Why Naruto Changed Its Art Style 

What's your favorite character design in Naruto?

He just improve his art. But still in early stages he manage to use his skills and create a good style, even if the proportions were off most of the time.

It was super briefly touched at the end on how you said Kishimoto did stuff in the manga only because of the anime. Because his art style was heavily influenced in the anime, he drew certain scenes or fights in a specific way because he knew it was going to be animated and wanted those panels to be as detailed and precise as possible. Adapting a manga into an anime is one thing, but intentionally making panels in a way that you know are going to be animated is like subtle storyboarding.

I think the art style interestingly evolves as the general tone darkens and stakes get higher. For example, the first time that Sasuke was introduced, very cartoonish for the comedic beats but by the time the first Naruto Vs Sasuke fight happens, it's much more realistic and intense because of not only how Naruto has grown as a ninja and as a person, but it's also because he's fighting to save his first ever friend. The first solid bond he's ever had (besides Iruka). And the art reflects the seriousness of that event.

I miss Naruto's closed eyes

Although i do prefer the early Naruto's art style, with it's chaotic and messy, yet beautiful and unique background art, and the characters feeling so alive and cool, i can't deny the charm of mid to late Naruto's art style, the realistic take fits really well with the story Kishimoto wanted to tell, and his paneling is amazing as well

Its a tough call, because I do like the pace of the manga, but one thing that since I was little that I absolutely loved about the Anime is the OST. Naruto has amazing music. I've listened to the soundtrack so much, I can name by heart most of the songs. One of my anime watching highlights was in the last Naruto v Sasuke fight when they are brawling, they bring back Need to be Strong for a bit. Gosh, I lost my mind.

I love the original style, it feels vintage and more expressive

I preffer early art style due to it being more "dirty" and less "round". Early naruto aestetics had way more to do with scrolls, sharp weapons, hand signs. This is something very noticible if you compare the chapters's covers and how they change

Kishimoto really did change his artstyle but that was way later than when you seem to believe that happened. Kishimoto's style went under a lot of evolution in the first ten volumes of the manga and that already made the designs look pretty much 1 to 1 with the anime. The only difference being that they were more detailed. Read the full manga if you have the chance, the chapter covers are a delight, a true show of skill from Kishimoto

The reason is actually in Kishimoto’s journal. He says it plainly; he studied Tetsuya Nishio work on the Naruto anime and copied it. It’s really that simple 😳

You know Kishimoto didn’t change the art style for majority reasons you claim. For super simplistic reason. Kishimoto is huge fan of Tetsuya Nishio and he is a little animation head. It has been stated in many interviews

Naruto was randomly introduced to me at the very beginning (with the battle against Haku) The art style caught my eyes so I started reading it. I loved how it was so dark, full of blood/murders and was more about the life of child-soldiers aka "ninja". The earlier art style definitely got me hooked. But the more I read, the more the art style evolved and I liked it too. I also tend to think that the style evolved to be more adapted for sharingans and other stuffs with dojutsu that was later introduced since it was more clean. I love both style but the latest is cleaner overall with better [more interesting] fight angles and nicer backgrounds/sight views. So I vote for the latest lol

Personally I’ve always preferred the earlier more cartoonish art style as it seemed unique, however what I like about the changes described in the video are they also represent the characters themselves maturing/becoming stronger as the story progresses, like childishness giving way to maturity and realism

I mean he would just say he got better over time and found a style that works best for him. It’s not just Naruto either, all major mangakas first works look significantly different from the start to the end or where the story currently is. Bleach, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Rave Master, Yu Yu Hakusho, JoJo, Yu-Gi-Oh, the list goes on. All series that look incredibly different from where they started off.

Most of mangaka will mature and refined the artstyle of his/her manga throughout of their run. We also can see it in Tite Kubo and Yusuke Murata works. Also when the manga will come out with anime adaptation, the key animators in the studios will make the characters and background more cleaner to ease the anime frame by frame

I prefer the later art style Because I think kishimoto knew that the manga was getting more serious and mature that wouldn’t go with cartoonish art style so that's why the art got more cleared but I do miss the eyes that kishimoto drew for Naruto at the start of the manga

Kishimoto's art style development was really fun to see hihi. This video makes me want to binge read the manga again, nicely done!

Can we take a moment to appreciate how tricky it is to just change and draw in a different art style going forward

I like his older artstyle because it had more character and stuck out way more, it was cartoony but had weight to some scenes. I like the newer one and I understand why he changed it and I like that he did evolve as an artist, but I think it just got too simple in the end. I think Naruto was hurt by this, because he’s always been such a cartoony goofy character the older artstyle worked better with him

Honestly both styles have their perks for me, after going to the naruto manga it was a bit jarring seeing Kishi's more cartoonish style but it became kinda home-ey for me,it felt really nice to look at overtime but going into shippuden it felt like the style evolved as most the fans grew up tbh. I liked how he added a bit more realism to the anatomy and kept it simple at the same time

A bit of a tangent but I started thinking that it was pretty weird how Kishimoto forgot that Orochimaru's outfit was actually that of the female grass ninja he killed to infiltrate the Chunin Exams and just treated it as his actual main outfit, to the point most of his subordinates use the purple rope the female grass ninja he replaced had as part of their uniform.

I've always interpreted the subtle change to the art style as a progressive maturity that the manga gained over its run on Shonen Jump. Its obviously not what really happened, but it fits pretty well. the earlier arcs like land of waves and early stages of the Chunin Exam arc gave off a bombastic and energy filled mood to the story but as we begun delving deeper into the world and exploring darker ideas within it, the art almost matures, by the end of the first part, we notice Naruto begins to take himself more seriously, and the subject matter of the final arc of part one is certainly no laughing matter you begin to realize this isn't just a story about a airhead ninja and something more of a battle of philosophies between friends, a journey of finding ones self and learning to empathize with those who hurt us. and for this reason and many others, i consider Naruto to be one of the best pieces of literature ever put on paper

this is normal for mangaka they usually start their series when they dont have a defined art style its not that masashi kishimoto chose that art style in the beginning its just that artist evolve (i can say that as a comic creator myself) but the change was for the better

I read the manga and I was incredible surprised by the quality from the chapter 1! I didn't noticed really the difference in the art as I was reading trough it from chapter 1, but I surely liked both styles. I think I like the manga Naruto a bit more then the Naruto Shippuden though, not sure if because of the style, I think because in Naruto everything seemed more mysterious, we had more techniques, and the characters used more of their brain powers, it wasn't about who has the biggest rassengan or the best eyeballs, but often about who is the smartest in a fight. Even Naruto was coming up with clever tricks to beat his oponents early, and then in Shippuden he became the clasic Shounen Protagonist who goes with his head ahead and uses his plot-armor at the highest. The manga quality dropped tremondously in Boruto, and I'm not sure why, they should have plenty of money to make good manga, but noped, decided to make a trash released once a month.

I always wrote the changes up to the additions of a professional inker and assistants having a positive effect on Kishimoto’s work. Never thought it was a conscious thing. I prefer the older art style but only marginally, very marginally.

I like the art style after the change, but before Shippuden. Everything just looked so sterile and bland in part two. Think about how watered down Naruto looked using the beast cloak against Orochimaru vs that pure savage look he had fighting Sasuke.

Personally I always prefered the old style. The only thing I like about the new style is that atleast the colors are more radiant, but honestly I miss the expression and variety from the first style (Just compare Sasuke or Haku with the new design, they barely look like the same person) Also I dislike that since there's no variety in style, most characters have the same face and a unnecesary "realism" (my god Naruto is only 16 he doesn't need a super detailed jaw or nose whenever he fights)

I like the later artstyle better but the early artstyle has a charm that the later style doesn't, so I can appreciate both

I kinda just figured his art style got better over time

I don't think you can compare the manga to the anime. Like for example, the anime has way less blood and less swearwords (oh no how bad) but the it has has fillers which mean free character development and also fight scenes look way more epic most the time in the anime. Both have good and bad aspects so I like both equally.

dygo i love your videos i dont care if not alot of people are into naruto anymore i love the interesting videos keep up the interesting stuff bro!!!

Nice video! I also could not overlook change in style in the manga, but I like it at every stage. I really like Boruto's artstyle too, maybe even more than Kishimotos. I find it more illustrative and more realistic at the same time :)

"Fox-face" or Kitsunegao is usually drawn with slitty eyes, this means the character is mischievous, or in naruto's case, a literal fox.

It’s more illegal that garras new hairstyle to be this early

I always looked at it like this. I was looking at it from Naruto's perspective. The sillyness of the art represented how he saw the world. As time progressed, Naruto was changing as well as the art styles showing the experiences he went through

Thought he was gonna address how Shikamaru didn’t look human in the beginning of naruto manga lol

I thought the reason Naruto Eyes were closed all the time was because it represented the Japanese Fox. Everytime you see an image of a fox in anime or manga their eyes looked closed

I really miss the old art style of Naruto and One Piece, felt so right to me. Along with the old animations.

2:35 naruto's hair looks like ssj goku

I prefer the later art. I think the softer look to the characters towards the end of part 1 fits the characters then but when it gets to shippuden I think it looks off

I've noticed the change years before, and kinda figured out that it was made in name of efficiency, but didn't know Kishimoto really liked the anime style and thus decided to change. Really cool video

Even though I grew up with the later/anime art style I love the earlier art style way more because it was so much more unique than most shonen art styles.

I like the later manga style better. Very beautiful and easy to navigate what is happening.

Another note. Naruto anime design was created by a legendary celebrity animator in the industry at the time "Tetsuya Nishio". In a data book Kishimoto explain how amaze he is with the anime design and use the settei (character design) sheet as style base on his work desk and that's how he end up with the cleaner design at the end. In the anime final product the result are pretty significant due to Animation Director variety but if you see the real settei, even when the design from manga are really rough at the time, Tetsuya Nishio simplified it and make it much better especially for the character expressions.

Finished the manga back in high school. Newer art style is my preference. Kishimotos art style really shines. That one Pain Panel is amazing

This reminds me of the Soul Eater creator Atushi Ohkubo. The early artwork of Ohkubo looked a lot more cartoon- like. But when the Soul Eater anime came out his artwork changed in the manga and the characters looked more like how they look in the anime.

Awesome video! I'm trying too re read the manga, where can I find it in color look kk me that?

You are easily the best naruto content youtuber

1:43 that specific image of sasuke looks a lot more like itachi in certain flashbacks

nice vid man, although wish you would have made more overt references to your sources (like interviews or whatever), paritcualrly when you say things like "kishimoto purposefully changed the artstyle to fit the manga" because had i not stumbled upon this piece of info a few times before this vid would feel as if it was just a personal interpretation of the artstyle's evolution rather than being based on any sort of actual research, like you know enough about the world of anime and manga to string things together. i mean i still don't know where that comes from but willing to be open-minded about that.

I was thinking about it this morning

Toda a arte vai mudando com o tempo, eu acho isso brabo mesmo, as artes que tinham do começo do Naruto do anime nem se parecem tanto com as do começo do mangá, já parecem feitas usando a base do desenho do final do mangá, mas a evolução do Kishimoto e de todos os mangakás é bom e é bom ver eles evoluindo os desenhos deles, lol.

I beg to differ lol. I grew up watching/reading Naruto as a kid, & I think his original style in the earlier chapters was more gritty and detailed/realistic, but over time (Shippuden and Boruto) the characters started to look progressively more simplified. It was especially noticeable in the characters faces, very minimal shading and their eyes started looking bigger and further apart, giving them a somewhat flat look. Although Kishimoto having to meet insane deadlines is a dead giveaway to the change in his style, just thought id throw in my 2cents ✨

3:09 I am so glad I wasn't the only one who noticed this! Every time he close his eyes I was like: *_NOTED_*

I prefer the earlier art style. Just Part 1 as a whole. Both early-early to the end of part 1 (aka Sasuke retrieval arc). There's just something about Naruto's hair they can't exactly re-capture in the later art style (both in the manga and anime).

The great thing about super early Kishimoto's style was camera angeles. They were so good

Little fact, the reason all of exaggeration and perspective angle in pre Shippuden gone is bcoz Seishi no longer become Masashi assistant , he is Masashi brother, who made 666 Satan and Blazer Drive.

Moto experimentation with paneling and angles makes in the greatest

It might have been intentional but it was a mistake. The old art style really drove the point of it being a dangerous world across. The later art style is way too clean.

What i don't like about later naruto chapters is that backgrounds (aside from konoha) are just backgrounds, not places, think of one piece or hunter x hunter each new arc brings new places as well as new characters, and those places are as interesting as the new characters and the plot

I preferer the mid artstyle. I feel more personality from the earlier art but the later art has better composition. So, I think the mid between them has the best of each.

also why you using coloured panels? still gave you a like tho for the parts in the video that made sense

The art style changes a lot because the team moved from hand drawn to computer drawn, leading to more sharp and regular lines. We can even see the aliasing in closeup faces. And that's a very brutal change.

The actual reason is because mangaka usually change their art style in time in a natural way. Examples? Well, Bleach, Hunter x Hunter, Inuyasha, D-Gray Man, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Gantz only to name a few.

I discovered the manga with Tome 1 but after I discovered the anime, so I'm used to the early style and I don't mind, but I prefer Kishimoto's definitive style, it feels more realistic and is really refined, it's simple but that's what I like, I don't watch a lot of anime or read to many manga but maybe because I'm more attracted to more simple design I like when they don't do to much with it, same with superhero costumes for example As for a change of art style in the manga, I read a lot of belgian and french comic books (countries considered as cradles of european comic books), the artists often go blind when they draw characters, and they refine their style and sometimes completely changes it with the years passing, so I'm not shocked, still I watched the Naruto anime several time and it's annoying to see different art style each episode, I can easily differentiate the team of animators just by looking at the style

Would be nice to drop a source on those claim of kishi's changing art style

I think you should have a poll on if you should change content from just being Naruto

Naruto earlier art looks very cool I get a kind of a Saturday morning cartoon vibe from it

For the same reason as you, because I was introduced to Naruto with the 1rst art style: llooking back to it I'm a bit attached to it :) + I preferred the manga 100% than the anime And for Boruto, the manga aesthetic of the characters are way better for me than the anime (not the background tho ahaha). It's maybe to due to the fact that the characters looks older for me in the manga

Old art just like you said it feel little bit cartoonist but is acceptable now I read manga it's so good without including the cartoon feeling

I would just think Manga creators naturally drew better as they go on. 💀 Didn’t think the anime was his inspiration. 😇

Naruto without the headband is clean

feel like the older artstyle was far more dynamic and less stiff, but i completely understand the change bc of working conditions

2:27 if someone does now can you please tell me the chapter of that pannel i love those slice of life moment

Is there any source on how Kishimoto liked the anime artstyle better?

Well i noticed this with bleach, the early art was rough and sharp, but i don't know it was like really memorable. Really miss the old one ( beginning arc/soul society/ beginning of arrancar saga )

It's simple: mangaka who just started their career have lots of "room" for improvement therefore their art style changes drastically over the first years till they find their definitive style (after that it can still evolve but it rarely does).

I’m pretty sure a lot of main shonen change art style over time

when i first found out about manga (naruto was the second one i bought and actually completed), i didn't even knew there was something like anime. i don't think either of the art-styles is better. they just have two different goals i think.

I realized everything man

i mean alot of Kishimotos design choices especially when it got to around the end of series was because of time. example everyone wearing the same basic vest so he doesnt have to draw every single character in their own individual outfit for the entire war arc, and the same with Narutos goggles.

dare I say it, the changes in the art style made the characters look... hot!!

What I didn't like was the way the headband kept getting smaller

i like both. it never really mattered to me. i'm not really picky with how it turned out.

I am a believer of Art chooses Artist, and believe that Naruto was a story that chose kishimoto as it's artist. Before, Naruto Kishimoto was the "Karakuri" guy (I meant to say the guy who made Karakuri), and The Illustrations give a cartoonish vibe, like Hunter Hunter, but then some time after the initial chapters of Naruto this change happened, which I believe is the best thing to happen to Naruto, as I believe, Naruto is the only one of the big 3, to have the cleanest design, and Illustrations.

The Boruto manga looks really good now lol. It may have looked bad at first, but you can clearly tell Ikemoto's style improved. Another thing, he does have a couple of assistants. They clear up some of the art mistakes. If they really thought his art style was bad, they would have replaced him or told him to improve.

I love both styles, but the early style is my favorite!

I prefer the later art style and my own art style was compared to this type by many people who have seen it. I do still love the original art style too though.

I wish he kept the more bendy perspectives with the newer art style

Tbh I feel like the art style contrasts with Naruto’s life. The cartoony style for his childish, carefree days and the more realistic art to show his growth

I miss the original art style of the first several volumes. It didnt feel cartoonish to me. But it was a lot more dynamic imo.

Itachi's manga design in part one is goated. That panel when he is preparing to fight asuma and kurenai is perfect

Masashi Kishimoto?? Yea that’s my goat😎

I like the old art style it’s nostalgic

It’s not even just the art, for some reason I always viewed the manga as more mature, like a senin manga. Where as the anime just seems more kid friendly idk

The Boruto manga doesn't look bad tho.. and it's a monthly release instead of week to week

I actually really liked the older art. Reminds me of the old Digimon card art

the manga art style is so good bro

Similar to yourself, I prefer the later art style as my first ever manga volume was volume 55(and I specifically chose that one for a reason). So I’m more used to it than the old style.