Naruto: Not One Piece, but Dragon Ball was the inspiration behind the anime; Here’s how

Long after Naruto and Dragon Ball bid farewell to the fans, the franchise continues to make tonnes of money with the spin-off, merchandise, and other subsidiary releases from the series. Amid all this, Naruto’s creator, mangaka Masashi Kishimoto has come up to tell his fans the real inspiration behind the world that he has created. Even readers have been finding similarities between Naruto and Dragon for years now. It is time that the artist makes it clear if Goku was the true inspiration behind this entire tale or now. Here’s everything to know about it.

Naruto is inspired by Goku

In one of his past interviews, Masashi Kishimoto cited that his protagonist was inspired by Goku, from Dragon Ball. This was the time when he was working on the original Naruto at the time. The similarity comes from the fact that both characters have the will to become the strongest at the end. In addition, they also have the potential for endless power within them. Thus, it is also important to balance those powers. 

Not only this, but he also wanted to create a world around the entire story. From family, friends, and community, he wanted Naruto to be known as a hero who has a lot of friends. Thus, the themes of love, friendship, and cooperation were then added to the story. In his words “What ‘Dragon Ball’ taught me is what was fun about manga, what makes a fun story in 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.”

Along with this, Musashi was also seeking inspiration for his fun storytelling means. He wanted the story to have fun elements. While this has come a lot from the themes of One Piece. But a large portion of comedic direction is inspired by Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. The artist suggests that “At some point between second and fourth grade, I got into Akira Toriyama Sensei’s ‘Dr. Slump’ anime and ‘Dragon Ball’ manga, I loved his characters. I was especially attached to ‘Dr. Slump’s’ Arale and ‘Dragon Ball’s’ Goku. Also, his art really appealed to me. There was something about his cartoony drawing style that felt right, more so than realistic drawings. I thought to myself, I want to become like Toriyama Sensei.”

You can read Naruto and Dragon Ball on the official pages of Shonen and Viz Media. Keep an eye on Pinkvilla for more trivia like this. 

ALSO READ: Naruto decoded: Where to begin, what to know, and where to watch