The Last: Naruto The Movie is coming to Japanese theaters on December 6. Little did we know that the titular ninja's story is similar to Masashi Kishimoto's journey. According to Anime News Network, Naruto manga creator Masashi Kishimoto had an interview with The Asahi Shimbun newspaper published last Wednesday where he stated that Naruto's journey to become a Hokage is much like his own journey to become a manga artist.

"I was unable to do well in school and felt a strong sense of inferiority," he said. "When Naruto said, 'I will be Hokage,' people surrounding him laughed at his dream. Since childhood, I also told others that I would be a manga artist but had no foundation."

Reportedly, Kishimoto, despite his initial feelings of "inferiority" was able to break new ground with story's approach to conflict when he created Naruto.

The manga series' central character did not always resort to physical force to overthrow his enemies unless the situation calls for it.

"Boys' comics inevitably feature violent scenes. But I wanted to tell (readers) that enemies who resort to violence probably do so because of unavoidable reasons," Kishimoto said. "And if (the protagonists) defeat them without understanding their motivation, it could end up leading to a repeat of the same thing."

According to Anime News Network, Kishimoto started to move in the manga world in 1996 with "Karakuri" which won Shueisha's "Hop, Step, Jump" award. After that he studied scenario writing books and dialogue for two years before launching Naruto. In 1999, he began serializing Naruto's story in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine which ended last November 10. Reportedly, Shueisha published the 71st compiled book volume in Japan on November 4, and Viz Media published the 67th volume in North America on October 7.

Recently, Jump J Books began listing a novelization of the movie. The novel slated for shipping on December 8, is written by Maruo Kyōzuka.