'My Hero Academia' Levels up Its Recent 'Naruto' Nod

My Hero Academia is at the top of the anime totem, and it is sharing the spot with some lofty franchises. Guys like One Piece and Naruto are still running hard for fans, and it looks like My Hero Academia's recent nod to the latter leveled up in a brand-new episode.

If you have caught up with My Hero Academia, then you will know where Class 1-A is these days. The students are testing to earn their provisional hero licenses, and the exam has been a hard one.

Oh, and Shoto Todoroki is up against some real ninjas.

In a past episode, Todoroki was seen being accosted by the new heroes-in-training, and they have their eyes set on the prodigy. After seeing Todoroki fight at the UA Sports Festival, the colorful ninjas think they can take out Todoroki, but fans haven't been able to overlook their Naruto ties.

Not only did the ninjas don headbands like those seen in Naruto, but their ages added to the effect. Since Naruto does focus on teen ninjas, the high school students fit in great with that trope. And, in My Hero Academia's latest episode, things kicked up a notch when two of the ninjas gave up their quirks.

As it turns out, the duo have elemental quirks, and they can both be found in two of Naruto's elemental nations. The blue ninja has a quirk which allows him to produce sand while the one in black can produce water from his finger nozzles. The quirks look like the basic Suiton and Santon releases seen in Naruto. So, if a Gaara lookalike stumbles into My Hero Academia to proctor this license exam soon, don't be too surprised.

For those unfamiliar with the My Hero Academia juggernaut, the series was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has super powers, although he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he's eventually scouted by the world's best hero, All Might, and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been collected into 15 volumes so far, and has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015.

So, which anime needs to be referenced in My Hero Academia next? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!