Ever since the anime and manga industry has gained fame and recognition, the two names that have popped up the most are Masashi Kishimoto for Naruto and Eiichiro Oda for One Piece. The two manga creators have been at the pinnacle of the community, inspiring and helping other creators to make a name for themselves just like they did.
However, their relationship is more than that. Both Oda and Kishimoto had a fierce rivalry in their initial days to reach the top spot. This rivalry helped them create quality content that, although entirely different, often clashed with each other. And their fans follow this rivalry to this day, as they are often seen comparing both One Piece and Naruto to find out which is better.
But now the debates have gone much too far, as it feels like Naruto fans are getting in over their heads. Recently, Naruto’s sequel spinoff series Boruto had a big moment that led to a serious discourse between One Piece fans and Naruto/Boruto fans. The debate went south when Naruto fans started comparing Mikio Ikemoto’s art with Oda’s art.
Sakura Finally Returns To Boruto
Ever since Boruto: Two Blue Vortex started, fans have missed the inclusion of old major characters from the Naruto series. And now, finally, after the end of the first arc, the first major character has made an appearance, and that is none other than Sakura. Sakura has been absent from Boruto for four years, and she finally returned as the Chief Medic of Konoha.
Naruto’s official website released a teaser of the upcoming Boruto chapter where Sakura is seen healing Inojin, who is in critical condition. The panel also shows other characters like Himawari, Shikadai, and Chocho present in the room. However, this panel was specifically released to confirm the inclusion of Sakura in Boruto.
Sakura’s return will surely bring a big change in the narrative, as she is supposedly going to find out about Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke. She might also get the revelation about Sarada helping Boruto, which could thus lead to a big twist in the series. Boruto fans are in for a lot of new plots and storylines that could change the fate of the series forever.
Sakura’s Return Led to a Huge Debate Between Naruto and One Piece Fans
While Sakura’s return certainly is a good thing for Boruto as a series, it has become a huge problem for the fans of the franchise. Her return has sparked a huge discourse among Naruto and One Piece fans regarding the drawing techniques and the style of their manga creators.
The release of the Sakura panel led to fans comparing Eiichiro Oda and Ikemoto’s manga, and the situation got out of hand when Naruto fans stated that Ikemoto is a better manga creator than Oda.
Comparing Oda with Ikemoto is a little presumptuous considering the fact that Oda used to be a rival of Ikemoto’s mentor, Masashi Kishimoto.
Ikemoto’s art is far better than Oda and his 20+ assistants https://t.co/pSEOCUWtQZ pic.twitter.com/s5891LRq2J
— Stormy💫 (@real_Boruto_EN) September 15, 2024
One Piece tried arguing they have the best art in Big 3, only to now go extreme diff with Boruto https://t.co/xCMWyHCaAb pic.twitter.com/4rFpVWmpNc
— ANBU_EU (@ANBU_EU) September 15, 2024
Boring, each were drawn in a week btw pic.twitter.com/7OWXDvgmKd
— Tanpopo (@MoonTig33143631) September 15, 2024
Plain looking generic houses/building art? Is that the best boruto can do?
One piece’s weekly art hard clears that monthly slop pic.twitter.com/DZud9SezZv
— Shadowee (@Prcn03) September 15, 2024
Gg… gassing up generic konaha landscapes and leaching off of kishitmotos one and only redeeming quality, warra flex
— Dojo Destroyer 7oro (@7oroChronicle) September 15, 2024
There is no doubt that Mikio Ikemoto is a great manga creator. But comparing him with the likes of Oda is certainly not something Boruto/Naruto fans should do as Oda is in a different league itself. The manga creator has created one of the biggest series in history and has earned global recognition with One Piece being at the top for almost 30 years.
You can read Boruto and One Piece manga on Viz Media.
