Why do we watch anime? For some, it is sheer entertainment. For some, it is a vehicle to teleport into a magical world. For some, it is to reflect on ourselves and push ourselves to the absolute peak. And this includes Carl Pei, the CEO of Nothing and Co-Founder of One Plus. Stick around to find out just how much Carl loves Naruto!
In a recent podcast session, TRS, hosted by the motivational speaker and fitness enthusiast BeerBiceps, Carl talked about his undying love for Naruto.
During the podcast session, Carl said, “Naruto is one of my favorite pieces of culture.” And upon asking why, he answers it by saying, “It started off very innocently.”
Carl reminisces about how he and his friends used to discuss Naruto and its weekly episodes during school hours and go back home and play DOTA or League of Legends. A guy who made tech fun is an Otaku, like you and me! (Don’t try to use this with your mom to watch excessive anime unless you’d like to unleash the wrath similar to Kushina Uzumaki)
When an anime emphasizes a particular set of life lessons, they nearly always go deep and help you relate to the characters in a way that most conventional movies fail to do. It was no different for Carl too. Carl quickly felt a connection with Naruto – a jokester and a ninja trying to make big in the world.
If you aren’t aware of this. Carl is a dropout, just like Naruto, who still is a Genin; Carl is an underdog taking on the tech world, just like Naruto, who took on the ninja world, even when no one believed him; He has the charisma just like Naruto, which can make many follow him. And this is how Carl feels too. He is a CEO who can relate himself to an anime character.
In the podcast, he mentions how retable Naruto is. Carl said, “I think a lot of people can relate (Naruto), me included.”
Well, almost everything except getting a “girl” part. He even gave a cheeky reply to the host when asked if there was anyone in his life now, to which he replied, “I’m very busy with work.”
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Alright, Still not convinced that Carl Pei is an Otaku?
He dressed up as Naruto on Halloween and went to a ramen shop to grab some ramen. I mean, can it get more convincing than this?
Apart from his personal life, anime probably even laid a pathway for Carl into the tech world. Every business starts with a wave of ideas; some fail, and some make it big. While most of us watch anime, Carl made money with anime.
During the dawning of YouTube, content moderation was almost non-existential, and Carl made sure to use this loophole to his benefit. Back then, when people were uploading subbed episodes of Naruto on YouTube, Carl launched a website where he embedded these episodes on the site; talk about launching your own Crunchyroll out of your room and making money through ad revenues.
His love for anime goes beyond affection and business. Carl once tweeted to collaborate with anime illustrators from anywhere in the world.
Since you have struck out till now, here is a little fun fact – Carl Pei is a diehard fan of League of Legends and an avid ice cream lover!