Narutohas built a decades-long legacy as one of the most beloved anime and manga franchises of all time, with particular adoration for how it scales up to progressively more epic battles by the end. Like most popular entertainment media, creator Masashi Kishimoto is known for incorporating pop-cultural influences into his character designs and even the scope of their fights. One particularly exciting element that’s shown fairly regularly isKishimoto’s adoration for theGodzillafranchise and kaiju-scale battles, with the final fight ofNarutoechoing this sentiment rather clearly.
With the increasingly popular presence of kaiju in manga and general entertainment, it’s fun to reappraise this quality in theNarutofranchise, especially with massive hits likeGodzilla Minus Oneattaining box office wins and coveted accolades.The presence of Tailed Beasts, or Biju, inNarutohas been a lingering concept in the franchise since the beginning, so getting to see them put into action with the express purpose of functioning as in-universe kaiju is exciting. However, the final battle between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha reaps the benefits of Kishimoto’s particularly long-form plan.
The Final Battle in Naruto Is a Glorious Kaiju Clash
Naruto Puts His Differences to Rest with His Rival
Much of the final battle inNarutois fittingly planned, including their fight at the Valley of the End, echoing how Part 1 concluded and showcasing their growth as two very different shinobi. But among the most visually impressive and crowd-pleasing moments of the battle, and the entire series, is seeing Naruto unleash his Tailed Beast Mode against Sasuke’s Complete Body Susanoo.These two forms bring a massive, monstrous clash arguably best experienced via the animefromNaruto Shippudenepisodes #476 and #477 as they see, without a doubt, how far they’ve each come.
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It’s a pleasant and emotional swan song of a fight after defeatingKaguya Otsutsuki, the most powerful villain inNaruto. Still, it bears more gravitas as it shows fans why Naruto never gave up on Sasuke. But between poignant flashbacks and an impressively cathartic ending,these kaiju-style forms are the most tangibly large manifestations of each of their powers, with Sasuke’s Indra Susanoo and Naruto’s Six Paths Sage Mode empowering Kurama even further. It’s a total crowd-pleaser, but even more than the fans, it seems Kishimoto wanted to create a battle like this from the start.
Masashi Kishimoto Wanted to Reference Godzilla and Kaiju Since Starting Naruto
Meanwhile, Naoya Matsumoto Took a More Direct Approach
While it’s been discussed before that the very existence of Tailed Beasts was part of Masashi Kishimoto’s adoration forGodzilla, as shownin this Nippon interview, featuring them in a battle like this was the plan. On top of building out Sasuke and Itachi’s Susanoo forms and introducing Tailed Beasts,Kishimoto describes his incorporation of the Summoning Technique to get more giant creatures into the series. With the results including the showstopping, epic entrance of Naruto into the ruins of Konoha during the Pain’s Assault Arc, this is unsurprisingly also some of Kishimoto’s most inspired work.
I loved Godzilla. I just wanted to draw a monster—something big that I could place in a battle. That’s why I decided to introduce thekuchiyose no jutsu, the summoning skills that let ninja call forth the weapons they need, or call a creature to their side to aid them in a fight. My intent from the start was to bring forth gigantic beings with these skills.
-Masashi Kishimoto
While the direct desire to feature kaiju inNarutoresulted in its final battle’s most visually spectacular elements, this also manifested characters like Gamabunta, Katsuyu, Manda, and the Tailed Beast pantheon. ForBorutofans, especially going intoTwo Blue Vortex, Kurama has begun to re-emerge. At the same time,the Ten-Tails gains a different form of prominence, resulting in a nightmarishly strong humanoid spawn.It’s an excellent reminder that, while kaiju are traditionally depicted as giant monsters, the direct translation is more like “strange monster.”
Kaiju Have a Bright and Prominent Future in Naruto
More Insidious Than Giant Monsters in the Five Nations
The emergence of the humanoid Divine Trees inBoruto: Two Blue Vortex,while still housing the powers of the Ten-Tailed Beast seedling before their emergence, implies a more devious threat than a mindless giant monster with these strange new beings. They can match the might of other Tailed Beasts from theNarutofranchise, as shown in Jura’s clash againstHimawari as she awakens her powers as a JinchūrikiinBoruto: Two Blue Vortexchapter #11. While they’re on a greater quest for enlightenment before carrying out a more destructive vision,this creates a tense kaiju-oriented plot for theNarutofranchise.
Jura and his fellow Divine Trees seek specific characters to devour, namely Naruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, Eida, and Konohamaru Sarutobi, among others yet to be revealed. This thirst for knowledge is what largely stops the Divine Trees from consuming the planet immediately, but it also means any further developments could give them grander ambitions. Withthe Divine Trees' only weakness inTwo Blue Vortexbeing that they can be stopped with the defeat of their strongest member, Jura,Borutocreates a new kaiju threat much more imposing thanNaruto.
Naruto
Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.
