Castlevania Director Shares Long-Lost Naruto Animation Test

It can be difficult facing content you created back in the day, but the director of Castlevania [...]

It can be difficult facing content you created back in the day, but the director of Castlevania knows you can learn from such an exercise. Samuel Deats is one of the best animators in the business and has proven so time and again with Castlevania. Over on Twitter, the artist can be found giving advice to aspiring artists on how to stay sharp, and Deats took that to the next level by showing his followers a side-by-side comparison of his current work with one he did way back in the day.

And what was that old-school animation test of? Well, it turns out to be none other than Naruto. The knuckle-headed ninja is one of the most popular icons in all of anime, and he tends to be a gateway character to the medium. It comes as little surprise to learn Deat tried his hand at Naruto way back when, but fans are stunned at how impressive his animation was even then.

Taking to Twitter, Deats shared the impressive real with fans, and you can peek it below. The artist said he was going through old artwork of his from when he was a teenager when he uncovered this little gem. "I can't find any of my art from high school, but I DID find almost my first ever piece of animation from when I was 19. It's Naruto fan animation. Of course it is," he wrote.

As you can see, Deats has come a long way with his animation tests, and that makes sense given his experience. The artist has worked on a slew of projects since he was 19, but fans are impressed by how good Deats was even back then. Sure, the Naruto fan-animation lacks finesse and detail but its foundation is solid. Fight scenes in Naruto are difficult to animate no matter your skill level, so it is hard to believe a relative novice penned this. So if Studio Pierrot ever wants some guest talent on Boruto, we might suggest the company contact Deats ASAP.

Did you ever create any anime fan-works back in the day? For which series? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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