Naruto Takes on Ichigo Kurosaki in Epic Fan-Anime: Watch

Weekly Shonen Jump has spent decades creating the biggest anime franchises that have taken the world by storm. Naruto and Bleach are the biggest franchises that pit their protagonists against rogue ninjas and supernatural threats to Soul Society, though there has never been an official crossover between the two anime heavyweights. Now, one fan animator took the opportunity to imagine what the rogue shinigami and the Seventh Hokage would look like should a crossover between the two Shonen properties were to arrive.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the current iteration of Masashi Kishimoto’s Shonen series, has been releasing new episodes weekly for quite some time, though the latest anime installments have told original stories that weren’t found in the manga’s source material. The Shonen’s manga is continuing the fight against the Kara Organization, however, with the villainous Code assembling an army in a bid to take down the Hidden Leaf Village. This October, on the Soul Society front, Bleach’s anime will finally return thanks to the Thousand Year Blood War Arc, the original final arc of the manga that pit Ichigo and his friends against the Quincies. While Bleach’s manga isn’t releasing new chapters, creator Tite Kubo released a new chapter last year that gave readers a look at Ichigo and his friends years down the line.

A new fan animation is in the works that will see Ichigo Kurosaki taking on the teenage version of Naruto during his Shippuden days, looking to answer the question of whether the rogue soul reaper or future Seventh Hokage will come out on top when it comes to their unique Shonen abilities:

Nartuo vs Ichigo Fan Animation
byu/Early-Ad-5110 inNaruto

Bleach and Naruto have never had an official anime crossover, though Ichio and the Seventh Hokage have tussled in several fighting video games that would take several Shonen characters and pit them against one another. Jump Force was one of the most recent examples in which both of these Shonen protagonists were a part of a story that had characters from the likes of Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, One Piece, and many other franchises unite to face a common enemy. 

Who do you think would win a fight between Ichigo and Naruto? Are you hyped for the Thousand Year Blood War Arc this fall? 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 Shonen.