Board Thread:Consensus Track/@comment-995176-20150902023818/@comment-734582-20150903095035

Stevemagegod wrote: So can Ninjas in Naruto be considers Wizards or Warlocks in Harry Potter? No.

Chakra is a form of Magic. Just like Ki/Qi/Chi, spiritual energy etc. In the West, magic is seen as something that requires rituals and mana, whereas in the East it's more along the lines of spiritual energy. Popular culture has enhanced this even more.

So yes, Chakra is just a different form of Magic. What Kishimoto has done with the Narutoverse is pretty clever actually, the way Chakra works. Handsigns are an interesting approach to Incantations (since you can chain handsigns together, call each sign and you have your very own incantation), technique names are like spells. No wands required. Chakra kinda works like Mana.