Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (Japanese: BORUTO-ボルト- -Naruto Next Generations-, Hepburn: Boruto: Naruto Nekusuto Jenerēshonzu) is a Japanese manga series written by Ukyō Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. Serialised monthly in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, Boruto is a spin-off and a sequel to Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, which follows the exploits of Naruto Uzumaki's son, Boruto Uzumaki, and his ninja team. An anime television series adaptation directed by Noriyuki Abe started airing on TV Tokyo on 5 April 2017. Unlike the manga, which began as a retelling of the film Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), the Boruto anime begins as a prequel set before Boruto and his friends become ninjas in a later story arc. A series of light novels have also been written. Boruto originated from Shueisha's proposal to Kishimoto on making a sequel to Naruto. However, Kishimoto rejected this offer and proposed his former assistant Mikio Ikemoto to draw it; the writer of the Boruto film, Ukyō Kodachi, created the plot. While both Kodachi and Ikemoto are in charge of the manga, Kodachi also oversees the anime's adaptation alongside Kishimoto. Critical reception to the series has been largely positive; most critics liked the traits of the main characters, most notably Boruto, who resembles his father, Naruto, but is spoiled and pampered and therefore faces different problems than Naruto did during childhood as a social pariah and an orphan. The story was also applauded for building up the original Naruto scenario by showing the new generation of ninjas and their relationships with their parents and mentors. Pierrot's anime prequel also earned praise for its use of both new and returning characters. Shueisha has shipped a million copies of the manga series as of January 2017.