Naruto has found its way into the world of professional sports more times than we can count, with football, basketball, baseball, and UFC athletes often taking the opportunity to honor the ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village created by Masashi Kishimoto, and now, the website Bleacher Report has created a stunning new animation that combines the biggest players of the NBA with the world of Konoha. With Boruto: Naruto Next Generations recently ending the battle against the Kara Organization and defeating the main threat in Jigen, the series is set to dive into the Chunin Exams to explore a new side of its story.
In the past few years, several National Basketball Association players, and National Football Association players, have worn attire to show off their love of the Shonen franchise, with many wearing sneakers and other pieces of attire that, seemingly more often than not, will honor the style of the villains known as the Akatsuki. With the organization that housed members such as Itachi Uchiha, Obito, Pain, and numerous other rogue ninjas, its style of red clouds shrouded in black has struck a chord among many professional athletes and we definitely expect the ninja world to make more appearances at sporting events in the future.
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The Bleacher Report shared the amazing new animation via its Official Twitter Account, painting some of the biggest stars of the NBA as both heroes and villains of the ninja world from Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations respectively as they battle for supremacy before the latest NBA season begins:
In a recent interview, NFL Star Larry Ogunjobishared his love of the ninja world, stating that the Shonen franchise’s influence had changed his life, proving how much of an influence the medium can have on those watching it:
“I was biking and running at the YMCA every day and went from 350 lbs. To 247 lbs., bulked back up to 267 lbs., and ended up getting five scholarship offers. Ended up going to Charlotte for college. Now I’m in college and with Naruto, the anime is going on throughout all of this for me (probably like the Pain arc or somewhere around that). It felt like we were going through our trials and tribulations together; it was actually really cool. Now I’m working hard, I’m grinding in college, and the only thing I could compare my process to was these storylines in anime,”
What do you think of this amazing Naruto-style animation? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the ninja world.
