The Naruto manga is very popular, even it managed to stand on the third rank of the most best-selling manga in the world with 220 million copies -- below One Piece and Dragon Ball.

Surely the series’ success and popularity were the fruits of the creator’s hard work, Masashi Kishimoto. But, the “creation” of Naruto doesn’t appear instantly! This Japanese ninja-themed manga also a creation of many media that, realized or not, become inspirations of Kishimoto on developing the series.

So, what media that influenced the life of Masashi Kishimoto? Based on Dunia Games’ investigation, here are 7 films and animes that lend a hand in the creation of Naruto! Take a look at these titles here!

1. Blade of the Immortal

During an interview, Kishimoto stated that as a fan of another famous manga artist, Hiroaki Samura who created Blade of the Immortal. In the manga, there is a master swordsman named Taito Magatsu who always wears a mask. Taito later becomes an inspiration for creating Kakashi Hatake.

There is an unused character named Kumomaru. He has a wolf named Manji -- who also the protagonist in Blade of the Immortal. The two share the same "manji" crest.

2. The Matrix

Based on an interview with him that included in Art Collection: Uzumaki on page 127, the creator said that The Matrix movies had a significant role in designing Gaara’s, Kankurou’s, and Temari’s outfit when they helped Naruto and friends in defeating four Otogakure ninjas.

The drastic change of Sunagakure Trio described the connection of Gaara and Naruto’s relationship, from yesterday’s enemy to today’s friend.

3. Dragon Ball

In the same book, Kishimoto, born November 8, 1974, said that Akira Toriyama is one of the biggest inspirations of him and he’s very fond of Dragon Ball and Dr. Slump. Then, he admitted that many Goku’s behaviors that adapted on developing Naruto Uzumaki -- among them are simple thinking and rebel behavior.

Not only Goku, other Dragon Ball characters who got “copied” are Gohan and Piccolo. The “student who trained by ex-enemy” comes into the Naruto’s world with Boruto and Sasuke.

4. Ninku

Later, when interviewed by Los Angeles Times, it is said that aside from Dragon Ball, Kishimoto also loved Akira, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Ninku, and Ghost in the Shell, and the influence is clear enough. 

The main character, Fuusuke, as the wind ninja, has a technique called Kuuatsuken, where he created round, wind pressure on his palm. This technique later inspired Kishimoto on creating Rasengan.

Read Also>> Seven Ninjas in Naruto Who Lost Their Powers After The Fourth Shinobi World War

5. Yu Yu Hakusho

Aside from Dragon Ball and Ninku, Yu Yu Hakusho also served as another manga published by Shonen Jump that inspired Naruto. In Yu Yu Hakusho, there is a wolf possessed person named Kurama. In Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox is named Kurama.

6. Takeshi Kitano’s Films

On creating Naruto, mangas are not the only media that served as an inspiration for Kishimoto. The creator who had a twin brother named Seishi Kishimoto also loved silver screen movies, including Michael Bay’s, Quentin Tarantino’s, and Takeshi Kitano’s movies.

Masashi Kishimoto wanted to recreate angle shots and visuals based on Michael Bay’s and Quentin Tarantino’s works, but it’s hard to be replicated in papers.

On the other side, he liked one fo the famous Japanese director named Takeshi Kitano. This director is famous for his shots. Kitano often highlights an object from distance to push the emotion in a scene.

7. "Sasuke" by Sanpei Shiratori

Like Naruto, Sasuke also based on another manga.

Sasuke, a ninja-themed manga by Sanpei Shiratori became a manga that draws many inspirations for Kishimoto on developing Sasuke Uchiha’s nature.

So that’s seven interesting inspirations behind Naruto’s development. Hopefully, this information can be knowledge to you.

Read Also>> How Rich Is Naruto? Here’s the Calculation of Naruto’s Salary During His Time of Service as a Ninja

FACEBOOK FANSPAGE: Duniagames

INSTAGRAM: @duniagames.co.id

LINE@: @duniagames

YOUTUBE: Dunia Games