Naruto Review
A CLASSIC LONG-RUNNING SHOUNEN
Naruto is one of the most highly renowned Shounen anime of the 2000s, and it is still being watched by many fans today. This anime is seen as a classic in the world as it presents all of the usual Shounen tropes in a very unique and interesting way. While it does have its drawbacks, I think that Naruto is a must-watch anime for every fan of the shounen genre.
Today, I’ll be taking a closer look at all the different aspects of this anime and give you guys my honest review.
Plot & Story Progression
The plot of Naruto follows the story of a young boy named Naruto Uzumaki. On the day of Naruto’s birth, a ferocious 9-tailed beast attacked his village. The leader of the village known as the fourth Hokage fought against the 9-tailed fox and sealed its powers inside Naruto to save the village.
Today, Naruto is a 12-year-old hyperactive boy who wants to become the Hokage of his village. However, Naruto’s entire village looks down upon him because of the beast that resides inside of him. The journey of this young shinobi is not going to be an easy one!
The plot of this anime is quite simple and straightforward, just like every other shounen anime. However, the story progression of Naruto is something that makes it stand out in the crowd. The personalities of all the different characters develop as the show progresses.
Animation & Art Style
The art style of Naruto is quite unique and instantly recognizable, and the animation of Naruto is something that will get you completely mesmerized! From the start, the animation looks quite good for its time and its quality increases as the show progresses. To this date, Naruto still has some of the most well-choreographed fights in the world of anime. The fights in this series are quite meaningful, and the fighting styles of all the shinobis are quite different from each other. The pacing of the show is perfect, and the transitions between scenes are also quite satisfying.
Characters
I believe that the characters of a show are very important and they can greatly affect your overall experience. Fortunately, the characters in this shounen do not disappoint! They are all instantly recognizable because of their amazing designs. The personalities of these characters are not really realistic, but they are still well-built. After fighting in many battles and experiencing different things, the personalities of these characters develop. Let us take a closer look at some of these characters.
Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto Uzumaki is the protagonist of this series, and he just doesn’t know when to give up! This kid is not really uber-talented like most of the other characters in the series, but his nerves of steel allow him to always come out on top. He is dead-set on achieving his dream of becoming the Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Sasuke Uchiha
Sasuke is the rival character of Naruto and also his former teammate. This boy has a very tragic backstory as his entire clan was killed by his own older brother. Sasuke’s only goal in life is to kill his older brother and get revenge for the death of his family and friends.
Kakashi Hatake
Kakashi Hatake is the beloved sensei of Naruto in the series who teaches him how to fight like a real shinobi and a lot of important life lessons. Kakashi keeps his entire face covered using a black mask.
Sakura Haruno
Sakura is a somewhat annoying female lead in the series that seems quite useless in the start. However, the personality of this girl develops quite a lot in Naruto Shippuden as she becomes a powerful kunoichi and learns medical ninjutsu.
A Problem with Naruto!
One big problem with Naruto that makes it quite hard to watch for new fans is the number of fillers in the story. There are a lot of episodes in the anime that don’t really add much to the main story and are only there for entertainment purposes. For example, in the original Naruto anime, all the episodes after episode number 135 are just fillers!
Personally, as a big fan of the series, I’d recommend watching the fillers as well as they can be quite entertaining. However, if you want to save some time for yourself, then you can just skip all of the filler episodes and only enjoy the main story.
WHAT MAKES NARUTO A “CLASSIC” IN THE WORLD OF SHOUNEN?
Naruto is a classic in the world of shounen anime because of its story progression and the memorable cast of characters. The story of Naruto progresses in such a way that it keeps you interested throughout its run. All of the different arcs in the anime introduce a brand-new plot point.
The characters are just remarkable! Naruto is the type of show that gets you emotionally attached to all of the different characters in the series. After witnessing the life stories and struggles of these characters, you will find them extremely relatable.
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the latest season in the series that follows the story of Naruto’s son. However, I would definitely not recommend watching this anime. In my personal opinion, the original story ended with Naruto Shippuden, and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is just a cheap imitation of the greatness of the original anime. This anime can seem quite repetitive, and the characters are not likable to the least.
Conclusion
While it is true that Naruto is somewhat overrated, it is still an amazing shounen anime that will keep every fan of the genre entertained. If you are someone who does not like long-running shows with simplistic concepts, then you won’t really enjoy Naruto.
Naruto is a show that can seem a little boring at first, but you start to enjoy it more with every new episode. I’d personally give this anime a rating of 8 out of 10, and I think it is one of the best long-running shows from the 2000s that is absolutely binge-worthy.
