From its profound themes to emotional complexities, Naruto remains a masterpiece. This also extends to Masashi Kishimoto’s art style. The series is often praised for its iconic battle scenes. Be it Gaara’s fight with Rock Lee or Pain’s Shinra Tensei, Kishimoto reigns supreme. Especially with his attention to detail in the panels. But we’ve barely scratched the surface with this one.
Other than fight scenes, it’s Kishimoto’s signature style that sets him apart. This holds especially true in contrast to Eiichiro Oda’s magnum opus One Piece. With his intricate and immaculate designs, Kishimoto highlights his prowess as a mangaka. This stands in contrast to Oda’s extravagant yet dramatic art style.
Masashi Kishimoto exemplifies his finesse through his intricate style in Naruto
Naruto is praised for its well-written characters, animation, and compelling storyline. What’s even more appealing, though, is Kishimoto’s thought process and conception. From the setting to the character designs, the mangaka is a true genius. His ability to wring out empathy from readers showcases his brilliance as a storyteller. His ability, however, isn’t restricted to his writing.
He has created fleshed-out characters, especially villains. It is evident in the painful backstories that play a pivotal role. This renders a fallible yet empathic quality to the characters. And it is through the act of empathy, the hero can bridge the gap between characters.
In doing so, the mangaka highlights pain and loss along with complexities. The intensity of these emotions is further reflected in his fight scenes. This is one aspect that highlights his brilliance as a manga artist.
In an interview with LATimes, Kishimoto described his process of drawing characters. He quoted:
I chose to draw the human figures as accurately as possible because I thought it would give a more realistic feel to the action scenes.Exaggeration can lend action scenes more force, but I like to stick to more realistic figures: They help keep the cool in the action scenes, although they may be not as forceful as the exaggerated ones.
This is especially true regarding most of the fight scenes in the manga. While his work is less exaggerated, it is rather intricate. Most panels in the manga are crisp and concise in the gestures and actions. On top of that, most fans have associated the fights with choreography. This contrasts with Eiichiro Oda’s extravagant and theatrical art style in his manga.
One Piece underlines grandeur and theatrics
Contrary to Masashi Kishimoto’s realistic designs, Oda is known for his dramatic approach. A perfect example of this is Luffy’s Gear 5 transformation. The dramatics and theatrics are reflected in the anime as well.
Through impact frames, Toei Studio brings out the grandeur and magnificence in the fights. This, however, isn’t exempt from criticism due to the series’ dependence on impact frames.
As opposed to Kishimoto’s detail-oriented approach, One Piece highlights fluidity. The fluidity is also translated into caricaturing tropes as seen with Luffy’s Gear -5. While almost cartoonish, the move was well-received by most. Oda’s art is harmonious with the anime in terms of the impactful fights. This congruence is also present in Kishimoto’s manga. And there’s more to it.
What makes Naruto superior to Oda’s magnum opus, though, is the fights. Most showdowns and battles aren’t heavily reliant on impact frames. With neat and polished art, the mangaka highlights the intensity and impact of the showdown. In this aspect, Kishimoto reigns supreme through his minimalistic yet detail-oriented approach.
Naruto and One Piece are available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Viz Media.
