Summary
Narutois one of the most recognizable multimedia franchises on the planet, owing to the excellent creative vision of Masashi Kishimoto and its animators from Studio Pierrot. What could just as easily be a formulaic adventure featuring young ninjas in spectacular battles, instead became a heartwarming and insightful tale about friendship, empathy, social acceptance, and family. But as a shonen manga was adapted as an anime,Narutofans quickly spotted numerous omissions or running changes as the series was put on the screen.
Differences aside,Naruto’sanime was named the world’s most popular kids show, and the manga has gone on to sell over 250 million copies. The series is an astonishing success as one of the Shonen Big Three, with enough merchandise and a recognizable brand that has solidified its status as an icon.
It can be pedantic to focus on the differences between their formats, butanime-only viewers may be curious about just how much more intense theNarutomanga can be.
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An Instantly Noticeable Difference
Naruto’sfiller accounts for 41% of the series' episode count.
Narutois one of the most common examples of anime where filler bloats the episode count, creating a more daunting task for viewers, although there are plenty ofNarutofiller guides. These are essentially side stories, occasionally shifting perspective to side characters and regions of any given series' world,as well as buying time for the manga’s creator to stay ahead with the story. Filler episodes are commonly only found in anime, so for eager fans wanting to consume more content, this can technically be seen as an advantage over only reading the manga.
9Fights Are Drawn Out In the Anime
The Innate Benefit of an Animated Medium
Sakura’s fight against Sasori is commonly cited as a popular example ofNaruto Shippuden’sdrawn-out fights in the anime, running eight episodes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, withNaruto’sanime being given space to adapt the manga’s many iconic fights, these battles are given more than sufficient screen-time. This is especially evident in cases like Tenten’s fight against Temari in the Chunin Exams Arc, Naruto and Sasuke’s climactic final fight, and much more.Fights are commonly among the most-hyped sceneswhen adapting any manga into its anime format, andNarutois certainly no exception.
8The Manga’s Violence Is Censored In the Anime
Masashi Kishimoto Could Draw Some Serious Gore
Noteworthy examples include Kakashi’s genjutsu used against Sasuke to render a bloodied, maimed Sasuke during their first training exercise, Neji’s grievous injury from Kidomaru being more gnarly in the manga, and Gaara’s brutality being cut from the anime.
Even thoughNarutodoesn’t explore extremely serious moments in its earliest arcs, it has some ultraviolent panels in the manga that were toned down in the anime adaptation. Noteworthy examples include Kakashi’s genjutsu used against Sasuke to render a bloodied, maimed Sasuke during their first training exercise, Neji’s grievous injury from Kidomaru being more gnarly in the manga, andGaara’s brutality being cut from the anime. GivenNaruto’spopularity with the kids,toning down the violence was a sensible decision, if understandably frustrating to those who appreciated Kishimoto’s detailed art.
7Naruto’s Anime Has More Flashbacks Than the Manga
Padding Out the Time
The flashbacks inNaruto Shippudenare particularly egregious, with Obito’s flashbacks among the chief offenders in the series.
This difference is one of the more artistically questionable ones on the anime side, asNaruto’smanga did not feature such liberal use of flashbacks, instead only reincorporating moments when totally necessary.The flashbacks inNaruto Shippudenare particularly egregious,with Obito’s flashbacks among the chief offenders in the series. However, when the anime isn’t padding out its runtime with this gimmick, it’s creating elegant anddeep and emotional character momentsnot available in the manga.
6Shikamaru’s Grieving of Asuma Was More Brief In the Manga
Viewers Were Treated to the Excellent Episode #82: “Team 10”
The manga only briefly shows a set of panels where the grieving party holds a funeral for Asuma, paying their respects, with Shikamaru quietly bouncing back, planning a strategy while at his shogi board.
Shikamaru Nara was already an immensely popularNarutocharacter, and the death of Asuma Sarutobi had a clear effect on him,leading to one of the best fights against the Akatsuki in the franchise.However, the manga only briefly shows a set of panels where the grieving party holds a funeral for Asuma, paying their respects, with Shikamaru quietly bouncing back, planning a strategy while at his shogi board. TheNarutoanime turns this scene into a powerful message on masculinity and grief.
5Sakura’s Portrayal In the Anime Pales Compared To the Manga
A Key Member of Team 7 Didn’t Get Her Dues in the Anime
Sakura Haruno’s role in theNarutoseries is undeniable in both the anime and the manga, but her portrayal in the former falls short of the manga’s writing. The manga portrayed Sakura as a more capable and layered character, showing concern for Naruto in the written test portion of the Chunin Exams and showing resolve in her training with Tsunade to recover Sasuke. While the anime has moments of Sakura showing similar layers at the end of the Pain’s Assault Arc going forward, for many fans,the omissions make her less tolerable in theNarutoanime versus the manga.
4Sasuke Goes to Jail in the Anime
A Consequential Difference
This change is subtle, and it’s not fully determined how long Sasuke’s imprisoned, but he can be seen inNaruto Shippuden’sanime episode #479, imprisoned, with a seal mask over his eyes, and a straitjacket, watched over by Hibiki in a scene not from the manga.Sasuke serves out at least part of his sentence before the events ofNarutochapter #699 show up in the anime, with Kakashi pardoning him, citing stopping the Infinite Tsukuyomi as a major reason. It makes sense, after all, since Sasuke was affiliated with the Akatsuki, and killed an interim Hokage, among other crimes.
3Hinata’s Confession to Naruto Was Far Shorter in the Manga
Mere Pages of the Manga Turn Into a Whole Episode
Chapter #437 of theNarutomanga features this sequence, where it goes six pages between Hinata showing up to attempt to rescue a pinned Naruto, saying she loves him, only for her to be swiftly cut down.
Hinata’s confession to Naruto was surprising in Pain’s assault on Konoha, but one for which the fans had been hoping at that point for years. Chapter #437 of theNarutomanga features this sequence, where it goes six pages between Hinata showing up to attempt to rescue a pinned Naruto, saying she loves him, only for her to be swiftly cut down. Episode #166 of theNaruto Shippudenanime turns this into an episode,incorporating additional flashbacks from her life on top of the ones used in the manga, as she crawls hopelessly toward Narutobefore being impaled.
2Neji’s Caged Bird Cursed Seal Was Censored
Part of a Trend of Censorship of the Manji Symbol
Manji images feature prominently in well-known manga series likeBleach, yet their anime censorship makes it difficult for especially prominent usage like inTokyo RevengersorBlade of the Immortal.
Anime viewers may have been surprised to see Neji’s reveal of an ominous forehead mark underneath his headband, meant to subjugate members of the Hyuga clan’s branch family, or kill them if necessary. In the anime, this resembles an ‘X’ on the forehead, but in the original manga, it was an incorporation of the manji symbol, known in the West predominantly as the swastika. This difference between the anime and the manga forNarutois understandable, and it’s not the only instance where it’s been removed, butdue to its usage in Buddhism and Confucianism, its removal breeds controversy.
1One Sexy Jutsu Has a BL Twist in the Manga
Anime Fans Clearly Weren’t Ready
In the English language release, the panel appears like above, showing only silhouettes.
While the sexy jutsu has been a running gag fromNarutovolume #1 until its last arc, with a reverse harem jutsu even being hilariously used against Kaguya Otsutsuki in chapter #682, one saucy twist on the move was never animated. Chapter #347 of the manga features a rendition by Konohamaru,with Sakura being swayed by the Sexy: Boy on Boy technique, takingSasuke BL dreams one step closer to reality.with a guest appearance from Sai. However, digital readers on the VIZ portal will only see silhouettes.
Naruto
Cast
Naruto is an action-adventure anime series based on the manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. The titular Naruto Uzumaki is a fearsome Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit sealed inside him, which once wreaked havoc on his village. Shunned by his community yet determined to earn their respect, Naruto dreams of becoming the greatest ninja, the Hokage. This series follows his journey through the Ninja Academy as he continues to train and grow, hoping to prove himself to his peers- and himself.
