Shingo Kimura Shingo Kimura launched onto the manga scene immediately after finishing college in 2018 when his graduation project "Kuimodoshi" was a runner-up for the 95th Tezuka Awards. The one-shot was published in Jump Square later that year, and in 2022 Kimura became the artist for Naruto: Sasuke’s Story—The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust: The Manga. Masashi Kishimoto Author/artist Masashi Kishimoto was born in 1974 in rural Okayama Prefecture, Japan. After spending time in art college, he won the Hop Step Award for new manga artists with his manga "Karakuri" (Mechanism). Kishimoto decided to base his next story on traditional Japanese culture. His first version of Naruto, drawn in 1997, was a one-shot story about fox spirits. His final version, which debuted in Shonen Jump in 1999, quickly became the most popular ninja manga in Japan. Jun Esaka Jun Esaka, blood type O, was born on February 13 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Waseda University, he began working as a writer.