Naruto has become one of the most popular series to date (despite its annoying catch phrase). What could be the opposite of Naruto? That’d be the series “O-parts Hunterâ€, aka, “Satan 666″.
Seishi Kishimoto is the artist on the spot today since he’s living in his twin brother’s shadow. His brother is Masashi Kishimoto, the famous artist responsible for Naruto and the thousands of cosplayers spawned from it. After his brother started Naruto, Seishi decided to create his own manga. Living in his brother’s shadow, however, may force his work to go unnoticed.
The story for O-parts Hunters starts with Jio; a young boy who just wants to conquer the world. Why conqueror the world? Because people will have to like Jio if he’s the ruler of the world.
In his quest for world domination, Jio meets a girl named Ruby Crescent. Ruby is searching for the ancient O-parts; artifacts which hold great power for those who can control them.
Soon after meeting Jio, Ruby hires him to protect her from other people who are also in search of the O-parts. In the midst of performing his body guard duties for Ruby, a great battle occurs, awakening a demon inside of Jio.
This unexpected event threatens Jio’s happiness and peace. The awakened demon within Jio is none other than Lucifer himself, but he prefers the name Satan. Jio has a hard time ahead of him since he’ll be struggling with all kinds of demons; physical and metaphorical.
O-parts Hunters is similar to the Naruto series, but only in regards to the skeleton of the story. It’s actually different from Naruto on many levels.
I believe this series is more entertaining than Naruto because of its stronger response to Jio’s personal struggle. I especially appreciate the creative science involved with the O-part weapons and the characters that use them. I appreciate them because of how well they compliment each other.
Visually, Seishi’s art is somewhat similar to his brother’s. However, that’s not what came to mind when I first laid eyes on it. What first came to mind for me is Akira Toriyama, the artist that made the smash hit, Dragon Ball Z. Despite this, I like it for its simple style and child-like attitude which makes me feel young again.
What’s an artist to do when his brother gets all the attention? Only time will tell if Masashi’s Naruto will stay as popular as it is today or if his brother’s creation, Jio, will take the lead.
