Is Tenji a canon character in Naruto? Explored

Modified Mar 22, 2024 01:30 GMT

Is Tenji canonical to the original storyline? (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Tenji from the Naruto series only appeared in the anime as one of the main characters from Kaguya’s past. His presence might have been very brief, but it had a rather profound impact on the story. This is because everything that happened in the Naruto series can be traced back to Kaguya Otsutsuki’s past. This brings up a rather interesting question - is Tenji a canon character in the Naruto series?

The reason why this is an interesting question is due to the complexity of the answer. Whether or not a character is canonical to the story depends on their appearance in the source material and their contribution to the plot. Going by the definition, Tenji does not feature as a canon character, although his is a unique case in the animanga series.

Is Tenji a canon character in the Naruto series?

Kaguya Otsutsuki's lover, and the leader of the Land of the Ancestors

By definition, Tenji is not a canon character in the animanga series. The manga was the source material, and he never made an appearance in the series. This was because Kaguya Otsutsuki’s backstory was never really explored in the manga. While he might not be a canon character by definition, his contribution to the plot makes him one of the most important characters in the series.

Tenji is far more important to the plot in comparison to the likes of Shikamaru and other deuteragonists. Some might go as far as to say that he was just as important as the likes of Sasuke Uchiha.

Tenji’s presence had a ripple effect that changed the course of the series. He was the leader of the Land of the Ancestors, and the Land of That opposed him. They wanted ownership of the land and this caused wars. However, he was someone who wanted peace and refused to kill people.

Expand Tweet

He met Kaguya Otsutsuki, who landed from the stars, and allowed her to live in his kingdom since she too wanted peace. The Land of That realized that Kaguya and Tenji had fallen in love, and therefore kidnapped her.

However, Kaguya used her abilities and killed several soldiers in self-defense. But Tenji was horrified by her powers and tried to capture Kaguya in an attempt to stop a war from breaking out. It was at this point that Kaguya cast an Infinite Tsukuyomi at the God Tree Fruit. Furthermore, Tenji and Kaguya also had two children - Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki.

Given these developments, one could question whether or not Tenji was canonical to the original story. However, there is no doubt that he contributed quite a lot to the overall plot. It’s quite clear that the anime adaptation thought of a way to connect the current events to the original storyline.

Expand Tweet

One of the biggest complaints that people have about the Naruto series is that there are too many filler episodes. However, this was one of the filler sections that fans seemed to enjoy, since it fleshed out Kaguya Otsutsuki's character in a more detailed manner.

Thus, many believe it is hard to say whether or not Tenji was canon since Masashi Kishimoto did not write this character in the source material. That being said, he played an important role despite having barely any screen time in the series.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.