⭐️» Are Naruto novels canon?
Simple answer: no
In this account I will give you the best information possible because the Naruto fandom is FULL of misinformation and lies.
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One of the arguments misinformed people use is that:
"The novels are canon because they have a chronology."
1. The chronologies themselves call them "chronological series of novels." Meaning they're meant to show the reader when the novels are supposed to take place; that does NOT make them canon.
2. The fact that the novels have a chronology doesn't make them canon. Even the anime itself has a chronology.
As I told you, a chronology does not mean that something is canon, because the anime itself has a chronology in its published book and with Kishimoto's name.
Another thing that the fandom ignores because they feel like it, is that these "mega canon chronological lists" remove and add novels at will XD contradicting what they say about each other.
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"The novels are canon because they were illustrated by Kishimoto and his name is on the cover."
No, that doesn't make them canon.
As you can see, there are many more novels of the Naruto manga. ALL with Kishimoto's name on the cover, and several even illustrated by Kishi himself.
From novelizations of the films to original works, none are canon, and most of these were previously unknown to the fandom.
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"The novels are canon because they add information to the original material and were written by Kishi and Ikemoto."
That's another argument that's been made and is easy to refute, because the novels are full of inconsistencies that don't fit with the original material. One very clear and notable inconsistency occurs in the Shinden trilogy.
In the "super canon" novel trilogy, Sasuke arrives in Konoha and searches for the house Sakura destroyed in the Naruto Gaiden manga, finding only rubble. He didn't understand what was happening, even believing it was a genjutsu.
He even checked the note Sakura had left him with the address from years ago. Now, where's the mistake?
According to the timelines, the Shinden trilogy takes place SHORTLY AFTER the Boruto movie and the Naruto Gaiden manga. What's up with that?
It turns out that in both the Boruto movie, the Boruto manga, and Naruto Gaiden, Sasuke had been to the Uchiha family's apartment. He knew where it was and spent days in the village, but in the mega-canonical novel, Sasuke didn't even know his family had moved out of the house Sakura destroyed.
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"The novels are canon because they were adapted into anime. Sasuke Retsuden has an anime adaptation, and even its own manga, so is canon."
The film Road to Ninja is well known in the fandom as the first film in which Kishimoto participated in the script, supervised it, and actively participated in the designs.
TRANSLATION: «This film was made in 2012 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the TV series. Madara assaults the Leaf Village with a finite tsukuyomi, the ocular technique that serves as a rehearsal for the infinite tsukuyomi! How will Naruto and company get out of this…?!"
*Scripted and edited by Masashi Kishimoto!*
Road to Ninja EVEN has its own special manga, written by Kishimoto himself and added to the 4th Naruto Databook.
It has a manga.
It has a movie that was written, supervised, and characters designed by Kishi himself.
It has episodes in the anime, and yet it's NOT CANON.
Sasuke Retsuden it is not canon just because it has a manga and anime adaptation. Stop making things up.
There's even a statement from the author of the Retsuden trilogy, saying that THE ONLY TRUTH is the original source material (manga).
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"The novels are canon because Kishimoto said they were canon in an interview."
In May 2015, New York Comic Con announced via Twitter that Masashi Kishimoto would be appearing at the event, something that caught the attention of fans due to his presence on the American continent.
In this interview, they mentioned him the novels:
⭐️» https://youtu.be/1UskxQ1ClCQ?si=kfRsD3pSRNaSrzCJ
And what we'll be talking about here will be seen around the 5:29 mark. I recommend adding subtitles and switching them to English.
And as you can see, he ignored the mention of the novels as part of the "Naruto manga expansion" and focused on talking about the Boruto movie, which, interestingly, IS CANON.
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"In Japan, there's no such thing as canon, so the novels are canon."
First of all, what is canon?
«In a story, 'canonical material' refers to content that is an official part of the universe or main narrative of that work. That is, it's everything that has been recognized by the original creators as an authentic part of the story.»
In short: what the author recognizes as an authentic part of the original material = canon.
Original material = canon.
"Oh! So that makes only the manga canon. The Last isn't canon, nor is the Boruto movie."
Kishimoto has stated MULTIPLE TIMES that The Last connects directly to the original material, even stating that it's set between chapters 699 and 700 of the manga.
Original material = Canon.
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⭐️» An Extra…
The novels are so ignored by Kishi and his team that…
Read these (the dates)
For the Boruto film (a canon film btw), an OFFICIAL timeline was released as part of the film. (Which makes that timeline show us KISHIMOTO's canon material.)
And as you can see, the Kakashi novel that had already been published is completely ignored, even though OTHER NOVELS HAD ALSO BEEN PUBLISHED XD
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SUMMARY:
Just because they have a chronology doesn't make them canon.
Just because they have Kishi’s name on the cover or were illustrated by him doesn't make them canon.
Just because they were approved by him doesn't make them canon.
When they asked him about the novels, he ignored them.
They weren't added to the chronology of material that connects to the Boruto movie.
They aren't canon until Kishimoto confirms that they are, as he did with "The Last" and "The Boruto Movie."