Three years of waiting ended with a twist nobody predicted. The long-delayed Naruto anime revival is real, it's in production — and it's a full-blown crossover with a Shonen Jump classic that hasn't had a new anime in 30 years.
The reveal came Saturday during the "NARUTO: What's Next?" panel on the Empire Stage at New York Comic Con 2026, where the new series was unveiled as Naruto x Ninku. The project pairs Masashi Kishimoto's ninja phenomenon with Koji Kiriyama's Ninku in a brand-new original story, with a first trailer debuting for the Comic-Con crowd and the worldwide livestream audience.
Watch the teaser for the anime crossover below:
Kishimoto and Kiriyama are collaborating directly on the story. In a special message shared during the panel, Kishimoto revealed that Ninku was a major inspiration for his work on Naruto — making the crossover something of a dream project for the manga creator. Directing is Noriyuki Abe, with chief animation and character designs from Tetsuya Nishio; both previously worked on the classic Ninku anime of the 1990s alongside Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and other Naruto franchise releases.
The crossover puts the young, original Team 7 front and center — Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke venturing into a world very different from their own. One notable absence: Kakashi won't be making the jump to the other universe. The project appears to be the reshaped form of the four-episode revival series first announced in 2023 for Naruto's 20th anniversary, which was postponed that August so the team could improve its quality.
For the uninitiated, Ninku debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1993 and ran for two years before spawning a 55-episode TV anime and several films. The series follows Fusuke, a boy from the titular Ninku school that blends ninjutsu with kung fu. Its return marks the franchise's first new anime outing in three decades — and it's getting a proper facelift to fit the modern era.
On stage for the reveal were Naruto voice actor Junko Takeuchi and Sasuke voice actor Noriaki Sugiyama, joined by PIERROT FILMS executive producer Yoshihiro Tominaga. The panel also touched on the NARUTO CARD GAME from Bandai, slated for 2027, as part of the franchise's expanding media plans.
The timing was no accident: October 10 is Naruto Uzumaki's birthday, turning the reveal into a coordinated global celebration for fans watching the livestream around the world.
The original Naruto streams on Crunchyroll in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and more, with Netflix and Hulu also carrying it in the US. Streaming details for Naruto x Ninku have not yet been announced.
Source: NYCC 2026
