“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto” Issue 1 Review – Exceeded My Expectations!

From writer Caleb Goellner and artist Hendry Prasetya, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto issue 1 served as a highly enjoyable first chapter in a very surprising crossover between two globally iconic ninja-centric IPs.

One of the things I was most interested in knowing was how the creative team would join the TMNT and Naruto franchises. Was interdimensional travel going to be involved with certain characters from the TMNT world being sent to the Naruto realm, or vice versa? Well, it turns out that both worlds could co-exist.

The first issue opened with Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno being tasked with escorting reporter April O’Neil to her home in… wait for it… Big Apple Village. Ha!

I was not expecting such a mashup at all and you know what? I’m so here for TMNT characters simply going about their lives in a corner of the Naruto universe. It makes things a lot more exciting than the need for April or the turtles wanting to return to their dimension by the end of such a miniseries.

The story’s also set in a timeline where a young Sasuke’s still part of Team 7 and Sakura’s undergoing Tsunade’s training to harness her chakra-enhanced strength and medical ninjutsu skills. I was kind of worried we would get a pre-Tsunade-training Sakura. So, I’m glad the pink-haired ninja was able to hold her own when facing powerful opponents. As a Sakura fan, I want her Perfect Chakra control to play a role down the line. But I would understand if that didn’t happen.

It’s revealed that April met with Hokage Tsunade because she was seeking information from a ninja biology expert such as Tsunade for a news story involving experimental science. Apparently, Dr. Baxter was working on creating bio-mutants. Of course, the possibility of someone conducting nefarious experiments to create such mutant ninjas resonated with Sasuke due to his recent encounter with Orochimaru. Naruto could also relate due to being the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Beast Kurama.

April’s interest caught the attention of the Foot Clan, and that’s the first group in the debut issue that tried to take her away from Kakashi and Team 7. Kurama stating that the Foot Clan member with a fox tail was a “fake” made me instantly remember the villain from the Sakura Hiden novel creating pills to achieve pseudo-Jinchuriki power.

However, before Team 7 could battle the Foot Clan, Master Splinter and the turtles showed up to “rescue” April.

I liked how messy April was during the confrontation between the good guys after the turtles made the Foot Clan retreat. Instead of clearing the air about not being in any sort of danger from Team 7, she let the two teams battle it out because she wanted to record some good footage. And of course, for storytelling reasons, Goellner wanted a way for the readers to enjoy such a fight.

I enjoyed how Goellner handled the dynamics between each team member as well as against their opponents. Leonardo went for Sasuke because he considered the young ninja as the “leader” after sensing Sasuke’s need for pure vengeance. Leonardo’s need to fight to protect his brothers was in sharp contrast to Sasuke’s need to kill his brother Itachi.

Raphael exchanged blows with Sakura. Raphael avoiding a direct hit from Sakura’s punch even though he had a shell made sense. The last thing anyone wanted was to take on Sakura’s punch head-on. Even extremely powerful opponents from the Naruto franchise either dodged her attack or somehow managed to avoid the hit.

Donatello and Michelangelo took on Naruto and his Shadow Clones while Kakashi faced off with Master Splinter. The two Masters commented on how the opposing team was powerful but lacked polish.

I liked how Goellner added a bit of humor during the battle as said comedic style fit with both the Naruto and TMNT brands.

The conflict concluded with Kakashi revealing his Sharingan and using his impressive speed to take off the masks being worn by Splinter and his sons. Kakashi, recognizing and calling Splinter by his human name Hamato Yoshi, indicated a past of mutual respect between the two. So, I’m looking forward to learning more about their connection.

As for the art, with Naruto being a popular manga by Masashi Kishimoto, I think artist Prasetya and color artist Raul Angulo did an impressive job of depicting an art style that fit both IPs. It’s quite colorful and retains certain manga-style sensibilities.

All in all, TMNT x Naruto issue 1 exceeded my already high expectations. I want the second chapter in my hands right now!

What did you think of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto issue 1?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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