Who Owns Naruto? A Breakdown of This $11 Billion Anime Juggernaut‘s Ownership Structure
The Naruto anime franchise has entertained viewers across generations with its epic ninja battles for over two decades, building itself into a $11 billion commercial juggernaut in the process. But given Naruto‘s worldwide popularity, who exactly owns the rights to one of anime’s biggest hits?
Original Creator Kishimoto and Publisher Shueisha Share Ownership in Japan
Japanese manga legend Masashi Kishimoto is the man behind Naruto, having conceived and authored the entire series. As such, he maintains full ownership over the original manga. However, the Shueisha publishing company that serialized Naruto also holds significant stakes.
Within Japan itself, Shueisha and Kishimoto jointly share control over Naruto. Any deals involving Naruto – whether anime production, merchandising, events etc – have to be approved by both parties. Neither has outright majority control.
For example, when a Japanese developer wants to make a new Naruto video game, they have to get sign-off from both Kishimoto and Shueisha. Any profits are then shared between them based on predefined terms.
**Naruto Global Franchise Revenue Breakdown**
| Year | Estimated Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2005 | $100 million |
| 2015 | $4.3 billion |
| 2022 | Over $11 billion |
Viz Media Handles North America and Other Regions
Internationally, licensing gets more complicated. U.S. firm Viz Media serves as the official Naruto licensor and distributor across North America. So any English Naruto games or merchandise in the U.S./Canada has to be approved by Viz.
Other media companies hold similar regional licenses – like how Disney India recently bought exclusive TV broadcasting rights. Each regional partner pays an upfront license fee plus royalties to Shueisha, which gets split with Kishimoto.
So while no single company outright owns Naruto globally, these license holders collectively share interests across different geographies.
Kishimoto’s Journey: From Failed Artist to $25 Million Net Worth
With over 250 million manga copies sold worldwide and counting, Naruto is among the top 3 highest-grossing manga ever. Surprisingly though, Masashi Kishimoto was actually an artist struggling to get his big break prior to Naruto.
Kishimoto’s first manga series Karakuri was canceled just six months in due to poor fan reception, leaving his career in limbo. While contemplating his next steps, he conceived the idea for Naruto – a gritty coming-of-age tale centered on an orphaned ninja boy. The rest as they say, is history.
Despite earning over $11 billion from Naruto though, Kishimoto’s personal net worth is only estimated at around $20 million to $25 million. For context, Hollywood’s top directors regularly get $100 million payouts for big films.
This huge disparity highlights the complexity of anime franchise ownership – with immense profits getting split many different ways between various stakeholders. It also explains why most veteran manga artists continue churning out new hits well past retirement age.
Expansion into Boruto Keeps Franchise Relevant and Profitable
The original Naruto manga may have concluded in 2014, but the franchise train keeps full steam ahead thanks to new series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Centered on Naruto’s son Boruto and the next ninja generation, this manga/anime sequel has developed its own loyal following.
Combined with sustained sales of Naruto games and merchandising, the entire Naruto franchise likely generates [over $150 to $200 million](https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/01/18-1/top-10-franchises-with-highest-sales-in-2020#:~:text=Naruto%20earned%20%24154%2C349%2C958%20(17,9.%20Precure%20%2D%20%24137%2C613%2C020) yearly for owner Shueisha and creator Kishimoto. Not bad for a “failed” manga artist.
And with rumors of a live-action Hollywood adaptation in the works, the worldwide Naruto money train won’t be stopping anytime soon.
How Naruto Compares to Other Anime Franchise Ownerships
While the co-ownership between Kishimoto and publisher Shueisha is fairly typical for hit manga, this gets amplified multifold when adapted into a global media franchise like Naruto.
For instance, Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama also shares ownership with Shueisha. But on top of that, Dragon Ball has 20-30 additional regional license holders – like Toei Animation, Funimation, Bandai etc.
Each stakeholder gets a slice of thePie whenever you buy a Goku T-shirt or watch Dragon Ball Super. Small wonder then that disputes between license holders often hamper new releases.
Other global hits like Pokemon (video games) and Hello Kitty (merchandising) mint billion-dollar revenues too, but have slightly simpler corporate structures. Pokemon is fully owned by Nintendo/Game Freaks, while Sanrio owns Hello Kitty outright.
So in summary, while the co-owner dynamic between Kishimoto and Shueisha appears straightforward initially, the overall Naruto ownership ecosystem spans layers of complexity across global regions and partners.
The Triumph of Content: How Naruto Mirrors Global Media Empires
Zooming out beyond just anime, the stratospheric success of fictional franchises like Naruto mirrors what’s happening broadly across entertainment, news and information platforms today.
In a digital age ruled by attention economics, compelling content and brand authority trump everything else. Distribution channels come and go, technologies evolve, but a great story or idea endures forever.
Just like how we still reference Shakespeare centuries later, there will always be an audience for amazing manga like Naruto – whether in printed volumes, online scans, live-action adaptations or virtual reality!
So while piecing together who exactly owns what percentage of the $11 billion Naruto franchise today is mind-bendingly tricky, from a creator’s perspective this complexity scarcely matters.
As pioneers like Masashi Kishimoto have shown, focusing on honing your creative craft to produce the best content possible is what counts. The money will invariably follow in due course.
