Keanu Reeves Sparks Akatsuki Meme with Latest Trip to Japan

According to the headlines, 2019 is the Year of Keanu Reeves. The actor has been a favorite with fans for years, but Reeves seems he can do no wrong these days. With John Wick: Chapter 3 having taken over the box office, Reeves has become the Internet's Favorite Star as of late, and it seems the actor re-upped the reputation during a recent trip to Japan.

After all, the actor turned the visit abroad into some full-on meme fodder, and anime fans were unable to resist the call.

For those unaware, Reeves was in Japan recently to celebrate the release of John Wick: Chapter 3. The actor attended the Japanese premiere where he met J-Pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and a photo session ended with a now-classic Naruto meme.

Embrace the wrath of Keanu Uchiha from r/Naruto

As you can see above, Reeves was seen posing in photos at the premiere, and he decided to throw out some jutsu signs. The actor might have been dressed in an all-black suit, but he might as well have been wearing a Jounin vest. Reeves looked rock solid with his jutsu ploy, and fans were quick to imagine the actor in Akatsuki gear.

Thanks to some quick photo editing, Reeves' photos have been perfectly redone in Naruto style. With a scratched headband in place, the actor was meme'd into wearing the infamous Akatsuki cloak with red cloud print. Reeves' long hair only makes the look better, and fans were quick to sound off on the viral photo... because they don't actually hate it.

In fact, as the consensus goes, it seems Reeves pulls off the ninja look well. If Hollywood is serious about its Naruto venture, it would not be a bad idea to get this star onboard, but the question is whether Reeves would go villain or not for such a film.

Do you think Reeves would suit a live-action Naruto project? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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.