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As deeply corny as it sounds, the fondest memories of my childhood are of begging my dad to take me to the bookstore every weekend, where I would spend hours upon hours absorbed in the fantasy worlds that only manga could create. Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball Z, & Inuyasha any manga you can think of, I’ve probably read it.
Eventually it got to the point where I was already caught up with the latest English installments of every series. Waiting a month for the next one was just too long. I turned to websites that released up-to-date translations of the latest chapters, much to the chagrin of Japanese manga publishers. The days that the chapters were published became the highlights of my week, and a decade later, I still keep up my weekly routine of checking the updates on my favorite manga — reading the chapters, reading the comments, rereading the chapters and rereading the comments. Needless to say, these Japanese comics have become an indelible part of my life; they are something that I, along with many others, have grown up with.
As with all things that a person grows up with and grows out of, letting go can be hard, and after 15 years of publication, it’s finally time to come to terms with the end of “Naruto,” which happens in just a few short weeks. Masashi Kishimoto, the author of the manga series, announced via Shonen Jump’s website that “Naruto” will end Nov. 10. For those who follow the weekly releases, it may have seemed clear that the manga was nearing its finale ever since the beginning of the current story arc, which started more than a year ago. For those who don’t, these next few weeks will mark the end of one of the most cross-culturally influential manga series and help define it as a masterpiece or a disappointment.
For the past two years, Kishimoto has been building up the current battle between Naruto, the main protagonist, and Sasuke, the main antagonist, to develop the climax of the series. But when the time finally came, he announced that there would only be a meager five chapters left before the manga ended, raising doubts about Kishimoto’s ability to adeptly conclude the series. With chapters at about 20 pages each, there isn’t a lot of room left for the series to tie up all of the loose ends that it has created while still giving the fans the spectacular final fight that they expect and, dare I say, deserve.
The conclusion of “Naruto” doesn’t just denote the end of a series but the end of an era.