Few characters in Naruto and Boruto are as flamboyantly memorable as the bushy-browed sensei Might Guy. Forever clad in his trademark green spandex, the enthusiastic ninja makes his first “Dynamic Entry” into the series and into our hearts during the Chunnin Exams. Initially, Kohona’s Green Beast is relegated merely to comic relief and support roles for a large part of Naruto’s’ run, only for his narrative significance to be expanded later.
With so many facets to the shinobi’s character and him being relegated to the background for so long, it’s easy for fans to miss or forget some of the more interesting things about Might Guy. And so, here are 10 Things About Might Guy You Didn’t Know (Or Might Have Forgotten).
10 His Academy Team
Back when he was coming up and sported a haircut that made him look like a young Eddie Bravo, Guy was grouped with kinda-but-not-really Flying-Thunder-God user Genma Shiranui and Special Jonin Ebisu as teammates.
With Choji Akimichi’s father at the helm, the trio paid their dues and all grew up to be competent and respected ninjas, with Genma being part of the Fourth Hokage’s security detail and Ebisu being elected to oversee the training of select Hokage candidates. In addition to being skilled, the three were also lucky, having survived an encounter with the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist that should have guaranteed their deaths.
9 His Nature Affinity
Despite being known for his lack of ninjutsu talent, a handicap that fueled him to become the premier taijutsu specialist in the shinobi world, he is capable in at least some ninjutsu. In contrast to his disciple, Rock Lee, whose ninjutsu abilities are limited to walking on water, Guy has shown some proficiency in using higher level ninjutsu requiring nature affinity.
Though not a tool in his arsenal he is known to bring out frequently, the ‘Bowl Cut Killer’ is still able to use fire and lightning release. For someone who failed the academy entrance exam, two outta five ain’t bad.
8 His Summons
Piggybacking off of the preceding, it’s easy to forget that Might Guy’s skill in ninjutsu also extended to proficiency in animal summons. Similar to other prominent ninjas in the series like Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, Guy is able to knead chakra in order to summon contracted animal allies.
In his case, he is able to summon ninja tortoise Ningame—a stern, weepy, battle-ready tortoise—who doesn’t take too kindly to being ignored or being summoned randomly. That said, in his few appearances, he does seem to carry great respect and loyalty to Guy.
7 His Devotion To His Friends
It’s easy to miss with his flipflopping from over-the-top silliness to stone-cold badassery, but Guy shows time and time again his devotion to friends—particularly Kakashi. Lest it be forgotten, Kakashi had a difficult early life that made him somewhat of a jerk to people who tried to engage him (if not outright antisocial).
Guy, however, was one of the few classmates to brush by the “Copy Ninja’s” coolness and continually extend a wreath of friendship. Perhaps nothing demonstrates his devotion more than his concern over Kakashi joining the ANBU. Citing the damage these missions would inflict on his friend’s already wounded soul, he plead with the Hokage for either Kakashi to be removed from the squad or for him to join the group alongside his friend.
6 He Can Do Serious Work With Nunchaku
For anyone who has ever seen his movies, it should be no surprise that the Guy is a caricature of the great martial arts icon and Warrior muse, Bruce Lee. From the haircut, to the expertise in Taijutsu, and even the jumpsuit, all of it can be traced back to the Dragon from Hong Kong. Because of this, it should also be no surprise that Guy does have expertise with one weapon: nunchaku.
As seen in his first battle with a clone of the freakishly strong Kisame and later in the Shinobi War, Guy is very much like his model in regards to nunchaku skills; lighting up opponents with his specialized pair, Sōshūga (“Twin Attacking Flames”); and putting respect behind his name.
5 He Whomped Obito Regularly
It’s easy to miss because of the hype around finally discovering the worst kept secret in anime at the time—Tobi’s identity as Obito Uchiha—but Guy and Obito had somewhat of a (one-sided) rivalry themselves. While it’s clear that both declared rivalries with Kakashi and used the silver-haired masked ninja as motivation for their further development, the also pair seemed to square off during their days in the Academy.
From what could be seen, however, their encounters seemed to routinely end in anti-climatic fashion. In spite of Obito's fevered preparation, Guy always seemed to end their encounters quickly with the ‘ole right there Fred’ (a term made famous by F is For Family creator Bill Burr), leaving the young Uchiha unconscious and embarrassed.
4 His Name
In contrast to almost any other Naruto character, Guy’s name is one of the few names clearly not Japanese in origin. That said, his name has gone through quite a few iterations for English-speaking audiences. It has been most frequently translated as the previously mentioned Might Guy but not, however, before Viz Media initially went with Mighty Guy as the initial translation.
Furthermore, his name has also been rendered as the romaji variant Maito Guy in some places, adding to the complexity around the issue. Lending to the confusion is the fact that none of these variants were subjected to the surname-given name reversion typical for most Japanese name translations.
3 Inspiration For His Father’s Character
In chapter 668 of the manga and episode 418 of the Naruto: Shippuden anime, the fans are introduced to a character sporting a familiar exuberance and leaf green jumpsuit: Guy's father, Duy. It is a glimpse that explained quite a bit, as it demonstrated how much of Guy’s character had come down from his father. The unique relationship between the two is shown to influence the similarly unique relationship Guy shared with his own disciple, Lee.
In addition, we learn that Duy too had overcome his limits as a mediocre ninja, only to save Team Choza from their encounter with the Seven Ninja Swordsman, killing four of them, via the Eight Gates technique. It should be no surprise, then, that such an extraordinary character which touchingly epitomizes a close bond between father and son debuted about two months after author Masashi Kishimoto lost his own father.
2 He Was Originally Supposed To Be From Another Village
In a 2015 interview known as the Kobayashi interview, Kishimoto treats fans to many interesting and surprising secrets regarding the series’ creation and development. Some of these gems include Naruto’s seed idea being about an old man owning a ramen shop where a young boy frequently comes in, and the Chunin exams arc actually being a suggestion from his editor as opposed to an original idea.
In the same interview, Kishimoto also mentions that initially Guy, Kakashi’s rival, was supposed to be from another village. However, with the introduction of the new arc, Guy became a Leaf Ninja instead.
1 He’s A Tough Son Of A Gun
Many people know Guy and Lee by their signature techniques stemming from the 8 Gates of Death, such as “Leaf Spinning Wind” and “Initial Lotus.” What is often overlooked is the amount of strain even the earlier levels put on the user’s body. Several characters comment in Lee’s fight against Gaara about how much the Initial Lotus damages the former’s body.
Throughout much of the series’ run, we see Guy open up to six gates with little to no problem, as with the first fight with the Kisame clone in the Rescue Gaara arc. Even after his battle with the real Kisame, he is nowhere near as debilitated as other characters are after reaching their limits. Moreover, in the war, he opens his gates many times over, and prior to opening the final gate, there are few visible signs of the immense pain his body suffers. That’s nothing to say of the mental toughness it took to open the final gate, with him proceeding with the feat despite knowing he was going to fade to dust just like his father (that is, until plot-hole-no-jutsu saved the day).