Today is the birthday of beloved character Naruto Uzumaki! I'm generally not the type to celebrate fictional birthdays, but this is an exception.
Naruto has been with me since childhood, and has changed my life literally. I still remember the wonder and excitement as I witnessed the premier of the series on the tv screen as a little girl. Seeing him run and laugh on the screen after defacing the hokage mountain. I had never seen anything quite like it. I was hooked, and began watching religiously. I've been into anime and manga ever since. Definitely rewired my brain haha!
First anime, first manga, first amv, first fanart, and first figure. All of these trace back to Naruto. The excitement of seeing him in the grocery store on a Shonen Jump cover and learning you could not only watch, but read it in comic form too.
Then the local Walmart started stocking Mattel's line of Naruto action figures, some standard and some with gimmicks. I believe this is the first time I caught the collecting bug. I would have one with me at almost all times. Weather I was going to the pool, skateboarding, or whatever I was doing it was there too. Here's one of the many I'm remembering item/76105
A bit later and I ended up getting into the trading cards, collecting the tins and packs whenever I could. I would carry some in my pocket and take them to school too. Eventually getting one of those sleeve binders and properly storing them.
I remember my first (and only so far) cosplay being of Uzumaki himself. I was around 11-12 and had gotten a good quality Shippuden coat as a gift, as well as the headband and a terrible unstyled wig from.F.Y.E. lmao. I'd wear the coat (sans wig and headband) everyday for a while. I look back both with cringe and fondness.
Not only did I love the style,design, voice acting, music, and story. But I could really relate to Naruto and certain parts of what he went through. He really helped me get through some stuff as a kid and teen. So I have a deep attachment to him. He remains a nostalgia and comfort character for me as an adult.
We've traveled a bit down memory lane regarding my connection to sunshine boy. So, lets celebrate~
First off lets appreciate that iconic voice! Being a music lover, revisiting some of his vocal covers is a must! (Hats off to Junko Takeuchi for being able to sing in character!)
And this cute original song that was featured in a few episodes to help us remember the tailed beasts and their jinchuriki ♡
In dedication to Naruto the character and series as a whole, here are a couple of covers I did of some of my favorite Naruto songs.
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Though I love Junko Takeuichi's version of Naruto almost as much, I grew up with Maile Flanagan's version so that's my honest favorite. However, she doesn't seem to sing with her Naruto voice, so I found this instead. Naruto as a stand up comedian!
Since he's a shinobi/ninja who rose to the top, let us admire his strength and ability. The only one they missed was "Talk no Jutsu" lol. This is a long video, but full of good information and animation clips featuring the birthday boy if anyone is interested.
Being the unpredictable knucklehead he is, I wanted to look back on some of his shenanigans. There's lots to choose from, but lets go with this one for the article. I remember as a kid thinking it was so funny that all his clones were fighting for the bathroom. And I still find it amusing when he humbles Konohamaru's "you can't touch me, 3rd hokage is my grandfather" with "I don't care if (3rd hokage) is your grandmother" before punching him.
Shonen Jump just made this little commemorative video as well, nice and simple.
Here's a little drawing I made of one of my OCs Caz gifting him one of his favorites, some instant cup ramen. The paper I have wasn't working well with my ink, that's why there's smudges and i didn't continue to erase the pencil lines ;n;
A rough little stop motion I made a while back with item/1511844 and one of my fountain pens. It was for the animation's 20th anniversary, but I think its appropriate to reuse here.
And lastly (but not least) with this being MFC, lets take a look at my dedicated and growing Naruto figure collection. Seeing it all together like this makes me smile~
Thank you Masashi Kishimoto for creating, Shonen Jump for publishing, and Studio Pierrot for animating!
Happy Birthday Naruto!!!
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