The Naruto franchise has some pretty epic moments. These moments made the viewers jump up in excitement. The orange-clad ninja became one of the most popular Shonen protagonists. His journey has often inspired the audience. Masashi Kishimoto began his magnum opus in the late 1990s, and the anime concluded in 2017. When the anime concluded, the fans were happy and sad at the same time.
While One Piece was popular in Japan, Naruto’s popularity broke the Japanese borders and reached Western countries. But Kishimoto sensei did a particular thing with Naruto that was pretty popular during the early 2000s. It was a stereotypical thing. But modern-day anime do not have the luxury of ignoring these details.
Naruto’s Looks Would Not Be Acceptable In Modern Day
The initial setup of being treated as an outcast by the entire village was a great move by Kishimoto sensei. He played the sympathy card, and it worked brilliantly. Considering the magic in the mangaka’s writing pattern, his magnum opus would be massive in today’s time. But he would have to change one teeny tiny part about his protagonist. Naruto Uzumaki’s looks would be considered racist in today’s world.
Blonde hair and blue eyes were a common during the early 2000s. During an interview with Kobayashi, he said, “He wanted to do something different from other artists who had written about ninjas, so made Naruto blond, more like a foreigner than a ninja.” The mangaka is a massive fan of American movies, so it might have inspired him to design the protagonist in that manner. Nonetheless, Naruto did become popular over there.
It was not only Masashi Kishimoto, there were several other mangaka who liked to keep blond and blue-eyed characters in their magnum opus. It became a trend for them. But times have changed. The creator and animation studios need to be careful with what they are projecting. It is one of the reasons why any anime barely fits such standards. Kishimoto’s idea of a foreigner might be the same as a foreigner’s idea of Asian people. But in the end, none of those ideas will stand anymore.
Western World Has A Lot Of Influence On The Anime Industry
There are several other anime that have taken inspiration from the Western culture. Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of My Hero Academia, took inspiration from DC Comics’ Superman while creating All Might. Then there is Hajime Isayama, who used Western names in Attack on Titan. Even Eiichiro Oda confirmed that the Straw Hat Pirates are not entirely Japanese. If it was real, they would have different nationalities.
The anime and manga industry is one of the most popular industries in the world. Since anime and manga became mainstream, more people have been turning to it. It is fair to say that the majority of the people belong to America and Europe.
Naruto can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
