>>34761675Similarly to the Naruto Run, it's a thing that came from Japanese period dramas. In older times, Japan would sometimes strap western devils to crosses and publicly humiliate them before a public execution. They found the irony amusing. Period dramas based on the era didn't get the memo that it was only done to Christians, so they'd often have storylines where Samurai were confined for a few days by being strapped onto crosses and someone had to come rescue them at the last minute. Japan just came to take it as a shorthand for this "this person's in danger".
Similarly, the anime ninja run came from period dramas where the actors had the long sleeves that were common in olden Japan. Holding their hands behind them were the only real way to run in those outfits without the sleeves flapping everywhere. Viewers didn't fully understand the reason for the run and just assumed that's how people used to run back then, hence why it became associated with ninja and samurai.
