Naruto

So I began watching the anime Naruto in 2009, and I loved it. I enjoyed the characters and the original setting. Although a decent amount of the fights were slow, there was always some sort of interesting strategic twist at the end. However, as time has gone by within the series, what I had originally liked has slowly dwindled into an uninteresting and repetitive storyline, which began with Naruto: Shippuden. Now, mind you, this is my opinion. I don’t have anything against anyone who loves Naruto. I am only sharing how I feel about the progression of the plot and characters.

What I had really liked about Naruto before was the complexity of the characters. Their background stories were each interesting and unique. And seeing them grow up from what they were in their youth was so inspiring. However, ever since the series hit the time skip, the development of the characters has begun to decrease, and that was so incredibly disappointing. The fact that Kishimoto (the creator) built up these characters only to not use them to their full potential is such a setback. For example, Sakura Haruno is one of the characters that has plenty of potential, but she is constantly thrown aside so the other main characters can shine. She does get some character development, like in the Forest of Death where she cuts her hair and when she asks Tsunade to be her teacher. However, there are so many moments where her character could be better developed, such as her being more involved in the war and her team.

Nevertheless, there are moments where characters have lost a lot of potential because they have been developed too early and have lost an interest that existed before. An example of this is Naruto himself. In the series, currently, all he does is turn bad guys into good guys. It becomes annoying when the obstacles that the main character faces have no longer become immense obstacles. Obviously, there are exceptions to this such as Sasuke. But in the end, Naruto ends up converting or killing his enemies. I understand that Naruto is supposed to be the underdog that eventually becomes the hero, but I believe he has become the hero too soon. Now that he is respected and loved, any hardships that we had invested in with this character are gone. It’s difficult to still pay attention to a character that we have issues relating with.

Honestly, the plot of Naruto has been stretched out for way too long. I understand that the story of Naruto contains a lot of complexities, but what it used to be about is no longer there. The creator only cares about the powers among the overpowered characters. Battles are no longer about strategy and a blend of wits and strength. They revolve around who has the better powers and stats. It doesn’t feel intelligent at all. The emphasis on character has fallen apart too. It’s such a shame that a show with such great potential is wasted in that manner.