New Naruto manga mini-series to launch in April along with art exhibit

The January issue of Kadokawa's Entermix magazine is publishing an interview with Naruto manga creator Masashi Kishimoto on Friday. In the interview, Kishimoto says that he will start the new Naruto spinoff manga mini-series in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine next spring. Entermix specifies that the mini-series will launch next April.

Kishimoto adds that he will still have other work left to do in the Naruto franchise until next summer, so he will not begin preparing his next non-Naruto title in earnest until after that. He has various ideas he has yet to reveal, so he asks his fans to look forward to them. However, he notes that he is turning 40, so serializing a weekly manga will be tough. While he cannot say that he will follow the example of Osamu Akimoto (the creator of the decades-long manga KochiKame), he still expresses admiration for Akimoto. Kishimoto jokingly asks for his fans' forgiveness if his next title is not weekly.

Before that, he wants to make time to take care of various things like a honeymoon and playing with his child. He notes that he married over a decade ago, but he has been working nonstop thanks to Naruto. He jokingly says that he, like Nar uto and the other characters, had to gradually come to treasure his own family.

Entermix also notes that the Naruto art exhbition will open in Tokyo next spring, and then move to Osaka in the summer. In addition, there will be a giant wall mural of an illustration by Kishimoto.

These and other efforts are part of the larger "Naruto Shin Jidai Kaimaku Project" (Naruto's New Era Opening Project) marking the 15th anniversary of the original manga, which ended this month.