School Graduation Goes Viral for Surprise Naruto Shout Out

Naruto, and its sequel Boruto, establish a world of ninja with super human abilities, battling to follow their “ninja ways”. While not ninjas in the traditional sense of hiding in the shadows and using espionage as their foremost method of attack, the land of Konoha and its inhabitants have created some interesting stories for fans. One way that the ninjas are able to “rep” their respective villages is by wearing traditional headbands with their cultures’ symbols. One student decided to represent the anime series by asking his principal to wear a headband of his own.

Reddit User Gakashi25 decided to not only wear the headband himself but to also somehow get his principal to do the same. Whether or not the principal is a fan of Konoha himself is yet to be seen but we’d love to hear more about this story’s background:

The headbands of Naruto hold a significance in a number of different ways to the characters of the series. If you wear a headband, you are flashing your respect and allegiance to a certain village, whether it be the village of your birth or one that you defected to. Headbands that have the village symbol crossed out, usually with a kunai, represent the fact that the ninja wearing it no longer feels anything toward their old village. For example, when Sasuke leaves Konoha in a mission of revenge against his brother, he slashes his headband, leaving that part of his past behind.

(Photo: Viz Media)

Throughout Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, headbands and present with most of the characters, either on their foreheads or strapped to some other random body part. In Boruto, the tradition continues with the son of the current Hokage sporting one of his own. Whether you visit an anime convention, or sometimes even walking on a city street, you can catch glimpses of these headbands that are available for purchase through any number of retailers. If you have a graduation coming up and can somehow convince your principal to wear one, why not go for it?

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.