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Imagine this: it’s the early 2000s. You’re still in school. You rush home and turn on the TV. Your mother is calling you to shower, freshen up, and eat something first. But you can’t take your eyes off the TV screen. You’re watching your favourite anime series on Cartoon Network Toonami: Naruto.
At a time when we are all feeling a wave of nostalgia for those halcyon days of the early 2000s, the limited edition Mokobara x Naruto Edit emerges as an homage to this cornerstone of Otaku culture. Each piece is a thoughtful nod to the iconic anime series that centred around friendship, perseverance, and #goingplaces. The Moko x Naruto Transit Backpack — the first launch of the series — draws directly from the distinct visual language of the iconic Japanese manga about the orphaned young Shinobi and his hero’s journey. If you revisit the slice-of-life episodes, you'll find that underneath the plot lies a life celebrating friendship and the journeys beyond.
Brushstrokes inspired by Masashi Kishimoto’s hand-drawn panels of the manga ripple across every surface of the Moko x Naruto Transit Backpack. At first glance, the brush stroke effect catches your eye — it's manga come to life. But look closer, and you’ll see the magic in the finer details you discover over time, like clan emblems on the exterior and hidden messages. Every detail is a deliberate nod to the craft that makes manga such a powerful medium. Unlike usual merch plastered with character decals, this collection speaks an understated language that true fans of anime will understand and appreciate.
This attention to detail is what sets Mokobara — India’s leading travel and lifestyle brand — a class apart. Mokobara elevates everyday carry into the realm of collectibles through these finer details. From clan emblems to hidden messages, the closer you get the more the pack reveals.
For many younger millennials and older Gen-Z, Naruto was their first foray into the enchanting world of Japanese animation, also known as anime. Long before Comic Cons and Otaku meet-ups became mainstream and commonplace in India, Naruto was the catalyst that initiated India’s long, slow romance with anime.
After its television debut in 2005, Naruto gained a massive fanbase in India, leading to the release of its sequel, ‘Naruto: Shippuden’, in 2007. Compelling characters like Naruto Uzumaki, the eponymous young Shinobi who dreams of becoming the Hokage like his martyred father; Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s competitor and later friend; Sakura Haruno, Naruto’s companion and later love-interest; and their Sensei, or teacher, the elite ninja Kakashi Hatake; the team’s epic battle set-pieces and grand adventures; and gripping storylines that celebrated the characters’ unique backstories, struggles, and personal growth made Naruto extremely popular with young Indians who identified with Naruto’s perseverance, loneliness, and yearning for acceptance.
Anime's influence in India has evolved from niche to noteworthy since then, and Naruto has been a huge part of India’s ever-growing Otaku culture. Naruto's triumphant return to our screens on Sony YAY! quickly garnered 5 million views, while the theatrical release of ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ in 2022 generated 1.8 crore in sales on opening day alone, reaffirming that the Otaku community in India has grown from passionate forum discussions to a full-blown cultural movement. This cultural shift mirrors a global trend in fashion where streetwear and luxury increasingly share the same space.
For the generations that grew up with both travel Pinterest boards and anime streaming tabs open, this collaboration doesn't just make sense — it feels inevitable. With this drop, Mokobara has not only created a line of products that pay homage to Naruto — they've captured a moment where pop culture, travel, and nostalgia intersect perfectly. In making anime references that whisper rather than shout, Mokobara might just have created this season's most interesting conversation piece. But this isn't a call to ‘build your legacy’. It's about finding magic in the mundane, to ‘just keep swimming’ — an idea at the core of everything Mokobara does.
To mark the launch of the Moko x Naruto Transit Backpack, Mokobara transformed their Comic-Con booth into the iconic Ichiraku Ramen Shop from the series. The pop-up showcased the limited edition Naruto collection in a space that fans could recognise instantly. Between Naruto's epic battles and grand adventures, there were always those quiet moments of life — sharing ramen at Ichiraku’s, lazy afternoons in Konoha, and friendships that felt unbreakable. The Mokobara x Naruto Edit captured exactly that spirit — finding extraordinary magic in everyday moments.
“Ichiraku Ramen Shop is at the heart of so many memorable Naruto moments,” Rumman Rizvi, Founding Member at Mokobara, explained. “We wanted to bring that same magic to Comic-Con as we introduce our collection.”
The booth offered fans a chance to experience the collection in a setting that felt like home to any Naruto enthusiast who grew up believing in their own ninja ways. This wasn’t just another product launch — it was a chance to carry a piece of that world with you. And for Mokobara x Naruto, like any good anime, it was just the beginning.
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