Naruto Manga To End In November, Wrapping Up 15-Year Run

We tend to stick mainly with Western comics here on Bam Smack Pow to avoid the debate about whether comics and manga are one and the same or just cousins, but since they’re both forms of literature that combine words and art to tell stories, we figured this news was noteworthy and relevant to just about everyone. Kotaku is reporting (translating an article in the Asahi Shimbun) that the Naruto manga will end on November 10, making its final appearance in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto is arguably the most successful manga property of this century to date, making its first appearance in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999. Its gone on to spin off into anime, video games and merchandise of all kinds, and it even managed to find a large amount of success here in North America during a period when overall interest in manga and anime declined from its early 2000s peak.

With so much material out there, we certainly haven’t heard the last of the brand even though the original series is wrapping up. Fifteen years is a long run by any standard, so here’s to you Naruto. You’ve certainly earned a rest.