The series would also spawn multiple anime series, movies, novels, video games and more. His first version of Naruto, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits his final version, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in the world. After considering various genres for his next project, Kishimoto decided on a story steeped in traditional Japanese culture. After spending time in art college, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his story Karakuri. Like many kids, he was first inspired to become a manga artist in elementary school when he read Dragon Ball. Author/artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan.
