Anime’s recent emergence in the mainstream media has been a fascinating development in global popular culture. Recently it seems that the fever has trickled down to the world of football as well.
From Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang’s unique goal celebration mimicking the pose of an anime character Dragonball Z to Ibrahima Konaté’s celebration with the iconic fist-over-heart salute from Attack on Titan, footballers have frequently showcased their love for anime. Recently, it seems that Mykhailo Mudryk has been added to that list as well.
Mykhailo Mudryk recently took to Instagram to post a story of his beloved cuisine. The Instagram story displayed a bowl of the popular Japanese delicacy – Ramen.
It was garnished with roasted pork and a soft-boiled season egg cut in half. Mudryk added an emoji of a hot Ramen bowl and the famous Narutomaki fish cake emoji in his story as well. However, fans were quick to recognize this meal. This was not just simple ramen but the famous Miso tonkatsu ramen referenced in Naruto.
Naruto is a famous anime and manga series based in Japan. The widely beloved series is written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The manga narrates the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young orphan ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. It is a story about how is battles solidarity and undertakes various missions as a part of his ninja training.
This animated series has become massively popular gaining worldwide recognition. The series showcased ramen as Naruto’s favourite food item. He was frequently depicted eating miso ramen in between his missions at his favourite restaurant named Ichiraku Ramen in the Hidden Leaf Village- Konoha. Just when Naruto felt lonely and left out, Ichiraku Ramen always made him feel at home.
Ramen is a widely renowned Japanese delicacy that originated in China and was introduced to Japan in the late 19th century. This flavorful meal consists of wheat noodles served in a savoury broth. It is often topped with ingredients like sliced pork, green onions, boiled eggs, and seaweed.
Common flavours include Hakodate, Shoyu, Tonkotsu, and Tokyo Ramen. Ramen comes in various regional styles, each with its unique broth, noodle type, and toppings, offering a diverse range of tastes and textures. Known for its comforting warmth and versatility, ramen continues to be a go-to comfort food. But it has recently gained worldwide popularity owing to the global success of Naruto, making it a worldwide culinary sensation.
Needless to say, Miso soup holds a major sentimental value among Naruto fans. It is believed that the warm atmosphere of Ichiraku Ramen and its delicious food played a part in the development of Naruto’s character with the bowl of ramen being his comfort food and his secret to godly strength. Mudryk is no exception to this belief. His open acknowledgement of his love of anime and Miso ramen has got his fans excited.
This is not the 1st time he has showcased his love for a hot bowl of ramen. Back in May this year, the Chelsea forward shared a video of himself dining on Ramen at a restaurant. However, the tone of the video wasn’t particularly cheerful. Set against a black-and-white backdrop, the video depicted Mudryk’s loneliness accompanied by the caption “Me always eating ramen alone,” coupled with Naruto’s music playing in the background.
Me always eat ramen alone mykhailo mudryk eating ramen alone pic.twitter.com/R3OYcPVGNc
— ִֶָ (@pedripilled) May 8, 2023
Fans were quick to pick up on this. On his recent post showcasing him eating Ramen, an X.com user commented- “Mudryk eats ramen alone.. again”
“Eating ramen alone, always working hard… Doesn’t that really remind you of a certain character that became OP later in the series?” Commented another well-wisher referring to Naruto.
“Big Naruto fan, that guy”. Penned another.
Mudryk’s love for Naruto is not something unprecedented. For he was previously seen posting scenes from the manga series in his Instagram stories. It has made him tagged a “Weeb” among the Chelsea fanbase referring to his obsession with Japanese anime.
Mudryk has consistently been a subject of scepticism within the Chelsea fan base. Since his transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea for £89m, his performance has been underwhelming.
Having contributed only 2 goals and 3 assists in 30 games, he has had a challenging start to his career in the Blue. With Chelsea’s disastrous season, Mudryk would hope to deliver a performance for the team akin to Naruto’s prowess. He would also expect that the Ramen plays its part.