[Boruto Star] Introducing Two New Star Ninja! Check Out the Winners Chosen by Ikemoto Himself!

Draw your own original ninja character and enter them in the Boruto Star Certification (Boruto Star) contest!

We're announcing this time's two star ninja along with Mikio Ikemoto's illustrations of them!

Plus, ten honorable mentions are also featured!
Make sure to check out Ikemoto's comments!

The winners of this round are...

[Ninja Character Background]
This kunoichi is actually the old woman riding in the backpack chair. The man wearing a traditional hat is a ninja who previously got a little greedy and overused different medicines.
[Jutsu] Genjutsu: Giyaku Nemuri
In order to get by, this old medicine seller traps ninja eager to use her medicines in a genjutsu and gradually drains their chakra. Once her current source runs out, she'll set off with her wares once more to look for another overambitious ninja.

Here's Ikemoto's version of the illustration!

Ikemoto's Comments
This character is very unique, and really stood out from the rest this time. I like how there's a lesson to be learned here about medicine: there's a fine line between poison and remedy! I also didn't expect them to be the one in the chair. The genius for characterization shown by this work reminds me of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba creator Koyoharu Gotouge—I can't believe this character's creator is only 12!

[Ninja Character Background]
A 25-year-old ninja who is skilled at delicate work, particularly key-making. Though he is usually laid-back and prefers to avoid extra effort, when it comes to keys his obsession brings out a whole different side of his personality.
He likes the color black, and always wears his favorite hat to hide his terrible bedhead.
He fights using keys which grow larger the more chakra he imbues them with and transform into a weapon. These keys have been passed down for generations.
[Jutsu] Goki
By removing the keys he wears as earrings and saying "Goki", he can imbue them with chakra, transforming them into a single large, key-shaped sword.

Here's Ikemoto's version of the illustration!

Ikemoto's Comments
Keys are strongly emphasized as the motif for this character, and his personality and abilities really connect to that without feeling forced. His outfit is also excellent. The key-shaped accessories, asymmetry, rolled sleeves, and loose fit on the hips all come together for a nice, casual feel. The way he stands with his weight shifted onto one leg is also well drawn.

And so, the above two ninja are now certified "star ninja"!

Check out the honorable mentions who were close to becoming star ninja along with Ikemoto's comments!

[Ninja Character Background]
Irvine is one of the princesses of the water kingdom. Irvine is determined to stop her older sister's ambition to join a 'terrorist' community.

[Jutsu] Tears of the Ocean
Irvine is able to create solid ice from the surrounding water vapor, making her enemies experience deep sorrow when slashed by the ice.

Ikemoto's Comments
I was really struck by her stylish design and pose. From the character explanation I couldn't quite picture her fitting into the story of Boruto, but the artistry has a unique balance that certainly wouldn't feel out of place.

[Ninja Character Background]
A former samurai from the land of iron, who travelled to mount Myoboku to master sage mode. But he failed and was transformed into a toad partially. Now he wanders the shinobi world as a rogue ninja doing odd jobs for money. His transformation gave him inhuman strength from sage mode.

[Jutsu] Mud Style: Malleable Seal
Once he marks your blade or weapon, it becomes malleable or starts to melt.

Ikemoto's Comments
A former samurai who attempted to attain Sage Mode, but was unable to control the Nature Energy and thus suffers from a toad-like transformation and has gone rogue, unable to get regular work... This character has a background that's tragic and yet has a sense of realism.

[Ninja Character Background]
A genius Jonin from the Hidden Cloud. He has a 3D printing tool he uses to make various things for mobility, attack, and defense. He freezes objects in mid-air and uses them to climb up to high places, and makes traps to impede enemy movements. He's a big fan of heights, and loves to be the center of attention. While he often causes trouble due to being led by his emotions, he's really quite kind at heart.

[Jutsu] Kekkei Genkai: Paralytic Touch
By using this jutsu, people or objects using chakra are frozen for five seconds.
This period can be extended depending on the amount of chakra. However, this technique requires Nature Energy and Sage Mode chakra.

Ikemoto's Comments
That's an interesting scientific ninja tool, and the character's abilities are well-designed in how they work alongside it. This character gave me the impression that they'd really be able to hold their own if they appeared in the series.

[Ninja Character Background]
The young head of the Benimuchi clan, who are famous in Konoha for their crimson whip ninja tool. Though she appears serene, she has a surprising thirst for battle. She's always ready to take the lead, often volunteering for and successfully carrying out dangerous missions.
She can't ignore someone in need, and even if she's asked for a troublesome favor she never comes off as annoyed. Cheerful and dependable, she is well-liked by the other villagers, who look out for her in turn.

[Jutsu] Benimuchi Issenrangeki
Her whip strikes at high speeds, giving her opponents no time to counterattack. However, this jutsu uses copious amounts of chakra so it's ill-suited for drawn-out fights. She can also absorb chakra and release it in an instant to increase the power of her attacks, but she can only do this once per battle.

Ikemoto's Comments
This design is just too good! I can tell a lot of time was put into details like the area around her eyes, the way her hair curls, and the shading of her skin. The skin-tight suit and shorts combination feels trendy and she really pulls it off. I like the idea of having a clan leader like this.

[Ninja Character Background]
Height: 176cm
Age: 17
Profession: Idol and Ninja
Her main profession is an idol, but she also works as a ninja. Her shinobi skills are far superior compared to others. She can carry out her ninja duties remotely, so she often undertakes missions while performing as an idol.

[Jutsu] The Butterfly Dream
Releases butterflies created from one's own chakra, which can be used for remote surveillance or detonated.

Ikemoto's Comments
I like the contrast between the glamourous first impression and the dark abilities she possesses, like her spying and assassination skills. In addition, though it's a minor detail, the logo-style font created for her name, height, and age combined with the rough style used for the descriptions gives off a real "city girl" impression, which is nice.

[Ninja Character Background]
A ninja and merchant from Kumogakure. Her family has been running the store "Irei-ya" since before the First Great Ninja War. As her ninja tool "Reishogon" is also useful for cleaning, she receives cleaning requests at every village she visits. Though she objects every time, she always ends up doing it. She performs her ninja duties whenever she returns to the Hidden Cloud. She wants a vacation.
She has a foul-mouth and prickly personality, but is just bad at being honest about her feelings and is a kind person underneath that.

[Jutsu] Neri-Neri Gomu
Infuses the eraser shavings created from using Reishogon with chakra, and molds them into putty erasers which can be manipulated freely and used to strike enemies. By chanting "Release", the shavings can be returned to the form of what was originally erased. So if blood was erased, they'll transform back into blood. Same for fire.

Ikemoto's Comments
Her abilities seem very useful, and are impressively put together. The design feels like she would fit well into the world of Naruto and Boruto, and the sense of tiredness seen from her pose portrays her personality well.

[Ninja Character Background]
Uses Lightning Style to infiltrate both networks and people's memories to glean information. Although he is not suited for direct combat, there's nobody more reliable when it comes to information warfare.

[Jutsu] Lightning Hack
Allows one to pull information instantly from memories or machines.
[Jutsu] Kaminari-Okoshi
Collects the gathered information into a physical form, which can be shared with others by feeding it to them.

Ikemoto's Comments
Here's another reliable-seeming character with a useful ability. From an author's perspective he'd be very useful to have around in Konoha. I have to say, it's rare to see a shut-in kind of character who is simultaneously running away from home. How is he paying his living expenses? I'm quite curious.

[Ninja Character Background]
Since the amount of mochi she can convert objects into is proportional to her volume, she wants to put on weight, but ends up burning any extra calories pounding mochi. She often asks Cho-Cho for tips on maintaining her figure. Her mochi business has been passed down for generations, and she sells her homemade mochi directly from her family's store as well as by sending it to other sweets stores.
Anko and Cho-Cho are two of her regular customers, and she often asks Sarada and Cho-Cho to try out her new recipes.


[Jutsu] Earth Style: Omochitsuki
Striking the ground or objects with a chakra-infused mallet will imbue them with mochi-like properties. Adding enough chakra and repeatedly striking the target will turn it into mochi. Objects changed into mochi can be separated into portions and freely controlled and shaped.

Ikemoto's Comments
That's a pretty interesting and useful ability. She slims down because of her family business, but actually wants to stay larger, and asks Cho-Cho for help. Once again, Cho-Cho's great capacity for friendship is confirmed.

[Ninja Character Background]
A Jonin of the Hidden Leaf who belongs to a group called the "Moribe".
The Moribe's mission is to "restore battle sites and their surroundings to their former conditions". They were founded in the wake of the Fourth Great Ninja War and are administered by the Five Principal Shinobi Territories, with the goal of protecting people's safety and ability to live their everday lives as well as the environment of the planet.
They operate throughout the shinobi world, with each member having an assigned area.
When not performing their Moribe duties, they take on normal shinobi missions from their villages.

[Jutsu]
1. Earth Style: Jinarashi
2. Wind Style: Uzuyose
3. Water Style: Seijo Ruso
The three essential ninjutsu for Moribe members. 1: A jutsu to smooth out fissures or rough patches in the ground. 2: A jutsu that uses a swirling wind to recover discarded ninja tools and the like. 3: A jutsu that washes away and neutralizes things like poisons or bloodstains.

Ikemoto's Comments
I was impressed by the depth here, going beyond just character design and creating an entire group of ninja that do things like repairing damage inflicted by shinobi and investigating their impact on the environment. The sense of realism created by expanding parts of the world of Naruto and Boruto that haven't been depicted is amazing. The meaning incorporated in the emblem is great too.

[Ninja Character Background]
An innocent and kind-hearted girl.
She loves stuffed animals, and especially treasures the bunny doll she got from her mother as a birthday present.
She can't sleep without hugging a stuffed animal.

[Jutsu] Summoning: Nuiarashi
Allows the summoning of five stuffed animal dolls based on the five jutsu styles of fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. However, since summoning more than two at once uses up a lot of chakra and the dolls will start infighting, Niina avoids doing so. The dolls take the form of a cat for fire, an elephant for water, a bear for earth, a flying squirrel for wind, and a fox for lightning. Each of them have strong personalities and they don't get along with each other, but as they all like Niina they reluctantly cooperate for her sake.

Ikemoto's Comments
This has some really unique worldbuilding. Having five dolls but only being able to use up to two gives a sense of realism, but having the reason be "because they'll start fighting" is pretty cute. If it were animated I probably wouldn't be able to get enough.


There were tons of other unique ninja that assembled during Boruto Star!
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to each participant who sent us their creation!

We're still recruiting new and original ninja for Boruto Star!
Enter the competition and send us your unique ninja!

If your ninja is recognized as a Boruto Star...
You'll receive a drawing of your original character by Mikio Ikemoto and a copy of an art board by him with your name and his signature on it!

[Submitting Entries]
1. Entering by Mail
Please draw your original ninja in black-and-white on the back of a postcard, along with the names of your character and their jutsu. On the front please write your postal code, address, name (please include your real name as well if using a pen name), age, phone number, and the name you'd like written on the prize art board if you win.

Address entries to:
〒119-0163
2-chome-5-10 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo
Shueisha
V Jump Editorial Department "Boruto Star"

2. Entering Online
Fill out the required fields on the submission form, and attach a full-body illustration of your original ninja. Please make sure to include the names of your character and their jutsu when sending.
See the submission form here!

Deadline
Until 12/4/2024 (JST)
Mailed entries must be postmarked by this date. Online entries must be submitted by 23:59 (JST).

Results
Results are scheduled to be published in the series' fourth volume and announced on the NARUTO OFFICIAL SITE in early February.

[Important Notes]
Designs submitted to the Boruto Star Certification contest must be entirely your own. If you win but it is discovered you used someone else's design, you will be disqualified. Mailed entries will not be returned, and will be disposed of after a certain period of time. If you want to keep your entry, please make a copy before mailing it. Rights to entries will be retained by the creators, but entries may be published in releases/announcements regarding this contest, Boruto manga volumes, the V Jump magazine, the official V Jump and Boruto X accounts, and official Shueisha sites such as V JUMP WEB and the NARUTO OFFICIAL SITE.

*The above information is accurate as of September 2024