Warning: This article contains spoilers for Creed III.
Michael B. Jordan has finally made his long-awaited directorial debut with Creed III, the third film in the Rocky-adjacent series. Like the first two films, Creed III focuses on Adonis Creed (played by Jordan), the son of Rocky Balboa’s late rival Apollo Creed. After retiring from boxing to focus on his family, Adonis encounters a ghost from his past in the form of his childhood friend Damian Anderson (played by Jonathan Majors, of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fame). The two inevitably battle in the ring, venting their pent-up emotions in a way that should feel familiar to fans of anime like Naruto.
It’s no secret that Jordan is a huge anime fan, even outfitting Creed’s childhood room with references to shows like Lupin the Third and Naruto, so it should come as no surprise that he found ways to utilize his encyclopedic knowledge of anime to inform his directing decisions on Creed III. In an interview with Polygon, Jordan details some of the ways his favorite series influenced how he approached directing his first feature-length film. He even shared his passion with Majors so they could be on the same page when it came to their big fight.
We’ve attempted to catalog all the anime Jordan used as inspiration for Creed III and came up with a list of 10 that helped shape the boxing film.
Naruto Shippuden
Jordan admitted the final fight scene in Creed III was heavily inspired by Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle in Naruto Shippuden. While many online believed Creed and Damien’s relationship was more similar to Kakashi and Obito (as both Obito and Damien were believed essentially dead by their former best friends), Jordan says Naruto and Sasuke’s brotherly friendship influenced the way he shot the scene.
He says in the Polygon interview, “The fight between Creed and Damian had to be an even battle, and in an emotionally high place where these two men were both baring their souls to one another. The emotional level they were at, where they were coming at it from, the emotions between those two characters. That was the moment I leaned into with that scene from Naruto.”
Dragon Ball Z
The same fight scene shared similarities with Dragon Ball Z, another of Jordan’s favorites. The rivalry and friendship between Goku and Vegeta shares similarities with Creed and Damien’s own. While many believed a punch in the two boxers’ final fight was a reference to Dragon Ball Z, Jordan actually attributes that shot to Naruto. Instead, the director was inspired by Goku’s perseverance in the face of an obstacle.
“I think that resilience, that never-give-up attitude is what I connect with, and I dig that,” Jordan explained. “I think the unassuming nature of Goku, his disarming nature combined with his ability to be ready for whatever happens when his back is against the wall, is really inspiring. He always steps up to whatever challenge.”
My Hero Academia
When fleshing out the relationship between Creed and Damien, Jordan thought of anime like My Hero Academia. Like a lot of shonen anime, Deku and Bakugo are childhood friends who have an intense rivalry but the comparison is more than that; their temperaments and relationship dynamic mirrors that of Creed and Damien. In a world where people have super-powered quirks, Deku is quirkless while Bakugo has a powerful quirk he’s sure will help him achieve his dream of becoming a full-fledged superhero. He is brash and prone to violence while Deku is more composed but quietly holds onto a similar dream of his own. When Deku suddenly gets his own quirk, Bakugo reacts by becoming jealous and combative, feeling as if Deku upset the balance and stole his dream. Damien similarly feels resentment toward Creed’s success, feeling it was never meant to be his.
Full Metal Alchemist
Jordan also looked at the relationship between the brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. These two have a much healthier relationship than most of the others on this list but like most brothers, they don’t always get along. The two have a few arguments throughout the series, mostly due to their own projected insecurities, but they ultimately love and rely each other. After they committed the ultimate taboo of alchemy, Al lost his entire body and Ed lost his right arm and left leg, leaving Al’s consciousness attached to a suit of armor and Ed with metal prosthetic limbs. The two have no choice but to help each other in this rough time, and we can see how Creed and Damien’s relationship as children was influenced by Ed and Al.
Megalobox
While speaking with IGN, Jordan referenced boxing anime like Megalobox as inspiration for the fight scenes in Creed III. We can see the influence not only in the way the fight scenes are shot — the closeups on boxing gloves before they hit their targets, the way the stage background is almost entirely blacked out so we focus on the two in the ring — but in Damien’s character as well. Like Damien, Megalobox‘s protagonist, a boxer who only goes by his stage name Junk Dog, fights dirty in the ring as he solely focuses on beating his rival. Junk Dog and Damien will do whatever it takes both in the ring and out of it, even if it means legitimately harming their opponents.
Jujutsu Kaisen
In the Polygon interview, Toussaint Egan pointed out the final fight’s location of Dodgers Stadium seemed like a nod to Jujutsu Kaisen‘s concept of domain expansion, where jujutsu users trap their opponents in a space where their own abilities are boosted. Jordan admitted the comparison was unintentional, but told Egan, “This is why I love anime because after watching a lot of anime, your mind will go to those comparisons, and now you can put those things together and make it personal for you.” While it may not have been deliberate, we think Jordan’s use of parallaxing shots (described as shots where “the camera is in motion while the subject and background appear to be moving at different speeds”) can be attributed to anime like Jujutsu Kaisen.
Blue Lock
Jordan mentioned he’s currently watching Blue Lock, an intense sports anime about soccer players competing for the chance to play on Japan’s national team, and cited the character development and training sequences as inspiration for Creed III. He says, Blue Lock is “all about the ego of these characters, them developing their skills, and devouring different styles and defeating others in order to evolve and grow.” We can see some of Damien’s ruthlessness in some of the more competitive characters and the stakes feel familiar. For Damien and many of the Blue Lock characters, this sport feels like their only shot at their dream lives.
Hajime no Ippo
There’s no doubt in our minds, Jordan was inspired by Hajime no Ippo‘s fight scenes in Creed III. While it only aired for a couple seasons, Hajime no Ippo is a classic sports anime and arguably the most popular boxing anime of all time. In an interview with Total Film magazine, Jordan tells the publication, “With boxing anime like Hajime no Ippo, I really love the inner dialogue of what’s going on and happening in the ring from the characters.” The fight scenes in Creed III couldn’t rely on inner dialogue alone, and Jordan had to get creative with capturing shots that would show the audience what the characters were thinking before they acted on the thought.
Akira
One seemingly unrelated anime inspired some of Creed III‘s best costume choices. According to Raphael Phillips, a visual effects artist who worked on films like Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok, he worked with costume designer Lizz Wolf to pitch Jordan some anime-inspired boxing shorts for the film. According to a tweet from Phillips, Wolf (who’s worked on films like Jupiter’s Legacy) suggested, “Michael loves anime so much, what if we pitch him some Akira inspired shorts?” Jordan reportedly loved the idea, and Creed ended up with boxing shorts that honored Akira protagonist Kaneda.
Naruto
While it might feel redundant, we felt both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden earned a spot on this list. Naruto is one of Jordan’s favorite anime, and he was inspired by both series when making Creed III. If not for their friendship as young teenagers, Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle would lack the emotional impact it has later on in Naruto Shippuden, and Jordan says (via Polygon), “The bonds and relationships of Naruto are what speak to me.” If Naruto does one thing right, it’s how great the characters interact with each other and the personal obstacles they overcome to achieve their goals. In Jordan’s opinion, the show is about the promises characters make and “the importance of keeping your promises; of being able to say, “I’m sorry”; the importance of the bonds and friendships you make when you’re coming up.” This theme is at the core of Creed III, and both Creed and Damien realize the importance of the promises they made to each other in their childhood.
You can watch Creed III in theaters now.