Manga legend and the creator of Hunter x Hunter, Yoshihiro Togashi, has served as an inspiration to many other prominent manga creators. One of them is Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto. Kishimoto has been quite vocal about being a fan of Togashi’s works and getting references and inspiration from his creations.
However, what many Naruto fans don’t know is that Naruto’s most iconic jutsu, Kage Bunshin No Jutsu, was also inspired by a character from another Togashi masterwork called Yu Yu Hakusho. The series has a similar technique that is used by Suzaku, the leader of The Four Saint Beasts and one of the main antagonists of the series.
Kishimoto once revealed that he was so surprised by Suzaku’s one particular ability that he chose to use it for the main character of his manga series, and it instantly became a big hit among Naruto fans. So much so that it is even used in the sequel spin-off series, Boruto.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Inspiration for Naruto’s Shadow Clone Jutsu
In 2009, Togashi and Kishimoto sat together for an interview to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Naruto. This interview was later shared in the Naruto 10th Anniversary Chronicle Book Mini and was translated by MrGenial11 on the Hunter x Hunter fan page. During the interview, Kishimoto was asked about what he found impressive about Togashi’s works.
Kishimoto revealed:
His way of surprising the reader. The way he can create unexpected scenes that can show the threat that the enemies represent, the Kagebushin no Jutsu of Naruto is strongly inspired by Suzaku’s technique in Yu Yu Hakusho. The idea of having after-images be real was very innovative, I was excited and though ‘how will they beat this guy.’
According to the manga, Yoshihiro Togashi had a unique way of surprising his readers. In fact, he even surprised Kishimoto with Suzaku’s Prism of Seven technique, which allowed Suzaku to multiply himself into seven clones. Kishimoto was so impressed with Suzaku’s technique that he used it for Naruto’s main character in the series.
Other Yoshihiro Togashi Elements That Inspired Masashi Kishimoto
After talking about the Shadow Clone Jutsu and Prism of Seven techniques, Masashi Kishimoto continued to talk about other things that he found impressive about Togashi and used them for his own inspiration. The manga revealed that Togashi’s way of drawing the expressions of characters was totally unique and had never been seen before.
Kishimoto explained:
Another thing that I liked were the characters expressions during the scenes where they witness their enemy reveal their true power, I’ve studied a lot about the delicate balance of expressions of characters when they’re surprised or when they find themselves in a dangerous situation, Back when I’ve started the serialization of Naruto, my inspiration for these kind of facial expressions was Hunter x Hunter, even to this day it still has a special place for me and I often re-read it.
According to the manga, the character’s expression while witnessing a power reveal of their enemy is an important factor, and when Kishimoto started the serialization of Naruto, he learned these aspects from Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter.
Not only that, he was so inspired by Hunter x Hunter that he often re-reads it, and it holds a special place in Kishimoto’s heart.
You can watch Naruto and Hunter x Hunter on Hulu.
