Jiraiya

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This article is about the folk ninja featured in Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari. For the ninja of the same name featured in Naruto, see Jiraiya (Naruto). For the tokusatsu series, see Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya.

Jiraiya , with a heavy gun, overcoming a huge Snake which has preyed on his friends the Toads.

Jiraiya (児雷也 - literally "young thunder"), the title character of the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari (児雷也豪傑物語, "The tale of the gallant Jiraiya"), is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. The heir of a powerful clan in Kyūshū of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade, a beautiful young princess who masters snail magic. His arch-enemy was his one-time follower, Orochimaru, who mastered in snake magic.

[edit] Influences on Fiction

Akimitsu Takagi's detective novel The Tattoo Murder Case uses the character representations in tattoos worn by three of the main characters: Kinue Nomura (Orochimaru, the snake), her brother Tsunetaro (Jiraiya, the frog) and sister Tamae (Tsunade, the slug; translated as Tsunade-hime), all set within a series of murders that takes all three's lives.

Naruto, a popular manga and anime television series, involves powerful ninjas named Jiraiya and Tsunade, who fight against Orochimaru, a ninja turned evil. To assist in their battles, Tsunade summons a giant slug, Jiraiya summons a giant toad, and Orochimaru summons a giant snake.

In the video game Tales of Phantasia, Suzu Fujibayashi has a move called Jiraiya in which she summons a giant toad. Similarly, he is the namesake of a number of regular enemies in Shin Megami Tensei II who serve as members of the Gaia cult.

In the tokusatsu movie The Magic Serpent, Jiraiya (also known as Ikazuchi-Maru) was the protagonist. He and his arch-nemesis Orochimaru transform into two daikaiju, a toad and Oriental dragon, respectively, and have a duel to the death.

In the tokusatsu superhero series Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya, Jiraiya is the protagonist of the series. A Japanese professional wrestler uses the Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya character appearance as his gimmick.

In the tokusatsu superhero series Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, NinjaBlack's civilian name is Jiraiya , and his "Beast Generals" are both toad-based.

In the first game of the Tengai Makyou video game series, the three main characters are named Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru; the latter is not portrayed as an enemy.