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The two biggest anime series in the world,One Piece, andNaruto, have been in tough competition with each other since the early 2000s. Both of them have a vast fan following that helped them acquire legendary status and inspire many other prominent stories. However, fans might not know this, but bothNarutoandOne Piecehave been inspired by the 16th-century Chinese novelJourney to the West.
Journey to the Westwas written by Wu Cheng’en, and it follows the story of Sun Wukong, who was born from a stone and somehow acquired supernatural powers through Taoist practices. Sun Wukong had many names, but the most prominent one that is used even today is the Monkey King, and he has inspired a lot of popular stories that made a name for themselves, includingDragon Ball.
Both Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto have paid tribute to the Monkey King in their own ways. They have used their protagonists, Naruto and Luffy, to hint at the inspiration they got from Sun Wukong, but Kishimoto’s tribute to the character is much more subtle than Oda’s tribute.
Eiichiro Oda’s Tribute To The Monkey King
Eiichiro Odahas been quite vocal about taking inspiration fromJourney to the Westand using it in his own ways. While the adventure and travel part ofOne Pieceperfectly parallels theJourney to the West storyline, Oda decided to pay tribute to the series with his protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy.
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From Luffy’s name to his goal inOne Piece, everything shares a connection with Sun Wukong. Oda named him Monkey to emphasize his connection with the Monkey King and then gave him the goal of becoming Pirate King, which would also connect him to theJourney to the Westprotagonist who served as his inspiration.
However, theOne Piecemangaka didn’t stop there, as he used Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation to create another parallel with Sun Wukong.Luffy’s personality changeduring the Nika transformation feels exactly like the Monkey King, and the curl on his eyebrows exactly matches the one on Sun Wukong’s bracelet.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Sun Wukong Tribute is Much Subtler
While Oda went out of his way to pay tribute to the Monkey King through Luffy,Masashi Kishimotoused a much more discreet and subtle approach.
While the mangaka has made sure that fans find the essence of Sun Wukong in the overall narrative ofNarutoas a series, in the case of his protagonist, he went with a much simpler approach.
He developed a connection between the Monkey King andNarutothrough their abilities to make their clones. In his own story, Sun Wukong is able to make thousands of clones of himself, and each of them has an equal amount of power and even the same weapons. The same is the case withNaruto’s Shadow Clone Jutsu, which is a major part of his character.
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Narutois known for his Shadow Clone techniques and the variation he brings to it. This way, Kishimoto made sure that whileNarutogets a storyline of his own, he still managed to explore the essence of the character that inspired him and led to his creation.
Narutois available to watch on Hulu andOne Pieceis available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
