Because Kishi was totally the first guy to use a masked character......
To people who only read Naruto or know of Naruto, yeah Tobi is the masked mystery, but he's not the only one ever created. Most of Naruto's fanbase likes Avatar, so big surprise they say "They ripped from Nrto1111' I gurantee Tobi wasn't the first ever masked man and he won't be the last. Naruto isn't the only thing in the world. It isn't the source for all high quality goodness. Some people might not even know what Naruto is. So, it does strike me a rough way when someone says "He stole it from Naruto! Thay rippped Kishi! Howz dre th? COPIERS!" Hell, one could even say Blue Spirit was an inspirtation. One could say Wuya was an inspirtation. One could say Jason. Michael, any halloween killer was an inspiration. I know their masks always kept me interested. I really wanted to see their faces.
To say they ripped off Naruto is obserd. Not impossible because Naruto is popular, but Tobi was not by far the first masked mystery and Naruto isn't the prime source for everything. Many famous masked people came before Tobi, that's all I'm saying. I'm a huge Avatar fan, it's my number one, but this is me as just me stating the truth. Naruto isn't the source of everything.
Sorry for the mini rant, but I knew Naruto's fanbase would be saying this. They have similarities, but so do many masked man and to say Tobi is the prime source they ripped from is a joke. Nobody said that, but I'm just being specific. Nobody get mad at Jack Spicer. I'm just stating that Naruto isn't something everyone steals from, it isn't something everyone watches, it's not this god-like thing they everyone turns too. Again, I'm becoming more specific....Jeez. xd
Not targetted towards anyone in this thread. Just my overall view I've thought since I read/heard the first comparison. I've always hated people comparing Avatar and Naruto.