Naruto Sharingan

Post circa October 2005:

There are so many similarities between Naruto and HP its crazy. I don't think one copied the other remotely ... just that their plots took the same natural progressions from a similar premise. Plus ... in one of the manga - not sure which one - it mentioned how the creator of Naruto first had a story of a troublemaking orphan boy (think Proto-Naruto) in a magic school who steals a scroll (think Naruto episode 1) and gains access to black magic. Its freaky - as if the magic school orphan idea was just floating round the globe around 1990 and JK was lucky enough to utilize it first.

Both HP and Naruto spoilers from this point on .....I am familiar with all 6 HP books, 3 HP movies, Naruto Manga through 280, and Naruto anime through 156 so no holds barred ...

How are they similar? Lets just work on the background story to start...Both are orphans without friends or the knowledge they are special. At 11/12, they discover this specialness at the same time they gain their first (in Naruto-speak) bond ... Harry to Hagrid, Naruto to Iruka. This general specialness (for Harry ... magical ability, for Naruto ... ability to utilize Chakra correctly and make Kage Bunshin) is soon surpassed by the knowledge of even greater uniqueness. This greater uniqueness is manifested in a magical mark (Harry's Scar, Naruto's 9-tail Seal) recieved under mysterious circumstances involving the death of loved ones (Harry's Parents, the 4th Hokage which many speculate is actually Naruto's father) and providing extra magical powers (Harry's legilimency, parseltongue, and pain when Voldemort is near, Naruto's use of Red Chakra to summon, Ransengan and later as an ultimate defense) usually associated with evil (Voldemort, Kyuubi) but now used for good. After gaining the knowledge of their uniqueness, both enter their magical communities for the first time (Harry becoming a student at Hogwarts, Naruto becoming a Ninja) and quickly form a trio with two other students - one boy, one girl - that will beome a closeknit group protecting eachother from then on.

These trios are slightly different in a very noticible way. Its as if the personalities of the boys have swapped. Naruto is far more like Ron and Sasuke is serious like Harry. But then again, its not like Bill killed all the other Weasleys as left just Ron. In other words, Sasuke is the character that acts as the catylst for the differences in plot. In Naruto, two characters have unique abilities (Sasuke has Sharingan and thus Chidori) but the one with the score to settle is not the main character. Naruto has nothing against Nyuubi. In HP, his friends have subplots but nothing overburdening or more dangerous than what Harry is wrapped up in.

Hermione and Sakura are both caring and book smart but Hermione is far more snippy than Sakura and would never fawn over a boy like Sakura does to Sasuke. Sakura became more Hermioneish recently in the Manga but then again thats after the Sasuke disappearence and 2.5 years. Furthermore, the rivalry-friendship of Sasuke and Naruto is a friendship of mutually understanding loneliness and pushing eachother toward improvement much like brothers. Harry and Ron have a friendship of humor and sleuthing, like best friends. They have Draco for any rivalry.

The closest thing to Kakashi that Harry, Ron and Hermione have I guess is Sirius although I think of Sirius as more Jiraiya and Tsunade as more Lupin. Snape does the Kakashi like functions, but obviously treats his trio quite the differently than Kakashi treats his team. The 3rd Hokage is obviously Dumbledore as they protect the community and the protaginist - eventually with their lives.

On to the villians. Both Voldemort and Orochimaru are obsessed with snakes and immortality. But I guess this has been a trend since Jafar and Aladdin. Voldemort and Orochimaru kinda look alike too. Both possess bodies. Nothing like Itashi exists in HP ... although again Snape, and Bellatrix kinda fit this role. Nobody at Hogwarts Harry's generation (except Harry himself) is motivated by revenge in the way Sasuke is.

Now time for major spoilers on all counts ... recently, both Naruto and Harry have been betrayed. Snape, owner of the dark mark, returns to Voldemort after shockingly killing Dumbledore. He has painful memories or his family life and The Mauraders that motivate his actions of revenge. He was extraordinarily talented in Dark Arts at Hogwarts and is a Half-Blood Prince. Sasuke, owner of the curse seal, goes to Orochimaru after shockingly almost killing Naruto. He has painfull memories of his family life and Brother Itashi that motivate his actions of revenge. He was extraordinarily talented at the Academy and later as a Genin and is the last of the Uchiha Clan.

There are more similarities - like number fixations (HP: 7 - Horcruxes, Books, Weasley kids, Quidditch team players, obsticles in PS, bottles in Snape's obsticle / Naruto: 9 - 9-tailed fox, demons, hidden villages, rookie genin), animal summoning (Harry: prongs patronus / Naruto: frogs) and interest in the repetition of behavior in different generations (HP: Harry=Sirius, Ron=James, Hermione=Lily, Draco=Snape, Neville=Lupin / Naruto: Naruto=Jiraiya=Obito, Sasuke=Orochimaru=Kakashi, Sakura=Tsuande=Rin) but thats enough for now.


Post circa January 2006:

I find that the similarities between the two story are less strong now that I know Naruto better and in the post-timeskip manga chapters. For example, motivation is key to storyline and the motivation behind the trio's actions is very different than behind Team 7. Both these close knit groups formed when primarily lonely individuals found true companionship for the first time. Both can use the strength of these bonds toward good purposes, be it snooping around to find out who Nicolas Flamel is, completing missions, or facing ultimate evil. But Naruto's character's have more problems and inner demons than do Harry Potter's, and therefore the plot parallels end. By the conclusion of HBP, the trio have primarily gone through their growing pains, battle through their interal conflicts, and now are a strong unit going into the climax. Yet Team 7, on the other hand, as the members grew emotionally closer, the team has physically fallen apart. They understand and care about each other more than ever but unlike the trio, because of Sasuke's problems, this doesn't mean they can be a cohesive unit against evil.

The other thing that strongly differs between Naruto and Harry Potter are the hints written into the story. JKR is the queen of hiding plot points in plain sight like Scabbers, Sirius' mention in SS, or the vanishing cabinet in CS. You can even find the locket Horcrux in a previous book if you read carefully enough. Naruto has hints and backstory but they are specific to the current arc. Kishimoto slowly reveals these during dramatic moments and usually only at the last moment ... there is no "Oh, wow. I should have figured that out" moments only "that explains his loyalties" moments. If JKR wrote Naruto you wouldn't have known that the person Naruto meets in the woods (Haku) was the masked fighter until the mask fell off. There aren't hints hidden in say the chunin arc that say Naruto has the ability to Rasengan, for example. The only exception to this are the big mysteries ... like Yondaime's identity, the use of Mangeyou Sharingan, or things like Naruto's new secret jutsu.
___________________________________________________________________

This last paragraph changed with the Shodai Necklace Jutsu in Chapter 291! Now Kishimoto has hints hidden too …

(BTW ... total side note but if compared to Harry Potter and how characters INFLUENCE Harry ... Iruka is Hagrid/Sirius, Kakashi is Arthur Weasley, and Jiraiya is Dumbledore ... )


ADDED FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT - GoF Trailer Parody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDPiB01dJJs&search=Naruto%20harry%20potter