Naruto's BEST Friend REVEALED! Shonen Jump's HUGE Announcement!

Naruto is one of the most beloved anime series ever made, a massive hit for Shonen Jump since 1999. It's about Naruto Uzumaki's incredible ninja journey. While there are a whole lot of close friendships shown throughout this incredible series, the most debated is Naruto's closest friend!

Naruto's Best Friend Revealed

To celebrate Naruto's birthday, Shonen Jump released a fantastic new video and did something totally unexpected! They declared that his best friend was Shikamaru Nara!

Fans of the show always have interesting discussions around this and the video shows it wasn't just some random choice.

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The Special Video

Naruto 25th Anniversary video Naruto releasing Kurama Image

Shonen Jump did a special animated manga video! With awesome music, from ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION! It really highlights Naruto and Shikamaru's close friendship and showcases how much they really did mean to one another.

The video is done super smoothly! You get to see the boys' entire journeys! Naruto has a red color scheme throughout the movie, while Shikamaru has green. Their incredible adventure unfolds in unique ways and moments are highlighted with both good times and some bad.

Their intense duel against Sasuke
Shikamaru leads a mission to retrieve Sasuke.
How this pair handled these incredibly tough, emotionally difficult situations.
This brings to mind, what makes Shikamaru and Naruto best friends! Even when facing tragedy like the loss of Asuma and Jiraiya

Also Read: Naruto Creator Sparks Controversy Over Sarada Comments in 'Boruto: Two Blue Vortex'

Shikamaru And Naruto's Unbreakable Bond

There are plenty of candidates for the best friend. Sasuke, Sakura, and even Gaara were really close to Naruto and fans continue to talk about why one character over the other might be considered Naruto's true companion.

But the official statement is quite clear: Shikamaru's loyalty, the strong connection they share, helped to truly solidify this close bond. Their commitment goes way back to their earliest times training!

Shikamaru shows up in a powerful, epic scene where the two show off what their friendship truly is in this battle against so many forces!
His strong support! His wise advice helps Naruto during many important parts of his journey, and most importantly helping him make a name for himself as Hokage! It's apparent in these times, when even tragedy like a big blow with Kawaki. His wisdom is critical to shaping things for those close to Naruto!

Also Read: Boruto: Two Blue Vortex – Will Konoha Fall? Homura & Koharu's Threat to Naruto's Legacy

A Celebration:

The Naruto fanbase is huge and for many it seems that even as Naruto's story ended, fans will never forget this iconic character and continue to hope for more!

For anyone who's loved this Shonen Jump classic, there’s an excellent tribute as they give recognition for such an important day! What’s even more important is recognizing how close these two friends truly are and the dedication Shikamaru shows is one of those things you just can't ignore! If there is another part of the series this video might remind fans of is the love and bond this dynamic duo share!

While there are several other storylines out there. A fantastic story about Naruto will continue to entertain as well. But you see why this story remains important as a classic of Shonen Jump. It doesn't appear to stop as fans look forward to new characters in the long running and continued adventures for Naruto's son. What will be truly cool about the Boruto saga is if the father and son dynamic is able to be developed!

Naruto's BEST Friend REVEALED! Shonen Jump's HUGE Announcement!