Naruto's Big Manga Return Includes Kishimoto's Most Adorable Redesign Since Baby Kurama
An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.
His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023.
Over the 15 years of Naruto's original manga run, Masashi Kishimoto got plenty of opportunities to redesign his beloved characters for any occasion. It included instances of subtle changes like Kankuro's face paint between story arcs before and after the time-skip, outfit changes like Sasuke's in the third stage of the Chunin Exams, and flashback-tailored designs such as the iconic Baby Kurama meeting Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Some are more widely recognized than others, but rarely do fans ever turn down an appearance from Baby Kurama. Now, as Naruto's generation ushers in the next, fans will get to see the young shinobi emerge out of the Fourth Great Ninja War as parents, with children of their own.
With the reveal of Naruto: Shadow Rising, the period of progress toward stability has begun for the ninja world with Kishimoto unveiling a delightful redesign appropriate for the era: little baby Sarada Uchiha. At this point, little else has been seen of her beyond Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and the post-timeskip look from Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, but it's hard to deny just how adorable it is to see her cradled by Sakura, her proud parent, especially with the hilarious potential of seeing Sasuke attempt to be a girl dad once more. It's an exciting signal of things to come, and a strong indication that we will soon see each of her peers as they enter the world.
Kishimoto's New Naruto Manga Will Feature Baby Sarada's Unusual Upbringing
Much like the rest of the trailer for Naruto: Shadow Rising, Kishimoto's manga is still very much in-progress, but he took special care to show a little love for the Boruto fans in the audience. Sarada is easily the most compelling character of the new generation beyond Boruto and Kawaki, and her unique upbringing. Born in one of Orochimaru's hideouts with Sasuke present and with the help of Karin Uzumaki, Sarada had an unconventional childhood, her family living in Konoha to raise her, with Sasuke being present for her first steps, before ultimately being absent for a long mission related to investigating the Otsutsuki threat.
This new image marks the first rendition of Sarada as a baby by Kishimoto himself, as the Boruto anime featured Tetsuya Nishio and Hirofumi Suzuki as its character designers, where it showed her younger self in flashbacks. This particularly vulnerable phase for Sarada was notably different given her absentee father, giving way for her headstrong mother to be a phenomenal role model who'd support her through even the latest chapters. It's a wonderful encapsulation of Sakura's boundless affection for her daughter, and just how much of a fierce protector she'd always be from then on.
Naruto's New Manga Will Usher In The Next Generation
The vulnerable glimpse of baby Sarada is an important one as it reminds readers of what's now at stake for Naruto and his peers. They may now be in their prime as shinobi, but Sarada's birth is just one of many new lives welcomed into Konoha and beyond who'll soon inherit stewardship over their home. This would even include the reincarnation of Kurama in his baby form with Himawari as seen in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, inheriting Naruto's responsibility over the Tailed Beast before her, just as he did from his mother, Kushina, having the fox spirit sealed inside him after his birth. It's a reminder of what's now at stake for each of the main characters, now having a family to return to, putting an extra cost to risking their lives on dangerous missions.
It also, ideally, will mean adorable renditions of each of the new generation, and glimpses of the blissful togetherness of each canonical couple from the Naruto franchise. Fans could easily go for more glimpses of Shikamaru raising young Shikadai with Temari, and perhaps finally nail down just who Rock Lee got together with to have Metal Lee. After all, it's more than just a chance to get a new look at Naruto's new generation at their youngest. Genuine questions can be settled, and new challenges will arise as Kishimoto presents these characters suddenly facing the delicate balancing act of being shinobi and raising a family.
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