Masashi Kishimoto hasn’t been one to shy away from the surrounding array of inspiration that could help improve Naruto. Ever since the series first started, there had been some or the other way through which inspiration was taken. To create something of such a grand scale, or anything at all, inspiration and motivation are the most important.
Out of all the unique characters present in the story, one Akatsuki member stands to be the black sheep even amongst the villains. His quest to achieve immortality came with horrid means. Enraged by his own failures, he did the unthinkable just to make sure his own life force was increasing as the days went by. However, much to everyone’s surprise, Kishimoto based a lot of Kakuzu on Mobile Suit Gundam.
Masashi Kishimoto was Inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam
Masashi Kishimoto had always been a fan of Mobile Suit Gundam, so much so that he had a habit of drawing the mechs all the time when he was a kid. He enjoyed illustrating the characters and was even captivated by them. So it would only make sense that bits of his passionate work made it into Naruto as well. Through Kakuzu, the mangaka paid homage to one of his favorite shows.
As brought to attention by CBR, a lot of the Akatsuki member’s attacks were similar to that of Gundam Units. Attacks like the Earth Grudge Fear, Earth Release: Earth Spear, and Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work are all moves with some or the other connection to the iconic series. Being named after the Zeong unit, Dom, and even Z’Gok, many of Kakuzu’s iconic attacks represent the hit series.
There are many who found themselves captivated by Mobile Suit Gundam, and Masashi Kishimoto was no different. As a result, his wanting to pay a lovely tribute like that was more than fair. However, many of Kakuzu’s deeds could state otherwise.
Kakuzu and His Horrid Immortality
Kakuzu had always been one to boldly claim that he was tasked to assassinate the first Hokage. While he did fail to do so, the very act of trying to assassinate someone so powerful could lead him to be battered and bruised. However, he seemed to be doing just fine. The claim almost seems too good to be true. The people of Takigakure, the Village Hidden by the Waterfall, saw him as a failure because his attempt had gone in vain.
As a result, he killed the village heads and even consumed their hearts, gaining immortality in the process. The morbid way in which he found immortality had more to do with taking other people’s life force away than finding eternal life for himself. The Earth Grudge Fear may give him eternal life but the cost is always too heavy on everyone else.
Moreover, his anger issues made him a hostile partner and teammate to have even for the Akatsuki themselves. Many of them perished at his hands because of his own uncontrollable anger.
Naruto is available to watch on Netflix and Mobile Suit Gundam is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
