Being a new-gen anime series, Jujutsu Kaisen was bound to draw inspiration to shonen classics that preceded it. More than a few quirks to the manga's and anime's combat systems honor the combat systems of anime like Naruto and Bleach. Something similar can be said about the character designs, with Nobara Kugisaki being Sakura Haruno 2.0 while Yuji Itadori is a blend of Naruto Uzumaki and Ichigo Kurosaki. That leaves the question of Satoru Gojo's inspirations, and that story has some startling twists to it.
When anime fans first meet the white-haired, blindfolded mentor Satoru Gojo, they are bound to see "upside down Kakashi" as a clear Naruto reference. After all, Satoru is a powerful 20-something fighter who coaches a trio of heroes, and he even has part of his face hidden. However, anime fans must follow Kakashi's advice to "look underneath the underneath" to get the truth. Author Gege Akutami definitely riffed off of Naruto more than once in Jujutsu Kaisen, yet Kakashi Hatake didn't have everything to do with it. Satoru's design actually salutes a much more minor Naruto character, someone whom author Masashi Kishimoto himself forgot: Tonbo Tobitake.
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Satoru Gojo's Inspiration Came Out of Left Field in the Chunin Exam Arc
Even Minor Characters Like Tonbo May Spark an Author's Imagination
It's easy for shonen manga authors and anime studios to borrow major tropes or character designs from one another. It's another thing entirely for someone like Gege Akutami to create one of shonen's best modern characters in the image of someone as obscure as Tonbo Tobitake. For reference, Tonbo was a proctor in the famed Chunin Exam Arc in the original Naruto anime, alongside slightly more prominent side characters such as Hayate Gekko and Ibiki Morino. Tonbo briefly stole the show when he pinned a genin to the wall, lecturing the younger shinobi about the proctors' ability to detect any and all cheating. That scene was an early example of how rigorous and challenging the Chunin Exam was in the eyes of all genin.
Aside from that, Tonbo had next to no impact or screen time in Naruto, and even devoted Naruto fans may not recall this character or his odd appearance. At the time, though, when character designs were more tame, Tonbo stood out as a chunin with bandages and his forehead protector over his eyes. That drew the eye of Gege Akutami, who got a lasting impression of the character. There's no telling who or what will spark a creator's imagination, given how subjective and personal this medium is. As a result, it may surprise fans of both Naruto and Jujutsu Kaisen that Satoru Gojo is the new Tonbo Tobitake.
Another, slightly subtler connection between Satoru and Tonbo is how they behave as fighters. Tonbo is a long way from being OP like Satoru is and lacks Satoru's goofiness, but his personality did impact Satoru's own design. Like Satoru, Tonbo can be calm and seem harmless at first, but any provocation will draw his ire and make him dominate the scene. It's the kind of power and ferocity that suddenly appears out of nowhere, and Jujutsu Kaisen's Satoru Gojo vastly expanded on the idea. Rather than being a chunin who spots cheaters, Satoru is the #1 sorcerer who can make a joke of curses like Jogo while acting carefree and casual just seconds before. Some anime characters advertise their power or danger everywhere they go, but not Satoru -- or the chunin proctor who inspired his design.
Subtler Design Inspirations Are Better Than Goku Clones
Gege Akutami Took Advantage of Anime's Creative Potential
When manga and anime creators riff on each other's ideas, it's always tempting to borrow the designs that work the best. If an idea is a game-changer or becomes world-famous, then of course later generations of artists want to tap into that power by creating their own version. That's how the shonen sphere ended up with a parade of Goku clones, from Natsu Dragneel the fire wizard to the rubber pirate Monkey D. Luffy and the prankster ninja Naruto Uzumaki. Later anime also borrowed Team 7's design in Naruto, which helped reinforce the trope of shonen trios. Yet this isn't the only way for current-gen anime like Jujutsu Kaisen to honor past works, and it may not even be the best way.
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Goku's formula as a hungry himbo warrior is a proven one, but it's also a transparent one when every other shonen action lead is trying so hard to be the next Goku. It's also a waste of shonen anime's potential when the creators keep going back to the same few tried-and-true ideas. Among other strategies, creators may draw inspiration from off-beat and minor characters like Tonbo Tobitake to keep things fresh. If Jujutsu Kaisen's OP mega-star can emerge from a forgettable Chunin Exam proctor's design, then anything is possible. Exponentially more combinations of character influences are opened up once creators like Gege Akutami get out of the Goku rut. That being said, there was no harm in allowing some major characters from both Bleach and Naruto to factor into Satoru's legendary design as well.
Kakashi and Kisuke Found Their Way Into Satoru's Final Design
Jujutsu Kaisen is the Next Bleach in Many Ways
Anime fans can rightly applaud Gege Akutami for being resourceful enough to conceive of Satoru Gojo from such a minor Naruto character with such great results. Still, anime fans know that modern series riff off of older series in often obvious ways, and there's no harm in that. It's best if creators cast a wider net for inspiration, yet there's still room for at least a few obvious homages if the fresh creativity is doing its part as well. Jujutsu Kaisen does plenty of that as the spiritual successor of Naruto and especially Bleach.
The saga of Yuji Itadori definitely borrowed Naruto's notes in terms of the new Team 7 setup and Yuji having an inner monster, Ryomen Sukuna himself, who can be compared to Kurama. Yet fans may say Jujutsu Kaisen honors Bleach above all, with Yuji being the new Ichigo Kurosaki as a tough high schooler who fought a monster one night as he suddenly gained new powers. Satoru Gojo did his part too, since Naruto's Tonbo Tobitake was just the jumping-off point for this character.
Tonbo had no visible hair, but Kakashi is noted for his shock of white hair and his dark face mask, which no doubt worked their way into Satoru's own visual design. Most of all, Bleach's Kisuke Urahara definitely had an impact on Satoru, mostly in terms of his behavior. Satoru may swiftly go from zero to 100 like Tonbo did in early Naruto episodes, but above all, Satoru is a goofy prankster like Bleach's Kisuke, and it balances well with his overwhelming power. Kisuke is silly by default but is much stronger than he looks, while also having a serious side that's impressive and even scary at times. The same can be said of Satoru when the time calls for it, allowing Satoru to play up Jujutsu Kaisen's brutal darkness while also accepting the baton from Ichigo's "Mr. Hat and Clogs" mentor of yesteryear.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 3, 2020
- Network
- TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
Cast
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Junya EnokiYuji Itadori -
Yuichi NakamuraSatoru Gojo
