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

The winners of this round are...

[Ninja Character Background]
An umbrella-wielding shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Rain. She loves the rain, so much so that she refuses to open her umbrella on rainy days. She collects umbrellas for fun.

[Jutsu] Snake-Eyed Umbrella
By opening her umbrella, she is able to defend against all kinds of ninjutsu and visual jutsu. Enemies who look into the snake eye pattern on her umbrella find themselves rooted in place, unable to move.

Here's Ikemoto's version of the illustration!

Ikemoto's Comments
Every part of the character design serves a clear purpose and comes together nicely. Her abilities and traits may be simple, but they fit her personality and design, making her a solid character. The original artwork was of such a high quality that my own illustration ended up being almost a complete copy.

[Ninja Character Background]
She is an exceptionally weak shinobi that wouldn't be able to hold her own in battle against an academy student. Her saving grace is that she possesses the ability to completely suppress her presence, giving her the freedom to run away from even the strongest of enemies. Leveraging her ability, she makes a living by taking photos of rogue ninjas and criminals with bounties on their heads. She appears to be a fan of a certain someone we might know...

[Jutsu 1] Insta-fly
A tiny camera in the shape of a fly. Specializes in taking sneak-shots and used for secret recordings. A letter bomb is hidden inside so if there's ever a pressing need to destroy evidence, it can self-destruct.

[Jutsu 2] Summoning: Buzz
Summons tens of thousands of Insta-flies at once and activates their letter bombs, causing a firestorm in the surrounding area.

Here's Ikemoto's version of the illustration!

Ikemoto's Comments
While it's true that the majority of entries we get are of powerful characters, this might be the weakest shinobi we've ever seen. However, you've done a fantastic job at honing in on the character's weakness and complementing them with ninja tools and abilities that draw out their uniqueness. I also really like the use of the keywords "buzz" and "firestorm" that have multiple meanings in our modern society.

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]
A famous skateboarder from Konoha. Has won first place in tournaments. A beauty who has both male and female fans.

[Ninjutsu] Dancing Night Breeze: Stunning Darkness
Dazzles enemies like the night sky before catching them in a large tornado. Enemies are knocked down, unable to move. Her skateboard can deplete those enemies of their chakra and be used to power her up.

Ikemoto's Comments
So she's a modern ninja who lives as a skateboarder and uses her ninjutsu for things outside of battle, huh? I hope we see more kids like her in the future helping to preserve the peace of the shinobi world.

[Ninja Character Background]
A scientific ninja tool user from the Village Hidden in the Cloud and a member of the Denryu clan who possesses a Kekkei Genkai that allows him to control electricity with precision. He was born with a mutation and was saved by the Raikage.

[Ninjutsu 1] Lightning Style: Electric Conversion
Causes the user's body to zigzag like an eel and travel across the sky like a lightning bolt. The drawback is that it wears out the user extremely quickly.

[Ninjutsu 2] Lightning Style: Denjo Denka Denga Denson
A jutsu that allows the user to unleash all their stored electricity at once. Discharging 100 million volts of electricity, he is truly lightning incarnate!!

Ikemoto's Comments
This character was born with a mutation that burdened him with the miserable fate of a short lifespan. In order to gain power and extend his life, he was forced to rely on scientific ninja tools. I think he is someone who can empathize with Kawaki quite easily.

[Ninjutsu] Shinku Hip-Hop / Inazumappe

Ikemoto's Comments
I almost skipped over this one, but I came back to it and gave it a proper read only to realize that almost none of the info provided was helpful... I thought I had just wasted my time, but I also wondered if all of these details were actually vital to understanding the character and were waiting for me to make sense of them. No, I'm probably overthinking it. I need to get some sleep.

[Ninja Character Background]
She has a personality on the calmer side. Her hobby is handicrafts, and she also enjoys cooking and shopping.

[Ninjutsu] Kanakana
By imitating a cicada's chirp, she can cause everyone to freeze for three minutes. During these three minutes, everyone is brought to tears by memories of summertime. Once they start crying, they will be unable to stop until Nakina's chirping stops.

Ikemoto's Comments
It seems like she has a very soothing and friendly ability at first glance, but if you think carefully about it this is a very powerful and formidable technique. The fact that she's a relatively laid-back person is quite reassuring in light of that. Her hairstyle and yellow skirt appeals to her sense of style.

[Ninja Character Background]
One of Amado's cyborgs. A Chunin and one of Eida's few friends. Currently undercover in Tanzaku on a mission. Known as "Tanzaku's Orihime".

[Ninjutsu] Ninin-baori
Oriha becomes a haori, and when she's worn, she is able to use the wearer's chakra natures. The wearer becomes her captive, and they eventually offer themselves to her willingly.

Ikemoto's Comments
Both one of Amado's cyborgs and Eida's friend... A one-of-a-kind individual. I wonder if she managed that without being charmed? She has a rather terrifying ability, yet as it's a secret ninjutsu, it doesn't seem like it's a power brought about through modification...? Either way, it doesn't seem like something she wished to have. You really get a feeling of melancholy from that.

[Ninja Character Background]
A blind shinobi. Anyone who looks into her eyes may go mad or in the worst case, die, so she always covers her face with a veil. As her cane tapers to a sharp point, it can be used as a weapon.

[Ninjutsu] Lethal Butterfly
Poisonous butterflies appear from her eyes, passing through the veil and flying towards her target. The butterflies will attach to the target's skin, sucking out chakra and simultaneously injecting poison. This technique's drawback is that it renders its user immobile during use.

Ikemoto's Comments
A character who can drive people to madness or even to their death just through eye contact is quite terrifying. Her eyes seem to be the basis for a number of her abilities, but also handicap her through her lack of eyesight, which her abilities make up for. Her abilities are balanced so that they are not overly powerful, and I also like her gothic design.

[Ninja Character Background]
Saki never knew her parents and was left at an orphanage. She found a hurt dog at 13 years old in the forest before adding modified technology to it, and nurturing it back to health before making it half dog and cyborg. It soon became her only friend and companion.

[Ninjutsu] Chakra Deduction

Ikemoto's Comments
The design is quite simple at its base, but it manages to convey a lot of information without even needing to read the background. The melancholic demeanor and expression, and the way the dog gazes at her convey their shared trust and history. The pose is also great.

[Ninja Character Background]
*An assassin from Kirigakure.
*His pupils are bigger than a normal human's.
*He uses big nails as a weapon. The nails can be controlled by chakra for mid-range fights.
*The tape on his mouth is a present from his abusive mother.

[Ninjutsu] Water Style: Poison Needle
Small needles will be shot. The enemy will be injured and paralyzed.

Ikemoto's Comments
This guy is definitely bad news. The pitch black eyes would definitely make me want to avoid eye contact out of fear. That said, the way his long hair flares out from under his short jacket shows a lot of originality. It's a design that would fit well into the world of Naruto and Boruto, which is good.

[Ninja Character Background]
By using chakra, he can slice off the black and white sheets from the notepad he carries on his waist one by one. His special eyes give him abilities like allowing him to either see things via the notes or project emotions onto them. Normally he takes notes with a pen, but he can also do so remotely via his chakra.

[Ninjutsu 1] Kurippu (Clip)
A jutsu that allows notes to be placed in mid-air. The notes can turn invisible, so the user can covertly stick them around the opponent's surroundings and see their every move.

[Ninjutsu 2] Kiritori (Cut)
A jutsu that allows the cutting out of one memory.

[Ninjutsu 3] Tsuketashi (Add)
A jutsu that allows the addition of one emotion.
Kiritori and Tsuketashi are primarily intended to confuse the enemy or to aid in escape, but they can also be used to soothe allies for some much needed respite. Both are effective for ten minutes.

Ikemoto's Comments
While his name brings to mind a blade, his abilities seem to focus on notes. The well-defined rules and care taken to not go too far outside the boundaries of the story's world and character strength really show the effort made. His slightly mischievous appearance really matches his name, too.

[Ninja Character Background]
Famous twin designers in the shinobi world.
The older brother, Shin, appreciates symmetry, and is a quiet and reserved person.
The younger, Ashin, prefers asymmetry, and is quite flashy in everything he does.

[Ninjutsu] Soutai Ryouiki
A spatial ninjutsu developed by Shin and Ashin. Inside the created space, all movements must match Shin's symmetrically, with Ashin as the only person who is able to make asymmetric moves.

Ikemoto's Comments
This is another submission from the creator who made one of the designs that was certified this time. Here we have two characters with opposite personalities that work together to create a single ability. The two of them are designers, but it doesn't seem like their ability would be useful for their work, which is a shame. Maybe their main job is being a ninja, and this one is just a smokescreen?

[Ninjutsu] Enbu Renfu
Infuses chakra into her axe and envelops it in flames. The flames burn foes that are continuously struck by the axe, and cannot be put out until they perish.

Ikemoto's Comments
The contrast of a beautiful lady wielding a giant weapon has become somewhat of an industry standard lately, but it's popular for a reason. Her name fits her appearance and the rhythmic jutsu name is also stylish. The way her updo hairstyle surreptitiously gives off the appearance of a flame also displays an apt attention to detail.

[Ninja Character Background]
A shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Leaves with a mellow personality and a love for nature and animals. She specializes in fashion design and archery.

[Ninjutsu]
Wields her bow glamorously to take down her targets. Pulls the small thread on her bow to draw chakra arrows from the ring. Capable of using water style or wind style.

Ikemoto's Comments
So she's an archer, but she's able to unleash arrows from the ring that floats just above her bow, meaning that her ninjutsu secretly bears a type of transportation technique aspect to it, huh. If she were to load the arrows with different items, maybe she could use this technique for deliveries as well. Her main job seems to be a designer, but I wonder how her line of work makes use of this ability.

[Ninja Character Background]
After the Great War ended and peace fell upon the shinobi world, the villages refrained from using their own shinobi to probe the military and scientific advancements of other villages. Seeing this, Saguri began to offer his services as a freelance shinobi, unaffiliated with any of the villages, to the leaders of countries and hidden villages. His missions are treated with the utmost secrecy, and he makes a living off of collecting and selling information.
He has blackmail on the daimyo and elite shinobi of every nation and hidden village.

[Ninjutsu] Shijimayu Kakure
Spits out cocoon-shaped chakra from his mouth and wraps himself in it, allowing him to stay fixed to corners and ceilings. The cocoon blocks scent, sound, and chakra from leaking outside; however, it allows sound and light to pass through to the inside.

Ikemoto's Comments
Employing monkeys in his espionage is a great design choice that fits right into the world of Naruto and Boruto. The names of the monkeys being the reverse spelling of the Japanese verbs they correspond to is also a great idea. It's almost a shame that his ability is so powerful on its own that he doesn't even need the monkeys to help out. To be completely frank, I think the character would have shined brighter if he had to rely on the monkeys more. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because this character was almost selected to be a star ninja. So close, but nice try!

[Ninja Character Background]
His jutsu utilizes ninja tools, greatly reducing his defensive capabilities in exchange for the ability to run at high speeds on all fours, like an animal. In battle, his tactic of choice is to rely on his speed to close in on his foe and tear them apart before they even have a chance to make a hand sign. He also has excellent night vision and excels at sneak attacks.
Although his speech and personality are a bit rough, he has a habit of hiding his true nature when meeting people for the first time.
The ninja tools he wears on his hands and feet are automatically veiled in chakra when worn, and focusing chakra into the tools causes the claws to automatically release, switching them into battle mode. These ninja tools are his pride and joy, perfected after repeated adjustments at the Ninja Tool Development Division while accounting for ease-of-use and minimizing interference from his own jutsu (red).
He's self-conscious about his short stature, so bringing up his height is taboo. If you happen to mention it by accident, you might find yourself on the wrong end of a claw.

[Ninjutsu] Water Style: Shodeki Red/Black
This jutsu affects items that are made of metal like ninja tools.
Red: Instantly deteriorates and rusts tools to a reddish brown while disabling their function.
Black: Covers the target with a thin layer of black rust, enhancing its sharpness and strength. Can freely control items covered in this rust.

Ikemoto's Comments
We actually received a lot of entries for shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Mist who manipulate blood (and iron) this time, but this one came out on top due to his interesting abilities and the creative application of his powers. I'm especially fond of how the clawed weapons and fish designs on his bandana and zipper naturally cause the viewer to conjure up an image of a cat.

[Ninja Character Background]
Birthplace: Headwaters of the Kabul River / Female
Cophen, a descendant of an ancient water tribe, is capable of manipulating both sound and water and focused on maintaining harmony. Her name is derived from the historical name of the Kabul River. She engages in her hobby, poetry, to grant a sense of spirituality to her skills and thoughts. She is characterized by her flowing burqa-style cloak and wooden rubab, giving her the appearance of streaming water. She believes that the water of the river flows for everyone's sake, without prejudice. She plays her part to end the cycle of hatred and revenge.

[Ninjutsu] Sound Intoxication Jutsu, Water Reconciliation Jutsu
She wields her rubab—a traditional Afghan musical instrument—bestowed to her by her father and uses it as both a weapon and symbol of peace. The sounds that emanate from the instrument soften the hearts of enemies and dissolves their will to fight, ending conflict. The Sound Intoxication Jutsu and Water Reconciliation Jutsu allow her to transcend any boundary to weave bonds between friends and foes alike.

Ikemoto's Comments
When it comes to design, one of the most important points to think about is how much of an impact you can make at first glance. The Afghan clothes and her exotic instrument fit together in the piece alongside the shuriken and Japanese sword without feeling out of place. Combine that with her extraordinary name and the way she's posed, radiating an aura of strength. She's just way too cool.


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 5/2/2025 (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' fifth volume and announced on the NARUTO OFFICIAL SITE in early July.

[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 February 2025.