Olympic Gold Medalist Puts Naruto's Run to the Test for Science

When it comes to Naruto, there are some things you cannot forget. The series' titular hero is one of them along with his loud mouth. However, the series has also gained notoriety for its running form. The series popularized 'anime running', a form of running which sees the person move forward with their arms behind their backs. And according to a new study, it seems the form is not quite that efficient.

The guys over at Because Science posted a video recently which explores the numbers behind the Naruto run. The video, which you can see above, shows the host debating the pros and cons behind the form. He puts the study to the test when he recruits six-time Olympic medalist Jeneba Tarmoh to try running both ways, and the results are rather interesting.

To start, the guess between forms is split in half. For years, Naruto fans felt the anime way of running would be efficient due to its lessened drag. By leaning forward with arms back, there is less body mass upright to create drag for runners, but Tarmoh was quick to question the thought. After all, running at such an angle puts your center of gravity off center and makes anyone running like Naruto more likely to lose their balance.

The only way to test the theory was run both ways with the host and Tarmoh doing their runs. When the numbers were crunched, it turned out both of the participants ran 3% slower when in the anime form. Tarmoh said this was likely because of how tightly compressed the knees are in the form as well as the balance issue. So while ninjas may prevail with the form, it seems most people are better off running with their back straights and Leaf Village headbands off.

Are you still sticking with Naruto's iconic run or...? 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 for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.