Recently, the results of a global character survey named “NARUTOP99” were announced, revealing the most popular characters among fans of Naruto worldwide. After a month of voting with approximately 4.6 million ballots cast, the character most loved in the Naruto series was named Hokage, specifically Namikaze Minato. Along with that, there were also 22 characters listed as favorites according to the original creator, Masashi Kishimoto.
Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, shared his thoughts: “Thank you all for the overwhelming number of votes. It was truly surprising to see the results change as the regions shifted. I was astonished to see Minato rank at the top across all areas, and the fact that Sakura garnered so much love globally made me proud as a creator. Honestly, I was rooting for Kurama. I initially thought only the top 20 characters would make the list, but I really wanted to include Kurama in the 22nd spot.”
“Therefore, in the end, I included him and Guy, who took the 21st place. I apologize for completely bypassing the original plan to only have 20 characters for the 20th anniversary due to my personal bias. Right now, I am working on the first published manga story of Minato. I am trying to create a compelling story that aligns with the expectations of the fans, and I have written much more than initially planned. I will be detailing some hidden stories behind Minato’s character. Thank you all so much for your support as I worked through this process.”
Previously, in the results of the survey, Minato Namikaze secured the top position and maintained his rank throughout the final results, leading all regions and age groups. The character Itachi Uchiha also claimed the second position in the overall results.
Interestingly, one character made a surprising rise in the rankings at the last minute—Sakura Haruno, who managed to surpass Shisui Uchiha to break into the top three. Meanwhile, Kakashi Hatake overtook Naruto to secure the fifth position.
In conclusion, to celebrate Minato’s victory, this beloved character will receive a special one-shot manga from Kishimoto. The creator had to increase the page count for the story about Hokage due to the overwhelming “enthusiasm” following the “intense fandom” surrounding the character.
