'Naruto' Fans Weigh in on That Big LGBTQ Orochimaru Reveal

Naruto knows how to make a fuss, and the franchise has passed that onto its latest project, Boruto. It may be less than two years old at this point, but the anime has dropped some big bombshells. Few of them, however, have caught the kind of attention Orochimaru's did recently.

For those unaware, the well-known villain stunned fans when he appeared in Boruto to train his son. Mitsuki had to ask Orochimaru if he should refer to his parent as mom or dad, so the older ninja decided it was time to drop some woke words.

"Are you my father or mother? What should I put down," Mitsuki asked.

"That's a silly question," Orochimaru answered. "There have been times when I was a man and times a woman. Outside appearances don't matter. The will to uncover all truth, that is the core of my being."

Yes, that's right. It seems like Orochimaru has little interest subscribing to the gender binary. The villain is fine living a non-binary life, and the big reveal had fans worldwide giving the guy a standing ovation... even if he is responsible for killing the Third Hokage.

As you can see below, the recent episode stirred up lots of conversation, and fans are revisiting Naruto to detail Orochimaru's past. Of course, audiences can see why the character might not view himself as either a male or female; he's taken on both genders physically through his Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. In the past, Orochimaru has stolen various male corpses to prolong his own life, but he's also used female bodies. And, after all these years, Orochimaru has found he cares very little about the social binary that separates the two genders.

For those unfamiliar with Naruto, it has quite a storied history. Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, the series ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows Naruto, a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.

So, how do you feel about this revelation? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Yup. It's canon, guys!

So uh...I guess Orochimaru is canonically non-binary now? #BORUTO
— Jairus Infinity@SaveNetNeutrality (@Divinenega) August 2, 2018

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Boruto: The Work Generation

I'm honestly pleased.. Naruto wasn't exactly pushing the bar for how well it treated its women, and it's plot was classic zero-to-hero shonen stuff. But Boruto deals with strained parental relationships, exploitative labour practices & now a casual inclusiveness of all genders.
— Mr Sneebs (@UncleAsriel) August 2, 2018

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Surprise...? Yeah, surprise!

this is good, if surprising
Taking the queer-code villain and actually making them meaningfully queer (and also not a villain)? Damn. That's good.
— It's a Mia (@UnicodeTBD) August 2, 2018

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Orochimaru don't got time for binaries

I’m watching the latest episode of Boruto and Mitsuki asks Orochumaru if he should put down if they’re his Mother or Father and this is what happened. ????
— D.J. @ FlameCon Q127 ?️‍? (@OhHeyDJ) August 3, 2018

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The guy still got it

Orochimaru, the most gender fuild anime character to ever exist. Mans been gay, bi, a man, a women, etc and will beat yo ass
— Hiei ? (@xhin7) August 2, 2018

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