Bleach Creator Tite Kubo Nails Take on Naruto, Orochimaru

Years ago, Tite Kubo was at his peak thanks to Bleach. Ichigo Kurosaki found himself in the homes of fans around the world as Bleach grew more and more popular. The Soul Reaper was joined by other manga all-stars like Naruto, and it seems the two series overlapped more than you'd think.

After all, Kubo was happy to celebrate his friends' successes as they came, and he was no different towards the creator of Naruto. To honor the series, the Bleach artist did his own artwork of Naruto Uzumaki, and fans are geeking out over the artwork after it resurfaced online.

Taking to Reddit, a fan shared the throwback drawing from Kubo with fans. The artwork, which can be seen below, was made public in honor of Naruto's tenth year. As you can see, it highlights Naruto's titular hero as well as one of its first big baddies.

Naruto and Orochimaru drawn by Tite Kubo (Creator of Bleach) from r/Naruto

The drawing is done in black-and-white which suits Naruto and its manga origins. Naruto is seen up front, and his facial feature are taken right from Bleach. The ninja has a pointed jaw much like Ichigo, and his narrowed eyes would fit in with Karakura Town. Even Naruto's posture fits in with Bleach, and fans are loving its dynamic look.

When it comes to Orochimaru, the villain has a definite aura to him. He does not look particular like Aizen with his expression, but Orochimaru looks ways creepy under Kubo's hand. His fingers and nails look like daggers, and the sly expression on Orochimaru's face makes the drawing work.

These days, Kubo and Kishimoto are in very different places with their careers than they were when this drawing debuted. Naruto has ended with Boruto taking its place with a sequel. Kubo has kept quiet as of late since Bleach ended, but he has done one-shots in the last year or so.

Do you approve of Kubo's makeover...? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Bleach was first created by Tite Kubo for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, running from 2001 to 2016. The series follows the young delinquent Ichigo Kurosaki, who has the ability to see spirits. He soon obtains the power of a Soul Reaper - one meant to usher lost souls to the afterlife - and now has the duty to defend the living world from monstrous dark spirits known as Hollows.