensei's proposal and generosity. It is a great honor for me that he so deeply understands and accepts the world of Ninku. The adventures of Naruto, Fusuke, and their friends are about to begin. I hope you are looking forward to them with the same excitement and impatience as we, the creators!"
However, not all fans share the authors' enthusiasm. After three years of waiting, many hoped to see new adventures of the heroes in the familiar world of Naruto, and not a crossover with a little-known anime today:
"This isn't exactly what I wanted, but it's cool for Kishimoto."
"I'm not trying to judge anyone, but what the hell is this?"
"Hmm... I was hoping these special episodes would be about Naruto and his friends."
At the same presentation, a full-fledged continuation of the Naruto manga, Naruto: Shadow Rising, which Masashi Kishimoto is working on, was also announced. This news somewhat softened the disappointment of the fans:
"Yes, it seems the general consensus is: the anime announcement was disappointing, but compensated by the manga announcement."
When NARUTO x NINKŪ will be released is still unknown — the authors have not named a premiere date.
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