While the Anime wave has only now become the talk of the town, with every major platform identifying it as a major moneymaker, the real ones have known its brilliance from long before. One in particular that proved to be a ringer not only in the anime community but also worldwide is Naruto. Its success cannot be attributed to the anime wave that ensued after the pandemic because it had been an all-time favorite from long before. So much so that even The Simpsons could not help but reference it.

A fate common among most successful animes is that they are often westernized. Be it as live-action spin-offs with all-American actors or completely ruining the plotline if they manage to get the casting right. However, that was not the case with Naruto. It got westernized in the best way possible, as The Simpsons was the one to do it.

Naruto fans give a nod of approval to The Simpsons

What Naruto is for anime fans, The Simpsons is for fans of American animated sitcoms. It can never be overtaken, nor can it be replaced. This is only the tip of why The Simpsons referencing Naruto was iconic. In Season 26 Episode 4, which happened to be a part of the ‘Treehouse of Horror’ series for the animated sitcom, the animated show referenced several fan-favorite animes.

The Simpsons characters were dressed as fan-favorite anime heroes and met with claymation animated Simpsons.

Bart was dressed as Naruto, Homer was dressed as Roronoa Zoro from One Piece, Marge appeared as Rangiku from Bleach, Lisa as Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan, Maggie as Pikachu from Pokémon, and Santa’s Little Helper as Haku from Spirited Away.

The Simpsons and its love for anime references

The animated sitcom is known for its point on references to pop culture moments that grab everyone by the jugular. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that the sitcom has been taking notes from animes.

One of the most cherished references was the Hayao Miyazaki tribute in the Married to the Blob episode, released in 2014. While The Simpsons is a regular at referencing animes, it is not the only popular American animation to do so. From Ben 10 to South Park and Steven Universe, they all love it.

Which anime reference did you enjoy the most in an American series? Let us know in the comments below.