I remember being eight years old and being obsessed with the incredible fantasies inside manga. I used to sit for hours in the city library with at least 3 issues of some of my favorite manga beside me, wondering just what it would be like to live the life of some of my favorite manga characters. I used to get completely lost inside the worlds that these amazing stories writers and illustrators created. Ever since then I was hooked, lost inside the worlds of Dragon Ball, Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece, Akira. At the forefront of all of those was Naruto.

Now I don’t know what it was, maybe it was the jaw dropping and unique art, maybe it was the fantastically written story, the way that Masashi Kishimoto would bring you into his world and make you believe it was real. Oh, I wanted it to be real so bad, but either way it touched my heart and will forever hold a special and permanent place there.

Now there are many ways to describe Naruto and all bring out many emotions and moods. Happiness that will make you smile so hard your cheeks hurt, sadness that will bring a grown man to tears, darkness that gives you the chills and excitement that will have you standing on your feet. I remember it all, the most exciting battles such as the fights with Neji and Pain, the most heart wrenching stories such as the childhood of Naruto and the Life of Itachi and the tragic lost lives of characters you wish you just didn’t have to see go.

Over the past 15 years Masashi Kishimoto has been successful in touching the hearts of many people all over the world with his 700 chapter long compelling story that has taken the manga and anime world by storm. I know that for the 9 years that I have been watching the anime and reading the manga it has grown to be a part of me. It has really increased my love and appreciation for the Japanese style cartoon and writing.

Now the long-running manga series has come to an end. It was a bitter-sweet ending and I would think that most followers of the manga probably saw it coming sooner or later. Like many stories, the ending of this manga brought out much controversy. A lot of people were unhappy with the way the story ended saying it was too perfect, and compared it with the ending of the Harry Potter series. Honestly I was completely satisfied with the way it ended. Although not always a good thing, it gave the readers almost exactly what they wanted. In my opinion, the ending was proper and I would not have preferred it any other way.

I truly believe that no matter what you think or feel about this manga you can not deny the legacy it left behind or the impact that it had in the manga loving community. It was truly a work of art and I can only hope that it was the seed of inspiration from which will sprout future great manga authors like Masashi Kishimoto.