Darlene ChaniMaya Postma

Once up on a time, my good friend Matt told me his approach to naming his role-playing game characters.

Across all RPGs, Matt uses his given name in character creation whenever possible. This results in a Dark Elf named Matt, a Tarnished named Matt, or… a shinobi named Matt. I admire Matt’s commitment to rejecting the escapist fantasy premise offered by games in favor of his own name. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Please welcome our newest heroes: Saeldir Bracegirdle, Thandirion the Bold, and Matt.

Generic fantasy MMORPG new member announcement.

I am a monogamous weeb for Naruto. Naruto remains the only Japanese series to have such impact on me – no surprise, considering the longevity and relevance of Naruto today.

Although it had been available in China 3 years prior, Naruto Online (Naruto’s official MMORPG) came to the West in July 2016. At one time the prospect of a Naruto MMORPG would have caused all my creative faculties to slam into overdrive. I would have diligently worked on my character’s backstory, clan abilities, and connection to the canon universe. For some, this is the allure of an RPG – to create a version of oneself immersed perfectly into that world.

For some reason, I took a leaf out of Matt’s book when creating my Naruto Online character.

Take a look at any Naruto fantasy name generator to get a sense of what most Naruto Online players might be going by: names like Kurichi Yakasho, Kunari Narusai, or Mitsuzaka Munemuku

Instead of a universe-appropriate name, or a variation canon name, I went for the common English male name “Matt.”

To my glee, it was available.

So, here stands Matt the shinobi. He is a little nervous, having just started ninja school. He is surrounded by such Konoha luminaries as Yujilnuzuka, or RyuJinMaru.

Matt was the strong, silent protagonist. He raced through the single-player campaign, arms outstretched behind him. Multiplayer dungeons were delightfully overwhelming. Eventually, the gacha elements of the game turned me off and I stopped playing. I recall row after row of dailies, events, and currencies filling up on the home screen with distracting icons.

Although I haven’t played Naruto Online since 2016, every once in a while I find the above image and it gives me a chuckle. There must be some parallel universe where I continued to play the game. In that universe, maybe Matt the shinobi realized his dream of becoming Hokage. Or, perhaps he followed his ninja way by hanging up his headband and becoming Konoha’s cable guy. Whatever his path, I hope he has not lost the Will of Fire.