How (& Why) Did Anko Mitarashi Get So Fat in ‘Boruto: Naruto Next Generations’?

In the Naruto universe, Anko Mitarashi is a tokubetsu jōnin (a high-level ninja with a particular specialization) who is renowned for her combat skills. Aside from her prowess as a ninja, she also garnered a cult following from Naruto fans because of her beauty and tough personality. It is safe to infer that Anko is a sort of celebrity in the Naruto community.

But when Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (the sequel to Naruto: Shippuden) was released, fans were dumbfounded to see that Anko turned a complete 180 degrees. From a slim and beautiful kunoichi (female ninja), she suddenly became an overweight instructor at Konoha’s academy. So, what happened exactly? Why and how did the once-formidable Anko Mitarashi get so out of shape?

Anko Mitarashi took up a role as an instructor at Konoha, which reduced her physical activity compared to her previous lifestyle. Coupled with her preference for high-calorie sweets and the natural effects of aging that might have slowed her metabolism, she experienced significant weight gain.

Anko Mitarashi is a captivating character, especially given the juxtaposition of a highly skilled ninja with a penchant for sweets — a fondness that eventually went overboard. However, there’s so much more beneath the surface regarding Anko.

From her beginnings, the intricacies of her dietary choices, to the potential reasons behind her habits, this article aims to delve deeper. Join us as we unravel the layers of this seasoned shinobi.

Anko’s physical activity decreased, and her metabolism suffered

It’s crucial to delve into Anko’s early life before her physical transformation. As a young girl, she began rigorous training as a genin under the watchful eye of Orochimaru, a notable antagonist in the Naruto series.

With innate combat skills, Anko quickly caught Orochimaru’s attention, prompting him to impart to her his unique techniques and signature jutsus.

However, Orochimaru’s intentions were far from purely educational; he manipulated Anko, selecting her as one of ten subjects to be branded with the Cursed Seal of Heaven, a mark endowing its bearers with potent yet malevolent abilities.

Orochimaru’s twisted experiment resulted in the deaths of all subjects, with the exception of Anko, and this resulted in Anko distrusting her master. Orochimaru did not want to kill her, so he instead altered Anko’s memory to make it seem like she was too weak and lacking to actuate the seal. 

We can deduce from this that Anko suffered from a traumatic past as a genin, which likely contributed to her unhealthy addiction to sweets, which she carried all the way to adulthood. 

Despite her affinity towards sweets (especially Dango, which we will discuss later), Anko still managed to stay fit for most of her life as a shinobi. This is because the life of a shinobi is constitutionally composed of military expeditions that require physical and mental prowess.

In fact, Anko has done 647 of these. She even participated in the Fourth Shinobi World War (the major conflict in Naruto: Shippuden), adding to the physical burden of being a shinobi. By being consistently physically active, the myriad of calories gained from her eating sweets burned consistently alongside.

After all, just as long as there is a balance between the calories burned and the calories consumed, weight loss and gain will not occur.

However, what happens if those become imbalanced? Well, that is exactly what happened to Anko, and in her case, the side carrying the calories consumed became the “heavier“ side. After the war, Anko became an instructor at Konoha’s academy.

The life of an instructor is passive and not as physically demanding as that of a shinobi, and because of this, Anko finally got to somewhat retire from her old life. She may have retired from her combat life, but she certainly did not retire from eating sweets all day. 

The events of Boruto did not transpire until ten years after the war. This means that for ten years, Anko did nothing but binge on sweets while gradually ignoring exercise. It is no surprise that she eventually lost her shinobi physique after all this and ended up being grossly overweight.

How did Anko get fat?

As mentioned previously, as long as there is a balance of calories burned and calories consumed, the weight will neither decrease nor increase. If more calories are consumed than calories burned, then the weight is gained; otherwise, if vice versa, the weight is lost. This is why people who aim to become thinner eat less since doing so decreases total calorie consumption.

These people also eat vegetables and fruits often since these are low-calorie foods. In the case of Anko, however, her favorite and most binged delicacy is Dango, which is a high-calorie rice dumpling usually accompanied by bean paste and the like (extra calories). 

According to a fan book, one stick of Dango contains 120 calories. During a physical exam, Anko apparently ate a whopping 53 sticks and a cup of Oshiruko bean soup worth 370 calories, totaling a massive 6730 calories or four days’ worth of energy. Even if it was for a physical exam, it is undeniable that Anko’s eating habits were unnecessarily excessive at best and borderline unhealthy at worst.

This gives us an idea of how Anko’s daily eating habits are. If she could eat beyond normal levels just for an exam, then she would definitely do the same throughout her daily life. Now imagine that this extraordinary eating habit is combined with a lack of physical activity, and then add ten years of both of that in the equation, and you will get an obese shinobi.

An additional aspect to consider is Anko’s progression in age. By the time of the Boruto series, she’s nearing her 40s, signifying the inevitable impacts of aging. With age comes a slowing metabolism, making the body prone to accumulating fat, especially when physical activity diminishes, as in Anko’s case.

Intriguingly, there’s a hint of destiny in Anko’s sweet indulgences. Her very name is derived from a Japanese sweet red bean paste, a key ingredient in Dango. Similarly, her last name, Mitarashi, also refers to a specific Dango syrup.

Did she lose weight later?

According to the recent chapters of the manga as well as the episodes of the anime, Anko still retains her obese frame. Since both the manga and anime are still ongoing franchises, it is still possible that Anko will gain back her shinobi physique in a future story arc if the author (Ukyō Kodachi) chooses to do so.

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