This article contains spoilers from the Naruto series.
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Key Takeaways
Kishimoto's favorite Naruto characters are Naruto and Sasuke due to his intricate handling and affection for them. Sasuke was Kishimoto's favorite for a period due to the special attention and care he poured into the character. Sakura fell behind as Kishimoto's least favorite main character, lacking the same attention and development as Naruto and Sasuke.
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Kishimoto's Love For Naruto And Sasuke
Why Kishimoto Preferred Sasuke At The Beginning Of Naruto
Kishimoto Had To Work Extra Hard On Sasuke
How Kishimoto Failed Sakura
While Naruto and Sasuke Stayed As His Favorites, Sakura Was Left Behind
Kishimoto, the writer of Naruto, worked incredibly hard on his Naruto series over the years. It is safe to say that Kishimoto's work on Naruto was spectacular from start to finish, and although one might have reservations about the ending that he chose to pursue, it is safe to say that this manga was nothing short of a masterpiece that went on to inspire people from all over the world, and, even other authors who are currently working in Jump.
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These characters went on to become legendary in their own right, and Kishimoto's intricate handling of them just goes to show how much he loved them. That said, not all characters were loved equally by Kishimoto, as is the case with all authors. He certainly had his own favorite, and he has revealed it to the fans already.
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Kishimoto's Love For Naruto And Sasuke
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Kishimoto Gave Special Attention To Naruto And Sasuke Side Characters Were Often Neglected By Kishimoto
Out of all the characters in the Naruto series, Kishimoto had an affinity to two in particular, and his treatment of those two characters in the story makes it quite easy to guess as to who they are. Naturally, when one speaks of Kishimoto's favorites, Naruto and Sasuke come to mind. These are two of the most loved characters in the story, and that just goes to show that Kishimoto handled them with the utmost care. Naruto, being one of Kishimoto's favorites should not surprise any fan. After all, he's the protagonist of the series and he has to be interesting, as well as carry amazing ideals in order for the fans to love him. Kishimoto, in many ways, might even have made Naruto a reflection of himself, which means that he absolutely adores the character, no matter what fans think.
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But, to make this story more interesting, Kishimoto also created Sasuke, who is Naruto's rival and, in many ways, his opposite. Kishimoto has previously described Naruto and Sasuke to be Yin and Yang, who progress together and must always be in equilibrium. These two characters are adored by Kishimoto to the fullest, and in the case of Sasuke, fans know that Kishimoto's handling of him was such that, in many instances in the story, it almost felt he had a bias towards him. Based on Kishimoto's own comments, it appears that this bias might not be a misconception among the fans, after all. As stated by Kishimoto at the very beginning of the Naruto series, Sasuke required him to pay special attention to the character, which might even have made him his favorite at one point.
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Why Kishimoto Preferred Sasuke At The Beginning Of Naruto
Kishimoto Had To Work Extra Hard On Sasuke
At the beginning of the Naruto series, Kishimoto seemed to have quite a lot of work on his hands. Not only did he have to develop complex storylines, but he had to create the main characters of his series. Creating the main characters is a very important step that can make or break a series, and for Kishimoto, this was very important, just like any other mangaka. Kishimoto designed Sasuke very carefully and redefined him in many ways over the years. This includes changes to his personality, all the way down to his character design. In many ways, Kishimoto had to pay attention to the character of Sasuke, and this is one of the biggest reasons why Sasuke ended up becoming his favorite at some point. Here is what Kishimoto had to say about Sasuke's character.
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Kishimoto: This is the first image of Sasuke. It hasn't changed very much up to now. The only big difference is that he lost that thing around his neck. It's the same for all characters, the more you draw them, the more you add more and more lines. You add accessories and such. And with a main character, you get really excited and keep adding stuff. Afterwards, I wondered, "Can I really have a character with so many lines in a weekly series?"
So I reduced the amount of lines and made Sasuke's image closer to that of Naruto.
In my opinion, Sasuke's face and movements are the hardest to draw. And if I'm not careful, his face ends up looking too adult. I've never had a child character with eyes like that in any of my mangas, so it's very hard to draw.
He's the character I have to take the most care with, and maybe because of that, he's my favorite character. - Kishimoto
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As is clear from his comments, Kishimoto absolutely adores Sasuke and given his treatment of this character over the years, it can be said that Sasuke continues to be one of his favorites right until the very end. Of course, Kishimoto could have changed his opinion since then, but, it can be said that Sasuke was always up there with his favorites all the way to the end.
How Kishimoto Failed Sakura
While Naruto and Sasuke Stayed As His Favorites, Sakura Was Left Behind
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While the likes of Naruto and Sasuke were loved by Kishimoto right until the very end, one of the main characters certainly wasn't is none other than Sakura. In fact, Kishimoto openly admitted to not being capable of writing great female characters, even though he has written decent female characters in some cases, at least when he tries. Kishimoto's main issue with Sakura is that he simply gave up on her in favor of other characters, such as Naruto and Sasuke. When Kishimoto did decide to focus on Sakura, he made sure that she shone splendidly. In the early parts of the Chunin Exams, Sakura was a delight to watch.
These are the first sketches of Sakura. I still feel the same as I did when I first drew them, SHE'S NOT CUTE!! In general, I have trouble drawing girls and am always worrying that they aren't cute enough. When I passed these sketches around to all the assistants they all agreed and said "A girl that's not cute." - Kishimoto
Similarly, in the first part of Naruto Shippuden, where Sakura was at the center of things in the battle against Sasori, she was an absolute delight to watch. Had Kishimoto given her more focus, she would've been a much better character today and loved equivocally all over the world. Unfortunately, that never happened and Kishimoto skipped over this character quite a bit. Out of the main three characters, Sakura is certainly Kishimoto's least favorite, even though that doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't like her. For Kishimoto, the love certainly is there, it is just not as great as his love for Naruto and certainly not Sasuke.
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As far as the other main characters go, Kakashi is there, but he's certainly not one of Kishimoto's favorites. The likes of Itachi and Minato, among others, such as Kurama, are also out there with Kishimoto's beloved characters, but once again, they absolutely do not compare to Naruto and certainly not to Sasuke.
Naruto is available to read on the MangaPlus and the Shonen Jump app. Fans can read the official release and support the author by doing so.
One Piece
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Fantasy
Studio Toei Animation
Story By Eiichiro Oda
Number of Episodes 1116+