Naruto was my first anime ever and got me hooked into anime and manga. At the beginning I thought that Naruto was a very good anime, however after a while I started to notice huge flaws that I could not get over my head. Although I could easily go over a rant that would make many people think I was biased, I won't do that. It's not that I'm biased, but it's just that this show does a lot wrong and I do not think it deserves all the praise it gets.
The story is about an underdog ninja who attempts to be acknowledged everyone in his village by becoming the leader of his village the Hokage. Although sounding initially good, you realize it becomes a little generic after realizing that many other shows, especially anime feature underdog characters that attempt to become better in order to prove something to other people. You also come to realize that much of the plot was ruined by a ninja with some serious emotional issues that regrets just about everything he ever does. The story also seems to be quite slow-paced and offers very little questions and gives answers that seem to come out of nowhere. The only question I could think up of is "What is the organization Akatsuki after?" Only for it to be answered not only for it to be answered multiple times all in a stupid fashion. The first time it is answered, a character named Pain tries to show the world true pain in order for it to achieve peace. Although I was initially okay with this, the answer is quickly and stupidly changed to a plan that seemed to come out of nowhere. They explain that they have a plan to put everyone in an illusion by using the power of the ten-tailed beast that seemed to come out of nowhere and was seemingly made in order to increase drama. Another point of wasted drama is when it is explained Kakashi killed Rin and got the Mangekyo Sharingan which also seems to come out of nowhere. Here's a question: "Why did you not use the Mangekyo Sharingan against Zabuza when everyone's life was in danger?" Naruto just seems to create pointless drama and plots that come out of nowhere as well as the fact that it seems to just prolong its existence. TLDR? Quick sum up of the story: The plot twists are terrible and seem to come out of nowhere, the pacing is uneven, and the story seems to prolong its own existence.
The characters in Naruto are somewhat likable initially. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and some other characters were initially somewhat interesting with their own background stories. However, the characters soon took a nosedive that was so spectacular that it would have put a new record on the Guinness World Book of Records. Sasuke turns from a guy with an understandable grudge into a dirtbag that seems to come up with foolish revenge plots and foolish ways of thinking. For example, his plan to train with Orochimaru was not only a bad plan for the sake of the fact that he knew Orochimaru was planning to steal his body, but also for the fact that he barely learned anything and Orochimaru was much weaker than the person he was trying to kill. Naruto goes from being a person with well-defined goals, to a person with goals that are not only iffy, but somewhat wasted. Kakashi turns from a cool guy into an insecure guy that consistently blames himself instead of focusing on the current situation, and everybody else just about becomes irrelevant to the plot and generic. By the time Neji died I had completely forgotten who he was, or why he was even relevant to the plot in any way and felt just about nothing. TLDR? Quick sum up once again: The characters are generic and uninteresting, and most of them are wasted or forgotten about.
Though the show has done much disservice to its characters and its story, the music is quite good. Though the art is not the best I have ever seen within a show, the animation and the fights are superb and even sometimes help me to take my mind off of how much it's doing wrong. However, that is not enough for the terrible display that it has put on for its story and characters. Although I understand people will be angry about this review, what I've said here is my serious opinion and although it does not have to be your opinion at least consider it before dismissing it.
The story is about an underdog ninja who attempts to be acknowledged everyone in his village by becoming the leader of his village the Hokage. Although sounding initially good, you realize it becomes a little generic after realizing that many other shows, especially anime feature underdog characters that attempt to become better in order to prove something to other people. You also come to realize that much of the plot was ruined by a ninja with some serious emotional issues that regrets just about everything he ever does. The story also seems to be quite slow-paced and offers very little questions and gives answers that seem to come out of nowhere. The only question I could think up of is "What is the organization Akatsuki after?" Only for it to be answered not only for it to be answered multiple times all in a stupid fashion. The first time it is answered, a character named Pain tries to show the world true pain in order for it to achieve peace. Although I was initially okay with this, the answer is quickly and stupidly changed to a plan that seemed to come out of nowhere. They explain that they have a plan to put everyone in an illusion by using the power of the ten-tailed beast that seemed to come out of nowhere and was seemingly made in order to increase drama. Another point of wasted drama is when it is explained Kakashi killed Rin and got the Mangekyo Sharingan which also seems to come out of nowhere. Here's a question: "Why did you not use the Mangekyo Sharingan against Zabuza when everyone's life was in danger?" Naruto just seems to create pointless drama and plots that come out of nowhere as well as the fact that it seems to just prolong its existence. TLDR? Quick sum up of the story: The plot twists are terrible and seem to come out of nowhere, the pacing is uneven, and the story seems to prolong its own existence.
The characters in Naruto are somewhat likable initially. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and some other characters were initially somewhat interesting with their own background stories. However, the characters soon took a nosedive that was so spectacular that it would have put a new record on the Guinness World Book of Records. Sasuke turns from a guy with an understandable grudge into a dirtbag that seems to come up with foolish revenge plots and foolish ways of thinking. For example, his plan to train with Orochimaru was not only a bad plan for the sake of the fact that he knew Orochimaru was planning to steal his body, but also for the fact that he barely learned anything and Orochimaru was much weaker than the person he was trying to kill. Naruto goes from being a person with well-defined goals, to a person with goals that are not only iffy, but somewhat wasted. Kakashi turns from a cool guy into an insecure guy that consistently blames himself instead of focusing on the current situation, and everybody else just about becomes irrelevant to the plot and generic. By the time Neji died I had completely forgotten who he was, or why he was even relevant to the plot in any way and felt just about nothing. TLDR? Quick sum up once again: The characters are generic and uninteresting, and most of them are wasted or forgotten about.
Though the show has done much disservice to its characters and its story, the music is quite good. Though the art is not the best I have ever seen within a show, the animation and the fights are superb and even sometimes help me to take my mind off of how much it's doing wrong. However, that is not enough for the terrible display that it has put on for its story and characters. Although I understand people will be angry about this review, what I've said here is my serious opinion and although it does not have to be your opinion at least consider it before dismissing it.