What Would Naruto be Without the Kunai?

Two of the most popular types of replica are video game swords and movie swords. Fans of the wildly popular anime series Naruto can get the best of both worlds by having kunai knives in their collection. The kunai is a staple of the series Naruto. The various ninja in the series have unique trademark styles and weapons. The only thing that each and every character is sure to have hidden on his or her body is the trusty kunai. This makes the kunai the most basic building block of the weaponry in the series, and therefore the basis of any good collection that pays due homage to the genre.

Kunai are one of the many weapons that were developed from common tools. Not really a knife, kunai were originally used during the Tensho era in Japan. They were a tool most commonly used by people involved in gardening and masonry. Made of wrought iron, the kunai edges weren't sharp. The tip was ground to a fine point. The tool was utilized like a trowel would be, to dig into packed earth or to smash into plaster or wood, or as a pry-bar. The tool was designed with a loop at the back end to enable a rope to be tied to it. This furthered the usefulness of the tool by allowing it to be used as a piton or anchor. Additionally, the rope loop could be used to attach the kunai to your body the way a carabiner might be used today.

Eventually, ninja developed techniques that utilized the kunai as a weapon. While exaggerated legend contributes to the image of kunai being interchangeble with shuriken as a thrown weapon, in reality the tool was more of a substitute for a knife with throwing being a last-resort tactic. The reason this tool was perfect as a covert weapon is that it was mass produced and cheap. As weapons were forbidden, carrying a common tool like the kunai was something that wouldn't necessarily considered arming yourself. In similar fashion today, carrying a large hunting knife would get you arrested in most public places today, but possessing a large screwdriver wouldn't occasion much attention at all.

The anime series Naruto has taken the world by storm. The popularity of the animated series includes TV series, movies, and video games. While the lead character Naruto is the driving force behind the action of the series, the kunai is the trademark weapon of the ninja in the series. These tools are the glue that hold the ninja together as a collective; the point of commonality that keeps the various clans and villages from being, for all intents and purposes, different species. Without a single, uniting tool or technique, the word "ninja" would be meaningless to the series. The importance of this small tool can be seen as in any ninja battle in the series, kunai are the first and sometimes last option for defense.

Anime series require "branding" to stick in the minds of people. Someone wanting to be like Naruto can't make duplicates of himself, leap buildings, or use any of the other fantastic powers the ninja posess in the series. Video game swords and movie swords are a way we mortal men can tie ourselves to our favorite characters and be our own heroes.

BladeMaster Steve is a staff writer at HeavenlySwords.com, your online retailer and importer of high quality video game swords. For great deals on movie swords visit them today!