Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto will begin writing the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga starting with Chapter 52, which goes on sale this month.
Up to now, Ukyo Kodachi has written Chapters One to 52, with Mikio Ikemoto handling the illustration duties. Kodachi has published novels and also written scripts for Gundam and Macross.
Kishimoto, who ended Naruto’s manga serialization in 2014, has been the editorial supervisor for the Boruto manga from the start. In 2015, he created the Boruto spin-off animated movie, not only designing the characters but also crafting the story and writing the script.
The official Naruto/Boruto Twitter account announced that Kishimoto would be writing the manga, which is included in the December issue of V Jump that goes on sale on November 21. The account also thanked Kodachi for writing the manga and noted that this decision was planned since the beginning. From henceforth, the tweet added, the serialized manga will follow Kishimoto’s original drafts.