«Must have been an Uchiha»: Naruto’s Hidden Leaf Symbol Gets Mistaken for ‘Nationalist’ Propaganda

A 'Nationalist Propaganda' callout on a Naruto fan for wearing the Hidden Leaf symbol breaks the fandom into laughter, while also reminding a bitter past.

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On a recent thread in the Naruto subreddit, a fan posted a photo and shared his experience of being called out in public for carrying a ‘Nationalist’ propaganda. While reviewing the image (on Reddit), it clearly seemed that the logo on his cap was nothing but the Hidden Leaf Village symbol:

A random person yelled at me for wearing a “nationalist” symbol on my hat.
byu/moonsora inNaruto

While it was brushed off as a silly ‘Nationalist Propaganda’ joke among the fandom community on Reddit, the quote still holds a deeper meaning if we consider the narrative. Nevertheless, the experience was just a comment made by an unaware individual.

How Fans Trolled Naruto‘s Mistaken ‘Nationalist Propaganda’ Joke

The Naruto fandom has been on the case ever since the thread was posted on the r/Naruto subreddit by user @moonsora. While many of them shrugged it off as just a misunderstanding from an unaware individual, others pounced on the opportunity to crack jokes about it. Many of them started to claim the citizen as a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Given the narrative’s portrayal of Hidden Leaf Village’s hatred towards the Uchiha Clan, the jokes were not entirely out of the blue. As we know by now, the Clan was constantly under surveillance, given the potential threat they carried with the Sharingan, to the point where Itachi completely massacred it under Hiruzen and Danzo’s orders.

The growing tension between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Uchiha Clan was particularly notable during the era of the Second Hokage, Tobirama, as a few fans mentioned. Nevertheless, here is what fans have to say about the absurd claim of ‘Nationalist Propaganda’ faced by @moonsora:

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byu/moonsora from discussion
inNaruto

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byu/moonsora from discussion
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While it is evident that the incident heavily amused the fandom and didn’t shy away from showing their sense of humor, if we really think about it, the Hidden Leaf Village was actually portrayed in a Nationalist ideological-light by Kishimoto partially.

Hidden Leaf Is Not ‘Nationalist’, You Just Live Under a Rock

Calling the Hidden Leaf Village or any other anime-related narrative ‘Nationalist Propaganda’ has become a recent trend among people who fail to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction. With several examples throughout the series, there is no evidence that the Hidden Leaf village was nationalist, but rather proven otherwise.

If the Hidden Leaf Village were truly a nationalist nation, one of the most historical and significant parts of the story would have never occurred: the Shinobi Alliance. Why would a nationalist nation want to ally itself with others? Furthermore, the village protected itself from several external threats like Pain’s invasion. The distinction between the real world and the fictional world and their issues should always be maintained.

The act of labeling anime series with the ‘Nationalist Propaganda’ tag is not just a one-time thing, but is a recurring instance with several other titles. Series like Attack on Titan, with the world-building and politics, and the World Government plot of One Piece – all of these have been labeled multiple times, which is actually unnecessary and takes away from the narrative.

What are your thoughts on the Reddit post and the fandom reactions? Do you think the Hidden Leaf Village was truly redeemed by Naruto? Let us know your opinions in the comments below.

All Episodes of the Naruto anime series are available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

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