Hit anime Naruto impressed anime fans with its incredible original ideas, such as the terrifying tailed beasts and the power of dojutsu. In other ways, Naruto merely popularized existing ideas, and some of its most notable elements can be traced all the way back to Dragon Ball. Every anime in the shonen “big three” has a lot of Dragon Ball DNA in it, and no doubt Naruto anime shows it the most.
In the most positive terms, this means Naruto anime hold your breath Dragon Ball alive and honoring Akira Toriyama's imagination in exciting ways, while detractors might say Naruto is only one Dragon Ball wannabe with yet another Goku clone leading the whole shebang. Regardless of what the fans' opinions may be, Naruto loves to flex his Dragon Ball muscle in ways that linger in the franchise to this day, well into the Boruto era.
Naruto mixes fantasy and technology in one world
The technology appears when it is convenient
Some anime go all in with advanced technology, such as Gurren Lagann or Ghost in the Shellwhile others are strictly fantasy or historical, such as The Suitor: Beyond Journey's End and Vinland Saga. Other anime may be primarily rooted in sci-fi or fantasy while borrowing elements from the other, and when done well, this creates a richer story. That was the case for both Dragon Ball and more recently, Naruto.
In fact, fans can tell Dragon Ball was 50/50 between fantasy and science fiction, with Son Goku summoning Shenron with the Dragon Balls while watching humans use the ultra-advanced Capsule Corps technology. Naruto obviously favors fantasy, but it indulges in some technology when appropriate, such as Anko using TVs and cassette tapes to monitor Gaara's actions in the Chunin Exam Arc. In other words, Naruto is fantasy when it can be, and high-tech when it has to be. BorutoMeanwhile, this takes it to a whole new level.
Naruto plays a hungry Himbo hero
Ramen was Naruto's first love
If Dragon Ball did only one thing to influence the design i Narutoit would be the main character's design. Son Goku still casts a long shadow over the realm of shonen anime, with so many action stars clearly trying to be the next Goku, often in obvious or even flamboyant ways. The likes of Monkey D. Luffy and Natsu Dragneel clearly took this route, and so did Naruto Uzumaki, right down to his orange and blue color scheme in his wardrobe.
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Naruto looks like Goku, and the parallels are even stronger on the inside. Like Goku before him, Naruto is a total himbo, an energetic and well-meaning doofus who sees things in straight and tangible ways most of the time. Naruto has a good heart but can also be a total oaf, much to everyone's chagrin, and he has a huge appetite to match. Goku could clean out an entire restaurant when he's hungry, and Naruto is known to generously indulge in Ichiraku Ramen and complain about his rumbling stomach more than once.
Naruto has powerful transformations for everyone
Getting a new haircut is part of the deal
Apart from the hungry himbo concept, the trope of transformations was the biggest influence Dragon Ball had on Naruto anime. Transformations have always existed in mythology and fiction, like werewolves, but Dragon Ball made it different. Aside from Goku transforming into a giant ape during the full moon, Goku and other heroes can gain new forms, such as the blinding power of Super Saiyan mode. And god knows villains like Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu had their own transformations to play with.
This undoubtedly inspired Narutos Masashi Kishimoto to transform his characters every time they start, complete with new hairstyles to add visual style. Naruto did this anytime he tapped into Kurama's chakra to gain a biju cloak, not to mention the demonic Curse Mark transformations, complete with longer hair in Sasuke's case.
Naruto sends the force scaling through the roof
The Fourth Great Shinobi War was no time for subtle tricks
At first Naruto the anime's battle system almost felt like a rebuttal to Dragon Ballits own, what with the shinobi characters relying on stealth and clever tricks to get ahead. Disguises, traps, and sneaky tricks ruled the day, and even a himbo like Naruto could play that game well at times. But inevitably the power levels continued to creep up until Naruto Shippuden felt like a reskinned Dragon Ball Z.
Either for better or for worse, the characters in the Naruto Shippuden hurled ninja-flavored kamehames at each other, and these attacks could flatten the entire landscape. The heroes and villains were never quite powerful enough to destroy an entire planet or moon, but their power levels came close enough to create the familiar Dragon Ball Z feeling. Inner gates, bee cloaks, tailed beasts, and massive kekkei genkai all contributed to this phenomenon.
Naruto has memorable tournament arcs to rival Dragon Ball's Own
No one will ever forget the Chunin Exams
Not even Dragon Ball may claim to have invented the concept of tournaments, but it helped popularize the idea in the shonen action realm. The original Dragon Ball the anime regularly saw Goku and Krillin enter tournaments with various stakes on the line, and then Cell hosted his Cell Games and Zeno hosted the Tournament of Power. There is little doubt about it Naruto also had tournament bows because Dragon Ball did it first.
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Of course, the Chunin Exam Arc did more than copy Dragon Balls homework to keep the story moving, which helps make this such a legendary shonen arc. This phase of NarutoThe story also saw Sasuke gain forbidden power that threatened to tear him apart, while also portraying the thematic clash between talent and hard work. All the while there was a growing sense of dread as Anko and other parties realized that something was terribly wrong with this tournament.
Naruto plays a mega pervert Sensei with tough training regimes
Jiraiya dreamed bigger than Master Roshi did
One of the more controversial, or at least more provocative, ways Naruto emulated Dragon Ball was the design of the older mentor character. Dragon Ball quickly introduced Goku and friends to Master Roshi, the turtle-loving old man who enjoyed battle and pretty girls in equal measure. However, Master Roshi took it too far, and even into Dragon Ball Superhe's still at it. It's no wonder some viewers say Roshi's design is problematic and outdated, while others just laugh at it.
Toxic or not, this design found its way into Naruto anime too, featuring the toad sage and member of the glorious Sannin, Jiraiya. Like his Roshi predecessor, Jiraiya mixed genuine combat mastery with a snarky personal life while coaching the himbo hero in the ways of battle. To NarutoJiraiya is more than Roshi in a different font, as another key component of his arc was added: his dream of world peace. It made Jiraiya an idealistic dreamer, the kind that affected students like Nagato and Naruto in both positive and negative ways.
Naruto
- Release date
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2002 – 2007-00-00
- Showrunner
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Masashi Kishimoto
- Directors
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Hayato Date
- Author
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Masashi Kishimoto
