It is no surprise that the “Big 3” series has become a huge inspiration for many current mangakas, and that includes Gege Akutami the mangaka of Jujutsu Kaisen. Recently, Akutami revealed shocking trivia regarding the truth behind the creation of his work’s arguably most popular character, Satoru Gojo.
Many people have noted ever since the debut of Gojo that his appearance and design truly resemble Kakashi from “Naruto”. However, this speculation is broken hilariously in the “Jujutsu Kaisen Official Fanbook” with a revelation that the design of Gojo is actually based on an extremely lesser-known character from Naruto named Tobitake Tonbo.
Do you even remember which Tobitake Tonbo is? If not, you don’t have to think that you are a “fake fan” of Naruto since Masashi Kishimoto himself could not even remember him when getting asked by Akutami about Tonbo’s design during their meeting.
It’s not weird that you are wondering who the character is since he appears briefly mainly during the “Chunin Exam” arc in the first part of Naruto as one of the written test inspectors from Konoha and a member of the Tracking and Surveillance Team who extracts information about Pain during the “Pain’s Assault” arc.
While he might not be a central character in the series, his design elements, particularly his eyes, seem to have left an impression, at least for Gege Akutami. Tonbo’s bandaged eyes which specialize in tracking down targets using his keen eyesight apparently become the main influence of the creation of Satoru Gojo’s powerful Six Eyes in Jujutsu Kaisen.
Another nod to this inspiration can be seen during Jujutsu Kaisen’s “Gojo’s Past” arc where kid Gojo is seen wearing a yukata with the patterns of dragonflies. “Tonbo” is the Japanese word for dragonflies.
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