For quite some time now, Creed III director and star Michael B. Jordan has been very open about his love for anime. The star has talked about how he brought that love for anime into the Faith sequel style, and now that it is playing in theaters, fans have been able to see how much anime influence has been brought into the film.
To kick things off, designer and concept artist Raphael Phillips took to Twitter to reveal that Adonis Creed’s briefs in the sequel took inspiration from Akira Shōtarō Kaneda’s iconic red jacket.
The massive gut-punch that Creed takes from Dame in the final battle is reminiscent of many anime-like strikes that leave the recipient breathless – especially since the particular angle of the camera – but a special use of this attack comes in the form of Goku’s Meteor. Smash against Frieza.
One of the most memorable moments from that final fight was the symmetrical punch that Dame and Creed exchanged – a moment that can be seen in several anime, but was especially proven by Jordan referring to Naruto and Sasuke’s own exchange of punches. . That said, it also appears in Dragon Ball Super and in series like A fairy and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5 days.
The star and director also said that “the gap,” the scene in the final fight where Creed and Dame are suddenly in an empty stadium of sorts, is “the biggest anime swing” a he took Jordan made a special comparison between the moment and the scene inside Naruto: Shippuden where Naruto’s rival, Sasuke Uchiha, first meets the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon Kurama within Naruto. Jordan said the scene in particular made him think, “Oh man, that would be dope, if I could figure out a way to get these two guys into a gap, and that’s where they really get their last battle. “
Even outside of these larger thematic references, Adonis’s childhood room at the beginning of the film is filled with anime paraphernalia. From Lupine the Third, Narutoand Robotech posters to Gundam models, it’s clear that Jordan loves all kinds of different anime of different eras and genres.
Taking anime themes and imagery and turning them into a feature film in a way that is accessible to non-anime fans is no easy feat, but Michael B. Jordan has pulled it off and created a film that uses the best and most recognizable anime tropes. very much. Now we have to wait and see if Adonis gets a JoJo Stand in Christ IV.
