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One anime fan has combined the fantastical worlds of Naruto and Pokémon to create a hilarious but charming piece of crossover fan art.
The image was posted on Reddit by artist Backfisch85 and sees Magikarp donning the red and white robes of the Hokage, the leader of Village Hidden in the Leaves, while a smoking pipe in hand and enjoying the scenery of cherry blossoms fluttering in the background. It is a bizarre mashup and according to the artist, they "don't know" why they thought of the concept.
The Pokémon multimedia franchise started with the 1996 debuts of Pocket Monsters: Red and Pocket Monsters: Green, which were later rebranded Pokémon Red and Blue. Since then over 120 games and a myriad of anime series, books, manga, novelizations, tie-in films and a trading card game have been released along with a wealth of toys, clothing apparel and other types of merchandise.
Masashi Kishimoto first published the original Naruto manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1999 to 2014. Studio Pierrot (Yu Yu Hakusho) adapted the series into an anime of the same name, which premiered in 2002 and featured 220 episodes. Its sequel, Naruto: Shippuden, initially aired from 2007 to 2017 in Japan and covered the second half of the manga's storyline, producing 500 episodes.
Magikarp may never actually become Hokage, but players are sure to see some equally unexpected new sights when the Pokémon world expands with its ninth generation of games later this year with the releases of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The Nintendo Switch exclusive games will feature an open-world style of gameplay and a new, Spain-inspired region. The Pokémon anime will also continue, with a controversial but powerful character set to make his return in the upcoming episodes of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series.
Naruto's successor manga, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is still ongoing with new chapters appearing monthly in Shueisha's V Jump magazine. The manga is available in English from VIZ Media.
Naruto, Naruto Shippuden and Boruto are available to stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu alongside many of the Pokémon anime series. Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series is being released exclusively through Netflix in North America and will begin steaming sometime later this year.
Source: Reddit