Even One Piece Can’t Compete With Masashi Kishimoto’s Greatest Gift to Anime Fans: An Iconic Naruto Move We All Tried at Least Once

Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto has been one of the generational classics that has grown to the status of an evergreen watch that fans just can’t get enough of. The show has it all, from an immersive and expansive world to intense battles that will keep the fans’ eyes glued to the screen.

What adds to the series’ richness is how the mangaka would add the most heart-wrenching stories behind each character, which will make their fight all the more interesting. As a result, the Otaku community has always hailed Kishimoto-Sensei as one of the greatest storytellers of this generation, which might not be able to match by Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece.

Though there are tons of traits that make the Shonen series so popular, there is one aspect that stands out the most: its iconic Naruto run. Despite being so infectiously popular, the manga artist has not given us the reason behind the unique running style, which has become a global sensation.

One Piece’s Legacy Could Never Rival Masashi Kishimoto’s Unexplained Iconic Anime Move

During the long run of Masashi Kishimoto’s magnum opus, a ton of things have come out that have pretty much developed and inspired the next-gen mangakas. However, the most intriguing thing that has popped out from the series is its iconic running style, which fans prefer to call Naruto run.

The iconic running style has elevated to the status of an evergreen meme and has become the perfect example of life imitating art. It consists of throwing one’s arms behind their back and running as if they are imitating an airplane.

Though it looks bizarre to some fans, everyone has attempted to copy this running style once in their life. The best example of this was when the fans were imitating it on live television in Area 51.

There’s no denying that Eiichiro Oda’s magnum opus is the greatest Shonen series that has remained immensely popular for the past 25 years and has been showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. Naturally, it featured many moves that have left a lasting impact on the fans.

However, these fans don’t get to have their say in how Oda-Sensei has managed his series the greatest despite immense criticism following it; they can’t say they have never tried copying this ridiculous-looking move at least once.

While the concept has become infectiously popular, the series’ creator, Masashi Kishimoto, has never given a clear explanation behind this out-of-the-box running style. However, fans were quick to give their idea of what could be the inspiration behind this style.

Fans Share Their Opinion on What Led to The Iconic Naruto Run

In a r/Naruto shared by a Reddit user, they asked the community about the burning question that has been in the minds of every fan of the Shinobi series, that is, “Why do ninjas run with their hands behind their back?”

The question led to various opinions among the fandom, where some joked about the idea behind the running style. They commented,

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However, some fans were referring to theories and ideas that could have been the potential reason why Kishimoto-Sensei chose to come up with this running style. They commented,

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Well jokes apart, there could be two strong reasons why the mangaka chose to follow the running style, as it sounds quite convincing to the ears.

The Two Reasons Behind the Iconic Naruto Run

1) Conserving Energy

According to Medium, ninjas had a core concept of conserving energy, which led to the idea of “ninja running.” This running style would not only avoid wasting extra energy but also keep the Shinobi’s body on track.

Though absurd as it may sound, moving your arms would slowly drift one’s body to the side as the arms moved. Hence, leaving the “arms loose and basically motionless at your sides is a more efficient way to move.” This notion again goes with their idea of being extremely efficient in their work.

2) Better Animation

Though it may or may not contribute to better aerodynamics, leading to lesser drag that somewhat affected their speed. However, if we look at it from a production standpoint, it is certain that it is easier to animate compared to how humans normally run.

By keeping their hands behind, which means the animators only need to animate the legs of the characters. Since the series is full of fights in the show, animating with arms swinging would be extremely tedious and would have taken forever. Hence, this particular style was chosen.

Naruto can be streamed on Crunchyroll.