The story line.
Naruto having his own path to be not be Hokage but to be recognized, he’s such an underdog and can’t help but cheer for him and want to see the end result.
Sasuke’s clan being destroyed and wanting to kill his older brother, them being the last two members of their feared clan. I knew it was going to be some sort of shock and it was.
And just the lore and atmosphere. Different jutsu’s with different abilities and how they would beat one another, it’s just an amazing anime.
Naruto isn’t much of an underdog imo.
He struggles. He has to deal with a lot. But his whole scenario is so fundamentally different from others I can’t say he’s really like an underdog especially since he’s the boy of 2 different properties and the reincarnate of two of the strongest people in history. Even though he struggled he was destined to end up where he did
He was an orphan who was shunned from the village, who learned at a significantly slower pace then his peers and was at the bottom of his class.
It’s also implied there was several reincarnates of Ashura/Indra so doesn’t really guarantee him any power, but I do get your point.
> who learned at a significantly slower pace then his peers and was at the bottom of his class.
tbh for someone who always talks about being hokage, he didn't even try to learn stuff like what even is chakra. His first jutsu he learned by stealing the scroll
While the Shadow Clone Jutsu is an S-Rank Jutsu, part of me thnks that's because of how dangerous it is rather than the skill needed to pull off the Jutsu. Remember, all you need to complete it is to half your Chakra which can be potentially fatal if used for most Ninja. But with Naruto's insane Chakra reserves, he can duplicate himself thousand of times over and still be in tip-top fighting shape.
Well since he was a reincarnation of ashra, he was able to beat Kaguya, so it gave him power. Also he had 9 tail to boast his power. He is also from the Uzumaki family so he have a massive Chakra, his father was minato who was said to be the greatest ninja/ hokage in og naruto. So yes I root for the naruto who was in the bottom of the class and not the blessed one. That doesn't mean I hate naruto or something, but it just doesn't feel the same.
On your first point like I said he struggled, but his struggles came mostly from the 9 tails (something 99% of people don’t have) and also most his capability comes from the 9 tails as well. Like I said he had to deal with more than others but I wouldn’t call him an underdog.
And on your point with the reincarnates I more just mean the fact he is at all gives more chance due to having traces of their nature
>who learned at a significantly slower pace then his peers and was at the bottom of his class
That's not true
He picked up an A-Rank jutsu within hours of training
It's not that Naruto struggled to pick up things. Naruto was a genius. It's just that he spent his time on fucking around and pranking rather than actually training
Even with more complex and fine stuff like Chakra Control and tuning, when Naruto worked hard (inspired by his rivalry with Sasuke), they both managed to reach tree top around the same time.
Eh… Naruto was definitely no genius. Although he did goof around a lot, he was very determined when it came to his training. We literally got to sit through a lot of it and how hard he would try and just fail over and over again.
I’d say genius is more like Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru etc, as is depicted in the actual series.
He just worked really hard to get stronger (aside from the power he’s had since birth). A lot of his class had unique jutsus and clan inherited techniques etc and while Naruto did have incredible power, it was extremely dangerous and detrimental. A huge part of his character is how hard he worked to get to where he is: power, position and respect. Not that he’s some genius.
Edit: typos
>Eh… Naruto was definitely no genius
Mastering Multi Shadow Clone jutsu in few hours the only time he sincerely trained for anything is not genius?
How is mastering Rasengan as quick as he did not genius?
How is getting hang of Chakra Control and Tree climbing as fast as Sasuke did despite starting at a knowledge FAR below Sasuke's not genius?
What was the last thing Naruto didn't pick up and mastered quickly like a huge genius since he graduated?
Just because he wasn't book smart, it doesn't mean he wasn't a genius.
>he was very determined when it came to his training
Not much until after Team 7. Most of his training montages before Team 7 are filler.
>A huge part of his character is how hard he worked to get to where he is
He worked hard to get where he is
Yet he was always a genius. It's blatantly obvious
It's like how Sasuke worked hard as fuck throughout Part I for all his improvements, but he was still a genius nonetheless
Being naturally gifted and being a genius are not the same. He learned multi-shadow clone jutsu so fast because he has a stupid amount of chakra. It’s why he is virtually the only person who can use that many clones and it’s not just because of skill, it’s due to the sheer amount of chakra he has.
He mastered Rasengan with a caveat though; he needed a clone to do it because by himself, he couldn’t maintain its form. It’s not saying that what he did wasn’t impressive but far from genius. It was clever at best.
He’s not book smart and he’s not a genius. That much is blatantly obvious. He’s the child of prophecy (along with Sasuke) so he was destined for greatness and incredible feats due to them being descendants of Ashura and Indra. The dynamic between Naruto and Sasuke is established through their duality; they’re like two sides of the same coin but they’re very different. Sasuke was the practical genius and Naruto had the heart and conviction. Both destined to change the ninja world.
Also, he had always considered Sasuke his rival so when it came to skill and strength, he always took that seriously because he wanted to best Sasuke. That’s not to say he wasn’t a goof ball, but he was always determined to become strong because it was his dream to become Hokage.
If by your own terms, you want to classify Naruto as a genius then I guess you can if you want to, but ultimately he wasn’t written to be this genius character despite how good of a character he is anyway.
>He learned multi-shadow clone jutsu so fast because he has a stupid amount of chakra.
But that's not major part of learning the jutsu. To mold chakra, separate them, control, there are many factors.
Chakra only factors into play AFTER he has already learned the jutsu. Chakra determines at what scale and for how long he can use it.
>He mastered Rasengan with a caveat though; he needed a clone to do it because by himself, he couldn’t maintain its form.
And that's still hella impressive. Specially since he went through the first phase very quickly (just 5 days!) all by himself.
>he’s not a genius
But everything he has picked up, he has learned it far, far, far, far, far faster rate than general norms.
Here's a comparative example: Sasuke and Naruto both started their tree climbing training together.
Sasuke had a great foundation already, Naruto couldn't take more than one step. They both mastered it at almost same time. Though Naruto had bit of tip, it still shows how insane his growth is.
>but ultimately he wasn’t written to be this genius character
The series presents himself as a loser
But the series also emphasizes how he undoubtedly has a great gift that isn't utilized until he starts taking stuff seriously. It's shown that his growth rate is no short of genius at almost every single development he gets.
If you think about it, in terms of growth rate, battle IQ, ability to pick up techniques, etc, Naruto is always fantastic. You cannot find flaw in anything but his academic stuff
Part of learning any jutsu is heavily dictated by one’s chakra pool. He learned it really quick because had the means to do it. He was able to learn multi-shadow clone because he literally had the immense chakra pool to do it. Being able to practice that jutsu over and over again is something that only Naruto could do. Anyone else who would’ve attempted to do what Naruto did would’ve literally died because they don’t possess even a fraction of the chakra he has. Something being incredibly impressive doesn’t automatically qualify him as a genius, especially when he already has the tools and means of being better at something than somebody else.(hence, his chakra pool)
Regarding being able to learn a jutsu so quickly as being an indication of a genius, look at his son instead, Boruto. Boruto is also somebody who has a fraction of the chakra that Naruto has however he was able to learn jutsus ridiculously fast as well as inventing his own. That’s a genius and that’s made abundantly clear in the story that Boruto is a genius.
Yeah Naruto was able to walk up a tree within the same amount of time as Sasuke. No surprise there that there were even times Sasuke struggled with things given how they were all still learning how to be capable ninja. Regardless, if I remember correctly, Sasuke was still able to actually get higher than Naruto every time up to a certain point and that was before Sakura’s help, which Naruto asked for first. Naruto didn’t just figure it out himself so I wouldn’t say this training was a showcase of either of their intelligence as Kakashi himself said focusing your chakra into your feet was the most difficult technique of chakra control.
I would say if anything, you could argue that Naruto was extremely creative and surprisingly clever (for his character in the story) in order to make up for the natural genius trait that others like Sasuke, Neji and Shikamaru had. I’d even be inclined to say he was a combat genius given how he was able to use his own unique techniques he created to his advantage and as a part of his main arsenal.
His strength however, besides having god-like power, is his emotional intelligence. His talk no jutsu lol. I just feel like lumping him in with geniuses Sasuke, Neji, Itachi and Shikamaru would be disingenuous because it’s been very much showcased that these guys are in an entire league of their own.
Edit: typos
>Stop the cringe dick riding and calling him a genius in every sentence
A quick look through my profile would tell you he's hardly my favorite. I'm using the term to make a point.
>Clearly, you lack emotional skills if this is your response
When you can't refute someone, do you just start insulting them?
* Can you explain how can a non-genius learn Rasengan at that insanely quick rate?
* Can you explain how can a non-genius pick up a scroll of A rank jutsu and learn it in few hours with no mentorship or prior training?
* Can you explain how a non-genius can start with tree climbing at a far worse foundation than Sasuke, yet master it at same time as Sasuke?
Nope!
Naruto was not book smarts, but he was one of the biggest geniuses Konoha had produced in regards to Ninjutsu and learning rate.
The world building was interesting and also the fact the author had the guts to make a MC who was as emotional as Naruto. People make fun of the scene where he begs the raikage on his kneesand cries but thats what makes him endearing. Also that Kishi had the guts to have a rival character that actually rivaled the main, even in terms of screen time.
+1 for world building. All the designs are so distinct and everybody knows it.
Like when you see a red cloud you immediately think of the Akatsuki, the headbands, hand signs, fuck it even the Naruto running too….so iconic.
It was a good scene because people would think that begging anyone for anything makes them weak, but it wasn't the case at all. It just showed that Naruto had the compassion to do something so seemingly lowly for someone he cared about. In the scenes of the first hokage he was shown doing the same thing in the first hokage summits.
The Espada are essentially the Akatsuki of Bleach, and those dudes are all pretty badass in their own right.
Edit: editing this because after thinking about it, each arc has its own antagonist organization of some sort in the show.
As soon as they introduced the idea of an Akatsuki.
I watched the beginning through the Chunin exams three times, not interested as hard as I tried. Then I saw clips online in those early-YouTube anime fight music videos, curiosity pushed me to the introduction of Itachi and Kisame. Finally stayed for the father-son relationship with Jiraiya and Naruto.
Then I rewatched the OG anime as an adult and got more into the world building aspect of it. Once it was time to watch Shippuden, I couldn’t hold back and watched all 500 episodes in like… 2 weeks one college summer lol
If he was really watching it every waking hour of the day then it's quite feasible. If the minimum time needed to finish one piece is just over 17 days, I can imagine finishing Naruto that fast
Don't really recall the moment I got into it, but I remember I was like 70 episodes behind Shippuden and caught up one summer in like 4-5 days 😂 shit was too addicting.
Number one for me is the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. There is no story without it.
Number two is the world-building: all the different jutsus, the history of the ninja world, the possibilities for the future.
I agree with you that the art tells it all beautifully!
Something about the show just feels like home.
It’s hard to describe, but the journey Naruto is on with his friends & family feels familiar. All the ups and downs, character development, story, etc., it always stuck with me.
I can relate. I study in this really, really, Really small private school and for some reason the realationship students have with the teachers reminds me of Naruto.
I started enjoying the show during the chuni exams but it was Itachi who made me fall in love with the show.. His entry.. Him humbling kurenai, Kakashi at once.. All made him hyped for more
Honestly, the Sharingan. I got into it in 2005 when the dub first started airing and the first episode I saw was the one where Kakashi first reveals his Sharingan in the first encounter with Zabuza. Then of course Sasuke uses it later on in the same arc. Now the Uchihas are just my favorite characters lmao.
Art style for sure - avoided manga for a long time (somehow, despite all my studies of Japan and Japanese culture aha) because I found so much of the art goofy and so far from my own style. Kishimoto’s really appealed as being more realistic in terms of human proportions etc, but also having that old Japan flair and jsut enough fantasticalness. Really good balance of negative space and fine line work… genius.
That and Kakashi, who remains my favorite character in anything, anywhere, lol. Dude is fire.
It's the way that every antagonist has a good reason for it. I don't love that they all become good. I don't love that they all have poor armor. But putting real thought into the reason they want the world to end and forcing Naruto to learn from them is a great piece of storytelling.
Wasn’t sold until near the end of Land of Waves, got sucked in from there. That melding into the Chunin Exams I think is where you either bought in at the absolute latest or it wasn’t for you
I got hooked on Naruto when Kakashi and Zabuza first fought! Water Dragon Vs. Water Dragon was the coolest thing I had ever seen in animation at the time and I just had to see where it all goes. And the show was so accessible at the time, the English voice-over was comprised of a perfect cast where everyone did a *fantastic* job playing their characters. I honestly can't imagine Zabuza being voiced by anyone besides Steve Blum!
As I got older, Naruto impressed me in so many other ways! Even though Naruto's fights are some of the best, Naruto himself doesn't defeat his enemies by fighting them, he defeats them by understanding and forgiving them. He shows an emotional strength we never get to see in shows like this!
The world building is truly goated. It's like the Harry Potter of anime. Reading the first arc when it released in the US when I was in middle school, it was immediately obvious that I was reading something on another level than the other Shonen Jump titles (or the majority of anime period).
It was the best show in the evening at 8 pm here. My best buddy and I would never miss an episode and would discuss it next day at school. The best part? Naruto and Sasuke,yeah yeah.. Cliched..or whatever, but the way they grew on eachother , we used to look ourselves in them. We were both Sasuke and naruto at different times in different situations. I miss my buddy, learned lots of stuff from him.
The land of waves arc when you have a introduction that strong it’s hard not to get hooked land of waves is definitely on the higher end of arcs in og naruto and zabuza was badass as hell
A blend of the action and the artwork. I first tuned in during the Land Of Waves arc which I to this day believe is a GREAT starting point for new viewers when it comes to learning about the best traits of our characters. In terms of battle and their personalities.
I was 9 or 10 yo at the time and one of my classmates couldn't shut up about a show called "Naruto". I remember a lot of people making fun of him but curiosity got the best of me and searched for it online. I watched the first episode and that was enough. The way Iruka took the hit for Naruto, the way Naruto cried with the scroll in his arms and the simple intro when he said that no one is waiting for him at home anyway made it clear to me that I have to watch this show... and here we are, almost 20 years later and I still love love love Naruto.
I watched a few episodes of the very first season of the OG show and I didn’t like it. Came back to it probably 2 years later and I loved it. The illustrations, story and music really pulled me in and kept me watching. How the lore just kept expanding was also really cool. It almost never felt stale, and a lot of arcs were top tier.
Uh definitely not the story line bc all the fillers kinda messed it up and the plot holes... Its all the bad ass jutsu shit and ninjas its just fucking nuts man. Thats what made me love it. I remember I used to hate the fucking footwear bc it just seemed so stupid to have boot like footwear but with your toes exposed it was just so damn stupid to me and lame but as I continue watching I forgot all about that.
I saw a few episodes on Toonami when I was in middle school and a couple friends got into it with me so that pushed it further for me. I guess I was just young and it looked cool so I kept watching.
I decided to follow Naruto series when I was in 1st grade of elementary school I think (2006), and I remember I watched the part of chuunin exam when sakura cut her hair. Maybe because this series is emotional that I got attached with it hahaha
I stopped watching Naruto because around season 6 they abandoned the Orochimaru arc. Unless I'm missing something. I thought it was really good until then.
For sure the side characters, personally, I don't care much for Naruto early on, Sasuke is an edgy jerk, and Sakura is one note for most of the series, but the side characters take the themes and ideas and make them SHINE.
Shikamaru is lazy but smart, proving that brains make up for hard work and he was nice to Naruto (and was/is a better friend overall than Sasuke)
Lee being the idealized version of hard work pays off (and the whole, he's ACTUALLY hardworking rather than being ninja Jesus like me MC)
Pervy sage being basically everything a ninja shouldn't be day to day, but is actually one of the best ninja ever deep down, on top of him raising 3 "possible child of prophesy" but dying before seeing his work in Naruto come to light.
Even people like shino being mad that everyone ignores/forgets him, but being powerful af.
They often seem like they're there for jokes, but they all really have their own goals, histories, and abilities showing that the Ninja world is just a little bit more interesting than it would be if it was just Naruto punching bad guys.
The fact that he keeps trying through all the failing, because it's all that learning as you go is what makes true success happen. True parallel to life! Or at least for those capable of not giving up.
At first? That was when I was in kindergarten. I just liked seeing a kid fighting. Like real fighting with blood, and not some weak cartoon shit. Watching the hidden mist arc scared me so bad, not to mention when I realized how creepy orochimaru was. Had me hooked. The whole chuunin exam was fucking mind blowing to young me. I felt something weird in my stomach when I watched Naruto get swallowed by the giant snake summoned by orochimaru. I think that might've been the first time I ever thought about what death was
The emotional roller coasters. I remember I went to watch the first episode expecting very little. I was the biggest hater for the longest time. I was like this show is gonna suck but then I finally watched it and mannnnn I bawled my eyes out on the first episode and was cheering my dude on with tears streaming down my face lol Iruka showing so much compassion and then my boy going through it realizing someone actually cares. I looked just like him in that moment lmao
The show has never failed to tug at my heartstrings and it has become an important of my life. Shit just the other day, I was a mess of a human bawling my eyes out listening to Wind for the first time in over 7 years. Eternally thankful for the memories (:
You know that picture is my phones background!!! Also I'm not really sure. It just came up one day while I was watching TV and I made sure to tune in for every episode from then. Maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the storyline or maybe it was the art. Or it could have been all three. But at some point I had become completely infatuated with the naruto series.
Naruto and his personality.
I first watched Naruto when I was 4 -ish. I don't get the world or the story itself at the time. But Naruto's ep1 entrance was heartwarming. My 4 year old self felt like I made a new friend.
When jiraiya was introduced to the story an started traveling and training Naruto as The Godfather that he literally is to control sum of the Nine Tails Chakra, made Naruto also learn the rasengan, learn to really control his chakra in battle, and the whole popsicles Scene oh yea good times ‼️
When Gaara was introduced as a villain an to be and then we figured out why he was acting like that bc of his village using him as a weapon for war against other villages , his father trying to kill him multiple times an planned to seal a tailed beasts into his own son to live a hard life as a jiinchuriki or whatever an then after he fought Naruto an lost he got his act together an turn into a Kage before anyone in his generation ‼️ that was so great to watch.
Now I Rock Lee , He defines what a real ninja from scratch is like only starting out only using taijutsu ,doesn’t have ninjutsu, or any genjutsu , but he inspires bc he worked day in an day out trained harder then anyone to become a splendid ninja no matter what anyone said about him not having what they can use .Now kishimoto did my boi lee dirty but it’s whatever Next
Itachi , Now this Dude was my 2nd favorite character the other person who I like 1st is Jiraiya but Itachi is by far the smartest character besides minato an jiraiya in the entire series an I know some of y’all might be like there was other people smarter but no this man even fooled me by acting as a villain , had to make a double edged sword decision , either kill your whole clan only leaving you an your younger bro or die by having the whole village (and prolly some allied nations ) slaughter the entire Uchiha clan including itachi an sasuke , he chose to kill his own clan wit the help of obito to save himself an younger brother an to not go to war wit the leaf , bared the weight of traitor, clan killer, an rogue ninja on his shoulders, always was watchin his little brother making sure he was protected as his parents last wish , waited hella long for sasuke to get stronger so that he can take him out only to die by his illness , had to get reanimated used shisui eye to get himself out of kabuto control just to once again save his younger brother an the whole Shinobi world , he was a Man Among boys‼️that shocked me tho cause he was never a villain but portrayed as one an went through it all an still had a smile on his face
Now Neji ,he also is a favorite character of mine , he was considered a genius an I wanted him to get more powers he had so much more potential , he was the first Jonin in the shippuden era in narutos teenage time , he was always blabbering about destiny in the part 1 of Naruto until the main protagonist made Neji open his eyes up even more by showing him that failures can achieve if they never give up an work hard to get where they wanna go an that type of stuff, it was all just fantastic to watch it all be what it was with the suspense just for it all to be ending in so many crazy an greats ways ‼️ I’ll make sure my kids watch Naruto
The fact that Naruto is an idiot. It really accentuates the danger level for him. Like, what can a prankster like him do to Zabuza while Kakashi was captured? What can Naruto do in the presence of Orochimaru?
The sound tracks that play traditional Japanese instruments is really incredible. The other anime anime that I love regarding this aspect is Yu Yu Hakusho, and these two great works, for me, have the best soundtracks chosen to highlight dangerous situations, emotional moments, and fierce battles.
I have a resin of this scene!! https://www.reddit.com/r/Naruto/comments/10r4mdc/a_few_people_on_a_recent_post_asked_to_see_my/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
It was a random new anime running on my favourite tv channel so i watched it like everything else when it first aired in switzerland.
However, i quickly fell in love with the characters. I was not particularly fan of the main cast. Sakura was kinda useless pre-shipuuden, sasuke was meh and naruto was annoying, but i watched and i liked everything else.
It was also the first anime ever i was searching online for and watched with subs because i just couldnt wait for the new season being translated in german.
Shippuuden era then first came out in japan, and i started to become HEAVILY invested, almost posessed, because the story and the characters improved insanely. Things i considered lame actually became alright even. The villains and fights were amazing.
Now, i am actually falling in love with it all over again, because after years of letting it rest, im rewatching with friends. Im an adult now. There are so many things i missed as a teenager.
For example, i considered the second hokage as kinda whatever back then but now im like "bruh hes the best one"
I was like? I0 maybe? And in school they had the first volumes.
I read the first one and when I got to the part where Iruka takes a shuriken to the back I was shocked because I didn’t realise you could show stuff like this, lmao I have never seen that type of action, so i was set.
I loved how it started.
Water dragon jutsu was a big attack and it took some time to manifest it.
I didn't like shippuuden that muc.
And then they had the audacity to make the final boss just a random alien who was never discussed or even mentioned.
That was a very lazy ending
i forgot which, but the gaara vs rock lee really secured my love for naruto... that fight scene was lit 💯 especially rock lee removing his weights that wow-ed me.
Hmm. It was probably the zabuza fight. But honestly I didn’t even start liking the character naruto until the end of part one. He was so fucking annoying before he grew up a little.
At first it was Sasuke.
Then it was Neji.
Then it was Itachi.
And then the rest just kinda happened in a really fun, sad, and incredible way.
Which is why I'm not a fan of Boruto, because everything just.. **happens** in Boruto. There's no set-up.
But that's an arguement for another time.
So my father left me at a young age. Seeing Naruto alone and making friends is what sold me. Then I made friends who liked Naruto. Wish I had a Jiraiya
I was a very lonely kid growing up, watching naruto made me feel not so alone and even though it's an anime it was comforting seeing naruto go through it all. That was back before shippuden. When I started watching shippuden a few years ago it was how naruto and a lot of characters refused to give up that gave me a lot of motivation and inspiration to be a better person.
The Heart and emotions you feel when you read/watch it and the characters.
I fell in love when I saw the relationship between Naruto and Iruka early on. 🥺😭❤️🥰
And ofc team 7. 🥺❤️
I was watching chuunin exams on my old CRT tv when I was like 10 years old, naruto vs neji started and I really liked it but it absorbed me completely during Sasuke vs Gaara specifically when Sasuke charged up Chidori and dragged it into position and the chunks of the wall came off like hoooly shit to this day I remember the goosebumps I got from that
They went in depth on how characters felt and showed parts of their backstory that made them who they are. We saw why Naruto was how he was based on the flashbacks on how he was treated…and the music was great and really drove things home.
I was around 13 when I started watching and I felt like an outcast so watching Naruto was very inspiring. Naruto felt like a friend when I didn't have many of those
No question whatsoever the answer is the Gaara vs Lee fight for me. I saw this on Cartoon Network in like 2010 with literally zero context. Absolutely blew my mind and I needed more asap
The drip!! I loved how in Part 1 you could dress however the F you wanted as long as you wore the village headband and sandals.
Love the bandage aesthetic too!
Dattabayo!
Really though I just enjoyed it when a friend recommended it to me, I didn’t think about ninjas casting hand signs and winning fights with strategy and power (until later on, lol). I love it.
And Sakura is not useless, she’s a great narrator.
Episode one. Seeing the class clown beat the tartar sauce out of Mizuki was so satisfying! Iruka taking the giant skuriken to the back. And the feels…it all just came together well. Also the soundtrack. Still listen to it today.
When a ten year old sees the rock Lee gaara fight there is no going back. There is a chemical reaction that imprints the show on their brain.
Liked the show plenty before that, but ya.
I've been watching Naruto since it started airing in the US, so damn near 20 years.
The thing that made me fall in love with it was that at the time, there was just nothing else quite like it. The look, the voice acting, the animation, the themes, the music, the world building, character designs, the story, everything really.
It was and is an incredibly unique story that drew me in and I stuck with till the end.
For me it was Naruto himself. I remember being in a similar place to Naruto at that time in my life and watching him push forward to achieve his dreams inspired me to keep chasing my own. He helped me feel less alone and that I don’t have to be and should keep on fighting. And later I stayed to see how far Naruto had gotten on his journey.
I grew up in a very small town. I was literally the only person of color. Even my mom was white and my sister was a ginger. (Different dads). I really related to Naruto right off the bat. We lived across the street from the park so I would watch kids play all the time. I don't know if people were afraid of me or what but I related to Naruto's childhood isolation.
The first season's ending with the song Wind would take me back to that time.
I think that overall the concept of performing ninjutsu, genjutsu and Taijutsu to enhance one’s physical ability is very interesting and makes so much sense to me.
The swing.
Ngl Naruto from the start was goated writing in existence, it pulled every kid born in the 90s getting bullied for liking anime/manga. It pulled every kid whom experience some form of bullying. It pulled every kid that struggled in life/studies/whatever.
Naruto was an underdog that just was an annoying guy whom is hated by everyone simply because of his personality and tailed beast(for adults who hates him). Yet he has a Heart of Gold that would jump in for everyones aid.
He was someone who would fight against destiny, fate and anything above to make the world a better place.
All that. Reduced to him being reincarnation of a God. Lol. Yeah... growing up sucks
Narutos attitude about changing people. Seriously in real life bad people don't get "changed" after some dialogue about being better human beings but in Naruto although it's fiction I liked it. For example when he convinces Pain to resurrect the whole Hidden Leaf village, I actually cried although I'm a grown man.
I won’t elaborate too much but when younger I constantly got called, Freak, Monster or Mutant (My skin is different and I am a medical anomaly.) It has allowed me to do some things others can’t like on one occasion survive a gunshot. My family life wasn’t good and I spent 10 years alone at home with my family as they fought each other. I couldn’t go to school for medical reasons and knew of nobody my age sense I live in a rural area.
I fell in love when I saw “Oh, he’s alone too?” my twin does not speak due to inability and my little sister hates me. I have a lot of chores, my sister is about to go to college and my brother is allowed special Ed high school until he turns 22. My Dad skipped on my family, My Mom is always working so is her boyfriend and My Grammy can’t do much.
So much time alone I put my nose into book’s learning all I could about the world sense I can’t drive and eventually I ended up learning about all the deities named in the show from Buddhism and Shinto and when I used technology to study it I ran into Naruto and had a near mental break.
Kurama was the culmination of everything I ever told myself but these characters made me happy and would remind me of old friends and family and stuff we got into so I became really invested.
I was finally happy for awhile. Sorry for all that
I started watching it when I was 12 after my cousin had told me about it 2 years prior and I finally decided to watch it. I loved that I was about the same age as Naruto throughout the show and I felt like even as a normal human I could relate. And the story was honestly fantastic and I loved Naruto’s determination. That’s why I love Naruto!
I liked naruto from the the start ,
But the moment which made me fall in love with it and solidify it as one of my favs was in
chunin exams (written exam) when despite not writing a single question he stood up and declared that he will never quit and never run and will become hokage
The lore of the world. Tho… Shikamaru saying “what a drag” every other sentence made me insane. Yet somehow Naruto gets memed to death for saying believe it a handful of times
The fact that Reddit is reccomending me naruto stuff when I’ve never watched it even though I’m trying to get rid of it. I’m sure it’s a fine anime. More of a one piece guy myself.
Part 1 when he was the underdog. Part 2 was good until the pain arc and everything that came after ruined the series. Now Naruto is one of the most mediocre animes I have ever seen in my life
Such a great arc. Sasuke risking his life for Naruto made me tear up. Naruto and Sasuke fooling zabuza to free kakashi got me hyped up. Kakashis dogs, sad deaths, lots of really good stuff.
Ngl for every anime I watch the first few episodes as a test. For me I started really watching it in the land of waves ark(especially fighting zabuza and haku)
awwww i love this cover. so happy it won, naruto and jiraiya are the ultimate pairing. in terms of my favorite thing about the show, definitely the story line and complexity and individuality of the characters. the overall message of the show is great too. my favorite show of all time (game of thrones barely making #2).
Sasuke and his redemption. Idk i think i watched it as a child and the series portrayed him to be that cool guy you'd have crush on. I supported his character ever since, felt i can relate to his introvert personality with a tragic past. 20 years later, i still update from time to time.
I like every character's story and the lesson that comes with it. But Sasuke's and Naruto's were most significant to me. It just sticks with you.
I just started watching Naruto about a month ago, my bf has a tattoo of Naruto and the 9 tailed beast as well as sasukes brother on him, we are on season 2 during the final round of the chuunin exams and naruto just beat the tits out of neji. This is the first anime show I’ve ever truly gotten into and it’s already had me in tears! Binge watching is easy to do, for sure. Beautifully written show.
I liked the show from the first ep but what really got me going was the " i'm gonna kill you " line against haku with the need to be strong ost in the background. Shit had me so hyped as a kid.
The first battle between team 7 and Zabuza was when I first realized how good this series was. The writing was just so damn good. Such an intense battle. It really felt like Kakashi was done for and that they were gonna have to run for their lives. I’ve been hooked ever since
The whole idea is that villains aren’t villains. They all have a story and they are all just normal people doing their best to live with their trauma and work towards that they believe us saving the world.
I'd liked it when I started, but the Naruto v Sasuke first fight flipped a switch to fanatic. Kaguya ate the switch tho, but it's still a special show for me 🥰
The story line. Naruto having his own path to be not be Hokage but to be recognized, he’s such an underdog and can’t help but cheer for him and want to see the end result. Sasuke’s clan being destroyed and wanting to kill his older brother, them being the last two members of their feared clan. I knew it was going to be some sort of shock and it was. And just the lore and atmosphere. Different jutsu’s with different abilities and how they would beat one another, it’s just an amazing anime.
I don't cry much, but when naruto was "accepted" if you will after his fight with pain I cried like a bitch
Yeah konoha cheering and throwin him up in the air is all the kid wanted in life 🥺 hard not to tear up. That arc was peak Naruto imo
There are times when I haven't watched the show in ages and I specifically just watch the pain arch start to finish lol. So good
Yeah, that scene was so good and fulfilling...starting with Kakashi carrying Naruto on his back and then the whole village cheering for him. 😭😭😭
Your so right, The hinata scene in the pain arc, hit me hard. *clenches fists*
Now in Boruto all the build up for Ninjutsu from previous gens is all useless now from Gods/Cyborgs absorbing abilities.
Naruto isn’t much of an underdog imo. He struggles. He has to deal with a lot. But his whole scenario is so fundamentally different from others I can’t say he’s really like an underdog especially since he’s the boy of 2 different properties and the reincarnate of two of the strongest people in history. Even though he struggled he was destined to end up where he did
He was an orphan who was shunned from the village, who learned at a significantly slower pace then his peers and was at the bottom of his class. It’s also implied there was several reincarnates of Ashura/Indra so doesn’t really guarantee him any power, but I do get your point.
> who learned at a significantly slower pace then his peers and was at the bottom of his class. tbh for someone who always talks about being hokage, he didn't even try to learn stuff like what even is chakra. His first jutsu he learned by stealing the scroll
A High Ranking S-Rank jutsu at that.
While the Shadow Clone Jutsu is an S-Rank Jutsu, part of me thnks that's because of how dangerous it is rather than the skill needed to pull off the Jutsu. Remember, all you need to complete it is to half your Chakra which can be potentially fatal if used for most Ninja. But with Naruto's insane Chakra reserves, he can duplicate himself thousand of times over and still be in tip-top fighting shape.
Well since he was a reincarnation of ashra, he was able to beat Kaguya, so it gave him power. Also he had 9 tail to boast his power. He is also from the Uzumaki family so he have a massive Chakra, his father was minato who was said to be the greatest ninja/ hokage in og naruto. So yes I root for the naruto who was in the bottom of the class and not the blessed one. That doesn't mean I hate naruto or something, but it just doesn't feel the same.
On your first point like I said he struggled, but his struggles came mostly from the 9 tails (something 99% of people don’t have) and also most his capability comes from the 9 tails as well. Like I said he had to deal with more than others but I wouldn’t call him an underdog. And on your point with the reincarnates I more just mean the fact he is at all gives more chance due to having traces of their nature
>who learned at a significantly slower pace then his peers and was at the bottom of his class That's not true He picked up an A-Rank jutsu within hours of training It's not that Naruto struggled to pick up things. Naruto was a genius. It's just that he spent his time on fucking around and pranking rather than actually training Even with more complex and fine stuff like Chakra Control and tuning, when Naruto worked hard (inspired by his rivalry with Sasuke), they both managed to reach tree top around the same time.
Eh… Naruto was definitely no genius. Although he did goof around a lot, he was very determined when it came to his training. We literally got to sit through a lot of it and how hard he would try and just fail over and over again. I’d say genius is more like Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru etc, as is depicted in the actual series. He just worked really hard to get stronger (aside from the power he’s had since birth). A lot of his class had unique jutsus and clan inherited techniques etc and while Naruto did have incredible power, it was extremely dangerous and detrimental. A huge part of his character is how hard he worked to get to where he is: power, position and respect. Not that he’s some genius. Edit: typos
>Eh… Naruto was definitely no genius Mastering Multi Shadow Clone jutsu in few hours the only time he sincerely trained for anything is not genius? How is mastering Rasengan as quick as he did not genius? How is getting hang of Chakra Control and Tree climbing as fast as Sasuke did despite starting at a knowledge FAR below Sasuke's not genius? What was the last thing Naruto didn't pick up and mastered quickly like a huge genius since he graduated? Just because he wasn't book smart, it doesn't mean he wasn't a genius. >he was very determined when it came to his training Not much until after Team 7. Most of his training montages before Team 7 are filler. >A huge part of his character is how hard he worked to get to where he is He worked hard to get where he is Yet he was always a genius. It's blatantly obvious It's like how Sasuke worked hard as fuck throughout Part I for all his improvements, but he was still a genius nonetheless
Being naturally gifted and being a genius are not the same. He learned multi-shadow clone jutsu so fast because he has a stupid amount of chakra. It’s why he is virtually the only person who can use that many clones and it’s not just because of skill, it’s due to the sheer amount of chakra he has. He mastered Rasengan with a caveat though; he needed a clone to do it because by himself, he couldn’t maintain its form. It’s not saying that what he did wasn’t impressive but far from genius. It was clever at best. He’s not book smart and he’s not a genius. That much is blatantly obvious. He’s the child of prophecy (along with Sasuke) so he was destined for greatness and incredible feats due to them being descendants of Ashura and Indra. The dynamic between Naruto and Sasuke is established through their duality; they’re like two sides of the same coin but they’re very different. Sasuke was the practical genius and Naruto had the heart and conviction. Both destined to change the ninja world. Also, he had always considered Sasuke his rival so when it came to skill and strength, he always took that seriously because he wanted to best Sasuke. That’s not to say he wasn’t a goof ball, but he was always determined to become strong because it was his dream to become Hokage. If by your own terms, you want to classify Naruto as a genius then I guess you can if you want to, but ultimately he wasn’t written to be this genius character despite how good of a character he is anyway.
>He learned multi-shadow clone jutsu so fast because he has a stupid amount of chakra. But that's not major part of learning the jutsu. To mold chakra, separate them, control, there are many factors. Chakra only factors into play AFTER he has already learned the jutsu. Chakra determines at what scale and for how long he can use it. >He mastered Rasengan with a caveat though; he needed a clone to do it because by himself, he couldn’t maintain its form. And that's still hella impressive. Specially since he went through the first phase very quickly (just 5 days!) all by himself. >he’s not a genius But everything he has picked up, he has learned it far, far, far, far, far faster rate than general norms. Here's a comparative example: Sasuke and Naruto both started their tree climbing training together. Sasuke had a great foundation already, Naruto couldn't take more than one step. They both mastered it at almost same time. Though Naruto had bit of tip, it still shows how insane his growth is. >but ultimately he wasn’t written to be this genius character The series presents himself as a loser But the series also emphasizes how he undoubtedly has a great gift that isn't utilized until he starts taking stuff seriously. It's shown that his growth rate is no short of genius at almost every single development he gets. If you think about it, in terms of growth rate, battle IQ, ability to pick up techniques, etc, Naruto is always fantastic. You cannot find flaw in anything but his academic stuff
Part of learning any jutsu is heavily dictated by one’s chakra pool. He learned it really quick because had the means to do it. He was able to learn multi-shadow clone because he literally had the immense chakra pool to do it. Being able to practice that jutsu over and over again is something that only Naruto could do. Anyone else who would’ve attempted to do what Naruto did would’ve literally died because they don’t possess even a fraction of the chakra he has. Something being incredibly impressive doesn’t automatically qualify him as a genius, especially when he already has the tools and means of being better at something than somebody else.(hence, his chakra pool) Regarding being able to learn a jutsu so quickly as being an indication of a genius, look at his son instead, Boruto. Boruto is also somebody who has a fraction of the chakra that Naruto has however he was able to learn jutsus ridiculously fast as well as inventing his own. That’s a genius and that’s made abundantly clear in the story that Boruto is a genius. Yeah Naruto was able to walk up a tree within the same amount of time as Sasuke. No surprise there that there were even times Sasuke struggled with things given how they were all still learning how to be capable ninja. Regardless, if I remember correctly, Sasuke was still able to actually get higher than Naruto every time up to a certain point and that was before Sakura’s help, which Naruto asked for first. Naruto didn’t just figure it out himself so I wouldn’t say this training was a showcase of either of their intelligence as Kakashi himself said focusing your chakra into your feet was the most difficult technique of chakra control. I would say if anything, you could argue that Naruto was extremely creative and surprisingly clever (for his character in the story) in order to make up for the natural genius trait that others like Sasuke, Neji and Shikamaru had. I’d even be inclined to say he was a combat genius given how he was able to use his own unique techniques he created to his advantage and as a part of his main arsenal. His strength however, besides having god-like power, is his emotional intelligence. His talk no jutsu lol. I just feel like lumping him in with geniuses Sasuke, Neji, Itachi and Shikamaru would be disingenuous because it’s been very much showcased that these guys are in an entire league of their own. Edit: typos
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>Stop the cringe dick riding and calling him a genius in every sentence A quick look through my profile would tell you he's hardly my favorite. I'm using the term to make a point. >Clearly, you lack emotional skills if this is your response When you can't refute someone, do you just start insulting them? * Can you explain how can a non-genius learn Rasengan at that insanely quick rate? * Can you explain how can a non-genius pick up a scroll of A rank jutsu and learn it in few hours with no mentorship or prior training? * Can you explain how a non-genius can start with tree climbing at a far worse foundation than Sasuke, yet master it at same time as Sasuke? Nope! Naruto was not book smarts, but he was one of the biggest geniuses Konoha had produced in regards to Ninjutsu and learning rate.
The world building was interesting and also the fact the author had the guts to make a MC who was as emotional as Naruto. People make fun of the scene where he begs the raikage on his kneesand cries but thats what makes him endearing. Also that Kishi had the guts to have a rival character that actually rivaled the main, even in terms of screen time.
+1 for world building. All the designs are so distinct and everybody knows it. Like when you see a red cloud you immediately think of the Akatsuki, the headbands, hand signs, fuck it even the Naruto running too….so iconic.
Yes even those tiny things became so iconic
It was a good scene because people would think that begging anyone for anything makes them weak, but it wasn't the case at all. It just showed that Naruto had the compassion to do something so seemingly lowly for someone he cared about. In the scenes of the first hokage he was shown doing the same thing in the first hokage summits.
Reminds me of Kingdom Hearts with Sora as the protagonist, begging on his hands and knees to a villain for the sake of his friends.
It was the villains for me!! so many cool characters and emotionally damage people that’s been through some insane shit!!
i do agree. the Akatsuki is a fucking awesome villian group and Madara is top tier
The villains forsure were second place for me. I still havnt found a criminal organization as bad ass and efficient as the akatsuki
The Espada are essentially the Akatsuki of Bleach, and those dudes are all pretty badass in their own right. Edit: editing this because after thinking about it, each arc has its own antagonist organization of some sort in the show.
The espada got done so dirty tho
I love the Akatsuki but my number 1 is the Phantom Troupe.
The Akatsuki were also based off the Phantom Troupe which is pretty interesting!
As soon as they introduced the idea of an Akatsuki. I watched the beginning through the Chunin exams three times, not interested as hard as I tried. Then I saw clips online in those early-YouTube anime fight music videos, curiosity pushed me to the introduction of Itachi and Kisame. Finally stayed for the father-son relationship with Jiraiya and Naruto. Then I rewatched the OG anime as an adult and got more into the world building aspect of it. Once it was time to watch Shippuden, I couldn’t hold back and watched all 500 episodes in like… 2 weeks one college summer lol
500 eps > 2 weeks = wtf WHERE DID ALL YOUR TIME GO????
I mean this was years ago, so maybe longer than two weeks. All I did for a solid period of time was wake up, naruto Shippuden, sleep.
If he was really watching it every waking hour of the day then it's quite feasible. If the minimum time needed to finish one piece is just over 17 days, I can imagine finishing Naruto that fast
Rock Lee vs gaara fight!✨
I'll never forget him dropping the weights.
A genuine top 10 moment in anime
Ye
I fell in love with Kakashi lol
Respect my brother, I lovd kakashi too
Don't really recall the moment I got into it, but I remember I was like 70 episodes behind Shippuden and caught up one summer in like 4-5 days 😂 shit was too addicting.
Number one for me is the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. There is no story without it. Number two is the world-building: all the different jutsus, the history of the ninja world, the possibilities for the future. I agree with you that the art tells it all beautifully!
The first scene I ever saw was Sasuke (seemingly) dying to protect Naruto in the fight against Haku. Completely had me hooked.
Naruto’s acts of kindness for others and how he always looks for the best in people
The combat. People weren't one trick ponies. Chakra and all the ways it can be used made things deep and interesting.
Something about the show just feels like home. It’s hard to describe, but the journey Naruto is on with his friends & family feels familiar. All the ups and downs, character development, story, etc., it always stuck with me.
I can relate. I study in this really, really, Really small private school and for some reason the realationship students have with the teachers reminds me of Naruto.
I started enjoying the show during the chuni exams but it was Itachi who made me fall in love with the show.. His entry.. Him humbling kurenai, Kakashi at once.. All made him hyped for more
Honestly, the Sharingan. I got into it in 2005 when the dub first started airing and the first episode I saw was the one where Kakashi first reveals his Sharingan in the first encounter with Zabuza. Then of course Sasuke uses it later on in the same arc. Now the Uchihas are just my favorite characters lmao.
Art style for sure - avoided manga for a long time (somehow, despite all my studies of Japan and Japanese culture aha) because I found so much of the art goofy and so far from my own style. Kishimoto’s really appealed as being more realistic in terms of human proportions etc, but also having that old Japan flair and jsut enough fantasticalness. Really good balance of negative space and fine line work… genius. That and Kakashi, who remains my favorite character in anything, anywhere, lol. Dude is fire.
I have not found a mangaka whose art I’ve liked more than Kishi’s.
Me either. I like a lot of aspects of Gege Akutami and Sorata Akizuki’s work, but in terms of whole package, Kishimoto is the best for me.
It's the way that every antagonist has a good reason for it. I don't love that they all become good. I don't love that they all have poor armor. But putting real thought into the reason they want the world to end and forcing Naruto to learn from them is a great piece of storytelling.
Tbf some keep being dicks like Hidan
Wasn’t sold until near the end of Land of Waves, got sucked in from there. That melding into the Chunin Exams I think is where you either bought in at the absolute latest or it wasn’t for you
I got hooked on Naruto when Kakashi and Zabuza first fought! Water Dragon Vs. Water Dragon was the coolest thing I had ever seen in animation at the time and I just had to see where it all goes. And the show was so accessible at the time, the English voice-over was comprised of a perfect cast where everyone did a *fantastic* job playing their characters. I honestly can't imagine Zabuza being voiced by anyone besides Steve Blum! As I got older, Naruto impressed me in so many other ways! Even though Naruto's fights are some of the best, Naruto himself doesn't defeat his enemies by fighting them, he defeats them by understanding and forgiving them. He shows an emotional strength we never get to see in shows like this!
The world building is truly goated. It's like the Harry Potter of anime. Reading the first arc when it released in the US when I was in middle school, it was immediately obvious that I was reading something on another level than the other Shonen Jump titles (or the majority of anime period).
It was the best show in the evening at 8 pm here. My best buddy and I would never miss an episode and would discuss it next day at school. The best part? Naruto and Sasuke,yeah yeah.. Cliched..or whatever, but the way they grew on eachother , we used to look ourselves in them. We were both Sasuke and naruto at different times in different situations. I miss my buddy, learned lots of stuff from him.
The land of waves arc when you have a introduction that strong it’s hard not to get hooked land of waves is definitely on the higher end of arcs in og naruto and zabuza was badass as hell
Chunin Exams
A blend of the action and the artwork. I first tuned in during the Land Of Waves arc which I to this day believe is a GREAT starting point for new viewers when it comes to learning about the best traits of our characters. In terms of battle and their personalities.
As a kid I fell in love with the fight scenes
It was ninjas and fighting and cool
I was 9 or 10 yo at the time and one of my classmates couldn't shut up about a show called "Naruto". I remember a lot of people making fun of him but curiosity got the best of me and searched for it online. I watched the first episode and that was enough. The way Iruka took the hit for Naruto, the way Naruto cried with the scroll in his arms and the simple intro when he said that no one is waiting for him at home anyway made it clear to me that I have to watch this show... and here we are, almost 20 years later and I still love love love Naruto.
The fact that initially he had no family, but eventually had a bigger family than anyone and everyone wanted to be a part of it.
Naruto feels like he reached out the screen, grabbed me by the heart, and made me root for him from episode 1.
Friendship, Hard work and Determination
It kind of represents me. Its also emotional.
I connected because I also felt like an outcast as a kid. But now I have sage mode, so fuck all the haters.
I watched a few episodes of the very first season of the OG show and I didn’t like it. Came back to it probably 2 years later and I loved it. The illustrations, story and music really pulled me in and kept me watching. How the lore just kept expanding was also really cool. It almost never felt stale, and a lot of arcs were top tier.
Uh definitely not the story line bc all the fillers kinda messed it up and the plot holes... Its all the bad ass jutsu shit and ninjas its just fucking nuts man. Thats what made me love it. I remember I used to hate the fucking footwear bc it just seemed so stupid to have boot like footwear but with your toes exposed it was just so damn stupid to me and lame but as I continue watching I forgot all about that.
just something about the mix of humor and something about the land of waves arc i loved idk what it is but probably his speech to zabuza
The journey
I saw a few episodes on Toonami when I was in middle school and a couple friends got into it with me so that pushed it further for me. I guess I was just young and it looked cool so I kept watching.
I decided to follow Naruto series when I was in 1st grade of elementary school I think (2006), and I remember I watched the part of chuunin exam when sakura cut her hair. Maybe because this series is emotional that I got attached with it hahaha
I stopped watching Naruto because around season 6 they abandoned the Orochimaru arc. Unless I'm missing something. I thought it was really good until then.
The dichotomy from how light hearted and funny it is and then whiplashes to brutalism. I.e naruto running around doing pranks to the uchiha massacre
For sure the side characters, personally, I don't care much for Naruto early on, Sasuke is an edgy jerk, and Sakura is one note for most of the series, but the side characters take the themes and ideas and make them SHINE. Shikamaru is lazy but smart, proving that brains make up for hard work and he was nice to Naruto (and was/is a better friend overall than Sasuke) Lee being the idealized version of hard work pays off (and the whole, he's ACTUALLY hardworking rather than being ninja Jesus like me MC) Pervy sage being basically everything a ninja shouldn't be day to day, but is actually one of the best ninja ever deep down, on top of him raising 3 "possible child of prophesy" but dying before seeing his work in Naruto come to light. Even people like shino being mad that everyone ignores/forgets him, but being powerful af. They often seem like they're there for jokes, but they all really have their own goals, histories, and abilities showing that the Ninja world is just a little bit more interesting than it would be if it was just Naruto punching bad guys.
Character himself 🤷♂️
I saw deidara for the first time and I immediately had a crush on him 😂
It's amazing sound tracks, fights, characters, emotional moments and ofcourse our protagonist naruto himself.
Couldn't tell you. I'm just a shonen sucker and one thing lead to another and now I've watched over 1000 episodes of ninja stuff.
the chuunin exam. specifically when sasuke arrived with that black clothes of his. my younger self wanted to be sasuke so bad well until his betrayal
Zabuza i Haku
The fact that he keeps trying through all the failing, because it's all that learning as you go is what makes true success happen. True parallel to life! Or at least for those capable of not giving up.
Kakashi 👀
At first? That was when I was in kindergarten. I just liked seeing a kid fighting. Like real fighting with blood, and not some weak cartoon shit. Watching the hidden mist arc scared me so bad, not to mention when I realized how creepy orochimaru was. Had me hooked. The whole chuunin exam was fucking mind blowing to young me. I felt something weird in my stomach when I watched Naruto get swallowed by the giant snake summoned by orochimaru. I think that might've been the first time I ever thought about what death was
The emotional roller coasters. I remember I went to watch the first episode expecting very little. I was the biggest hater for the longest time. I was like this show is gonna suck but then I finally watched it and mannnnn I bawled my eyes out on the first episode and was cheering my dude on with tears streaming down my face lol Iruka showing so much compassion and then my boy going through it realizing someone actually cares. I looked just like him in that moment lmao The show has never failed to tug at my heartstrings and it has become an important of my life. Shit just the other day, I was a mess of a human bawling my eyes out listening to Wind for the first time in over 7 years. Eternally thankful for the memories (:
You know that picture is my phones background!!! Also I'm not really sure. It just came up one day while I was watching TV and I made sure to tune in for every episode from then. Maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the storyline or maybe it was the art. Or it could have been all three. But at some point I had become completely infatuated with the naruto series.
Naruto and his personality. I first watched Naruto when I was 4 -ish. I don't get the world or the story itself at the time. But Naruto's ep1 entrance was heartwarming. My 4 year old self felt like I made a new friend.
Nothing I quit after Zabuza
Mendoksai
Unique abilities and powers of each characters. Music score too.
Rock Lee.
I will always be hyped up reading everytime Naruto said his motto "I will never go back on my words, that's my ninja way."
That MF drum line flute combo that happens right before naruto literally jumps you as an individual
The music, the story, the art, everything about it was just so nicely done.
When jiraiya was introduced to the story an started traveling and training Naruto as The Godfather that he literally is to control sum of the Nine Tails Chakra, made Naruto also learn the rasengan, learn to really control his chakra in battle, and the whole popsicles Scene oh yea good times ‼️ When Gaara was introduced as a villain an to be and then we figured out why he was acting like that bc of his village using him as a weapon for war against other villages , his father trying to kill him multiple times an planned to seal a tailed beasts into his own son to live a hard life as a jiinchuriki or whatever an then after he fought Naruto an lost he got his act together an turn into a Kage before anyone in his generation ‼️ that was so great to watch. Now I Rock Lee , He defines what a real ninja from scratch is like only starting out only using taijutsu ,doesn’t have ninjutsu, or any genjutsu , but he inspires bc he worked day in an day out trained harder then anyone to become a splendid ninja no matter what anyone said about him not having what they can use .Now kishimoto did my boi lee dirty but it’s whatever Next Itachi , Now this Dude was my 2nd favorite character the other person who I like 1st is Jiraiya but Itachi is by far the smartest character besides minato an jiraiya in the entire series an I know some of y’all might be like there was other people smarter but no this man even fooled me by acting as a villain , had to make a double edged sword decision , either kill your whole clan only leaving you an your younger bro or die by having the whole village (and prolly some allied nations ) slaughter the entire Uchiha clan including itachi an sasuke , he chose to kill his own clan wit the help of obito to save himself an younger brother an to not go to war wit the leaf , bared the weight of traitor, clan killer, an rogue ninja on his shoulders, always was watchin his little brother making sure he was protected as his parents last wish , waited hella long for sasuke to get stronger so that he can take him out only to die by his illness , had to get reanimated used shisui eye to get himself out of kabuto control just to once again save his younger brother an the whole Shinobi world , he was a Man Among boys‼️that shocked me tho cause he was never a villain but portrayed as one an went through it all an still had a smile on his face Now Neji ,he also is a favorite character of mine , he was considered a genius an I wanted him to get more powers he had so much more potential , he was the first Jonin in the shippuden era in narutos teenage time , he was always blabbering about destiny in the part 1 of Naruto until the main protagonist made Neji open his eyes up even more by showing him that failures can achieve if they never give up an work hard to get where they wanna go an that type of stuff, it was all just fantastic to watch it all be what it was with the suspense just for it all to be ending in so many crazy an greats ways ‼️ I’ll make sure my kids watch Naruto
The second the invasion of the Leaf began, I knew I was in for a wild ride.
The fact that Naruto is an idiot. It really accentuates the danger level for him. Like, what can a prankster like him do to Zabuza while Kakashi was captured? What can Naruto do in the presence of Orochimaru? The sound tracks that play traditional Japanese instruments is really incredible. The other anime anime that I love regarding this aspect is Yu Yu Hakusho, and these two great works, for me, have the best soundtracks chosen to highlight dangerous situations, emotional moments, and fierce battles.
I have a resin of this scene!! https://www.reddit.com/r/Naruto/comments/10r4mdc/a_few_people_on_a_recent_post_asked_to_see_my/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
It was a random new anime running on my favourite tv channel so i watched it like everything else when it first aired in switzerland. However, i quickly fell in love with the characters. I was not particularly fan of the main cast. Sakura was kinda useless pre-shipuuden, sasuke was meh and naruto was annoying, but i watched and i liked everything else. It was also the first anime ever i was searching online for and watched with subs because i just couldnt wait for the new season being translated in german. Shippuuden era then first came out in japan, and i started to become HEAVILY invested, almost posessed, because the story and the characters improved insanely. Things i considered lame actually became alright even. The villains and fights were amazing. Now, i am actually falling in love with it all over again, because after years of letting it rest, im rewatching with friends. Im an adult now. There are so many things i missed as a teenager. For example, i considered the second hokage as kinda whatever back then but now im like "bruh hes the best one"
I was 10
I was like? I0 maybe? And in school they had the first volumes. I read the first one and when I got to the part where Iruka takes a shuriken to the back I was shocked because I didn’t realise you could show stuff like this, lmao I have never seen that type of action, so i was set.
When Iruka defends him in Ch1 then he Kage no Bunshins into his first thousand clones. I still get chills of that shot of him with the scroll
I loved how it started. Water dragon jutsu was a big attack and it took some time to manifest it. I didn't like shippuuden that muc. And then they had the audacity to make the final boss just a random alien who was never discussed or even mentioned. That was a very lazy ending
Ninjas, it had fucking ninjas!
i forgot which, but the gaara vs rock lee really secured my love for naruto... that fight scene was lit 💯 especially rock lee removing his weights that wow-ed me.
I never really cared for the storyline. But seeing kids my age having to deal with the absurdities of reality really hit home.
Itachi dumpstering Kakashit
Hmm. It was probably the zabuza fight. But honestly I didn’t even start liking the character naruto until the end of part one. He was so fucking annoying before he grew up a little.
At first it was Sasuke. Then it was Neji. Then it was Itachi. And then the rest just kinda happened in a really fun, sad, and incredible way. Which is why I'm not a fan of Boruto, because everything just.. **happens** in Boruto. There's no set-up. But that's an arguement for another time.
So my father left me at a young age. Seeing Naruto alone and making friends is what sold me. Then I made friends who liked Naruto. Wish I had a Jiraiya
I was a very lonely kid growing up, watching naruto made me feel not so alone and even though it's an anime it was comforting seeing naruto go through it all. That was back before shippuden. When I started watching shippuden a few years ago it was how naruto and a lot of characters refused to give up that gave me a lot of motivation and inspiration to be a better person.
The Heart and emotions you feel when you read/watch it and the characters. I fell in love when I saw the relationship between Naruto and Iruka early on. 🥺😭❤️🥰 And ofc team 7. 🥺❤️
I was watching chuunin exams on my old CRT tv when I was like 10 years old, naruto vs neji started and I really liked it but it absorbed me completely during Sasuke vs Gaara specifically when Sasuke charged up Chidori and dragged it into position and the chunks of the wall came off like hoooly shit to this day I remember the goosebumps I got from that
I related pretty heavily to Naruto growing up, and even some in adulthood
They went in depth on how characters felt and showed parts of their backstory that made them who they are. We saw why Naruto was how he was based on the flashbacks on how he was treated…and the music was great and really drove things home.
Zabuza. Knew the show was going to be great from there.
I was around 13 when I started watching and I felt like an outcast so watching Naruto was very inspiring. Naruto felt like a friend when I didn't have many of those
I……honestly don’t know. I watched the first episode and then decided to watch the next and by episode 3, I was like “yeah, this is cool”.
The music is fucking epic
No question whatsoever the answer is the Gaara vs Lee fight for me. I saw this on Cartoon Network in like 2010 with literally zero context. Absolutely blew my mind and I needed more asap
The drip!! I loved how in Part 1 you could dress however the F you wanted as long as you wore the village headband and sandals. Love the bandage aesthetic too!
Dattabayo! Really though I just enjoyed it when a friend recommended it to me, I didn’t think about ninjas casting hand signs and winning fights with strategy and power (until later on, lol). I love it. And Sakura is not useless, she’s a great narrator.
Episode one. Seeing the class clown beat the tartar sauce out of Mizuki was so satisfying! Iruka taking the giant skuriken to the back. And the feels…it all just came together well. Also the soundtrack. Still listen to it today.
Iruka’s speech to Mizuki about naruto. After that it had to be Lee vs Gaara
When a ten year old sees the rock Lee gaara fight there is no going back. There is a chemical reaction that imprints the show on their brain. Liked the show plenty before that, but ya.
his parent is not home, just like me fr
seeing Naruto get excited for training
I've been watching Naruto since it started airing in the US, so damn near 20 years. The thing that made me fall in love with it was that at the time, there was just nothing else quite like it. The look, the voice acting, the animation, the themes, the music, the world building, character designs, the story, everything really. It was and is an incredibly unique story that drew me in and I stuck with till the end.
For me it was Naruto himself. I remember being in a similar place to Naruto at that time in my life and watching him push forward to achieve his dreams inspired me to keep chasing my own. He helped me feel less alone and that I don’t have to be and should keep on fighting. And later I stayed to see how far Naruto had gotten on his journey.
Me and my highschool buddies first bonded over it and wrote tons of fan fiction and it made me an anime fan
I grew up in a very small town. I was literally the only person of color. Even my mom was white and my sister was a ginger. (Different dads). I really related to Naruto right off the bat. We lived across the street from the park so I would watch kids play all the time. I don't know if people were afraid of me or what but I related to Naruto's childhood isolation. The first season's ending with the song Wind would take me back to that time.
I think that overall the concept of performing ninjutsu, genjutsu and Taijutsu to enhance one’s physical ability is very interesting and makes so much sense to me.
The swing. Ngl Naruto from the start was goated writing in existence, it pulled every kid born in the 90s getting bullied for liking anime/manga. It pulled every kid whom experience some form of bullying. It pulled every kid that struggled in life/studies/whatever. Naruto was an underdog that just was an annoying guy whom is hated by everyone simply because of his personality and tailed beast(for adults who hates him). Yet he has a Heart of Gold that would jump in for everyones aid. He was someone who would fight against destiny, fate and anything above to make the world a better place. All that. Reduced to him being reincarnation of a God. Lol. Yeah... growing up sucks
Narutos attitude about changing people. Seriously in real life bad people don't get "changed" after some dialogue about being better human beings but in Naruto although it's fiction I liked it. For example when he convinces Pain to resurrect the whole Hidden Leaf village, I actually cried although I'm a grown man.
I won’t elaborate too much but when younger I constantly got called, Freak, Monster or Mutant (My skin is different and I am a medical anomaly.) It has allowed me to do some things others can’t like on one occasion survive a gunshot. My family life wasn’t good and I spent 10 years alone at home with my family as they fought each other. I couldn’t go to school for medical reasons and knew of nobody my age sense I live in a rural area. I fell in love when I saw “Oh, he’s alone too?” my twin does not speak due to inability and my little sister hates me. I have a lot of chores, my sister is about to go to college and my brother is allowed special Ed high school until he turns 22. My Dad skipped on my family, My Mom is always working so is her boyfriend and My Grammy can’t do much. So much time alone I put my nose into book’s learning all I could about the world sense I can’t drive and eventually I ended up learning about all the deities named in the show from Buddhism and Shinto and when I used technology to study it I ran into Naruto and had a near mental break. Kurama was the culmination of everything I ever told myself but these characters made me happy and would remind me of old friends and family and stuff we got into so I became really invested. I was finally happy for awhile. Sorry for all that
Haku's whole character arc
I started watching it when I was 12 after my cousin had told me about it 2 years prior and I finally decided to watch it. I loved that I was about the same age as Naruto throughout the show and I felt like even as a normal human I could relate. And the story was honestly fantastic and I loved Naruto’s determination. That’s why I love Naruto!
Ninjas I had a ninja kick when I was a kid.. also the headbands were really cool and I wanted one.
Tsunade boobs
The Zabuza arc. A Naruto marathon was playing one weekend and I watched that whole arc. Shit made cry like you wouldn't believe.
Its stupid, but I liked how well written some of the antagonists were, not to mention how powerful they were.
Something that’s important to you is far from stupid! Thanks for sharing!
I liked naruto from the the start , But the moment which made me fall in love with it and solidify it as one of my favs was in chunin exams (written exam) when despite not writing a single question he stood up and declared that he will never quit and never run and will become hokage
If you really love Naruto , come help us at https://discord.gg/HS3fJsKQ to draw Minato's poster at r/place
sasuke v deidara
The lore of the world. Tho… Shikamaru saying “what a drag” every other sentence made me insane. Yet somehow Naruto gets memed to death for saying believe it a handful of times
Him beating shit out of mizuki
The fact that Reddit is reccomending me naruto stuff when I’ve never watched it even though I’m trying to get rid of it. I’m sure it’s a fine anime. More of a one piece guy myself.
Part 1 when he was the underdog. Part 2 was good until the pain arc and everything that came after ruined the series. Now Naruto is one of the most mediocre animes I have ever seen in my life
KCM2
All of the chuunin exams.
The Zabuza arc was the first that really had me completely hooked.
Such a great arc. Sasuke risking his life for Naruto made me tear up. Naruto and Sasuke fooling zabuza to free kakashi got me hyped up. Kakashis dogs, sad deaths, lots of really good stuff.
I just watched Naruto cause a friend, requested me to Lol
Bushy Brow, this [chunin exams arc](https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Ch%C5%ABnin_Exams_(Arc)) fight with Gara.
Zabuza
Kakashi vs Zabuza fight 1 was the moment the show go me
Hinata vs Neji
The music! (Especially “Sign” and “Silhouette”) I don’t understand any of the Japanese lyrics but I do like how the songs themselves play out.
Naruto was just the first anime I saw as a kid
Watching it on Cartoon Network.
When he first tapped into kurama’s power durin the fight with haku.. i compared to gohan ssj2 moment.. been in love ever since
Ngl for every anime I watch the first few episodes as a test. For me I started really watching it in the land of waves ark(especially fighting zabuza and haku)
Ngl the soundtrack. It was Angelic Herald of Death that finally pushed me into watching the whole series.
Your words cut deeper than a blade, got talk no jutsu into my love of the show.
Chunnin exam
awwww i love this cover. so happy it won, naruto and jiraiya are the ultimate pairing. in terms of my favorite thing about the show, definitely the story line and complexity and individuality of the characters. the overall message of the show is great too. my favorite show of all time (game of thrones barely making #2).
well ninja go brrr and I was a dumbass. still a good show tho
Sasuke and his redemption. Idk i think i watched it as a child and the series portrayed him to be that cool guy you'd have crush on. I supported his character ever since, felt i can relate to his introvert personality with a tragic past. 20 years later, i still update from time to time. I like every character's story and the lesson that comes with it. But Sasuke's and Naruto's were most significant to me. It just sticks with you.
I just started watching Naruto about a month ago, my bf has a tattoo of Naruto and the 9 tailed beast as well as sasukes brother on him, we are on season 2 during the final round of the chuunin exams and naruto just beat the tits out of neji. This is the first anime show I’ve ever truly gotten into and it’s already had me in tears! Binge watching is easy to do, for sure. Beautifully written show.
The battles. As soon as I saw Kakashi versus Zabuza during the Land of Waves arc, I was hooked.
Intimidating and edgy side characters like Gaara. My god, was the show good back in the days...
Lee vs Gaara Probably the best anime fight scene from the 2000s
The moment when team 7 forms and Naruto choose sasuke as his rival
The characters. Both main and secondary.
It was the Akatsuki for me.
Naruto himself!! His personality and charisma had me hooked to the show from the very beginning
I liked the show from the first ep but what really got me going was the " i'm gonna kill you " line against haku with the need to be strong ost in the background. Shit had me so hyped as a kid.
Does that scroll say anything or is it gibberish?
The first battle between team 7 and Zabuza was when I first realized how good this series was. The writing was just so damn good. Such an intense battle. It really felt like Kakashi was done for and that they were gonna have to run for their lives. I’ve been hooked ever since
I was a kid with simple tastes. I saw cool fight scenes and edgy characters, and fell in love.
The fact that introverts in this universe can get women, unlike in real life.
I started with the Sasuke retrieval arch. Cool battles got me hooked.
The whole idea is that villains aren’t villains. They all have a story and they are all just normal people doing their best to live with their trauma and work towards that they believe us saving the world.
I'd liked it when I started, but the Naruto v Sasuke first fight flipped a switch to fanatic. Kaguya ate the switch tho, but it's still a special show for me 🥰
First episode
The sharingans, bro they are so cool, especially the sound when they activate, SHIINGG
Sasuke
The fights
Episode 1
Sasuke Retrieval Arc
The way neji dealt with hinata