Shikamaru Nara ( 奈良 シカマル , Nara Shikamaru ) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto . In the anime and manga , Shikamaru is a ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure . He is a member of Team 10 , a group of ninja consisting of himself , Choji Akimichi , Ino Yamanaka , and team leader Asuma Sarutobi . Shikamaru is portrayed as a lazy character , unwilling to apply his prodigious intelligence ; Kishimoto has noted that he likes Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature . Outside of the Naruto anime and manga , Shikamaru has appeared in four of the feature films in the series , as well as several other media relating to the series , including video games and original video animations .