One Piece Requires More Reading Comprehension Than Naruto— Former Editor On Why Naruto Was More Popular In The West

Weekly Shonen Jump editor, Kosuke Yahagi, has shed light on why Naruto gained more popularity overseas compared to One Piece.

According to Yahagi, who served as Naruto’s main editor from its first chapter to Chapter 402, the manga was more in demand in the west because One Piece required greater reading comprehension.

The complexity of One Piece‘s storytelling compared to Naruto‘s was discussed in detail by Yahagi during an interview in 2019, which was also attended by other former Jump editors.

Yahagi’s analysis of One Piece & Naruto’s storytelling:

Yahagi revealed that before launching Naruto, he thoroughly analyzed One Piece to understand what made it so compelling.

He noted that One Piece builds its world like an RPG, with each new arc introducing a fresh setting, a clear objective, and character development that propels the story forward.

This structure, coupled with the intricate connections between characters and overarching themes, made the series multi-faceted.

He contrasted this with Naruto, explaining that while it contains drama, it leaned more on action and visual appeal, making it easier to grasp at a glance.

He also revealed that the author, Masashi Kishimoto, himself admitted that competing with One Piece in terms of storytelling was nearly impossible, which led Naruto to focus on action and visual appeal instead.

Why One Piece needed more reading comprehension:

During the interview, the editors noted that Naruto‘s Hollywood-style narrative structure made it more palatable to international audiences.

Matsuyama, who was also participating in the discussion, compared One Piece to kabuki and classic yakuza films, describing its dramatic moments as theatrical and deeply resonant with Japanese audiences.

Yahagi agreed to the sentiment saying that One Piece‘s theatrical storytelling and deep-rooted drama required greater literacy and reading comprehension to fully appreciate – which a lot of western audiences didn’t have when it came to Japanese manga because of how it was rooted in Japanese culture.

In contrast, Naruto’s straightforward progression aligned more with Hollywood narrative conventions, which according to him contributed to its global success.

ONE PIECE has an incredibly engaging drama. In contrast, NARUTO is more about action and the parts that are easy to understand. I have kids, and when I show them something, the thing they struggle with the most is the drama. Kids can just look at a visually appealing image and think, ‘That feels good’. For example, if a picture has strong perspective or if the sky is properly drawn, they’ll say, ‘I like this’. So, whether something is immediately interesting or not depends a lot on how it looks at first glance.

We’ve been reading manga for so long that we tend to dive deeper into its appeal, right? But many people overseas don’t quite get Japanese manga. I think it’s because they lack the literacy or reading comprehension skills to fully understand it. So, ultimately, I think NARUTO doesn’t require that level of reading comprehension to enjoy.“

Yahagi was also of the opinion that Naruto’s blonde hair and blue eyes could have caught the attention of western audiences, because by that appearance, he was not viewed as a Japanese character.

Kazuhiko Torishima, the former editor of Dragon Ball and the former editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump, pointed out that Naruto was about ninjas, which was a very popular concept overseas.

He also added that One Piece could have too melodramatic for the western audiences, as it was heavy emotional drama. To top it off, he felt that Naruto had a much better visual style, which also contributed to its success.

First of all, NARUTO is about ninjas. Ninjas are incredibly popular overseas. On the other hand, the concept of pirates exists outside Japan as well. Also, as Matsuyama-san and Yahagi-san said, ONE PIECE relies heavily on emotional drama. This kind of drama resonates with Japanese people but tends to be off-putting overseas because it’s too sentimental. And another factor is the way the characters and scenes are presented. Honestly, I think NARUTO has a more effective visual style—Kishimoto-sensei is better at it.

Kazuhiko Torishima

Currently, One Piece is the best selling manga with over 500 million copies sold.

Source: Denfaminicogamer