"Naruto Shippuden" will finally conclude in April 2017 but it will be replaced by "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations." During the Jump Festa panel on Saturday, Dec. 17, Masashi Kishimoto made the announcement and teased some details about the upcoming anime.
"Naruto Shippuden" Ending
"Naruto Shippuden" is currently airing episodes from the novels based on the secondary characters in the anime. The current episodes focus on Sasuke's fate after the war based on the novel "Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise." The next story will focus on Shikamaru and it is based on the Japanese book "Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness."
The current episodes are all based on stories that take place between Chapter 699 and Chapter 700 of the manga. Although there is no official announcement that "Naruto Shippuden" will end, it seems to be the logical move since the manga and "Naruto" novels were already covered in the anime.
"Boruto: Naruto Next Generation"
There were rumors that Boruto is going to be the next arc for Naruto. Yet based on the announcement during the Jump Festa, Boruto's story will have an entirely new anime show. During the anime panel for Naruto and Boruto, Kishimoto teased that he plans to make Boruto "even better than Naruto."
"Boruto," the sequel to Kishimoto's "Naruto," started serialization in the Weekly Shonen Jump on May 9. Mikie Ikemoto and Ukyo Kodachi are behind the series. As mentioned, the anime will start airing in April 2017, just in time for the ending of "Naruto Shippuden."
The stars for the upcoming anime include Junko Takeuchi who is the voice behind Naruto Uzumaki, Kokoro Kikuchi who plays Sarada Uchiha, Ryuichi Kijima as Mitsuki, and Yuko Sanpei who plays the protagonist, Boruto Uzumaki.
During the panel, Junko requested Kishimoto to include a scene where the adults gather and talk about how difficult it is to raise their kids. Aside from the "Boruto" anime, a live-action "Naruto" movie was also announced. The Hollywood movie will be under Lionsgate and Michael Gracey will be the director.
"Naruto Shippuden" is scheduled to air episode 487, the fourth installment in Sasuke's story, on Thursday, Dec. 22.
