Choji Akimichi

Template:Infobox Naruto character Choji Akimichi (秋道チョウジ, Akimichi Chōji) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Naruto.

"Choji" means "butterfly (Cho-)" and "the second son (-ji)" added together. Butterflies are insects known to eat sweets. Choji also manifests butterfly wings made of chakra after eating the red pepper pill during his fight against Jirobo. The names "Ino", "Shika" and "Cho" are also a pun on the "Ino-Shika-Cho" winning combination in Hanafuda.

Background

Choji Akimichi is a loyal and kind-hearted member of Asuma Sarutobi's Team 10, consisting of himself, Shikamaru Nara, and Ino Yamanaka who proves himself throughout the series to be a good friend and genuinely nice person. Asuma describes Choji as a kind hearted boy who thinks about his friends, and therefore, may be a stronger ninja than anyone else. Choji, Shikamaru and Ino call themselves the "Ino-Shika-Cho Trio", just like their fathers before them.

Choji is easily motivated by the prospect of food and becomes highly agitated when somebody calls him fat (he refers to himself as "big boned", "chubby", or "pleasingly plump"). However, he does not hide his love for food, wearing the kanji for "eat" on his shirt. His nigh-constant hunger is also a constant annoyance for his teammates, as sating himself often comes before other necessities such as stealth and teamwork. However, said hunger is not purposeless. Choji's fat is indeed no less than a valuable reserve of chakra that he uses in serious situations. Choji's favorite foods are Korean barbeque, snacks and sweets, though he enjoys anything that is edible just as well. His favorite hobby is buying snacks and his favorite phrase is "Meat".

File:Team 10.png

Choji, Shikamaru and Ino in Part II

Choji makes his Part II debut sporting a red headband, red top with armor on his torso, arms, and upper legs and hair similar to his father. On the front of his chest armor is the obligatory kanji for "food". His hair has grown longer, and he now looks less obese and more muscular, just like what he himself always claimed: big-boned. Like most of the Rookie Nine, he has reached the Chunin rank. Choji has also improved his skills during the timeskip, and is now able to enlarge various parts of his body without much concentration. His reaction time has also increased, being able to immediately prevent an attack by Sai from harming Shikamaru or Naruto.

Choji and Shikamaru

Choji has a longstanding friendship with Shikamaru Nara. The two have complete trust in each other, with Shikamaru being one of the few people to look past Choji's athletic deficiencies and see that he was good-hearted and recognized Choji's true strength. Because of this, Choji has unconditional faith in Shikamaru and, if necessary, would give his life for him.

When Choji was younger, he was often put down for not being good at a game called "Ninja", which appears to be a cross between tag and hide and seek, often using shuriken made out of cardboard. His peers were always berating him; telling him that any team that he is on is bound to lose. One day they simply refuse to let him play at all. However, Shikamaru sticks up for him saying that the teams would be uneven if Choji doesn't join them. This gives Choji a little hope, although in the end they still refuse to let him play.

Choji and his father are later seen talking on the roof of a building, the former still upset over the way he was treated by the other children. His father tells him that one day he will meet someone that he can get along with and that eventually they will be the best of friends. Soon after, Shikamaru walks up the stairs and Choji recognizes him as the one who had defended him earlier. He asks Shikamaru why he isn't playing the game, to which Shikamaru responds that it was too troublesome. He then tells Choji that he likes to come up there to watch the clouds, and that Choji happens to be sitting in his spot. Choji moves over to give him room and Shikamaru proceeds to lie down, who tells Choji that he should watch the clouds with him. This delights Choji and he eagerly asks Shikamaru if he wants to eat some snacks that he has brought. Shikamaru takes him up on the offer, causing Choji to be overjoyed since someone is being so nice to him. From that day forth, the two become the best of friends.

Abilities

As a member of the Akimichi clan, Choji's fighting style revolves around enlarging portions of his body using ninjutsu and following up with taijutsu.

The most basic of these techniques is the Multi-Size Technique (倍化の術, Baika no Jutsu, Viz "The Art of Expansion", English TV "Expansion Jutsu"). This jutsu converts food energy to chakra, then channels it into Choji's stomach to expand his abdomen into a ball. Choji follows this up with Human Bullet Tank (肉弾戦車, Nikudan Sensha, Viz "Human Juggernaut", English TV "Human Boulder Jutsu"). Using chakra to propel himself, Choji tucks his limbs and head into his inflated body and rolls at a high velocity to crush his opponent. Choji can also use a more devastating version of Human Bullet Tank called the Spiked Human Bullet Tank (肉弾針戦車, Nikudan Hari Sensha, English Games "Human Needle Boulder"). This version involves Choji placing strings with kunai around his body, increasing the speed and power of the attack. After the timeskip, Choji is able to perform this technique without kunai via lengthening and hardening his hair into spikes, much like a porcupine. In Part II, Choji has also demonstrated use of the Mega Palm Thrust (超张手, Chou Harite), a technique used after the Multi-Size Technique that funnels chakra into his hands, causing extensive damage to the target thrust beneath his palms.

Choji is also capable of performing more advanced variants of the Multi-Size Technique. The first of these is the Partial Multi-Size Technique (部分倍化の術, Bubun Baika no Jutsu, English Games "Partial Expansion Jutsu"). This works on a similar principle to the Multi-Size Technique, but it allows Choji to expand any part of his body. This jutsu requires significant concentration to enlarge a limb, but after the timeskip, Choji is able to perform this instantaneously. The second of these techniques is the Super Multi-Size Technique (超倍化の術, Chō Baika no Jutsu), which enlarges Choji until he is the size of a giant, easily enabling him to crush his opponent.

File:ChojisChakraButterfly.JPG

Choji after eating the red pill.

The Akimichi family can consume a special brand of chakra-enhancing pills when in dire situations: the Three Colored Pills (三色の丸薬, Sanshoku no Ganyaku). The pills, colored green (spinach), yellow (curry), and red (pepper), give the user increasingly large boosts of chakra at the cost of health. After consuming the red pill, which alone is supposed to be fatal for the user, Choji's physical appearance changes dramatically; his fat completely converts into chakra, causing him to become incredibly slim. This increases his strength a hundredfold, in addition to sprouting a pair of butterfly-shaped wings made of pure chakra. This allows Choji to perform Butterfly Bullet Bombing (蝶弾爆撃, Chōdan Bakugeki), a technique that concentrates chakra into Choji's fist for a powerful punch.

Sources

• First Official Data Book (秘伝・臨の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Rin no Sho Character Official Data Book)
• Second Official Data Book (秘伝・闘の書キャラクターオフィシャルデータBOOK, Hiden: Tō no Sho Character Official Data Book)
• Jump's 2nd Great Hero Book's Mini Data Book (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
• Naruto anime and manga Guidebook (秘伝・翔の書オフィシャルキャラクターデータBOOK mini, Hiden: Shō no Sho Official Character Data Book mini)
• Taken directly from the Naruto manga chapters and anime episodes.