'Boruto' Fans Weigh In On Naruto's Dad Bod Debacle

Naruto Uzumaki stands as one of anime's greatest icons, and his face is known to millions. Nowadays, fans can see the ninja in the on-going Boruto anime, but that doesn't mean everyone is down with how the legend looks. After all, fans are still warring over Naruto's dad bod, and the debacle is far from over on social media.

For those unaware, Naruto ended his original anime run in his teens, but that is not the case in Boruto. The sequel follows the life of Boruto Uzumaki, the eldest son of Naruto and Hinata. However, there are some fans who aren't happy with how the boy aged.

As you can see here, fans on Reddit reignited the Naruto debate recently. Using a sketch of a younger Minato Namikaze as reference, fans questioned why Naruto didn't aged into a more attractive adult, but other fans were quick to point out some easy math.

Kishimoto did him dirty. Naruto could have looked like this. from r/Naruto

Looking back at the anime, the boy was only 17 or so when Naruto: Shippuden came to an end. By the time its epilogue closed, the hero was 19 at best when he tied the knot with Hinata. If the pair had children as soon as they got hitched, fans can use Boruto's age to figure out how old the Seventh Hokage is nowadays. Right now, Naruto is 31 or 32 at the very least, and that age differs greatly from Minato's prime.

After all, Minato wasn't even 25 when he passed away. The prodigal ninja became the Fourth Hokage at a very young age, and Naruto was born not long after. When Minato underwent his mission on Kannabi Bridge, he was even younger than 24, and that is the age fans tend to compare Naruto to the most. However, the anime never showed the knucklehead in his 20s, so it is impossible to know what the guy looked like then. For all fans know, Naruto could have been a spitting image of Minato as a young adult, so maybe the franchise will dip into that era with flashbacks down the line.

So, what do you think about Naruto's older look? Do you approve? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.