In Shonen manga, villains solely exist to challenge the hero. Yet, Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto refused to go down this familiar path. Rather, he created antagonists who had complex, sometimes tragic pasts that made them just as human as the heroes. Starting with Zabuza, then Orochimaru, and finally, Akatsuki — each villain had their own personal story that goes beyond just simple villainy.
In an industry dominated by larger-than-life villains like those in Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, Kishimoto’s approach was a bold step, prioritizing emotional depth and complex character development over traditional black-and-white morality. His statement in the recent France interview highlights his commitment to pushing the boundaries of manga by trying different approaches, in contrast to Oda’s more archetypal villains.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Humane Approach to Creating Villains in Naruto
Masashi Kishimoto believes that every villain has a story that needs to be told, and it separates his antagonists from the one-dimensional enemies seen in many other Shonen series. He himself acknowledged this unique approach in a recent interview conducted in France as part of his tour along with Mikio Ikemoto.
When asked about his antagonists’ lack of purely evil motives by L’Internaute, Kishimoto stated that he wanted to drift away from stereotypical Shonen villains, who are just “evil for the sake of evil”. Even though, initially, he had considered creating truly evil antagonists, he changed his decision upon seeing One Piece villains created by Eiichiro Oda. In his own words,
It’s true that I want to tell human stories. From the start, I had opportunities to introduce characters as super villains. But since One Piece was already doing that, I wanted to do something different with Naruto. My villain characters also had a story. Manga is also an industry where you have to create what doesn’t exist yet, it pushes you to try different approaches.
Kishimoto didn’t want to create a villain who was simply powerful and menacing; he wanted to create someone who reflected the very real struggles of people shaped by suffering. For example, Pain (Nagato) and his belief in a cycle of hatred was a philosophy born from his personal sufferings in war-torn lands. Pain’s rise to becoming the leader of the Akatsuki is fueled not by an inherent desire to destroy the world but by his twisted sense of justice.
Similarly, another villain, Orochimaru, and his obsession with immortality and forbidden jutsu stems from a fear of death and a desire to transcend human limitations. His drive for power and knowledge is motivated by the trauma caused by the death of his parents, as revealed by his backstory.
The Contrast of Naruto‘s Villains with One Piece‘s
Compared to Kishimoto’s Villains, Eiichiro Oda‘s antagonists in One Piece often represent larger-than-life evils, such as tyrannical nationalism, corruption in the Marines, or the desire for one’s own power at the expense of others. Even while Oda sometimes delves into the tragic pasts of his villains, like Doflamingo or Big Mom, their goals are always extravagant and fueled by desires for dominance or control over the world.
On the other hand, Masashi Kishimoto crafted antagonists that Naruto needed to empathize with rather than just defeat. This focus on creating antagonists with complex emotional and psychological depths showcases his knack for telling stories that defy expectations. He presents a morally gray area in which the line between a villain and a hero becomes hazier.
Kishimoto’s creative choice to focus on human stories rather than purely evil antagonists in Naruto also highlights the broader expectations of the manga industry. As he stated, in a market where innovation is key to standing out, Kishimoto sought to offer something that hadn’t yet been fully explored back then — villains that resonate with readers on a personal level.
Naruto and One Piece are currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
