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Jiraiya (Naruto)
Encyclopedia
is a fictional character
in the Naruto
universe
created by Masashi Kishimoto
. Introduced in the first half of the manga, Jiraiya appears as a perverted old man who the lead character, Naruto Uzumaki
, refers to as "Ero-Sennin" (エロ仙人, "perverted sage"). However, it is established that he was a student of the Hidden Leaf Village's Third Hokage, and one of the Three Legendary Sannin shinobi, along with Orochimaru
and Lady Tsunade. He is voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka
in the original Japanese airing of the anime, and by David Lodge
in the English dubbing. Creation and conter of the same name from Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari
(児雷也豪傑物語, "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya").
Masashi Kishimoto
originally planned to draw Jiraiya with a different design and with a different style of hair. He also intended for Jiraiya to summon toads that were of a similar size to humans. However, this idea was deemed a failure. During an interview, he comments that, of the student-teacher relationships in Naruto, Jiraiya and Naruto's is the one he likes the most.
and Tsunade, collectively became known as the owing to their exemplary ninja abilities. The rank of sannin was given to them by the legendary Hanzou the Salamander after only the three of them survived Hanzou's powers out of battling a legion of Konoha Shinobi in Naruto Chapter 369. For most of his adult life, and thus many of his appearances in the series, Jiraiya periodically leaves his hometown to explore the Naruto world
. Although he spends comparatively little time in Konoha (the leaf village), Jiraiya maintains deep loyalty to the village; soon after his introduction, he makes clear his intentions to kill Tsunade if she should ever turn against Konoha despite their history together. Throughout the series Jiraiya's talents and dedication to the village lead to him being offered the position of Hokage, Konoha's protector and leader. Because of his perceived weaknesses (his inability to keep Orochimaru from becoming a criminal and his failure to protect his teacher and his student from dying in their own tenure as Hokage) Jiraiya always declines the offer, feeling that he is unworthy of the responsibility.
During many of his appearances he makes at least one attempt to either woo women or spy on them while they bathe in the hot springs. While Jiraiya makes no attempt to hide these habits, going so far as to brag about his talents with voyeurism, he gets irritated whenever series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki
affectionately calls him . His interest in women has on occasion been his downfall; sometime in the past he tried spying on Tsunade, and was nearly fatally wounded when she caught him in the act. However, he has been able to use his peeping jutsu to good use during reconnaissance and stealth missions, like his entrance into Pain's village Jiraiya's experiences in love, particularly those with Tsunade, are recorded in his series of novels. The books, a favorite of Kakashi Hatake
, are runaway best-sellers within the Naruto world and have earned Jiraiya vast wealth. Before penning the Make Out series Jiraiya published an "autobiography
" where the main character was named "Naruto." Despite the book's poor sales Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's student, named his son after the main character in the hopes that he would grow up to be just like the Naruto in the book, subsequently naming Jiraiya Naruto's godfather.
to immobilize and trap an opponent. In the second half of the series, around the time of his death, Jiraiya is shown to possess a number of toad-based abilities not wholly reliant on summoning. Most prominent of these is being able to enter , a transformation that drastically increases his physical abilities and the strength of his attacks. Despite the advantages the form allows him, he does not like entering Sage Mode; the transformation gives him a bulbous nose, webbed hands, and a number of warts, all of which make him unappealing to girls.
While toads make up the bulk of his ninja abilities, Jiraiya displays a variety of miscellaneous talents throughout the series. He can breathe fire, create swamps to immobilize enemies, and grow and sharpen his hair for both offensive and defensive purposes. He was taught how to use the Rasengan by Minato, which Jiraiya in turn teaches to Minato's son, Uzumaki Naruto, shortly after his introduction. At various times in the series Jiraiya has been shown to be knowledgeable with seals. This expertise most commonly comes to light in relation to the nine-tailed demon fox sealed within Naruto's body, a force Jiraiya constantly tries to help Naruto gain control of. Though he usually doesn't show it, he is also skilled at hand-to-hand combat.
In Part II, Jiraiya begins investigating the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. In the course of his investigation he is drawn into battle with Pain, a fight that spans most of Naruto manga volume forty-one. During this volume parts of Jiraiya's background are explored. While he trained with the toads a prophecy concerning Jiraiya was made: that he would someday have a student with the power to save or destroy the world. Several years later he met Nagato, a boy Jiraiya assumed to be the subject of the prophecy and thus trained him to be the world's savior. Believing Pain to be the very same child he trained and thought to have died, Jiraiya tries to kill his student to prevent the world's destruction before being overwhelmed by the Six Paths. At the battle's conclusion Jiraiya realizes that he was mistaken; Naruto was actually the boy foretold in the prophecy. Due to this, and remembering that it was his first novel that inspired his student Minato to name his son Naruto, making Jiraiya the godfather, that gave Jiraiya the courage to get up and write one last message. Before succumbing to his fatal wounds, Jiraiya sends the secret behind Pain's Paths and identity to Naruto and the rest of Konoha. His hint: The real one is not among them. He then dies without regret; knowing that he did all he could for the future hero of the world.
and the Ultimate Ninja series
, as well as Path of the Ninja series. In the first game of the Ultimate Ninja, he only appears as a support to Naruto during his special techniques. In the Path of the Ninja RPG series he is a character who can be spoken to, for information and support. Since Ultimate Ninja 2, he is an available character and has been given variations of the Rasengan, fire techniques, and toads summoning techniques; in Path of the Ninja 2 he is not only a character in the storyline, but a "secret" acquirable character, that can be added to your team as a fully active member. Jiraiya not only has his commonly known jutsus such as Rasengan - Spiral Chakra Sphere and Needle Jizo (protective hair spikes), but the ability to summon any toad to fight in place of the team, thereby gaining the use of all the toads' special attacks and jutsus, like Tongue Whip, and Giant Blade. Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Jiraiya in a video game set in Part II, with the second one being Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel. Jiraiya only appears in the third original video animation, but he does not take a big role. Jiraiya makes an appearance so far in only two Naruto films, Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
and Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire.
Several reviewers for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Jiraiya's character. Matt Shingleton praised the character as the greatest character Masashi Kishimoto has ever created in this series. They note that besides the fact he fills the comical pervert archetype he is one of the strongest characters in the series and just about everything about him is rough and unpredictable. Davey Jones remarked Jiraiya’s training with Naruto as good comic relief and noted how similar both of these characters are. Justin Rich also praises Jiraiya’s introduction in the series noting him to be a very funny character. Jason Van Horn of IGN
commented on his relationships with Naruto Uzumaki that "they share so much in common".
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Naruto
Naruto
is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and aspires to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of...
universe
World of Naruto
The Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional world with numerous countries and locations.-Creation and conception:When Kishimoto was creating the setting of the Naruto manga, he initially concentrated on the designs for the village of Konohagakure, the primary setting of...
created by Masashi Kishimoto
Masashi Kishimoto
is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive...
. Introduced in the first half of the manga, Jiraiya appears as a perverted old man who the lead character, Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki
is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. The main protagonist and titular character of the series, he is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a...
, refers to as "Ero-Sennin" (エロ仙人, "perverted sage"). However, it is established that he was a student of the Hidden Leaf Village's Third Hokage, and one of the Three Legendary Sannin shinobi, along with Orochimaru
Orochimaru (Naruto)
is a fictional character from the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles...
and Lady Tsunade. He is voiced by Hōchū Ōtsuka
Hochu Otsuka
, also known by the his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor from Okayama Prefecture, affiliated with the talent management firm Crazy Box. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist for: Gary Oldman and Jean-Claude Van Damme....
in the original Japanese airing of the anime, and by David Lodge
David Lodge (voice actor)
David Lodge is a voice actor who is not to be confused with the British actor of the same name. He is active in the anime and video game voice acting community, but is also very well known for his voicework in the Power Rangers franchise...
in the English dubbing. Creation and conter of the same name from Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari
Jiraiya
Jiraiya , the title character of the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari , is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. The heir of a powerful clan in Kyūshū of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade, a beautiful young princess who masters snail magic...
(児雷也豪傑物語, "The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya").
Masashi Kishimoto
Masashi Kishimoto
is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series 666 Satan and Blazer Drive...
originally planned to draw Jiraiya with a different design and with a different style of hair. He also intended for Jiraiya to summon toads that were of a similar size to humans. However, this idea was deemed a failure. During an interview, he comments that, of the student-teacher relationships in Naruto, Jiraiya and Naruto's is the one he likes the most.
Personality
Jiraiya grew up in the village of Konohagakure under the tutelage of the Third Hokage. As he grew older Jiraiya and his two teammates, OrochimaruOrochimaru (Naruto)
is a fictional character from the Naruto universe created by Masashi Kishimoto and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, OVAs, movies, video games, and other collectibles...
and Tsunade, collectively became known as the owing to their exemplary ninja abilities. The rank of sannin was given to them by the legendary Hanzou the Salamander after only the three of them survived Hanzou's powers out of battling a legion of Konoha Shinobi in Naruto Chapter 369. For most of his adult life, and thus many of his appearances in the series, Jiraiya periodically leaves his hometown to explore the Naruto world
World of Naruto
The Naruto anime and manga series takes place in an unnamed fictional world with numerous countries and locations.-Creation and conception:When Kishimoto was creating the setting of the Naruto manga, he initially concentrated on the designs for the village of Konohagakure, the primary setting of...
. Although he spends comparatively little time in Konoha (the leaf village), Jiraiya maintains deep loyalty to the village; soon after his introduction, he makes clear his intentions to kill Tsunade if she should ever turn against Konoha despite their history together. Throughout the series Jiraiya's talents and dedication to the village lead to him being offered the position of Hokage, Konoha's protector and leader. Because of his perceived weaknesses (his inability to keep Orochimaru from becoming a criminal and his failure to protect his teacher and his student from dying in their own tenure as Hokage) Jiraiya always declines the offer, feeling that he is unworthy of the responsibility.
During many of his appearances he makes at least one attempt to either woo women or spy on them while they bathe in the hot springs. While Jiraiya makes no attempt to hide these habits, going so far as to brag about his talents with voyeurism, he gets irritated whenever series protagonist Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki
is a fictional character in the anime and manga franchise Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. The main protagonist and titular character of the series, he is a ninja affiliated with the fictional village of Konohagakure. The villagers ostracize Naruto because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, a...
affectionately calls him . His interest in women has on occasion been his downfall; sometime in the past he tried spying on Tsunade, and was nearly fatally wounded when she caught him in the act. However, he has been able to use his peeping jutsu to good use during reconnaissance and stealth missions, like his entrance into Pain's village Jiraiya's experiences in love, particularly those with Tsunade, are recorded in his series of novels. The books, a favorite of Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi Hatake
is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime series created by Masashi Kishimoto. Kishimoto originally planned to introduce Kakashi in the manga to the series' titular character, Naruto Uzumaki, early on, but pushed back this meeting so that Naruto's teammates could be better developed.In...
, are runaway best-sellers within the Naruto world and have earned Jiraiya vast wealth. Before penning the Make Out series Jiraiya published an "autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
" where the main character was named "Naruto." Despite the book's poor sales Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's student, named his son after the main character in the hopes that he would grow up to be just like the Naruto in the book, subsequently naming Jiraiya Naruto's godfather.
Abilities
Across the Naruto world Jiraiya is known as the . Having been trained by toads to utilize their secret arts, Jiraiya can summon them to his side as allies during battle. If need be, he can also summon parts of toads, on one occasion blanketing an area with a toad's esophagusEsophagus
The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...
to immobilize and trap an opponent. In the second half of the series, around the time of his death, Jiraiya is shown to possess a number of toad-based abilities not wholly reliant on summoning. Most prominent of these is being able to enter , a transformation that drastically increases his physical abilities and the strength of his attacks. Despite the advantages the form allows him, he does not like entering Sage Mode; the transformation gives him a bulbous nose, webbed hands, and a number of warts, all of which make him unappealing to girls.
While toads make up the bulk of his ninja abilities, Jiraiya displays a variety of miscellaneous talents throughout the series. He can breathe fire, create swamps to immobilize enemies, and grow and sharpen his hair for both offensive and defensive purposes. He was taught how to use the Rasengan by Minato, which Jiraiya in turn teaches to Minato's son, Uzumaki Naruto, shortly after his introduction. At various times in the series Jiraiya has been shown to be knowledgeable with seals. This expertise most commonly comes to light in relation to the nine-tailed demon fox sealed within Naruto's body, a force Jiraiya constantly tries to help Naruto gain control of. Though he usually doesn't show it, he is also skilled at hand-to-hand combat.
Plot overview
Jiraiya makes only sporadic appearances for most of the series, returning to Konoha after long absences to report on information he has learned during his travels. Initially this information concerns Orochimaru's continued efforts to destroy Konoha, though as the series progresses he also begins reporting on the criminal organization, Akatsuki. During some of his returns Jiraiya takes the time to train Naruto, teaching him his own signature abilities, and how to control the nine-tailed demon fox sealed within him. His training with Naruto marks the gap between Part I and Part II of the series, wherein Jiraiya takes him away for two-and-a-half years and improves his skill greatly. .In Part II, Jiraiya begins investigating the leader of Akatsuki, Pain. In the course of his investigation he is drawn into battle with Pain, a fight that spans most of Naruto manga volume forty-one. During this volume parts of Jiraiya's background are explored. While he trained with the toads a prophecy concerning Jiraiya was made: that he would someday have a student with the power to save or destroy the world. Several years later he met Nagato, a boy Jiraiya assumed to be the subject of the prophecy and thus trained him to be the world's savior. Believing Pain to be the very same child he trained and thought to have died, Jiraiya tries to kill his student to prevent the world's destruction before being overwhelmed by the Six Paths. At the battle's conclusion Jiraiya realizes that he was mistaken; Naruto was actually the boy foretold in the prophecy. Due to this, and remembering that it was his first novel that inspired his student Minato to name his son Naruto, making Jiraiya the godfather, that gave Jiraiya the courage to get up and write one last message. Before succumbing to his fatal wounds, Jiraiya sends the secret behind Pain's Paths and identity to Naruto and the rest of Konoha. His hint: The real one is not among them. He then dies without regret; knowing that he did all he could for the future hero of the world.
Appearances in other media
Jiraiya is a playable character in most Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja seriesNaruto: Clash of Ninja (series)
The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series, known in Japan as , is a series of 3D cel-shaded fighting games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. They are developed by Eighting and published by D3 Publisher and Tomy. Various installments of the series have appeared on both...
and the Ultimate Ninja series
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (series)
The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, known in Japan as the , is a series of fighting games, based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, for the PlayStation 2. They were developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai...
, as well as Path of the Ninja series. In the first game of the Ultimate Ninja, he only appears as a support to Naruto during his special techniques. In the Path of the Ninja RPG series he is a character who can be spoken to, for information and support. Since Ultimate Ninja 2, he is an available character and has been given variations of the Rasengan, fire techniques, and toads summoning techniques; in Path of the Ninja 2 he is not only a character in the storyline, but a "secret" acquirable character, that can be added to your team as a fully active member. Jiraiya not only has his commonly known jutsus such as Rasengan - Spiral Chakra Sphere and Needle Jizo (protective hair spikes), but the ability to summon any toad to fight in place of the team, thereby gaining the use of all the toads' special attacks and jutsus, like Tongue Whip, and Giant Blade. Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX marks the first appearance of Jiraiya in a video game set in Part II, with the second one being Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel. Jiraiya only appears in the third original video animation, but he does not take a big role. Jiraiya makes an appearance so far in only two Naruto films, Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds
Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds
is the fifth overall Naruto film, and is the second Naruto: Shippūden film. It was released on August 2, 2008. The movie was announced in Weekly Shōnen Jump along with the DVD release date for the first Shippūden movie. Additionally, the teaser trailer for the second movie was aired with Naruto:...
and Naruto Shippūden 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire.
Reception
Jiraiya has appeared in several of the main Shōnen Jump popularity polls. In the second and third he ranked in the top ten. In the fourth poll he ranked at 11th. In the last poll conducted in 2011, Jiraiya was placed 16th. Merchandise based on Jiraiya has also been released, including key chains, action figures, and his headband.Several reviewers for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have provided praise and criticism on Jiraiya's character. Matt Shingleton praised the character as the greatest character Masashi Kishimoto has ever created in this series. They note that besides the fact he fills the comical pervert archetype he is one of the strongest characters in the series and just about everything about him is rough and unpredictable. Davey Jones remarked Jiraiya’s training with Naruto as good comic relief and noted how similar both of these characters are. Justin Rich also praises Jiraiya’s introduction in the series noting him to be a very funny character. Jason Van Horn of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
commented on his relationships with Naruto Uzumaki that "they share so much in common".