Anime Fans Are Celebrating October 10, Shonen's Unofficial Holiday

Did you know that in the world of Shonen anime and manga, October 10th is a very important day? [...]

By Evan Valentine

Did you know that in the world of Shonen anime and manga, October 10th is a very important day? Perhaps no day of the year has more birthdays of anime characters than this day, with numerous protagonists sharing the same day of their birth. Naruto, of the Naruto franchise of course, Reigen of the Mob Psycho 100 franchise, Yu Nishinoya of the Haikyu!! anime series, and Gintama of his own self titled franchise were all born on October 10th. Now, Crunchyroll has decided to honor these characters that all have this specific birthday with their own video.

Crunchyroll shared this well put together video on their Official Twitter Account, taking note that several Shonen series that revolve around fisticuffs, and sometimes volleyball, have main characters that were born on the particular day of October 10th:

Of course, the most popular of these protagonists is Naruto, the young denizen of Konoha who managed to transform his status from outsider to Hokage through his devotion to his friends and accumulation of ninjutsu abilities. Throughout the popular ninja franchise, we have followed Naruto from a young boy to an adult, attempting to protect a family of his own. His birthday was always something that was revisited in the series, as the day of his birth also was the day he lost his parents and was merged with the nine tailed fox.

While we can't exactly pinpoint the exact reason as to why October 10th was chosen as a birthday for so many Shonen protagonists, it's clear that 10/10 simply does sound cool when you say it!

Shonen series are far and away the most popular anime franchises in the medium, with animation managing to express amazing battles across numerous realities and genres. Pirates, ninjas, Saiyans, spirit detectives, and so many other characters can fall within the spectrum of anime battles that still remain close to the hearts and minds of fans for years to come.

Who is your favorite protagonist in Shonen to have the birthday of 10/10? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Shonen!

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.

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