Move Over One Piece: 8 Years Later, Naruto Still Owns Shonen’s Greatest Villain Entrance

Fans may argue One Piece vs Naruto, but on sinister villain debuts, Naruto steals the show — and none hit harder than Pain’s chilling arrival, still haunting viewers years after Naruto Shippuden ended in 2017.

Anime fandom loves a rivalry, and One Piece vs Naruto has been the long-running heavyweight bout. Both do a lot right, but if we are talking pure villain introductions, Naruto eats. Case in point: Pain. Shippuden ended in 2017, and yet Pain’s first appearance is still the moment that crawled under everyone’s skin and never left. Nearly two decades later, the chill factor holds.

Why Pain’s intro still lives rent-free

What makes Pain (aka Nagato) different isn’t just power level or backstory. It’s the rollout. Naruto didn’t toss him on screen with a title card and fireworks. For years, we only heard about a nameless leader running Akatsuki from the shadows. That mystery built pressure like a kettle.

Then, right when Hidan and Kakuzu weren’t expecting it, the leader reaches out telepathically. No dramatic face reveal, no info dump. Just a voice from the boss none of us had seen, and suddenly the air changes. You felt it: whoever this is, he’s the real deal.

A rain-soaked flex with zero effort

The scene cuts to Amegakure, which is basically perpetually drenched and gray. In the middle of that, high above the village, Pain is just sitting there like it’s nothing. And not on a normal rooftop. He’s perched on the tip of a giant tower statue that looks disturbingly human: a face with eyes that echo the Rinnegan, piercings and pipes threading through it, tongue lolling out like a gargoyle. Pain lounges on that tongue, unfazed by the height, the storm, the world. It’s such a casual display of control that it comes off more threatening than any explosion could.

The anime sells it even harder with the score. The music doesn’t blare; it simmers. That restraint is exactly why the moment lands. It’s confident. It knows you’ll pay attention without being told to.

• Where it happens: Naruto: Shippuden Episode 80, 'Last Words'
• Manga counterpart: Naruto Chapter 327, 'Amidst Despair...'

The build-up you can’t fake

Part of the reason the intro hit so hard is timing. For ages, fans were hunting for the identity of Akatsuki’s leader. You get whispers, rumors, scattered mentions, but no face to lock onto. When the show finally pulls back the curtain, it doesn’t dump lore so much as it sets a tone: aloof, unbothered, absolutely dangerous. It’s the kind of reveal that works best when a series is still airing week to week, because the mystery has had room to breathe.

Shippuden has been over for years, but that first appearance still feels like a seismic jolt. Even now, it’s the benchmark for how to introduce a big bad.

Why Naruto villains feel different (and yes, One Piece is still great)

One Piece has excellent antagonists with layered motives. Eiichiro Oda loves moral gray areas, and someone like Akainu is terrifying precisely because he believes he’s enforcing justice, no matter the collateral damage. But Oda also likes to tiptoe in with comedy. A lot of One Piece villains enter the story in a goofy or exaggerated way and grow scarier later, which fits that world’s tone.

Naruto tends to do the opposite: the villains arrive already wearing the weight of their trauma. The show treats them as threats from frame one and then peels back the tragedy. Pain embodies that. He starts as an idealist with Yahiko and Konan, gets shattered by Yahiko’s death and Hanzo’s betrayal, and decides the only way to lasting peace is through radical, merciless force. He isn’t loud about it. He doesn’t need to be. That quiet conviction is why his first scene hits like ice water.

Could One Piece replicate that exact buildup? Not really, because it runs on a different wavelength. Naruto weaponizes dread; One Piece prefers escalation. Both valid. Only one gave me goosebumps from a guy sitting on a statue’s tongue in the rain.

Want to see it (or relive the chills)?

If you want the full effect, hit Shippuden Episode 80 for the anime version or Chapter 327 in the manga. One Piece and Naruto: Shippuden are both streaming on Crunchyroll, so queue it up and compare villain debuts yourself.

Your turn

Which villain introduction tops your list, Naruto or One Piece? Drop your pick and why. I’m not saying Pain is unbeatable... but I’m also not not saying that.