What do you think of when you think of Naruto? Ramen? Could be! But at the top of the list is certainly the way that Naruto and his pals run. Cue the inevitable running shoe collaboration. Again.
The way that Naruto characters walk with their arms stretched forward and behind them is known as the “Naruto Run”. The idea, it seems, is more aerodynamic – and therefore faster – but more likely it was probably easier for the artists to portray running. That explains why this running style is not unique for Naruto and his buddies – yet it remains closely connected to the series.
All of this is why a Naruto Sneaker collab makes perfect sense! According to PR times (over SoraNews) the Japanese sporting goods manufacturer Mizuno publishes the Naruto Shippuden kicks in the so-called “Contender Naruto” collection.
There are three sneakers, one for the three main characters: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. The shoes use each character’s color combination and wear their emblems. So on the back of the sneakers are Sakura’s circle, Naruto’s hot tub and Saksuke’s family crest.
If you take a closer look, you can see a leaf symbol on the tongues of the sneakers. As Oona McGee explains that this symbol stands for ninja from Konohagakure.
Even more subtle, the fabric of the Mizuno logo for the Naruto sneakers is supposed to look like toad skin, a nod to the toad summoning jutsu and the land of toads where the character was trained. For the Sasuke themed shoe, the Mizuno logo fabric should look like snakeskin, which is an allusion to the snake-conjuring jutsu and Orochimaru.
Clever, isn’t it?
As mentioned, these are not the first sneakers from the Naruto brand. Kotaku reported in 2019 that Adidas manufactured Naruto Shoes that looked pretty nice in the end.
The newest Sneaker collab sold for 13,200 yen (114) per pair in Japan this month.
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