Naruto manga reveals shocking flaw in Jiraiya's character throughout the anime

While it has been a while since Jiraiya's passing in the Naruto: Shippuden anime, Studio Pierrot made a significant mistake in animating him. In the anime, Jiraiya was depicted with a wart on the side of his nose, but this is not accurate.

Jiraiya, one of the three Legendary Sannins, fought and survived a great battle against Hanzo of the Salamander. According to a prophecy, Jiraiya was destined to train the world's savior. Throughout his life, he acted as a mentor to two exceptional students, Nagato and Naruto. As fate would have it, Naruto defeated Nagato and emerged as the savior of his village, ultimately saving all shinobi.

How did Naruto anime fail Jiraiya?

Jiraiya as seen in the Naruto anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Jiraiya's initial introduction in the series revealed a noticeable wart on the side of his nose. Fans of the franchise are aware that the Mangaka Masashi Kishimoto incorporates specific details into characters for significant reasons. This is evident in the cases of Itachi and Kakashi.

Itachi Uchiha's face displayed distinct stress marks. Throughout his early life, Itachi faced the hardships of war and eventually carried out the extermination of his clan before affiliating with a terrorist group. Such traumatic experiences are bound to leave their mark in the form of stress lines.

Kakashi Hatake, as depicted in the Naruto anime (Image via Studio Pierrot), possessed a distinctive scar over his eye and an unusual characteristic of the Sharingan, despite not belonging to the Uchiha clan. It was later revealed that his eye was injured during a mission, leading to Obito Uchiha bestowing him with the Sharingan. This revelation serves as evidence that Masashi Kishimoto had deliberate motives for incorporating specific elements into the design of his characters.

So, why did he choose to adorn Jiraiya's nose with a wart? While it's true that the Toad Sage was older than most characters in the series, he was still in his 50s, an unconventional age for developing warts. In reality, Jiraiya possessed a youthful spirit, always pursuing romantic encounters and enjoying their company. Therefore, it was perplexing why he wouldn't address this growth, as it could potentially hinder his appeal to the opposite sex.

Jiraiya showcasing the mastery of Sage Jutsu in the Naruto: Shippuden anime (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Despite the existence of medical procedures and surgeries in Naruto's world, Jiraiya never had his wart removed, causing speculation that he did not care about his appearance. However, this is not true as Jiraiya did value his appearance. Although he had been a part of the franchise for a long time, he only used his Sage Mode when fighting Pain because he disliked how it made him look. This indicates that Jiraiya did care about his looks. So, why did he choose to keep his wart?

Contrary to popular belief, Jiraiya did not have a wart on his nose, but rather a stylish piercing. In the original manga, Masashi Kishimoto depicted Jiraiya with a small circular accessory adorning his nose. However, the anime adaptation by Studio Pierrot mistakenly portrayed it as a wart. The evidence lies within Naruto Volume 19, where the silver circle on Jiraiya's nose clearly signifies a piercing, not a wart.

Jiraiya's desire to appear youthful and attract women would have made the piercing a perfect fit for his personality. Unfortunately, the anime inaccurately depicted him with a wart, contradicting the original intention of the Mangaka.