Naruto was one of the best anime series of all time while it still lasted. Moreover, the anime series made up the childhood of most anime fans as they were introduced to anime through Naruto, hinting at how great of a masterpiece Masashi Kishimoto created.
But to some fans' surprise, the series wasn't true to its source, the manga, in a way that the anime had to censor a lot of stuff to make it friendly for the minds of fans. This was especially the fans who enjoyed the series when they were young, which is the majority of the anime fandom.
Some fans still argue to this day about how the anime could have turned out better if Studio Pierrot had stayed true to the manga series. But in such a scenario, the series wouldn't have enjoyed its current popularity and could have even been canceled before it had reached its climax.
Trending
Disclaimer: Any opinions expressed in this article solely belong to the author.
Exploring why censorship in Naruto anime was the reason for its popularity
Naruto is a Shounen manga series that started its serialization on September 21, 1999. Due to its emerging popularity at that time, it received an anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot and the Naruto anime became a reality. The anime adaptation was divided into two parts: the first one was titled Naruto and the second one Naruto Shippuden.
The first Naruto anime started on October 3, 2002, and concluded with 220 episodes on February 8, 2007, after adapting the first 27 volumes. The second Naruto anime started on February 15, 2007, and concluded with 500 episodes on March 23, 2007, thus putting the manga series to an end.
While the anime enjoyed its limelight throughout its airing, it also had to rectify the manga series where needed. Fans would understand this more clearly when some scenes from the anime are compared to the manga.
After learning about Orochimaru's experiments, Jiraiya, alongside some Hidden Leaf Ninja, visited the former's hideout to find out what sort of research he was conducting.
When they reached there, the manga showed corpses nailed to the walls while Orochimaru was dissecting a human being. The anime, however, censored these explicit details and only showed Orochimaru standing in the middle of the room.
Another detail was during the first meeting of Team 7, with their teacher Kakashi Hatake. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were assigned to steal a pair of bells from Kakashi before a certain time.
As the test continued, they split up. Upon venturing, Sakura stumbled upon a fatally injured Sasuke, but it was just an illusion created by Kakashi.
The manga showed gruesome details which included inverted lower limbs of Sasuke with shuriken stabbed through his whole body. The anime censored this and only showed Sasuke with some grave injuries.
Lastly, another example to help fans understand, during the fight between Rock Lee and Kimimaro, the latter had to use his Kekkai Genkai to escape the Hidden Leaf Village ninja and secure Sasuke.
The manga explicitly showed the inside of Kimimaro's body while he took out one of his bones. As expected, the anime censored this and extended his skin whenever he used his Kekkai Genkai.
For the fans who saw this for the first time, their first question would be why Studio Pierrot did such a thing. The Naruto anime had a large fandom during its airing and the majority of this fandom consisted of young children, just like most of the fans who enjoyed the series in their childhood.
If the series adapted the explicit details of the manga series, its popularity would have declined considering how explicit animation leads to an uproar instantly. So, censorship made the Naruto anime worth enjoying for everyone and it was never an issue.
Final thoughts
Where Naruto anime scrutinized the gory details of the manga, it added fillers to the anime. These fillers could be considered a problem too as these had skin exposure that was too sensitive for a young mind, especially in the episodes where the Naruto's group visits the hot springs.
But considering there were only a few such episodes, it could be argued that these weren't that big of an issue. For the fans who now want to see the true Naruto, they can read the official manga series available on Amazon or could also be available at your nearest bookstore, as the manga offers an entirely different experience than the Naruto anime.
Related Links
- Is Naruto darker than One Piece? Explored
- Naruto fans go nuts as Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke does epic tribute after an impressive goal
- Naruto fans are wrong about Madara's death and inspiration for Sasuke's character
- Naruto with his Talk no Jutsu achieved what his villains failed to do
- How did every Akatsuki member join the Organization in Naruto
