The Theory of Guns in NARUTO

[SCarred Luffy Lvl:Z]

yea he did, i think he said guns would conflict with ninjutsu in his world and would be a contrictory. For example why learn struggle to learn ninjutsu when u can get easy power with guns.

Tt this point kishi has transeded the power of meere guns in his story. I cant see where a gun would affective against most of these powerful shinobi in the story.

To be fair guns can always be useful as a "Last-minute- riddle a - body- with - bullets- after all the all powerful- jutsus- and chakra has - depleted- with- the- bonus- of- not- needing- chakra- to - shoot", and the gunkatas would have made the Samurai quite a bit more 'relevant'. Not to mention it depends on what "guns", and "bullets" you're talking about.

But definitely agree with the 1st part. In fact in some ways the the 1st negates the second.

[paulbee]

IT's becoming clear to me that Kishimoto has been vague and/or contradictory. On the one had, he declares that there are no guns, then he apparently draws one. Then even as he draws one, he still leaves their usage out of the plot completely, even in the heat of battle between the fodder ninjas. Finally in the most recent chapter, he makes reference to a gun through a jutsu.

Normally this wouldn't mean much, afteral, DBZ had guns. The problem is still in Kishi's statement. I think that long term readers such as those here at Mangashare, prefer to have a firm understanding of the ground rules existing in their Manga's Universe.

In Marvel, we know that you can't fly a space ship to Asgard, or penetrate Captain America's shield with bullets. Just as in Fairytail's Earthland we have not seen guns, imagine the surprise for readers if there were suddenly references to them

We'd like to see Kishi clarify things at some future date.

[tsubasa]

Kishi did say no guns. but but more he meant " no i wont have ninja's use them" or as many people have said, that they are obsolete.

why use a gun when after training you can crush your enemy with sand, or send them in to a genjutsu that destroys their mind? there are many reasons guns are no use. and as another member said it is the "gun" in question that we are refereing to. def not an ak 47 or anything lol. id expect primitive guns, single shot rifles, and single shot pistol could be acceptable, as they are not too op, and when you think about it from a physics stand point, its easy as shit to figure out and create with a tiny bit of experimentation.... they have genetic manipulation lol come on.

to me, with the development of technology, guns would only be practical for people who are weak, against those that are weak, cause if you shoot me and im a fuckin ninja, holy shit, im not riping you just one new asshole.

[psukkar]

Ill try to find the interview if u wana know his exact words about guns in his manga. Also apparaently that picture with the gun was mistake, that apparatenlt one of the artists under kishi put it in there and kishi missed when he reviewed the chapter. Something to that affect anyway.

[aggeroff]

I think Oda's just bad at drawing guns.

[tsubasa]

maybe the people at the naruto bridge were way to poor to buy a technology that wasnt developed to our extent?

[paulbee]

http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~pazuzu/uzumaki.txt


I found this on the web:


UZUMAKI Naruto Artbook: Kishimoto Masashi Interview
Translated by Pazuzu

You may use this on your site, as long as you ask me first, give credit when you
do put it up, and keep everything intact, including this note. I spent too much
blood, sweat and tears on this to have it randomly thieved.

Notes: There's a few footnotes scattered through the interview. I've removed the
ones that are English terms aimed at Japanese speakers such as "RPG" and
"animator", and added in a couple of my own for Japanese terms.

---

Special Long Interview

The author personally relates, UZUMAKI, the 8 keywords.

The book is made up of 8 keywords. To understand these better, we have
scheduled a direct interview with Kishimoto-sensei! The secrets of the design of
Uzumaki come one after another!!



UZUMAKI: Birth of a World


KEYWORD:
*Uzumaki Naruto*
Naruto's jacket is a garment worn long ago?!


- Today, we hear from Kishimoto-sensei the story of the 8 keywords that become
the chapter titles in UZUMAKI. Also, the underlying story of each word and the
design secrets of UZUMAKI. Thank you for this.

K: Thank you.

- Well, to begin with, the title of the first chapter is "Uzumaki Naruto". I
believe you also read various manga during your childhood, but what do you see
as a true "protagonist"?

K: Mmm, I think it was to do with the colors and features of those magazines. In
a magazine entitled "Weekly Shonen Jump", one jumped out at me and made me
think, "Now THIS is a protagonist". This was Son Goku from Dragonball. Because
of that, I want to try and include a character like Goku in my own manga.

- What was it about Son Goku that attracted you to him?

K: That'd have to be his simple, clear thought processes. Also, his
mischievousness. The reader would also be bursting with energy. They'd say "I'll
do my best!". Because of that, to me the image of a hero is a "mischievous,
overly familiar guy".

- Well, where do you think Naruto's charm lies?

K: Indeed, I wanted to have him possess as much of the charm I was talking about
as possible. Always bearing in mind that he's a "simple fool"...(laugh). Plus,
personally, I don't really like wise characters all that much.

- Well, speaking of wise characters in Naruto, Shikamaru is...

K: I like Shikamaru. He's dry, so he doesn't show off his ability. In Sasuke's
atmosphere, when he's super-smart, that's the kind of character that's the
worst. (laugh) You can't relate to him... When you see a flawless guy like that,
wouldn't you get jealous?

- Did you use any real person as a basis for Naruto?

K: There wasn't any real-life model like that. At any rate, I modelled him in
the image of children. But there's also somewhat of a shadow, he has no parents,
he's alone, he's burdened with a terrible fate, and... Even so, he still lives
cheerfully and always tries his best. I think everyone's fine in this area but
Naruto. Anyway, trying your best is number one, no matter what.

- So, when you designed Naruto's costume, did you reference any brands or
designers, or a specific person?

K: For Naruto, I based him on clothes I myself wore a long time ago, and came up
with an original design. I didn't really do anything like go looking for
material. Clothing design's fairly difficult. When you use an existing design,
Naruto's Narutoness doesn't really emerge, and looking too cool isn't really
Naruto's style... As for me, I like old-fashioned out-of-style cool clothes.

- Is Naruto's favorite phrase, "dattebayo" modeled on anything?

K: That isn't really modeled on anything either. When I thought of childlike
speech, "dattebayo" instantly came to mind. It's like it's become a part of
Naruto, and even now it brings out his "mischievousness".


KEYWORD:
*Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura*
Sasuke was designed as a rival, Sakura was simple.


- Continuing on, I'd like to ask about the keywords "Uchiha Sasuke" and "Haruno
Sakura".

K: When I was creating his character, I always kept in mind that Sasuke is
"Naruto's rival". I looked at a lot of manga, and studied rival relationships.
That way, I believe the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke is the greatest
rival relationship. A cool genius character type is what I, personally, see as a
rival.

- When working with Sasuke, is there anything that you keep in mind?

K: No matter what I'm doing, I have to keep in mind not to be overly sentimental
about it. Like, manner and how they express themselves. After that, I go about
depicting them freely.

- Next, focusing on Sakura. What do you see as the image of a heroine?

K: My idea of a heroine isn't very clear. Because of that, even though I tried
to depict a heroine, it didn't end up like one. "Someone unable to understand
the workings of men..." is the feeling I ended up with.

- Maybe that's what attracts people to Sakura?

K: Maybe. I didn't really make Sakura out to be a "heroine", my point of view
had been that if a somewhat dislikeable character was introduced, I wondered if
it would become interesting... I created Naruto and created Sasuke, the last one
was Sakura. But I think she's a cheerful, good character. The type that wants to
be leader and is energetic and, in front of Sasuke, childlike. That is what I
decided was the way of the keyword Sakura.

- What are Sakura's design points?

K: For one, she has spats (*1) to release her energy. Also, her clothes have
more lines proportionally than other characters', and she also wears as little
accessories as possible. I just design the left-over silhouettes. I wanted to
make her design as simple as possible.


KEYWORD:
*Konoha Village's Team 7*
Seeing scattered personalities is enjoyable.


- Continuing on, I'll ask about "Team 7", which refers to Team Kakashi. First,
how did you decide on a 3-man team plus 1 jounin making up a 4-man group?

K: Ehh, you're probably expecting a big reason, but instead of expanding the
story, I think it's the easiest to do. To even out the natures, and make a
balance for when I was drawing it was the effect I was going for.

- What do you think an ideal team is?

K: I think they should each go to extremes. If one person's power shines out,
then the others can't. If they have everyone's abilities, they can unite them as
one and release amazing power. This is what I like. Because of that, when I was
a child, I watched tokusatsu dramas (*2) about heroes such as the "Nantoka 5".
But, everyone was flawlessly strong. I've never seen anything like that.

- As a sensei, do you think an RPG-style team is good?

K: Yes. There's magic-users, fighters, and so on, and everyone can put their
roles together and everyone works for the team. I find that interesting. That is
how characters rise.

- Apart from Team Kakashi, where do you think there is attraction?

K: There's always heated rivalry in teams, isn't there? Lee and Neji remain
rivals, but even through their speech you can see a relationship, they don't
really want to hurt each other. Lee's a good kid. (laughs) Sasuke and Naruto are
different to that, so they have an interesting rivalry.

- What is the attraction of the leader, Kakashi?

K: Maybe how he's always walking and reading. (laughs) No matter what the time,
he always has his composure and keeps a steadily out-of-it face.


KEYWORD:
*Mist, Sand, Sound*
I want to make the enemies stick out!


- The next keyword is "Mist, Sand, Sound". I'll ask all about the enemy
characters here. In the production "Naruto", what is an enemy?

K: Well, the ones who want to impede the main characters' wishes... Because of
that, they have plots opposing the main characters. To put it another way,
they're not just basically equal enemies made as "fighting opponents". Since
even when the way of thinking is identical, a situation arises when they must
fight, the opponent is not necessarily an enemy. Therefore, when I was creating
the enemy characters too, I wasn't really thinking about fighting. I was thinking
more of putting in their opposing plans.

- That puts me in mind of popular past enemy characters, Zabuza and Haku...

K: That's it exactly. I recall creating Zabuza as a terrifying character. Haku
added a strange colorfulness to the Naruto characters. Maybe that's the secret
to their popularity.

- Another enemy character with the same popularity is Gaara. What does Gaara
mean to Naruto?

K: Gaara, after all, has opposing plans to Naruto. He's had the same kind of
circumstances as Naruto. He's been seen as an unneeded existence (*3) by
everyone, he is not acknowledged, he's ignored... But Naruto and Gaara have
different ways of thinking towards their own situations, so in that way they
oppose each other. I think maybe Gaara's popularity comes from the fact that his
circumstances are identical to the main character, Naruto's.

- You've created all of these enemy characters with their own attractions, but
what are the points when you're deciding on the enemy characters' outward
appearances and equipment?

K: I want to make the distinction between enemies and allies clear. Because I
think that's easy to read and understand in manga. If you don't know who's an
enemy and who's an ally, in fighting situations you don't really get what's
going on. So, when comparing them with allies, I wanted people to think "This is
an enemy" right away, based on their faces and clothing design. This is what I
kept in mind.

- What kind of methods do you use for showing something that looks like an enemy
character?

K: Well, I think enemies stand out. It's easier for the reader to see that
someone is strong when they wear flashy clothes, more so than plain clothes.
Even what I said before about the contrast with allies, the flashiness of the
enemy is a general principle.


CONTINUED BELOW.................

[paulbee]

KEYWORD:
*Teacher and Student*
I like the combination of Naruto and Jiraiya.


- Next, the story of "Teacher and Student". We see that Naruto has been with
Iruka, Kakashi and Jiraiya. This "teacher" [Note: This word has a more personal
feeling than a regular teacher] changes during life, do they just teach what
they themselves should teach, then leave?

K: There's possibly various patterns there, I think. For example, a science
teacher you have for one year can be a "teacher", and so can a parent who's
looked after you all your life. In "Naruto", various types of teachers keep
appearing and changing, seemingly by accident. The teaching style is different
for each one. A scolding, strict person is also a "teacher". Iruka's act of
acknowledging Naruto successfully cause Naruto to mature, and even now, Iruka is
Naruto's "teacher".

- Gai and Lee have a very passionate student-teacher relationship which is
extremely interesting to see, but what was your inspiration for this
relationship?

K: When I was in junior high school, my PE teacher was very passionate... He was
a fervous teacher like Gai, and really interesting. I really liked that teacher.

- Then, Gai was modeled after this teacher...?

K: ...No, but if you think about it like that, he wasn't at all similar to
Gai...(laugh) There wasn't really any model.

- Then, would you be happy to have Gai as your teacher?

K: No, he probably wouldn't click with me. (laugh) I think that might be a bit
*too* heated.

- Of the student-teacher relationships in Naruto, do you think of any as ideal?

K: At the moment, my favorite is the relationship between Naruto and
Jiraiya.(*4) I thought that the previous relationship between Kakashi and his
group was the best, but as it progressed to the current relationship between
Naruto and Jiraiya, it's more fresh to me. It's fun to depict.

- What do you keep in mind when making student-teacher relationships?

K: There's an infinite number of combinations. There's no real pattern to it, I
think.


KEYWORD:
*Look Ahead*
"Way of life", "Belief", "Dreams", expressed in pictures.


- Next we have "Look Ahead". I'd like to hear a further explanation of
everyone's "nindou".(*5) Firstly, what does the phrase "nindou" mean?

K: Well...how you live, your beliefs, your life, how they are for you. What you
want to do, your dreams...that's what it is.

- It must be difficult to define it in one word, since it's different for every
person...

K: That's right. Something like "Various ways of life" is "nindou". For example,
a person whose family dies of sickness will probably become a doctor, or someone
who admires a TV idol will aim for that. Those different ways of life are, to
me, "nindou".

- What is your current "nindou"?

K: For the time being, I have to complete "Naruto", that's my target. There's no
way I can quit in the middle.

- So, when the time comes that you finish Naruto, what "nindou" will be awaiting
you then?

K: There's a lot that I'd like to do. I'd like to work on regulation of data
connections, and I'd also like to try out a completely different type of work. I
want to play in games. (laugh) There's really a lot I want to do, but as a
mangaka, that's basically what I'd do.

- Right now, which character's way of life can you relate to?

K: That'd be Naruto. He's told things are impossible, but he still tries his
best. He doesn't know if he can or can't, but still goes ahead
recklessly...that's what I relate to. He's a loser, but still tries his best.
This is what I like. Everyone else can do it at the beginning to some degree, so
can't Naruto?

- In the real world, is there anyone whose life you'd like to have?

K: Not really anyone specific, but I like people who can speak out all the time.
I think they're awesome. Because of that, since I'm in the drawing business, I
respect those in the same occupation. Animators and mangaka.


KEYWORD:
*Konohagakure no Sato*
Guns and vehicles shouldn't be drawn.


- Well, well, we reach the final keyword. The main stage of "Naruto",
"Konohagakure no Sato".(*6) To you, what image do you have of this place? For
example, was it modeled on the scenery around your parents' home in Okayama(*7)?

K: That's right. To be honest, I didn't think much about this, and got a lot on
my inspiration there. Maybe it was subconsciously modeled on Okayama's scenery.

- What kind of time period did you set it in? If it was in the distant past,
then covenience stores wouldn't be there...

K: It's not really any different to present-time. Though possibly a little in
the past, maybe?

- What kind of place is it? Is it Japan? If so, what prefecture...?

K: It's a completely original place. I didn't set it anywhere. A place inside my
own head... If anything, the climate and topography resemble that around Kyoto.
As I've never been to Kyoto, it's my own image of it. (laugh)

- What material did you use for it?

K: I like Japanese culture, and since I studied it, I used a lot of material
from that. Crests and folding fans... I often look at Japanese-style gardens and
watch Kabuki.

- Do you have any rules about what is definitely not allowed to be drawn in the
"Naruto" world?

K: Firstly, projectile weapons such as guns aren't allowed. (The one exception
is Inari's bowgun.) Guns aren't suited to ninja. Gunpowder is used in the anime,
though I don't think it should be there. And, vehicles such as aeroplanes are
not allowed. I try to restrain technology that can be used for war... For
example, if missiles were in it, it'd be the end. (laughs)

- Well, thank you very much for everything today.

K: Thank you very much!



Footnotes:

*1 - Spats: Originally from a considerate nature, sharp attacks. These habitual
spurts suit the active Sakura's choice of clothes.

*2 - Tokusatsu dramas: Special-effects loaded hero dramas aimed at children. A
popular genre is "Sentai", which is a standard team of around 3-5 people who
fight evil. (Power Rangers for English audiences)

*3 - An unneeded existence: Due to his father's evil jutsu, Gaara was born as a
killing machine. The people of the village, who feared Gaara's power, loathed
him from the moment of his birth.

*4 - Naruto and Jiraiya: For Naruto to learn a new certain kill technique, this
student-teacher combination was formed. The clumsy, lecherous, yet amazingly
strong Jiraiya guides Naruto.

*5 - Nindou: This is a combination of the character "nin", meaning "to endure"
or "to sneak", and the character "dou", meaning "path" or "way". A possible
interpretation could be the way a person goes through their life.

*6 - Konohagakure no Sato: Literally, "village concealed in leaves", often
translated as Hidden Leaf, Leaf Village, or simply Konoha.

*7 - Okayama: Kishimoto's birthplace is Okayama prefecture. He grew up in a
quiet town, and loved drawing pictures when he was small. Are Konoha's roots in
Okayama...?!

[psukkar]

KEYWORD:
*Teacher and Student*
I like the combination of Naruto and Jiraiya.


- Next, the story of "Teacher and Student". We see that Naruto has been with
Iruka, Kakashi and Jiraiya. This "teacher" [Note: This word has a more personal
feeling than a regular teacher] changes during life, do they just teach what
they themselves should teach, then leave?

K: There's possibly various patterns there, I think. For example, a science
teacher you have for one year can be a "teacher", and so can a parent who's
looked after you all your life. In "Naruto", various types of teachers keep
appearing and changing, seemingly by accident. The teaching style is different
for each one. A scolding, strict person is also a "teacher". Iruka's act of
acknowledging Naruto successfully cause Naruto to mature, and even now, Iruka is
Naruto's "teacher".

- Gai and Lee have a very passionate student-teacher relationship which is
extremely interesting to see, but what was your inspiration for this
relationship?

K: When I was in junior high school, my PE teacher was very passionate... He was
a fervous teacher like Gai, and really interesting. I really liked that teacher.

- Then, Gai was modeled after this teacher...?

K: ...No, but if you think about it like that, he wasn't at all similar to
Gai...(laugh) There wasn't really any model.

- Then, would you be happy to have Gai as your teacher?

K: No, he probably wouldn't click with me. (laugh) I think that might be a bit
*too* heated.

- Of the student-teacher relationships in Naruto, do you think of any as ideal?

K: At the moment, my favorite is the relationship between Naruto and
Jiraiya.(*4) I thought that the previous relationship between Kakashi and his
group was the best, but as it progressed to the current relationship between
Naruto and Jiraiya, it's more fresh to me. It's fun to depict.

- What do you keep in mind when making student-teacher relationships?

K: There's an infinite number of combinations. There's no real pattern to it, I
think.


KEYWORD:
*Look Ahead*
"Way of life", "Belief", "Dreams", expressed in pictures.


- Next we have "Look Ahead". I'd like to hear a further explanation of
everyone's "nindou".(*5) Firstly, what does the phrase "nindou" mean?

K: Well...how you live, your beliefs, your life, how they are for you. What you
want to do, your dreams...that's what it is.

- It must be difficult to define it in one word, since it's different for every
person...

K: That's right. Something like "Various ways of life" is "nindou". For example,
a person whose family dies of sickness will probably become a doctor, or someone
who admires a TV idol will aim for that. Those different ways of life are, to
me, "nindou".

- What is your current "nindou"?

K: For the time being, I have to complete "Naruto", that's my target. There's no
way I can quit in the middle.

- So, when the time comes that you finish Naruto, what "nindou" will be awaiting
you then?

K: There's a lot that I'd like to do. I'd like to work on regulation of data
connections, and I'd also like to try out a completely different type of work. I
want to play in games. (laugh) There's really a lot I want to do, but as a
mangaka, that's basically what I'd do.

- Right now, which character's way of life can you relate to?

K: That'd be Naruto. He's told things are impossible, but he still tries his
best. He doesn't know if he can or can't, but still goes ahead
recklessly...that's what I relate to. He's a loser, but still tries his best.
This is what I like. Everyone else can do it at the beginning to some degree, so
can't Naruto?

- In the real world, is there anyone whose life you'd like to have?

K: Not really anyone specific, but I like people who can speak out all the time.
I think they're awesome. Because of that, since I'm in the drawing business, I
respect those in the same occupation. Animators and mangaka.


KEYWORD:
*Konohagakure no Sato*
Guns and vehicles shouldn't be drawn.


- Well, well, we reach the final keyword. The main stage of "Naruto",
"Konohagakure no Sato".(*6) To you, what image do you have of this place? For
example, was it modeled on the scenery around your parents' home in Okayama(*7)?

K: That's right. To be honest, I didn't think much about this, and got a lot on
my inspiration there. Maybe it was subconsciously modeled on Okayama's scenery.

- What kind of time period did you set it in? If it was in the distant past,
then covenience stores wouldn't be there...

K: It's not really any different to present-time. Though possibly a little in
the past, maybe?

- What kind of place is it? Is it Japan? If so, what prefecture...?

K: It's a completely original place. I didn't set it anywhere. A place inside my
own head... If anything, the climate and topography resemble that around Kyoto.
As I've never been to Kyoto, it's my own image of it. (laugh)

- What material did you use for it?

K: I like Japanese culture, and since I studied it, I used a lot of material
from that. Crests and folding fans... I often look at Japanese-style gardens and
watch Kabuki.

- Do you have any rules about what is definitely not allowed to be drawn in the
"Naruto" world?

K: Firstly, projectile weapons such as guns aren't allowed. (The one exception
is Inari's bowgun.) Guns aren't suited to ninja. Gunpowder is used in the anime,
though I don't think it should be there. And, vehicles such as aeroplanes are
not allowed. I try to restrain technology that can be used for war... For
example, if missiles were in it, it'd be the end. (laughs)

- Well, thank you very much for everything today.

K: Thank you very much!



Footnotes:

*1 - Spats: Originally from a considerate nature, sharp attacks. These habitual
spurts suit the active Sakura's choice of clothes.

*2 - Tokusatsu dramas: Special-effects loaded hero dramas aimed at children. A
popular genre is "Sentai", which is a standard team of around 3-5 people who
fight evil. (Power Rangers for English audiences)

*3 - An unneeded existence: Due to his father's evil jutsu, Gaara was born as a
killing machine. The people of the village, who feared Gaara's power, loathed
him from the moment of his birth.

*4 - Naruto and Jiraiya: For Naruto to learn a new certain kill technique, this
student-teacher combination was formed. The clumsy, lecherous, yet amazingly
strong Jiraiya guides Naruto.

*5 - Nindou: This is a combination of the character "nin", meaning "to endure"
or "to sneak", and the character "dou", meaning "path" or "way". A possible
interpretation could be the way a person goes through their life.

*6 - Konohagakure no Sato: Literally, "village concealed in leaves", often
translated as Hidden Leaf, Leaf Village, or simply Konoha.

*7 - Okayama: Kishimoto's birthplace is Okayama prefecture. He grew up in a
quiet town, and loved drawing pictures when he was small. Are Konoha's roots in
Okayama...?!

yea I remembered right, it condricts the ninja world he created. Simply has no place in the series, but i havent noticed any gunpowder in the anime.\


Also abit off topic, we see a computer at orocihmaru's hideout flaskback about kimaro in part 2. I think this deffintly shouldnt be in there.

[jdblaze85]

The answer to why we haven't seen them is simple and summated in two words:

Power differences.

Remember what happened when the farmer tried to shoot Raditz? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COqnyplv1YE

Sure, no ninja would catch the bullet.. but shadow clones, illusion, etc.. would have long-since rendered those weapons virtually useless against ninja. (Especially if they are of the 1-shot variety.)