Lars Alexandersson's new Rage Art in Tekken 8 appears to reference his Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm guest inclusion

Lars Alexandersson was among the first characters revealed for Tekken 8 last year, but it wasn’t until this week that fans got to see him in action in a trailer of his own.

That of course included a look at his full Rage Art in the new game, which may actually be an old reference to his guest inclusion in the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series over a decade ago.

As pointed out by Fighting Game Anniversaries and some of our commenters, Lars’ Rage Art shares more than just a striking resemblance to his Ultimate Jutsu from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2.

Traveling so fast that he basically just looks like a lightning bolt is something not really seen in Lars’ arsenal elsewhere (and definitely not his Tekken 7 Rage Art), and he crashes the opponent back down to the ground in both too although now he comes down with them to look cooler.

As others have mentioned, there is also resemblance to Kakashi Hatake’s Lightning Blade: Twin Lightning Shiver as well. Both could’ve potentially been used for reference. pic.twitter.com/XiqFd3SQqc

— Fighting Game Anniversaries (@FGAnniversaries) March 21, 2023

It probably won’t carry over the same name from Naruto, however, considering his Ultimate Justsu was just called 10-Hit Combo in that game, which in itself is just a Tekken reference.

If you’re wondering how Lars ended up in a Naruto arena fighter, this crossover first started with Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto providing an extra costume design for the new character in Tekken 6.

Since Bandai Namco published both titles, they decided to bring that unique version of Lars into the Naruto game and give him a gatling gun that shoots kunai.

I remember being very confused as to what the new Tekken guy was doing in Storm 2, and then I ended up maining him in both.