It is perfectly normal for some characters in anime series to be more popular than others. There are cases where the mangaka completely underestimate the popularity – or rather overestimate it. Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, talks about such cases.
Which characters are we talking about? Kishimoto completely overestimated the popularity of two characters. These are figures related to Sasuke:
- Sai is much less popular than Kishimoto thought. He replaced Sasuke Uchiha in Team 7 after Sasuke fled. However, he could not keep up with Sasuke’s popularity.
- On the other hand, Kimimaro Kaguya fell short of expectations. He is the leader of the Oto Quintet and was intended as a new body for Orochimaru. Due to his illness, he could no longer serve as a body, which is why Sasuke took on the role.
For Kimimaro, the creator at least had an explanation for why he was so unpopular. At first, Kimimaro was well-received by fans. However, he possessed a Kekkei Genkai, a special ability of his clan, which allowed him to manipulate his bones:
Kimimaro was the same. Kimimaro was initially very popular, but as soon as it was shown how he pulls out his spinal cord, his popularity vanished.
From the interview between Masashi Kishimoto and Kobayashi, via Naruto Fandom
Kishimoto’s interview partner speculated that this ability might have been too disgusting for the fans. Especially the female fans may have been disturbed by such a sight. At least Sai remained with us until the end of the manga, but Kimimaro died due to his fatal illness.
Sai even appears sporadically in Boruto. However, here he cannot match Sasuke, as the following trailer proves:
Two other Naruto characters were more popular than expected
What other characters did Kishimoto misjudge? In the interview, characters were also mentioned where the opposite occurred. Kishimoto did not expect them to become so popular.
On one hand, he talked about Kakashi. The creator had no idea why Kakashi became such a popular character. That point must have passed him by. However, he believes it might be because Kakashi is so cool.
On the other hand, Jiraiya seems to have become much more popular than he expected. This is likely due to his perverted nature. Jiraiya is the author of Icha Icha Paradise, a fictional manga in Naruto that deals with the love between two adults.
Kishimoto was probably pleased that the two became so popular. Nevertheless, he wished that this popularity would have also transferred to Sai and Kimimaro.
However, just because characters like Kakashi or Jiraiya are popular, does not mean they are strong. In a Naruto ranking, MeinMMO author Christos Tsogos has listed for you which are the strongest fighters in the anime: Naruto Shippuden: The 6 strongest characters in the ranking
