Did You Catch This Cowboy Bebop Nod In Naruto?

When it comes to anime, shows tend to pay homage to one another; It’s just something they do. The tight-knit industry may be a competitive one, but it does not stop studios from green-lighting subtle easter eggs and nods to other titles. Popular shows like Dragon Ball have been poked at overtly by Gintama while other series like Attack on Titan have become easter egg fodder in other show. As for Cowboy Bebop, the renowned series has had its fair share of sly shout-outs, and Naruto included one of the best.

Thanks to Reddit, anime fans can now see how much one of Naruto‘s most famous fights borrow from Cowboy Bebop. A thread popped up not too long ago which shared a GIF comparing a fight Naruto had with Neji to one Spike Spiegel has.

In the original Naruto anime, the titular hero is pitted against Neji Hyuga during the Chunin Exams final round. Naruto does everything he can get tire out the prodigal Byakugan user, so the knuckle-headed ninja forces Neji to use hand-to-hand combat for a portion of the battle. The steps the two ninjas take are eerily similar to a fight seen in Cowboy Bebop. Spike is shown taking punches at an adversary on a train, and the bout’s choreography is totally in sync with Naruto’s fight.

There’s no official confirmation on whether Naruto intended for Neji’s fight to be a nod to Cowboy Bebop, but the resemblance is undeniable. And, since Cowboy Bebop was made far before Naruto, the crossover is not out of the question. The genre-bending anime aired from 1998-1999 while Naruto got its anime debut in 2002.

You can check out the synopsis for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations below:

“The village of Konoha has managed to change, modernized next to an era of peace. Raising high constructions, large computer monitors of transmission of images (televisions last generation), divisions and divisions (streets) connected to run (to mobilize) electric cars, The way to live in the ninja era has changed …

The leader of the village is, the seventh Hokage. Boruto is the son of Naruto Uzumaki, to become a ninja must enroll in the school “ninja academy”. But the students in the surroundings see Boruto with prejudiced eyes for the thing of being “the son of the seventh Hokage”. However Boruto has unprecedented capabilities.

Boruto will meet new friends, and there will be an incident mystery how he will face this challenge, inside the heart of the whole team, now the story of “Boruto Uzumaki,”begins.”