Editing Naruto (section)

=== Development ===
In 1995, Shueisha released ''Karakuri'', a one-shot manga by Masashi Kishimoto that earned an honorable mention in the Hop Step Award in 1996. Kishimoto was unsatisfied with his subsequent drafts for a follow-up, and decided to work on another project.<ref name="vol16">{{cite book|title=Naruto, Volume 16|last=Kishimoto|first=Masashi|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4215-1090-3|page=150|author-link=Masashi Kishimoto|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/narutokish16kish}}</ref> The new project was originally going to feature Naruto as a chef, but this version never made it to print. Kishimoto originally wanted to make Naruto a child who could transform into a fox, so he created a one-shot of ''Naruto'' for the summer 1997 issue of ''Akamaru Jump'' based on the idea.<ref name="kizuna">{{cite book|title=NARUTO－ナルト－名言集 絆－KIZUNA－ 天ノ巻|publisher=[[Shueisha]]|year=2013|isbn=978-4-08-720681-4|pages=188–195|author=Kishimoto, Masashi|author-link=Masashi Kishimoto|language=ja|trans-title=Naruto Kizuna: The Words That Bind—Scroll of Heaven}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Loo|first=Egan|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-11-05/sj-runs-yu-gi-oh's-end-slam-dunk-debut-naruto-origin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225210532/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-11-05/sj-runs-yu-gi-oh%27s-end-slam-dunk-debut-naruto-origin|archive-date=December 25, 2016|work=[[Anime News Network]]|title=SJ Runs Yu-Gi-Oh's End, Slam Dunk's Debut, Naruto's Origin|date=May 11, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite the positive feedback it received in a readers' poll, Kishimoto was unhappy with the art and the story, so he rewrote it as a story about ninjas.<ref name="Crossroads 226" />

The first eight chapters of ''Naruto'' were planned before it appeared in ''[[Weekly Shōnen Jump]]'', and these chapters originally devoted many panels of intricate art to illustrating the Konoha village. By the time ''Naruto'' debuted, the background art was sparse, instead emphasizing the characters.<ref name="Crossroads 226">{{cite book|title=Manga's Cultural Crossroads|last=Gan|first=Sheuo Hui|date=2013|publisher=[[Taylor and Francis]]|isbn=978-1-134-10283-9|location=Hoboken|page=226|chapter=Auteur and Anime as Seen in the Naruto TV Series|editor1-last=Berndt|editor1-first=Jacqueline|editor2-last=Kümmerling-Meibauer|editor2-first=Bettina}}</ref> Though Kishimoto had concerns that [[chakra]] (the energy source used by the ninjas in ''Naruto'') made the series too Japanese, he still believed it is an enjoyable read.<ref name="Collector's Edition 2005 p 68">{{cite magazine|magazine=Shonen Jump Special Collector Edition (Free Collector's Edition)|title= Naruto: Page 68|year=2005|issn=1545-7818|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|page=68}}</ref> Kishimoto is a fan of [[Godzilla]], and the tailed beasts mythology was introduced because Kishimoto wanted an excuse to draw monsters.<ref name="nippon.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nippon.com/en/views/b00114/|title=Farewell, Naruto: The Curtain Closes on the World's Best-Loved Ninja|date=December 26, 2014|publisher=Nippon Communications Foundation|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150113014354/http://www.nippon.com/en/views/b00114/|archive-date=January 13, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> He has said that the central theme in [[List of Naruto chapters (Part I)|Part I]] of ''Naruto'' is how people accept each other, citing Naruto's development across the series as an example.<ref name="Second Official Character Data Book">{{cite book|title=NARUTO―ナルト―［秘伝・闘の書］|last=Kishimoto|first=Masashi|publisher=[[Shueisha]]|year=2005|isbn=978-4-08-873734-8|pages=310–311|language=ja|trans-title=Naruto: The Second Official Character Data Book}}</ref>

For Part II of the manga, Kishimoto tried to keep the panel layouts and the plot easy for the reader to follow, and avoid "overdo[ing] the typical manga-style".<ref name="Shonen Jump November 2009">{{cite magazine|date=November 2009|title=Naruto: Volume 7|magazine=[[Shonen Jump (magazine)|Shonen Jump]]|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|volume=7|issue=11 #83|pages=16–17|issn=1545-7818}}</ref> He considers that his drawing style has changed from "the classic manga look to something a bit more realistic."<ref name="Shonen Jump November 2009" /> Because of wishing to end the arc involving Sasuke Uchiha's search for his brother, Itachi, in a single volume, Kishimoto decided that volume 43 should include more chapters than regular volumes. As a result, Kishimoto apologized to readers for this since volume 43 was more expensive than regular volumes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kishimoto|first=Masashi|title=Naruto, Volume 43|year=2008|publisher=[[Viz Media]]|page=1|isbn=978-1-4215-2929-5|author-link=Masashi Kishimoto}}</ref>