Who is the father of New-Gen anime? What creators have said

This archive's position is that Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto is the series that most shaped the New-Gen generation. The evidence below is what creators have said in their own words: 23 of 25 titles confirmed, 2 more credibly reported.

• My Hero Academia (Kohei Horikoshi, Confirmed): "Naruto was my youth." Horikoshi called it the greatest shõnen manga, and still studies Kishimoto's perspective and composition.
• Jujutsu Kaisen (Gege Akutami, Confirmed): Akutami modeled JJK's three-person team on Naruto's.
• Demon Slayer (Koyoharu Gotouge, Confirmed): Asked to name the three manga that most influenced them, Gotouge chose JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Naruto and Bleach.
• Black Clover (Yūki Tabata, Confirmed): At Manga Barcelona 2024, Tabata named Naruto among his artistic influences.
• Kagurabachi (Takeru Hokazono, Confirmed): Horikoshi: “Kagurabachi is heavily influenced by Naruto.” Hokazono: “Naruto had a great influence on me.” With Hokazono saying he is sometimes even too inspired by it & his editor affirming
• Chainsaw Man (Tatsuki Fujimoto, Confirmed): When asked "Is there anything in particular that you mainly watched and read?", Fujimoto praised Naruto's art and explained that it is very difficult to copy
• Tokyo Ghoul / Choujin X (Sui Ishida, Confirmed): Asked which manga influenced him the most when he became a mangaka, Ishida answered: “Naruto.” He also called its first chapter perfect.
• Marriage Toxin (Joumyaku / Mizuki Yoda, Confirmed): Joumyaku traced the series premise to Naruto's Aburame clan, ultimately replacing insects with poison.
• Galaxias (Ao Hate, Confirmed): Hatesaka named Kishimoto and Katsuhiro Otomo as major influences on his artwork during high school, and he cited Attack on Titan's influence on his thinking.
• Radiant (Tony Valente, Confirmed): After reading Naruto and One Piece, Valente decided to create his own manga.
• Flashlight (Sara Lozoya, Reported): At Manga Barcelona 2024, Sara Lozoya said watching Naruto got her interested in Boys' Love.
• The Girl That Can't Get a Girlfriend (Mieri Hiranishi, Confirmed): Hiranishi copied Kishimoto's art to improve her perspective drawing.
• Haikyuu!! (Haruichi Furudate, Confirmed): Furudate said he aspired to Naruto's coolness in ending remarks.
• Tokyo Murder School (Ryutaro Masuya, Confirmed): Masuya described his ideal art style as BLEACH, NARUTO and Dandadan “added together and divided by three.” A direct acknowledgment of the three manga he wants to draw inspiration from.
• Drama Queen (Kuraku Ichikawa, Confirmed): Ichikawa revealed that their choice to use minimal screentones, even in flashy action scenes, was out of respect for Kishimoto's Naruto, showcasing Kishimoto's art influence.
• Children of Grimm (Mako Oikawa, Confirmed): The creators studied Naruto and four other shōnen to develop their story structure, pacing and characters.
• Kunoichi no Ichi! (Nono Natsuki, Confirmed): Kanazawa decided to become a mangaka after reading Naruto as a child.
• Gunhild (Fred Tornager, Confirmed): Tornager confirmed that Gunhild's determination to pursue her dreams was inspired by Naruto.
• NOBUNAGA verse (Atsushi, Reported): If I hadn't encountered it, I wouldn't have known about manga at all, nor would I have ever thought of wanting to become a manga artist—that's the kind of work it was.
• The God of High School (Yongje Park, Confirmed): Park named Naruto, One Piece & Bleach among the manga he studies as “textbooks.”
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Mitz Vah, Confirmed): Tensura's original character designer credited Kishimoto and Kamui Fujiwara as major influences.
• JYU (GILLOCHINDOX & GILLOCHINDAE, Confirmed): The artist credited Kishimoto among his influences and directly modeled his work “RUNAWAY - 00” on Naruto's Nine-Tails transformation, particularly the contrast between its dark body and white eyes.
• Rei de Lata (Jefferson Ferreira, Confirmed): JEFF named Naruto and My Hero Academia as his two favorite manga and direct inspirations.
• Meaheim (Konata, Confirmed): Naruto was among Konata's first manga.
• Kohva (Konata, Confirmed): Naruto was among Konata's first manga.

Creators who also name other series

• Demon Slayer: also mentions Bleach, JoJo
• Galaxias: also mentions Attack on Titan, Katsuhiro Otomo
• Radiant: also mentions One Piece
• Tokyo Murder School: also mentions Dandadan
• The God of High School: also mentions Bleach, One Piece
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: also mentions Kamui Fujiwara

Creator statements show who inspired whom. They do not rank series, and naming Naruto does not mean it was a creator's only influence.