One Piece and Naruto are considered two of the best anime ever created. Both shows have millions of fans around the globe, and the comparisons between the two always spark detailed debates.
One thing that is common ground between the two anime is the focus on intricate backstories regarding the villains. But if we were to pick a winner in regards to having better villains, Naruto would take the victory.
Also Read: One Piece Fans are Realizing the Anime is Now Victim of the Same Curse They Trolled Naruto for
Naruto Villains Act on Complex Motivations
Naruto‘s key to making the villains popular among Otakus is giving them complex motivations and backstories. Most villains in the series, including Pain, Obito, and Madara, simply turned towards the dark side due to their harsh treatment by society.
For example, Pain started out as a nice-hearted character. But his small village becoming a battleground for the great nations, made him aching to obtain more power. Moreover, Pain ultimately made it his life mission to give the great nation a similar level of pain that he went through.
Sure, Pain was ultimately defeated by Naruto, but not before killing Jiraiya. While Jiraiya was a member of the Legendary Sannin, he turned out to be no match for Pain’s mastery of legendary Rinnegan.
Obito, on the other hand, aimed to become a Hokage, just like his sensei, Minato Namikaze. Moreover, Obito loved Rin dearly, and her death at the hands of Kakashi made him snap.
Of course, Obito later realized that Madara tricked him into believing that Kakashi killed Rin of his own will. Ultimately, Obito aligned with Naruto to defeat Kaguya Otsutsuki.
These two examples are more than enough to prove how well the Naruto villains are written by Masashi Kishimoto.
Are One Piece Villains Too Shallow to Compete With Naruto Villains?
One may wonder if the villains in One Piece simply do not receive a lot of attention from the creator. No, that’s not the case.
One Piece villains are great, but the lack of a tragic backstory usually makes fans side with Naruto. Eiichiro Oda’s brainchild does have phenomenal backstories, but they are usually limited to the “good” guys.
All things considered, a few One Piece villains have solid ideologies, but they are related to social injustices more often than not. On the other hand, Naruto makes Otakus relate with the villains on a much deeper emotional level.
