Written by: Kevin Berge
And here we see Naruto and all his friends. Actually all of them and it's a wonder he has this many. (Image Courtesy of: disqus.com)
On any list of the most popular and successful anime in history, very few will come up more often than Naruto. The story of a group of young ninja growing up in a fantasy world at the constant brink of war has captured the hearts of many fans young and old.
Similar to other anime of this form, I grew up on this show as it aired on Cartoon Network. Watching the young ninjas fly around and throw balls of fire and wind at one another was always exciting and captured my imagination though was trumped by a few other shows.
Both a typical shōnen anime and one that makes surprising changes to the formula, Naruto was the kind of show that was labelled a kid show but was fairly brutal and could stand out for an older audience as well.
If you're an anime fan, you likely at least know about Naruto, but the interesting aspect of the show is discussing exactly what makes it stand out from the pack while also not allowing it to trump its competition.
Similar to other anime of this form, I grew up on this show as it aired on Cartoon Network. Watching the young ninjas fly around and throw balls of fire and wind at one another was always exciting and captured my imagination though was trumped by a few other shows.
Both a typical shōnen anime and one that makes surprising changes to the formula, Naruto was the kind of show that was labelled a kid show but was fairly brutal and could stand out for an older audience as well.
If you're an anime fan, you likely at least know about Naruto, but the interesting aspect of the show is discussing exactly what makes it stand out from the pack while also not allowing it to trump its competition.
Synopsis
In order to save the Leaf Village, the fox spirit, the Nine-Tails, is sealed into the newborn boy Naruto Uzimaki. Orphaned and stuck with such a dangerous force inside of him, Naruto spends his childhood isolated and friendless until he finds his way as a ninja.
Despite struggling to find his ability as a ninja, Naruto masters the art of the forbidden Shadow Clone Jutsu and manages to graduate the ninja academy, leading to him being assigned to Team 7 with classmate rival Sasuke Uchiha and his childhood crush Sakura Haruna under team captain Kakashi Hatake.
Together, the new team must find how to work together despite their early differences and develop on the jobs and mysterious forces work to put them in greater danger than anyone could imagine.
Despite struggling to find his ability as a ninja, Naruto masters the art of the forbidden Shadow Clone Jutsu and manages to graduate the ninja academy, leading to him being assigned to Team 7 with classmate rival Sasuke Uchiha and his childhood crush Sakura Haruna under team captain Kakashi Hatake.
Together, the new team must find how to work together despite their early differences and develop on the jobs and mysterious forces work to put them in greater danger than anyone could imagine.
Team 7 in classic formation: Sasuke at the front, Naruto ready to back him up, and Sakura around to be worried. (Image Courtesy of: naruto.wikia.com)
Story Arc Analysis
***This section of the review focuses directly on the show itself and its story arcs. If you have not seen the show and wish to, you will want to avoid this section for now and come back later. If you haven't seen the series, you also might just be lost reading this part without reference.***
For the record, this whole review is just for the original Naruto run. I may later review Naruto Shippuden as a separate series though, with it still running with perhaps another year of content to still air, it's hard to say when a full review can be made for that series.
Introducing Team 7 and Assassins of The Mist (Episodes 1-19): The introduction of Naruto makes him easily relatable, but his attitude stands out poorly. His sense of humor in particular is more annoying than endearing; however, he becomes far more likable with the introduction of Team 7 who bring out his emotional core.
The core of the series at most points is the tumultuous friendship between Naruto and Sasuke as they gain each other's respect, and the first arc really highlights this as the group are forced into a high difficulty mission that was supposed to be easy.
The teamwork of Naruto and Sasuke to take down Haku and Kakashi's difficult war with the rogue ninja Zabuza are highlight battles of the series with an extremely powerful emotional fallout as the villains die fighting for each other.
The teamwork test of Team 7 in the opening episodes is also one of the series' most recounted events for a good reason as it sets up so many future events and the clear development of an ideology.
The Chunin Exam (Episodes 20-80): Every good shōnen anime has to have its tournament arc, and this one is quite impactful all around. It feels a little rushed from the outset, not allowing Team 7 to grow through a few missions, but it also is extremely effective in growing the cast of strong characters.
The chunin exams are set up as a way to test the strength of the characters while showing all the ninja around Naruto's groups' level. This means more full development of the Leaf Village teams. First, there's Team 8 with the shy Hinata Hyuga who inexplicably has a crush on Naruto, the animalistic Kiba Inuzuka, and the creepy Shino Aburame.
Then there's Team 10 with the intelligent but lazy Shikamaru Nara, glutenous Choji Akimichi, and self-absorbed rival to Sakura Ino Yamanaka. Then they add in one year older Team Guy with the earnest but handicapped (by his inability to use ninjustu and genjustu) Rock Lee, the talented but fatalistic Neji Hyuga, and constantly driven Tenten.
Beyond those teams, the chunin exam includes a bunch of other villages with the introduction of the dangerous Sand Ninja who later become the villains with the immensely powerful Gaara and his two protective and vicious siblings Kankuro and Temari.
There's so much to discuss with this arc with heavy development throughout the sixty episodes as alliances change and the Leaf Village comes under threat from the series' main villain Orochimaru. The threat he is established to be here is truly frightening as a very snake-like character.
The actual chunin exams have many great moments. Team 7 continue to find their connection. Hinata and Neji's battle followed by Naruto standing up for Hinata says so much of all the characters. Then the ultimate battle between Naruto and Gaara is incredible while finally showing Naruto as more than a bumbling idiot but actually one of the series' most powerful forces.
This is the series' most universally strong and well told arc by a large margin including the follow up stories in Naruto Shippuden. The only real issue I have with this arc is that the exam is thrown out at the end with only Shikamaru being advanced to chunin.
Training and Finding the New Hokage (Episodes 81-96): The dynamic of the anime changes here as Team 7 never really teams up again after Naruto begins training. It is a shame as it shows just how fast the story is developing without creating the necessary emotional base but also is enjoyable to sit back and keep watching.
Naruto's dynamic with Master Jiraiya is fun with the pervy old guy dynamic in full effect. He continually manages to bring out the best qualities in Naruto even though he often doesn't show those qualities himself. Naruto becomes stronger and shows honest ability that surpasses most others.
This arc also includes the introduction of Tsunade who has one of the most tragic backstories of any character in the anime. Her haunting memories of death that make her isolate herself and become a drunk despite her unbelievable ability.
The ultimate clash with Naruto bringing Tsunade back from the brink is really effective even though the actual fight of Naruto against Orochimaru's assistant Kabuto is rather tame.
Sasuke Retrieval Squad (Episodes 107-135): This is the series' primary emotional hook and one that is never quite paid off given that the follow up is not seen at all in this series. Still, it is the anime's biggest turning point in its story as Sasuke's unstable inferiority complex leads to him going rogue.
What makes this arc so effective is that each character used fully develops through their involvement in the story. By Sakura's pleading, Tsunade makes a squad led by Shikamaru who chooses Naruto, Neji, Choji, and Kiba for his group with each having an important battle to wage with Orochimaru's Sound Four in order to get to Sasuke.
Of all the fights, Choji's is perhaps the most memorable as he finally shows a kind of strength and ability that never seemed possible while growing into more than a running fat joke.
Rock Lee and the Sand Ninja trio also play important roles in the story with some strong battles from everyone though no fight quite matches the ultimate clash between Naruto and Sasuke. The full backstory of Sasuke is revealed, and it lends to an emotional war. Sasuke wins the fight, but Naruto gains his friend's ultimate respect as Sasuke disappears.
Ninja Adventures AKA Filler Galore (Episodes 136-220): After a largely fast paced opening 135 episodes, Naruto devolves a bit. Looking through all of the stories of these 85 episodes would take too much time and largely be too useless an exercise as there is almost zero story progression in this second half.
Instead I will point out some of the positives of these episodes. There is strong humor throughout, and almost all the characters are unique and stand out. The stories being told may be mixed, but there is real character development with Naruto and his classmates.
The major positive here though is that the world does dynamically change in this time with satisfying changes for many of the characters. It is just a real shame that these developments couldn't be done with more relevant and full scale storytelling. I honestly could barely recall these episodes on reflection.
On a show that was so quick and dynamic, it was extremely odd to take this large departure instead of developing the dynamics of the characters before the major story arcs separated and changed them all.
Extras: There are three movies set in the original series, and they're all fairly forgettable but well told stories. They're largely self-contained but feel far more involved than most of the filler stories.
For the record, this whole review is just for the original Naruto run. I may later review Naruto Shippuden as a separate series though, with it still running with perhaps another year of content to still air, it's hard to say when a full review can be made for that series.
Introducing Team 7 and Assassins of The Mist (Episodes 1-19): The introduction of Naruto makes him easily relatable, but his attitude stands out poorly. His sense of humor in particular is more annoying than endearing; however, he becomes far more likable with the introduction of Team 7 who bring out his emotional core.
The core of the series at most points is the tumultuous friendship between Naruto and Sasuke as they gain each other's respect, and the first arc really highlights this as the group are forced into a high difficulty mission that was supposed to be easy.
The teamwork of Naruto and Sasuke to take down Haku and Kakashi's difficult war with the rogue ninja Zabuza are highlight battles of the series with an extremely powerful emotional fallout as the villains die fighting for each other.
The teamwork test of Team 7 in the opening episodes is also one of the series' most recounted events for a good reason as it sets up so many future events and the clear development of an ideology.
The Chunin Exam (Episodes 20-80): Every good shōnen anime has to have its tournament arc, and this one is quite impactful all around. It feels a little rushed from the outset, not allowing Team 7 to grow through a few missions, but it also is extremely effective in growing the cast of strong characters.
The chunin exams are set up as a way to test the strength of the characters while showing all the ninja around Naruto's groups' level. This means more full development of the Leaf Village teams. First, there's Team 8 with the shy Hinata Hyuga who inexplicably has a crush on Naruto, the animalistic Kiba Inuzuka, and the creepy Shino Aburame.
Then there's Team 10 with the intelligent but lazy Shikamaru Nara, glutenous Choji Akimichi, and self-absorbed rival to Sakura Ino Yamanaka. Then they add in one year older Team Guy with the earnest but handicapped (by his inability to use ninjustu and genjustu) Rock Lee, the talented but fatalistic Neji Hyuga, and constantly driven Tenten.
Beyond those teams, the chunin exam includes a bunch of other villages with the introduction of the dangerous Sand Ninja who later become the villains with the immensely powerful Gaara and his two protective and vicious siblings Kankuro and Temari.
There's so much to discuss with this arc with heavy development throughout the sixty episodes as alliances change and the Leaf Village comes under threat from the series' main villain Orochimaru. The threat he is established to be here is truly frightening as a very snake-like character.
The actual chunin exams have many great moments. Team 7 continue to find their connection. Hinata and Neji's battle followed by Naruto standing up for Hinata says so much of all the characters. Then the ultimate battle between Naruto and Gaara is incredible while finally showing Naruto as more than a bumbling idiot but actually one of the series' most powerful forces.
This is the series' most universally strong and well told arc by a large margin including the follow up stories in Naruto Shippuden. The only real issue I have with this arc is that the exam is thrown out at the end with only Shikamaru being advanced to chunin.
Training and Finding the New Hokage (Episodes 81-96): The dynamic of the anime changes here as Team 7 never really teams up again after Naruto begins training. It is a shame as it shows just how fast the story is developing without creating the necessary emotional base but also is enjoyable to sit back and keep watching.
Naruto's dynamic with Master Jiraiya is fun with the pervy old guy dynamic in full effect. He continually manages to bring out the best qualities in Naruto even though he often doesn't show those qualities himself. Naruto becomes stronger and shows honest ability that surpasses most others.
This arc also includes the introduction of Tsunade who has one of the most tragic backstories of any character in the anime. Her haunting memories of death that make her isolate herself and become a drunk despite her unbelievable ability.
The ultimate clash with Naruto bringing Tsunade back from the brink is really effective even though the actual fight of Naruto against Orochimaru's assistant Kabuto is rather tame.
Sasuke Retrieval Squad (Episodes 107-135): This is the series' primary emotional hook and one that is never quite paid off given that the follow up is not seen at all in this series. Still, it is the anime's biggest turning point in its story as Sasuke's unstable inferiority complex leads to him going rogue.
What makes this arc so effective is that each character used fully develops through their involvement in the story. By Sakura's pleading, Tsunade makes a squad led by Shikamaru who chooses Naruto, Neji, Choji, and Kiba for his group with each having an important battle to wage with Orochimaru's Sound Four in order to get to Sasuke.
Of all the fights, Choji's is perhaps the most memorable as he finally shows a kind of strength and ability that never seemed possible while growing into more than a running fat joke.
Rock Lee and the Sand Ninja trio also play important roles in the story with some strong battles from everyone though no fight quite matches the ultimate clash between Naruto and Sasuke. The full backstory of Sasuke is revealed, and it lends to an emotional war. Sasuke wins the fight, but Naruto gains his friend's ultimate respect as Sasuke disappears.
Ninja Adventures AKA Filler Galore (Episodes 136-220): After a largely fast paced opening 135 episodes, Naruto devolves a bit. Looking through all of the stories of these 85 episodes would take too much time and largely be too useless an exercise as there is almost zero story progression in this second half.
Instead I will point out some of the positives of these episodes. There is strong humor throughout, and almost all the characters are unique and stand out. The stories being told may be mixed, but there is real character development with Naruto and his classmates.
The major positive here though is that the world does dynamically change in this time with satisfying changes for many of the characters. It is just a real shame that these developments couldn't be done with more relevant and full scale storytelling. I honestly could barely recall these episodes on reflection.
On a show that was so quick and dynamic, it was extremely odd to take this large departure instead of developing the dynamics of the characters before the major story arcs separated and changed them all.
Extras: There are three movies set in the original series, and they're all fairly forgettable but well told stories. They're largely self-contained but feel far more involved than most of the filler stories.
And one day you'll grow up to be a regenerating snake monster. (Image Courtesy of: naruto.wikia.com)
Impact and Art Style
Naruto is one of the definitive shōnen anime. In most discussions of anime, it is an early name brought up for a reason. It is distinctive for its ninja style with clear rules to its "magic system" (chakra) and political system. All this has made it immensely popular.
While the follow up series is more divisive and still going on to raise complaints, it would be difficult to discuss anime at all without talking about Naruto. The characters are beloved for a reason and are likely the main reason the series is still running strong.
I might have grown up on this show, but I never placed it among my favorites. When I came back to revisit it though, I enjoyed it much more with stories that are tightly constructed and told with strong history to the characters that develops over time.
Naruto in particular is a character that I detested at first and have grown to really enjoy. While there are clear faults in the narrative that don't allow enough story to pay off emotion, there is clear detail to the writing that makes it fun at any age.
The art style is fairly consistent and similar to other shōnen anime. The characters stand out as unique and memorable with some interesting decisions with the hair and outfits likely helping that along. The ninja theme also helps the art stand out with chakra techniques and fast action that stand out well animated.
There are clearly aspects of the characters that are accentuated particularly for humor's sake. The largely child cast are not affected much by the accentuating of body parts, but the older characters are unreasonably large in certain aspects particularly women as is usual for anime.
While the follow up series is more divisive and still going on to raise complaints, it would be difficult to discuss anime at all without talking about Naruto. The characters are beloved for a reason and are likely the main reason the series is still running strong.
I might have grown up on this show, but I never placed it among my favorites. When I came back to revisit it though, I enjoyed it much more with stories that are tightly constructed and told with strong history to the characters that develops over time.
Naruto in particular is a character that I detested at first and have grown to really enjoy. While there are clear faults in the narrative that don't allow enough story to pay off emotion, there is clear detail to the writing that makes it fun at any age.
The art style is fairly consistent and similar to other shōnen anime. The characters stand out as unique and memorable with some interesting decisions with the hair and outfits likely helping that along. The ninja theme also helps the art stand out with chakra techniques and fast action that stand out well animated.
There are clearly aspects of the characters that are accentuated particularly for humor's sake. The largely child cast are not affected much by the accentuating of body parts, but the older characters are unreasonably large in certain aspects particularly women as is usual for anime.
Sub vs. Dub
I will always prefer the dub of an anime especially since I grew up on the dubs of many of these shows including Naruto. However, there is a clear difference in Naruto between the two that is hard to ignore. While the voice acting is fine in the dub, the Japanese voice acting is several levels higher.
On the English side, Maile Flanagan and Kate Higgins are fairly bland as Naruto and Sakura. Yuri Lowenthal and Dave Wittenberg are more dynamic and memorable as Sasuke and Kakashi. The supporting cast are mixed with Stephanie Sheh and Derek Stephen Prince as particular standouts as Hinata and underused Shino.
While I still find myself inclined to the dub, the Japanese cast and hearing the original translation is clearly stronger with Naruto where direct comparisons make the dub just look bad.
Recommendation: Sub
On the English side, Maile Flanagan and Kate Higgins are fairly bland as Naruto and Sakura. Yuri Lowenthal and Dave Wittenberg are more dynamic and memorable as Sasuke and Kakashi. The supporting cast are mixed with Stephanie Sheh and Derek Stephen Prince as particular standouts as Hinata and underused Shino.
While I still find myself inclined to the dub, the Japanese cast and hearing the original translation is clearly stronger with Naruto where direct comparisons make the dub just look bad.
Recommendation: Sub
Here we have Team 8 AKA the group primarily around to team up with Naruto in filler episodes. (Image Courtesy of: naruto.wikia.com)
Conclusion
Naruto is the kind of series that is fantastic when it's on and nearly unwatchable when it's not. The characters are so engrossing during main arcs, but they're boring to see plod along with threats that are never fully realized.
If this series was only its original 135 episodes, it would be one of my favorites. Instead, it's a mix of so many good and bad where I often had to be reminded of the positives to keep working through the rest. There are certainly well done episodes in the later half, but too many feel unnecessary.
At the heart of this series, this is all about the characters. Naruto Uzimaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno are unlikable messes at the beginning and develop quickly and deeply into people that are easy root for as they meet a wealth of interesting characters along the way.
What kept me watching was the promise of continuing to see these characters develop, and that continues in the follow up Naruto Shippuden which more heavily works on the dramatic growth of the main and supporting characters.
The showrunners largely seem to be at fault here giving more and more of half-baked stories after telling a compelling complete story to start. I would recommend anyone watching the show for the first time or any time again to simply watch episodes 1-96 and 107-135 of the series then move on to the follow up series (which again should be watched while avoiding filler).
If this series was only its original 135 episodes, it would be one of my favorites. Instead, it's a mix of so many good and bad where I often had to be reminded of the positives to keep working through the rest. There are certainly well done episodes in the later half, but too many feel unnecessary.
At the heart of this series, this is all about the characters. Naruto Uzimaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno are unlikable messes at the beginning and develop quickly and deeply into people that are easy root for as they meet a wealth of interesting characters along the way.
What kept me watching was the promise of continuing to see these characters develop, and that continues in the follow up Naruto Shippuden which more heavily works on the dramatic growth of the main and supporting characters.
The showrunners largely seem to be at fault here giving more and more of half-baked stories after telling a compelling complete story to start. I would recommend anyone watching the show for the first time or any time again to simply watch episodes 1-96 and 107-135 of the series then move on to the follow up series (which again should be watched while avoiding filler).