Black Clover creator Tabata accused of copying Kishimoto's Naruto

The alleged spoilers and raw scans for the upcoming Black Clover issue were released earlier this week, bringing an exciting conclusion to Asta’s fight against Sister Lily’s forces. Fans saw the protagonist successfully defeat the five-headed dragon with some help from the Ryuzen Seven of Hino Country.

However, fans’ discussion and celebration of the upcoming issue’s alleged events have been overshadowed by complaints from other fanbases. According to many users on Twitter, the latest Black Clover spoilers see the series' mangaka, Yuki Tabata, stealing ideas from Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto series.

While it may seem that way at first, many fans of Tabata’s flagship series have taken to Twitter to defend Black Clover and outline why nothing was stolen from Kishimoto.

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Black Clover’s use of ocular powers by showing the historic tomoe symbol has led Naruto fans to accuse Tabata of copying

The latest Black Clover spoilers and raw scans saw Hino Country shogun Ryudo Ryuya finally reveal his full Tengentsu, removing his eyepatch to reveal a design with the Japanese tomoe. The tomoe symbol and its various forms have many uses and symbolic meanings in Japanese culture, typically associated with Shinto shrines.

In pop culture, however, it is undoubtedly most recognizable as being a part of the pattern for the base-form Sharingan in Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto manga and anime series. As such, it is widely recognized and inaccurately credited by those familiar with the symbol as having originated in Kishimoto’s series.

This misconception has resulted in both the Naruto fandom and general anime and manga fans accusing Tabata of copying Kishimoto. In the eyes of the accusers, the allegations are correct due to their understanding that the tomoe originated with Kishimoto’s work. However, as mentioned above, this could not be further from the case.

It also doesn’t help that previous Black Clover developments have been accused of being stolen from Kishimoto’s flagship series as well. The reveal that the Yami clan of Hino Country was massacred was widely panned by non-fans of the series for being a “rip-off” of the Uchiha clan massacre. The original claim of Yami Sukehiro, the older brother of otherwise-sole survivor Yami Ichika, being responsible didn’t help matters.

While one could argue that the Yami clan massacre is heavily influenced by Kishimoto’s work, the use of the tomoe symbol for the Tengentsu’s design is a step too far. The claim mirrors previous claims that Tabata copied Eiichiro Oda’s Wano arc in the One Piece series by introducing Hino Country.

Some critics are taking the stance that even excluding the use of the tomoe, the design of Black Clover’s Tengentsu is eerily similar to that of the Sharingan. However, this couldn’t be far from the case, with the two designs being distinctly different. The Tengentsu features several tomoe circling the iris of the user’s eye with no connecting thread, while the Sharingan’s uses one to three tomoe in addition to a connecting line.

Moreover, the Tengentsu is only in Ryuya’s right eye, whereas the Sharingan is generally seen in both eyes of its user. The Tengentsu also features concentric circles of tomoe manifesting outside of the user’s eye and within, further differentiating it from the Sharingan.

That being said, the only true connection between the two forms is that both are ocular powers and use the historic tomoe symbol. While it’s fair to say that Tabata may have been inspired by Kishimoto’s work, to say it was outright copied is untrue.

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