--When I looked at the story of the 1st episode, I saw that "family love" was expressed in the same way as in "Naruto". Is this a theme that Mr. Kishimoto, yourself, focus on when you create your works?

Kishimoto: Rather than wanting to portray "love," that's the only thing I can believe in now.I have recently begun to think that love is the only theme that people can relate to and believe in.

In the first episode, there is a phrase, "The most important thing is not visible to the eye." I have experienced the difference between "honest intentions and pretense" in my experiences with many people, and I don't like "tatemae(pretense)".That's a lie, isn't it?" I think, "That's a lie, isn't it?

However, there is a tendency in the world to accept it as "good" even though it does not contain feelings, and I feel uncomfortable with that.

--There are many people like that, so it is difficult to live in a world where people can live with their "true feelings.

Kishimoto: Various works have different themes, and some of them touch the hearts of readers while others do not. However, I believe that if there is "love" at the root of the work and the theme is rooted from there, it will be accepted by people.

In the first episode, I tried to convey the idea that "what is important is invisible" through the love between a father and son.Any form of presentation is fine, but I believe that the impression of a work changes depending on whether or not "love" is present.When I create a story, I divide it into two parts, "A" and "B".

--What do you mean by "A" and "B"?

Kishimoto: A is the interesting part that sells the work, such as ninjutsu or action in the case of ninja.
B is the more thematic part, such as "What exactly is a ninja?
Basically, readers are not interested in the B element, so if you push it, it will smell phony.
In particular, children dislike lectures and phony elements, so we have to be careful in Shonen magazines.

The uniqueness of an artwork is something that comes from A. For example, "Iron Man" and "Spider-Man" are similar in the thematic part of B, but they are differentiated by A because of their different suits and abilities.

--I see. Is there anything you are concerned about in the B part?

Kishimoto: We have to be careful about the balance between A and B.
The "A" part of this work is the samurai's "Metamorphosis," which is a change of armor and weapons.However, there are many simple "samurai equipped with swords and armor" in the world, so if we left it as it is, "A" would not stand out and would not be read.

By adding a science fiction element to the story, I tried to make it a fresh work that people would read.

Source : ORICON NEWS