Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto will team up with Akira Okubo for a brand new manga series, Samurai 8, in VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.
The new series dropped on Shonen Jump on May 12th. It’s described as “a futuristic tale of Samurai adventure.” It definitely looks like it will be putting a different spin on Samurai. The trailer reveals, “A samurai is not human. They are unique beings called keys.”
Kishimoto released a personal message to fans when the series was announced last December.
““I’ll be doing a new series. I love Japanese things. I’m thrilled by the culture and decorations. And I love science fiction. I’m excited by the gimmicks and settings. So I decided to create a story by mixing two of my favorite things. I’m desperate to make it more interesting than ‘Naruto.’ Don’t miss it!”
The series will debut weekly on Shonen Jump.
Kishimoto’s previous work Naruto began on Shonen Jump in 1999 and ran for 15 years ending in 2014. The series would feature 72-volumes and has sold more than 150 million copies in print in Japan. It would later be adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. The series was 220 episodes long and was adapted to English and aired on Cartoon Network between 2005 and 2009. A sequel Naruto: Shippuden would run from 2007 to 2017 and boasted over 500 episodes. It would air on Disney XD for English-speaking audiences between 2009 and 2011. It moved to Toonami in 2014.
Kishimoto is also currently working on Bortuo: Naruto Next Generations. He serves as a writer and supervisor.
You can read the first chapter of Samurai 8 right here.