Neji isn't correct lmao, his ideology was that you can not change your fate and is bond to it You can say Naruto being the the reincarnatation of ashura contradicts this but every reincarnatation was cursed to killing each other for eternity. Even while I hate Neji death, even this doesn't contradicts it, Neji was supposed to protect the hyuga heir which was Hinata sister at the time of the story
We are not totally free. We can stretch our borders, even cross sometimes, but we are not capable of everything, bcs our enviorment and personality constant pull us towards them. So everyone's got the point.
Very minor correction regarding the Six Paths: So Rinnegan directly translates to 'Samsara Eyes' which is in reference to the Samsara Wheel--the reincarnation cycle in Hinduism. Each of the Paths of Pain references one of the six realms of reincarnation you can enter. The Naraka Path is exactly as you said, a temporary Hell where you are cleansed of your bad karma. The Preta Path is also just as you described. The Animal Path is self explanatory. However the Asura Path isn't in reference to the god Asura, rather it's in reference to the Asura Realm, where you become a demigod of sorts constantly craving more power. Hence why this particular Rinnegan power allows you to utilize advanced weaponry. The Human Path is also self explanatory. But the Deva Path is also not just about being a 'god.' Rather, the Deva Realm is considered a place so void of suffering that the deva themselves actively reject notions of pain. Hence why that Rinnegan power grants you the ability to repel and attract.
Oh, so it’s ironic that the Deva path Pain would always talk about making other people feel his Pain… although, his face was always very emotionless, as if he didn’t actually feel any pain.
Surprised Sanshouo no Hanzo didn't get a mention. He's named after probably the single most famous ninja in real history: Hattori Hanzo, also known as Oni no Hanzo. He's one of the most referenced figures in Japanese pop culture.
This is why I really love Kaguya. She is a low-level deity in Japanese mythology, but when her power was brought _directly_ into Naruto, it was shown why her deity-ness is so important and powerful in the world of Naruto
To be fair by this defintion all the greatest series like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are just older stories retold. They are still original, they just have deeper origins.
@@darkbrightnorthyou can't say that about everything ( marvel and D.C) not all the characters but their is a handful captain america and batman and spider man and wolverine ( even though their been some rewriting for wolverine lately relating him back to some folk tails.)
@@deeeeesp.Even some marvel and DC stories are inspired by real life. X man = was inspired by racism in American history during a specific time. Thor and everything around Thor is obviously inspired by Norse. Wonder woman by Greek. Trigon clearly inspired by Catholic religion of hell. Batman is inspired by Zorro. Hulk was inspired by Frankenstein. So yes even marvel and DC gets inspired by other stories.
true, many great series draw inspiration from older stories, but they still bring their own unique twists and interpretations, making them original in their own right.@@darkbrightnorth
I heard before that the cat Tailed Beast was based off a Kasha. That Yokai is really cool. It's a cat (or alternatively a cart), surrounded by fire or lightning, which steals corpses from funeral processions. The cat version is visually similar to Bakeneko and Nekomata because it has a forked tail with little flames at the end.
so while its touched on briefly in the video, the use of izanagi and izanami is actually really interesting. the powers are based on the story of izanagi doing all he can to bring izanami back to life. izanagi going into the land of darkness to bring izanami back to life, and he almost does but when he actually sees izanami rotting and monstrous he gets scared and realizes he cant bring her back and instead leaves. kind of neat to compare to izanagi bringing uchiha back to life when they are going to die, vs izanami as forcing the reality of the situation
It's why I love Naruto so much. The references and homages to mythology are what keep me so intrigued, not just because of Naruto's story, but how beautifully Naruto's story integrates mythology into its own story and history thereby deepening the meanings and relationships between characters and events
Through your videos over the last couple years it really dawned on me how much not only Naruto but many Manga and stories pull from Japanese mythology and religion the same way many western stories pull from Roman and Greek mythology and stories. Super cool to finally get a video compiling everything in Naruto!
Few stories are truly originals but every great story needs inspiration and the writers are still great for having such amazing worlds they made from such amazing sources
Interesting to see how Japanese fans must have picked up on some of this while they read/watched Naruto originally. E.g. probably REALLY expected Jiraiya and Tsunade to end up together.
13:15 with regards to the story of the gift of the “Hagoromo scarf” by the human family of Kaguya is categorically wrong. When Kaguya was leaving the planet she was given the scarf by the Kami of the moon that came to retrieve her, and in the moment she wore it she lost a sense of pain and shame of leaving. Kaguya did however give a vile of elixir to the emperor whom she rejected, if you’re talking about gift giving. For more info see the book Myths and Legends of Japan.
Thanks Nick! This has to be my favorite video from you. It's a perfect mix between my favorite anime and history. I always loved it when you incorporated shinto and hindu lore to explain the show and now we get a whole video on it! Thanks for your hard work and research!
Tbf I’m not sure if it’s research or if most of those are stories any Japanese kid learns about in school. Either way it’s impressive how he reimagined those stories as the world’s most charming shounen-manga world.
To be fair it is still very creative. All great writers great inspiration and the creativity is how they apply what they know in new ways. And Kishimoto did that for sure.
One part of your videos I really like is when you talk about the folklore, science, or whatever cultural reference your topic is based off of. This is now my 2nd favorite video of yours right behind "Sarada's MS abilities" and ahead off "How an average genin would become Hokage." I always wondered why in Serei no Moribito and Princess Mononoke why they referred to the Emperor as "Mikado" or "Tenjo". Mikado means "son of heaven" and Tenjo can be loosely translated as "heavens, sky, or imperial". Now we know why thanks to this video that Amatarasu sent her grandson to Japan and he became the progenitor or first ancestor of the royal Imperial Family. Love your content, thanks for this awesome video.
Thank you! It’s frustrating when people put down a lot of series just because is somewhat similar to another. A story should be judged and viewed as it’s own thing. As soon as it’s made by another author it becomes another story. It’s even more frustrating when the thing they view as “completely original” is also not original by their own definition
I absolutely despise it when people write off a series because „hurr durr, it‘s not original/it copies things from xyz“. No story, actually, no single piece of media, be it music, movies, games or otherwise is not truly original. You can find countless pieces of inspiration in every single piece of media. Be it general plot structure (example, think about how many „go against authority/society“ stories exist nowadays), to pieces of symbolism, meant to further paint the world the story takes place in, all the way to each and every character‘s name for crying out loud. We, as a collective, shouldn’t judge stories based on how „original“ they are. We should judge them based on how they use these themes to create a narrative that can genuinely move and inspire people. But maybe I’m expecting a bit too much here. After all, this communities mostly known for it‘s heated arguments about… [illegal behavior] and about which fictional dude can punchy which other fictional dude the hardest. Nuance and media literacy are incredibly rare here
@@KeDe1606but those heated arguments are especially publicized by TH-camrs and social media influencers. Why exactly couldnt he title this, "stories that influenced Naruto."? Why did he have to go the extreme route of making the title; "Naruto's plotline was stolen?" The TH-camr went the predictable route of saying how many of these stories are influenced by previous writing. But you would not have the defensive "why do people ha e to put down stories because...: if the TH-camr did not deliberately make a clickbait title
You are "thanking" him for creating drama only to negate it. I have a serious issue with the way the English/Western anime creators do things. Too much clickbait, too much drama fabrication. A very small, microscopic percentage of people would complain about Naruto being "stolen plot." Especially given this cateogory of Shonen anime which usually is inspired by that type of stories. But no, he had to clickbait. As most Western anime TH-camrs do
@@ling8956 yes. Because this is a common issue all across the (western) anime community. Or not just the anime community, but those from games or movies in general. A lot of people do legitimately write great stories off because „hurr durr, it’s not original“. Which, as not just I, but also Nick, OP and most other people in this comment section have explained, is absolute bs. Now, where this behavior stems from, I do not know. Be it everyone‘s dwindling attention span thanks to the rise of stuff like TikTok, or because of wannabe intellectuals just spewing this agenda of theirs to put other people down (as is all to common in this community). So to shift the blame for this phenomena on one specific person/one specific group of people also makes absolutely no sense, and is incredibly ignorant.
High School DxD probably is the anime with most inspirations from. I mean the novel which the anime originated from, included not only Japanese shinto lore and other japanese references like nekomata and yokai but also from other pantheons of mythologies like from Greek and Hindu. It also includes Biblical references, even from the banned books of the bible which is the Book of Enoch with the characters of angels, fallen angels and devils.
Wow!!! Thanks for the history lesson... I appreciate cos its made me appreciate the level of thinking and creativity to seemingly tie all these inspirations together and create such an iconic anime and manga
I was always a nerd about Hindu and Chinese mythology so when people around me called naruto original, I was baffled. And when I tried to explain them, I was stopped because they thought "I was dissing Naruto because I don't get it" whatever that means. Naruto is not that deep.
That was a dope video Nick! Truly freaking stellar! History is such a fantastic subject, it can send you down some wild rabbit holes. Would LOVE to see other videos like this...
I absolutely love this video! All of the old folktales that Naruto is based on is fascinating to learn about. It’s why I love your channel so much learning about all of this history!
24:24 this is why in the original plot of Naruto, Naruto and Kurama were supposed to be the same person. The original premise was for the kyuubi to shapeshift and disguise himself as a blonde trouble making boy. It’s not really pointing out something you missed, but it’s extra trivia that many Naruto fans may not know.🤔
I recently found your channel and I fw your style heavy. This is the most informative and interesting video I’ve seen you do so far. Excited for your future growth!
Gyuki is a reference to that mythical spider bull Demon. yea there's a spin seing as he's an ocopus and not a spider, but 8 limbs, appears by the water, with a serious attitude problem, yea I'd say it's pretty close.
24:40 it might be worth pointing out, the kitsune stopped growing tails after they had nine, and the fur changes from red to gold(then white) which is the obvious inspiration for only Naruto and Minato having a golden chakra mode.
Ah! You should've mentioned when talking about kitsune and kyuubi the kitsune tsuki, which is when a person body in inhabited by a fox spirit. The person eventually develops fox-like physical traits like fox ears and teeth.
The book “A Mythical and religious analysis of Naruto” is a great deep dive into this topic for anyone who’s intrigued by all this, though it is a bit lengthy
Nick great job as always love this really much always been a big fan of myths and legends hope you make more of this with other anime it's a fun history lesson
Those 2 towers are also in Pokemon Gold and Silver with the two different towers! Honestly seems like MOST Japanese games and anime is just revisions of these classic stories.
The first time i watched naruto , i immediately felt a religious/ancient connection towards the show. After completely watching the series , i remember googling whether naruto has hindu elements and i was right lmao. Goated series fr 💯💯
Boy I want nick to create a anime or any story and see what he comes up with. 😭😭😭 I’m willing to bet the things he complains about, he’ll realize how easy it’s not. I’d love to see if it’s original and/or even good.
The other day I was playing some games with my buddy and i was listening to one of your videos while we played. After a minute he was able to guess who i was watching, idk just been a fan of you for a long time now and its really cool to see other people in my life also wnjoy your content.
Great video! I didnt know many of those parallels to ancient mythologies. But i do still think that it is a very different thing, taking from established cultures and taking from another persons identifiable authored work. Not that it is wrong per se, but it is something to keep in mind.
22:10 correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the god Izanagi was also inside of a cave while he was washing his face.(It’s been about a decade since I looked into this stuff.) Which is a nod to the fact that the Uchiha’s power is awakened when their heart experiences great loss and is “steeped in darkness” as per the Uchiha stone tablet.
17:25 she has 2 tails, there's a split tail cat in Japanese mythology, but I forget what its name is. It may also be a shapeshifter. And it shares some similarities with a Kitsune. Pokémon takes from this with one of the Eevees.
JJK is a copy of Naruto though, the creator even admitted it lol. JJK season 0 is original, it was the real start of the franchise but the Shonen Jump sat him down and asked him to make changes so they could extend the concept of the world and they literally based it on Naruto from that point forward. That's why there is a brand new cast of characters for the first issue compared to zero.
Many anime draw their inspiration from real world legends, myths and folklore. Goku is based on Son Wukong, the Monkey King. While Naruto or DBZ may not be the source material it’s a great way to share the messages of these tales with the younger generations worldwide.
I also theorize that Naruto takes inspiration from Old Testament Christianity. Indra and Ashura are basically Jacob and Esau. And Black Zetsu is obviously Satan ploting, manipulating, and scheming; the ultimate liar and deceiver. Kaguya is Eve who ate from the Forbidden tree aka the Chakra Fruit.
I think you missed your calling as a Teacher, your ability to get a person interested in what you have to speak about and the wisdom you have to share is second to none. Being a youtuber is a good alternative though, I'm sure! 😂
this probably won't even get noticed, but i had a fun thought. we always look at chakra and elemental powers, using the toketsu points and what not. why have i never seen anyone talk about adult aang from avatar versus anyone in naruto, maybe specifically naruto, but someone else using all elemental releases would be cool too like hiruzen and the 2nd mizukage i think?
2:16 I loved Sabikui Bisko until they introduced that massive unbeatable monster that looked like an Evangelion “Angel”, and at that point I just gave up. Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）
There was a clip from an anime I saw a year or two ago now where the character had an ability similar to shadow clones, I sadly don't remember the name and have been hunting it for a while. The clip I'm speaking of happens in an alley.
A good author barrows, a Great Author knocks the story out, drags them into an allay steels their cloths and covers them in alcohol. And yes, I loved this video.
I could listen to another hour on the links between Naruto and ancient mythology/religion. Thank you for the reminder that there is nothing new under the sun.
I didn't know about Sasuke; That's interesting, i'll look into that. I knew of Kaguya but didn't know of the Hagoromo, interesting. Didn't know about Kamui, however I knew of the Inu people. Knew very little about Ryjin and Kyujin Garuda & everything beyond that point was completely new to me. Except that. 27:07 29:04 ew and yikes, he's based off that Yokai. Nice very interesting.
Pain: Wants to create an ultimate weapon to make the world afraid of war. Me: This is literally an allegory to nuclear weapons and the Cold War and modern day conflicts surrounding political relations.
keeping the trend going i believe sarada is going to be based off a Bodhisattva. and connecting to that she reminds me of Guanyin the goddess of compassion.
26:30 - Asura isn't *a* god, but a species of gods. The main gods in Hinduism are the Devas, while the Antagonist gods are the Asuras. Given how bad his subtitles are, here: Shichinin Misaki Kokon Chomonjū Kuchisake-onna
I'd challenge anyone to give me a modern story that's truly original in terms of themes and overarching structure. we naturally gravitate towards specific ways of storytelling, and that spans across every medium. what makes things feel original is things like perspective, writing styles, and world building. not the plot or character arcs, although these things are important for obvious reasons.
Shinto is still a widely practiced religion in Japan. If fact one of the two most prevalent religions in Japan, usually practiced in unison with Buddhism. I think the comparison to the Hellenism (ancient greek polytheism) gives the wrong impression in that respect.
Here's a reference that solves something I was always frustrated about: Lightning Blade and the Chidori are functionally identical jutsu and were created by the same person, so why do they have different names? The reason is they're a reference to the story of Tachibana Dosetsu, who possessed a sword named Chidori. One day while he was taking shelter beneath a tree, Tachibana was struck by a bolt of lightning, but thanks to his quick reflexes he was able to use his sword to cut down the Raijin within the lightning bolt and save his life. After this, he renamed his sword to Raikiri, literally "Lightning Cutter." This is why Kakashi was said to have performed a similar feat in order to rename his jutsu to Raikiri. The reason Kakashi was likely given this ability is due to his connection to Minato, who was famous for his Flying Raijin technique, and the reason why everyone still calls Sasuke's technique "Chidori" is not just to differentiate it from Kakashi, but also because "Chidori" means "One Thousand Birds," which is more fitting for Sasuke's symbology.
Neji was right about Destiny and Fate. That's why Kishimoto killed Neji off, because he knew too much.
Neji isn't correct lmao, his ideology was that you can not change your fate and is bond to it
You can say Naruto being the the reincarnatation of ashura contradicts this but every reincarnatation was cursed to killing each other for eternity.
Even while I hate Neji death, even this doesn't contradicts it, Neji was supposed to protect the hyuga heir which was Hinata sister at the time of the story
🍜🌌💀🥷... 🤭
😂😂😂
We are not totally free. We can stretch our borders, even cross sometimes, but we are not capable of everything, bcs our enviorment and personality constant pull us towards them. So everyone's got the point.
Enough with this 2015 stupid take. Neji was wrong and he died to a stick. Get over it
Very minor correction regarding the Six Paths:
So Rinnegan directly translates to 'Samsara Eyes' which is in reference to the Samsara Wheel--the reincarnation cycle in Hinduism. Each of the Paths of Pain references one of the six realms of reincarnation you can enter. The Naraka Path is exactly as you said, a temporary Hell where you are cleansed of your bad karma. The Preta Path is also just as you described. The Animal Path is self explanatory. However the Asura Path isn't in reference to the god Asura, rather it's in reference to the Asura Realm, where you become a demigod of sorts constantly craving more power. Hence why this particular Rinnegan power allows you to utilize advanced weaponry. The Human Path is also self explanatory. But the Deva Path is also not just about being a 'god.' Rather, the Deva Realm is considered a place so void of suffering that the deva themselves actively reject notions of pain. Hence why that Rinnegan power grants you the ability to repel and attract.
👏
another thing is that Naruto and Sasuke are related to Fuujin and Raijin, that's why Naruto has wind release and Sasuke has lightning release
Oh, so it’s ironic that the Deva path Pain would always talk about making other people feel his Pain… although, his face was always very emotionless, as if he didn’t actually feel any pain.
The 8 tails is based off the Ushi Oni, a yokai with the body of a spider and the head of a bull, Kishimoto decided to switch spider for octopus.
Wow, Kishimoto predicted Superior Spider-Man!!!
@@rodarolladasounds like gorosei
I speak for all of us when I ask Nick to make more “what if’s”
Fr bro
Fr bro🗿
What if sakara had the nine tails, there by being useful. Lol.
10000%
What if tailed beasts didn't exist?
Surprised Sanshouo no Hanzo didn't get a mention. He's named after probably the single most famous ninja in real history: Hattori Hanzo, also known as Oni no Hanzo. He's one of the most referenced figures in Japanese pop culture.
This is why I really love Kaguya. She is a low-level deity in Japanese mythology, but when her power was brought _directly_ into Naruto, it was shown why her deity-ness is so important and powerful in the world of Naruto
Even if its not original, I love the ideas and concept naruto has brought us. Thanks for doing your research Nick we appreciate it
To be fair by this defintion all the greatest series like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are just older stories retold. They are still original, they just have deeper origins.
@@darkbrightnorthyou can't say that about everything ( marvel and D.C) not all the characters but their is a handful captain america and batman and spider man and wolverine ( even though their been some rewriting for wolverine lately relating him back to some folk tails.)
@@deeeeesp.Even some marvel and DC stories are inspired by real life. X man = was inspired by racism in American history during a specific time. Thor and everything around Thor is obviously inspired by Norse. Wonder woman by Greek. Trigon clearly inspired by Catholic religion of hell. Batman is inspired by Zorro. Hulk was inspired by Frankenstein. So yes even marvel and DC gets inspired by other stories.
naruto's ideas and concepts have definitely left a lasting impact.
true, many great series draw inspiration from older stories, but they still bring their own unique twists and interpretations, making them original in their own right.@@darkbrightnorth
I heard before that the cat Tailed Beast was based off a Kasha. That Yokai is really cool. It's a cat (or alternatively a cart), surrounded by fire or lightning, which steals corpses from funeral processions. The cat version is visually similar to Bakeneko and Nekomata because it has a forked tail with little flames at the end.
so while its touched on briefly in the video, the use of izanagi and izanami is actually really interesting. the powers are based on the story of izanagi doing all he can to bring izanami back to life. izanagi going into the land of darkness to bring izanami back to life, and he almost does but when he actually sees izanami rotting and monstrous he gets scared and realizes he cant bring her back and instead leaves. kind of neat to compare to izanagi bringing uchiha back to life when they are going to die, vs izanami as forcing the reality of the situation
It's why I love Naruto so much. The references and homages to mythology are what keep me so intrigued, not just because of Naruto's story, but how beautifully Naruto's story integrates mythology into its own story and history thereby deepening the meanings and relationships between characters and events
Through your videos over the last couple years it really dawned on me how much not only Naruto but many Manga and stories pull from Japanese mythology and religion the same way many western stories pull from Roman and Greek mythology and stories. Super cool to finally get a video compiling everything in Naruto!
Few stories are truly originals but every great story needs inspiration and the writers are still great for having such amazing worlds they made from such amazing sources
Interesting to see how Japanese fans must have picked up on some of this while they read/watched Naruto originally. E.g. probably REALLY expected Jiraiya and Tsunade to end up together.
13:15 with regards to the story of the gift of the “Hagoromo scarf” by the human family of Kaguya is categorically wrong. When Kaguya was leaving the planet she was given the scarf by the Kami of the moon that came to retrieve her, and in the moment she wore it she lost a sense of pain and shame of leaving. Kaguya did however give a vile of elixir to the emperor whom she rejected, if you’re talking about gift giving. For more info see the book Myths and Legends of Japan.
Thanks Nick! This has to be my favorite video from you. It's a perfect mix between my favorite anime and history. I always loved it when you incorporated shinto and hindu lore to explain the show and now we get a whole video on it! Thanks for your hard work and research!
I was actually impressed by Kishimoto's creativity back in the day! Now I'm more impressed by Kishimoto's research.
Tbf I’m not sure if it’s research or if most of those are stories any Japanese kid learns about in school. Either way it’s impressive how he reimagined those stories as the world’s most charming shounen-manga world.
To be fair it is still very creative. All great writers great inspiration and the creativity is how they apply what they know in new ways. And Kishimoto did that for sure.
One part of your videos I really like is when you talk about the folklore, science, or whatever cultural reference your topic is based off of. This is now my 2nd favorite video of yours right behind "Sarada's MS abilities" and ahead off "How an average genin would become Hokage." I always wondered why in Serei no Moribito and Princess Mononoke why they referred to the Emperor as "Mikado" or "Tenjo". Mikado means "son of heaven" and Tenjo can be loosely translated as "heavens, sky, or imperial". Now we know why thanks to this video that Amatarasu sent her grandson to Japan and he became the progenitor or first ancestor of the royal Imperial Family. Love your content, thanks for this awesome video.
This just shows me how much he researched when creating the mythos behind the naruto universe. Banger video Nick
Thank you!
It’s frustrating when people put down a lot of series just because is somewhat similar to another. A story should be judged and viewed as it’s own thing. As soon as it’s made by another author it becomes another story.
It’s even more frustrating when the thing they view as “completely original” is also not original by their own definition
I absolutely despise it when people write off a series because „hurr durr, it‘s not original/it copies things from xyz“. No story, actually, no single piece of media, be it music, movies, games or otherwise is not truly original. You can find countless pieces of inspiration in every single piece of media.
Be it general plot structure (example, think about how many „go against authority/society“ stories exist nowadays), to pieces of symbolism, meant to further paint the world the story takes place in, all the way to each and every character‘s name for crying out loud.
We, as a collective, shouldn’t judge stories based on how „original“ they are. We should judge them based on how they use these themes to create a narrative that can genuinely move and inspire people.
But maybe I’m expecting a bit too much here. After all, this communities mostly known for it‘s heated arguments about… [illegal behavior] and about which fictional dude can punchy which other fictional dude the hardest. Nuance and media literacy are incredibly rare here
@@KeDe1606but those heated arguments are especially publicized by TH-camrs and social media influencers. Why exactly couldnt he title this, "stories that influenced Naruto."? Why did he have to go the extreme route of making the title; "Naruto's plotline was stolen?"
The TH-camr went the predictable route of saying how many of these stories are influenced by previous writing. But you would not have the defensive "why do people ha e to put down stories because...: if the TH-camr did not deliberately make a clickbait title
You are "thanking" him for creating drama only to negate it. I have a serious issue with the way the English/Western anime creators do things. Too much clickbait, too much drama fabrication.
A very small, microscopic percentage of people would complain about Naruto being "stolen plot." Especially given this cateogory of Shonen anime which usually is inspired by that type of stories. But no, he had to clickbait. As most Western anime TH-camrs do
@@ling8956 yes. Because this is a common issue all across the (western) anime community. Or not just the anime community, but those from games or movies in general.
A lot of people do legitimately write great stories off because „hurr durr, it’s not original“. Which, as not just I, but also Nick, OP and most other people in this comment section have explained, is absolute bs.
Now, where this behavior stems from, I do not know. Be it everyone‘s dwindling attention span thanks to the rise of stuff like TikTok, or because of wannabe intellectuals just spewing this agenda of theirs to put other people down (as is all to common in this community).
So to shift the blame for this phenomena on one specific person/one specific group of people also makes absolutely no sense, and is incredibly ignorant.
Calling someone "incredibly ignorant" after repeatedly using "hurr durr" as an argumentative tool isnt a great look.
I think this is one of your best videos yet! Thank you so much for going to such detail! :)
High School DxD probably is the anime with most inspirations from. I mean the novel which the anime originated from, included not only Japanese shinto lore and other japanese references like nekomata and yokai but also from other pantheons of mythologies like from Greek and Hindu. It also includes Biblical references, even from the banned books of the bible which is the Book of Enoch with the characters of angels, fallen angels and devils.
Wow!!! Thanks for the history lesson... I appreciate cos its made me appreciate the level of thinking and creativity to seemingly tie all these inspirations together and create such an iconic anime and manga
Gyuuki was based off something called an Ushi Oni which is usually a yokai with either an ox head and an octopus body, or an ox head and a spider body
I was always a nerd about Hindu and Chinese mythology so when people around me called naruto original, I was baffled. And when I tried to explain them, I was stopped because they thought "I was dissing Naruto because I don't get it" whatever that means. Naruto is not that deep.
This is the first time I have ever gone to a video before it hits the one-hour Mark for posting. Thank you so much for your great content.
That was a dope video Nick! Truly freaking stellar!
History is such a fantastic subject, it can send you down some wild rabbit holes. Would LOVE to see other videos like this...
I absolutely love this video! All of the old folktales that Naruto is based on is fascinating to learn about. It’s why I love your channel so much learning about all of this history!
24:24 this is why in the original plot of Naruto, Naruto and Kurama were supposed to be the same person. The original premise was for the kyuubi to shapeshift and disguise himself as a blonde trouble making boy. It’s not really pointing out something you missed, but it’s extra trivia that many Naruto fans may not know.🤔
Son goku btw is just the Japanese name for Sun wukong, they didn’t change the name they just translated it
I recently found your channel and I fw your style heavy. This is the most informative and interesting video I’ve seen you do so far. Excited for your future growth!
Gyuki is a reference to that mythical spider bull Demon. yea there's a spin seing as he's an ocopus and not a spider, but 8 limbs, appears by the water, with a serious attitude problem, yea I'd say it's pretty close.
@24:28 “when a fox hits 100 years old they gain another tail, so when a fox becomes 8000 years old they become a kyubi” nice math there buddy
Love the videos man!!! Keep doing your thing man.
24:40 it might be worth pointing out, the kitsune stopped growing tails after they had nine, and the fur changes from red to gold(then white) which is the obvious inspiration for only Naruto and Minato having a golden chakra mode.
Was waiting for you to do a video like this. Good job 🙏
I love Sabuki Bisco too! I was confused by your description at first, mainly the love part, but then it all clicked lol
Ah! You should've mentioned when talking about kitsune and kyuubi the kitsune tsuki, which is when a person body in inhabited by a fox spirit. The person eventually develops fox-like physical traits like fox ears and teeth.
Some people say that Jujutsu Kaisen is the love child of Naruto and Bleach.
The book “A Mythical and religious analysis of Naruto” is a great deep dive into this topic for anyone who’s intrigued by all this, though it is a bit lengthy
Nick great job as always love this really much always been a big fan of myths and legends hope you make more of this with other anime it's a fun history lesson
Those 2 towers are also in Pokemon Gold and Silver with the two different towers! Honestly seems like MOST Japanese games and anime is just revisions of these classic stories.
This is one of my favorite videos. I love seeing mythology brought into modern media like this.
This. This is the reason I subbed months ago, the knowledge I gain about history and science is delectable lol
One upon a time, a guy named Joseph Campbell wrote something called “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”
The first time i watched naruto , i immediately felt a religious/ancient connection towards the show. After completely watching the series , i remember googling whether naruto has hindu elements and i was right lmao. Goated series fr 💯💯
Boy I want nick to create a anime or any story and see what he comes up with. 😭😭😭 I’m willing to bet the things he complains about, he’ll realize how easy it’s not. I’d love to see if it’s original and/or even good.
16:40 - speaking about goku, i'd really enjoy it if you had a dragon ball channel, especially with the new series coming out next year.
The other day I was playing some games with my buddy and i was listening to one of your videos while we played. After a minute he was able to guess who i was watching, idk just been a fan of you for a long time now and its really cool to see other people in my life also wnjoy your content.
Gyuki is a reference to ushi-oni ox demons which are also called.....gyukis
Great video! I didnt know many of those parallels to ancient mythologies. But i do still think that it is a very different thing, taking from established cultures and taking from another persons identifiable authored work. Not that it is wrong per se, but it is something to keep in mind.
22:10 correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the god Izanagi was also inside of a cave while he was washing his face.(It’s been about a decade since I looked into this stuff.) Which is a nod to the fact that the Uchiha’s power is awakened when their heart experiences great loss and is “steeped in darkness” as per the Uchiha stone tablet.
17:25 she has 2 tails, there's a split tail cat in Japanese mythology, but I forget what its name is.
It may also be a shapeshifter.
And it shares some similarities with a Kitsune.
Pokémon takes from this with one of the Eevees.
THE EFFORT IT MUST HAVE TOOK TO MAKE THIS V IDEO, THE RESEARCH BRUH YOU ARE AMAZING.... KEEP IT UP G🔥
Kinda expected this, thanks nick. Wished it was 40 minutes though
4:42 nah speak for yourselves I was chilling w Amaterasu I'm built different
JJK is a copy of Naruto though, the creator even admitted it lol. JJK season 0 is original, it was the real start of the franchise but the Shonen Jump sat him down and asked him to make changes so they could extend the concept of the world and they literally based it on Naruto from that point forward. That's why there is a brand new cast of characters for the first issue compared to zero.
I always watch your videos during my lunch break . Makes work easier. Keep up the good work ❤
The amout of stupid excited i get when i see a 30m videos finally came out
The eight tails is based off the ushi oni. The ushi-oni or gyūki, is a yōkai from the folklore of western Japan
Many anime draw their inspiration from real world legends, myths and folklore. Goku is based on Son Wukong, the Monkey King. While Naruto or DBZ may not be the source material it’s a great way to share the messages of these tales with the younger generations worldwide.
I also theorize that Naruto takes inspiration from Old Testament Christianity.
Indra and Ashura are basically Jacob and Esau.
And Black Zetsu is obviously Satan ploting, manipulating, and scheming; the ultimate liar and deceiver. Kaguya is Eve who ate from the Forbidden tree aka the Chakra Fruit.
4:20 LET'S GO!
Seriously, I really like this kind of stuff
Hell one of my favourite channels is Gaijin Goombah.
Whether convergent thinking or taking my email idea, I'm glad to see a culture inspiration video!
I think you missed your calling as a Teacher, your ability to get a person interested in what you have to speak about and the wisdom you have to share is second to none. Being a youtuber is a good alternative though, I'm sure! 😂
this probably won't even get noticed, but i had a fun thought. we always look at chakra and elemental powers, using the toketsu points and what not. why have i never seen anyone talk about adult aang from avatar versus anyone in naruto, maybe specifically naruto, but someone else using all elemental releases would be cool too like hiruzen and the 2nd mizukage i think?
The Kyuubi mythology also ties into why Naruto uses Sexy Jutsu. LOL
Another day, another chance for Nick to mention the Totsuka Blade😂
Honestly, I had already done some of this homework There Nick, but it's still fun listening to other persons point of view of this
Great vid today bro !
One of my fav uploads 💥👍💥
Keep up the awesome work and videos Nick love the video
The Naruto series is starting to sound like the fortnite of japanese/asian culture as in
"I know that [insert reference]. He is that guy in fortnite"
2:16 I loved Sabikui Bisko until they introduced that massive unbeatable monster that looked like an Evangelion “Angel”, and at that point I just gave up. Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）
The Hindu origins of the 8 chakra gates and Chakra itself would be a good video too
There was a clip from an anime I saw a year or two ago now where the character had an ability similar to shadow clones, I sadly don't remember the name and have been hunting it for a while. The clip I'm speaking of happens in an alley.
need part 2 bro.❤
fantastic video. as a fan of history and mythology
A good author barrows, a Great Author knocks the story out, drags them into an allay steels their cloths and covers them in alcohol. And yes, I loved this video.
Nick hates Sasuke so much that he put a picture of him with the chum bucket😂😂😂
I could listen to another hour on the links between Naruto and ancient mythology/religion. Thank you for the reminder that there is nothing new under the sun.
I like your content!
I didn't know about Sasuke; That's interesting, i'll look into that.
I knew of Kaguya but didn't know of the Hagoromo, interesting.
Didn't know about Kamui, however I knew of the Inu people.
Knew very little about Ryjin and Kyujin
Garuda & everything beyond that point was completely new to me.
Except that. 27:07
29:04 ew and yikes, he's based off that Yokai.
Nice very interesting.
Loved this!
The Ainu would take issue with your description of their history I do believe.
Pain: Wants to create an ultimate weapon to make the world afraid of war.
Me: This is literally an allegory to nuclear weapons and the Cold War and modern day conflicts surrounding political relations.
Naruto is what the Monogatari Series wants to be. A telling of Monogataris.
keeping the trend going i believe sarada is going to be based off a Bodhisattva. and connecting to that she reminds me of Guanyin the goddess of compassion.
Learning more about my favorite anime in 2023 are always a great think thank you for the great work 💯
Saratobi clan are monkey sages
11:10
Nicks to cowardly to tell the truth
"inspiration" is an understatement.
BELIEVE IT
The rinnegan shows up in Full Metal Alchemist too. I dont know the historical relevance of the eye, but it's not unique to naruto either.
26:30 - Asura isn't *a* god, but a species of gods. The main gods in Hinduism are the Devas, while the Antagonist gods are the Asuras.
Given how bad his subtitles are, here:
Shichinin Misaki
Kokon Chomonjū
Kuchisake-onna
I'd challenge anyone to give me a modern story that's truly original in terms of themes and overarching structure. we naturally gravitate towards specific ways of storytelling, and that spans across every medium. what makes things feel original is things like perspective, writing styles, and world building. not the plot or character arcs, although these things are important for obvious reasons.
Another video like this but for boruto theorys (fully aware he has done that sorta) would slap
I love this video. I just forsee this will not do as well in the algorithm and Nick won't make many, if any more.
Have you ever thought about doing a video on specific summons like Monkey King, the toads and other ones😮
You mentioned Mori Jin from The God of High School and I'd love to see a video about his powers and stuff on your other channel.
Shinto is still a widely practiced religion in Japan. If fact one of the two most prevalent religions in Japan, usually practiced in unison with Buddhism. I think the comparison to the Hellenism (ancient greek polytheism) gives the wrong impression in that respect.
Here's a reference that solves something I was always frustrated about: Lightning Blade and the Chidori are functionally identical jutsu and were created by the same person, so why do they have different names?
The reason is they're a reference to the story of Tachibana Dosetsu, who possessed a sword named Chidori. One day while he was taking shelter beneath a tree, Tachibana was struck by a bolt of lightning, but thanks to his quick reflexes he was able to use his sword to cut down the Raijin within the lightning bolt and save his life. After this, he renamed his sword to Raikiri, literally "Lightning Cutter." This is why Kakashi was said to have performed a similar feat in order to rename his jutsu to Raikiri.
The reason Kakashi was likely given this ability is due to his connection to Minato, who was famous for his Flying Raijin technique, and the reason why everyone still calls Sasuke's technique "Chidori" is not just to differentiate it from Kakashi, but also because "Chidori" means "One Thousand Birds," which is more fitting for Sasuke's symbology.