'Nothing but Good Feelings,' 'A Total Otaku, I Laughed': Sho Hirano Shares His Passionate Love for Naruto and Boruto in Boruto 10th Anniversary Interview

A video titled "Why Sho Hirano Reads Boruto," featuring Sho Hirano of Number_i, has been released on the NARUTO / BORUTO official YouTube channel as a special project for the 10th anniversary of Boruto, and it is generating major buzz among fans. Appearing as the third installment in the Boruto 10th anniversary video series, following Shuji Okuda of Gakutensoku and former Hinatazaka46 member Akari Nibu, Hirano's profound love for the work has drawn a wide response.

Boruto is a manga series with original story and supervision by Masashi Kishimoto and art by Mikio Ikemoto. Centered on Naruto's son, Boruto, it depicts the exploits of a new generation of ninja. After beginning serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump, it moved to V Jump, where it continues to run, and it has expanded widely across media, including a TV anime adaptation and video games.

In the video, Hirano, who loves both Naruto and Boruto, explains in his own words what moved him and what draws him in so strongly. His love for NARUTO / BORUTO comes through in every passionate word of the interview footage.

In response to the post, fans have left many comments of agreement and delight, such as "Sho Hirano's love for Naruto and Boruto really comes across. I want him to sing a theme song," "He says so much of what I wanted to say. It's great to see someone this famous speak so passionately," "You can tell he's read it over and over," "The way he uses Nine-Tails and Kurama separately really makes me feel he's a serious reader!!!," "Calling Jiraiya 'Jiraiya-sensei' shows his respect for Jiraiya. Nothing but good feelings," "I'd read Naruto, but Hirano's passionate talk made me want to check out Boruto too," and "Sho Hirano is a total otaku, I laughed. He's the protagonist of a real-life manga, so no wonder he relates to the power of belief and way of living. If someone recommends it with that much passion, everyone's going to read Boruto."

(C)岸本斉史 スコット/集英社・テレビ東京・ぴえろ