Is Naruto darker than One Piece? Explored 

Naruto and One Piece are part of the Big Three of anime, and for good reason because these are long-running series that are still considered one of the best by fans.

Although both of these series are not intensely mysterious or have very dark storylines, they do have more than a touch of these themes in them. For instance, in Naruto, there are the hidden disturbing experiments of Orochimaru, the origins of the godly clan Otsutsuki, and many other things. On the other hand, in One Piece, there are the origins of Imu, the mystery of the Void Century, and more.

This has often led to many wondering which of these stories is darker than the other.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author's opinions and contains potential spoilers from the One Piece and Naruto manga series.

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Understanding whether Naruto is darker than One Piece

Pain as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Naruto is an action-fantasy manga that started being serialized in September 1999. The series was written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto and received an anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot in two parts: Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.

The manga series followed a very detailed artwork that became well-known for its characteristic style. For instance, during the Pain arc, when Pain flew atop the Hidden Village and was about to unleash his Almighty Push, fans got to witness something that has still not been seen in any manga.

Zetsu's roots as controlled by Obito's emotions after Rin's death (Image via Shueisha)

The anime adaptation of this series was also pretty interesting, as the production team had to censor a lot of stuff from the original source. For instance, when Rin died and Obito went berserk, the ninja in the field got morphed with Zetsu's technique, thus forming three grotesque roots that elongated towards the moon.

This detail was censored in the anime due to its gore. So, the Naruto manga series follows a grotesque art style with a storyline that can be considered moderately dark.

One Piece is an action-fantasy series that started serialization in July 1997. The series was written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda and received an anime adaptation by Toei Animation. It is still airing and is reportedly going through its final saga.

The series became known for its amazing storytelling and worldbuilding, accompanied by its characteristic art style that has developed over time, going from a very simple style to a detailed one that had more depth to it.

There are also certain dark mysteries in this series that fans consider disturbing.

Imu as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

One of these mysteries surrounds the true ruler of the World Government, Imu. This sparks questions like why is Imu so powerful? Why does only Imu have the authority to use Mother Flame?

An even darker theme is the mystery of the Void Century. A similar, more recent one is why the World Government is ruled by demons (like Saturn).

Dark stories are classified by their spine-chilling storytelling that needs more explanatione. Take, for instance, Junji Ito's short story, Long Dream from Junji Ito Story Collection: Shiver.

It is one of the least gore-related stories by this author, but has the darkest theme. It is centered around a man who lives centuries inside his dream. This first affects his sanity and eventually ages him so much that he turns to dust, just like an hourglass.

With Naruto, there are some bizarre mysteries, followed by a gore art style, which needs clarification. However, it can be argued that One Piece has many more dark themes and questions that the author is holding the answer to. Most fans believe that these mysteries could be revealed in the final saga of the series.

So, One Piece could be considered a much more darker story than Naruto.

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