Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto has been the face of the industry for many years. The anime is not only a big name in Japan but in several countries around the world. A part of the Big Three of anime, the Shonen series first aired in 2002 and instantly became a fan-favorite. Thanks to its layered characters and gripping storyline, it has cemented its position as a modern classic.
Although Kishimoto-San’s magnum opus has built its own identity and fan base, the series seems to make a ton of references to Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball series throughout the continuation of the show.
Well, that was not a coincidence, because the mangaka is a huge admirer of Toriyama-Sensei’s work, especially his magnum opus. However, Kishimoto-San explained that he learned one of the greatest things from the legendary mangaka and it is based on how you are meant to present a stellar story.
Naruto’s Creator Learned a Valuable Lesson From Akira Toriyama
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto has several resemblances to Akira Toriyama’s work. For starters, the main characters’ outfits, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, were similar to those of Son-Goku and Vegeta, with matching personalities. Both protagonists had a perverted master who unlocked their true potential.
While these were subtle references to Dragon Ball, the most prominent and direct one was when the mangaka decided to name the Four-Tails beast Son-Goku. The four-tails signified the four-star Dragon Ball that was kept by Kakarot as a memory for his grandpa Gohan. Moreover, the jinchuriki of the tailed beast was called Roshi.
The mangaka opened up about his love for the Shonen series in 2015, then decided to attend the New York Comic-Con, where he sat down for an interview with Anime News Network, where he was asked about his artistic influences.
Kishimoto-San stated that he has taken a little bit of everything from renowned manga artists but Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball taught him everything that was fun about manga and how to make a “fun story in manga.” He said,
I would say I’ve probably picked up a little bit from each of them, and perhaps a little bit different thing from each of them. For example, with Dragon Ball, I was reading that when I was in grade school. What Dragon Ball taught me is what was fun about manga, what makes a fun story in manga.
The mangaka further added that despite coming out in weekly format, it kept him hooked, teaching him what entertainment is and how can his art keep his fans captivated by the manga.
In fact, I was reading it as it was coming out in weekly installments in Weekly Shonen Jump, so it really taught me what entertainment is and how to keep an audience captivated—and of course the art influenced me as well.
Even though Toriyama-Sensei is gone, his undying legacy continues to inspire manga artists in profound ways, that will push the limits of storytelling. However, one more manga artist has influenced Kishimoto-San in a significant manner.
Masashi Kishimoto Gets Candid on Hiroaki Samura-Sensei’s Work
In the same interview at New York Comic-Con with Anime News Network, the interviewer asked if he learned anything meaningful when he read Hiroaki Samura-Sensei’s work.
The mangaka answered that Samura-Sensei taught him a lot about the splash scenes, which helped him express a lot by merely focusing on the hands of the character. Kishimoto-San said,
I think Samura-sensei really taught me about the craft of manga making, in terms of what’s cool. Especially in terms of splash scenes, he really taught me the importance of splash scenes. In his splash page scenes, a lot of times he doesn’t focus on the faces of the characters; he usually focuses on their hands. He taught me how one can focus on the hands and how important expressions using just hands can be.
Nevertheless, these legendary mangakas have played a significant role in Masashi Kishimoto’s development as a manga artist, which helped him create one of the greatest anime and manga series of all time.
Naruto (2002) and Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
