- Warning: Naruto spoilers
If you have seen the Naruto anime and have not abandoned it prematurely, then you surely know the so-called Legendary Sannin, an ancient squad of three ninjas who became legends thanks to their abilities. Their names are impossible to forget: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. The relationship of these three characters covers many episodes of the anime and volumes of the manga.
But did you know that they are inspired by the traditional Japanese novel called Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari? It has 43 volumes published between 1839 and 1868 by different authors, although they were illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada. This is not a light inspiration, it ranges from their names to the conflict that exists between them.
The three characters of Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari y Naruto They have the same name and dominate the magic of the same animals: the toad, the snake and the slug respectively. This choice of animals has another curious reference: it is inspired by the Chinese counterpart of the game “rock, paper, scissors” and works as follows: toad defeats slug, slug defeats snake and snake defeats toad. It is a way of representing a certain balance of power.
Although the original story differs in many details, such as Tsunade being Jiraiya's wife, they do experience one of the most important canonical events. In the novel, Orochimaru faces Jiraiya and Tsunade. The snake poisoned them and they both fell unconscious, but a follower of Jiraiya came to their rescue. The parallels are more than evident. Finally, Jiraiya ended up defeating the giant snake.
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