Hello! Users have been frequently asking me why I like Naruto so much. I comprised multiple categories displaying why Naruto: Shippūden by Masashi Kishimoto is such a good anime. Also note, if you don't agree with me, I don't care. This is my own personal opinion and rating on the anime.
About[]
Naruto: Shippūden, the sequel to the original series, is world of epic battles, missions, and battling fighters in the world of ninja. Naruto Uzumaki's father, Minato had to fight off the most deadly of the nine tailed beasts, the Nine Tails, to protect it from the Hidden Leaf village. In order to prevent further chaos, not long after Naruto's birth, he had to seal it inside him, making him a jinchūriki.
People often shunned Naruto as a child because of him being a jinchūriki. Everyone would consistently pick on him and call him names during his childhood because they thought he was a freak. The first one to accept Naruto was his master, Iruka. Naruto did terribly in school and was very weak in ninjutsu. In the pilot, in attempt to gain power and show he can be powerful, he is offered by a ninja a scroll— one containing the forbidden jutsu of creating solid Shadow Clones of himself. As Iruka told him who this corrupt ninja was, Naruto used this technique he had initially received for this man against him, easily defeating him. Iruka then saw Naruto was a powerful ninja and passed him to become a ninja.
The sequel begins with Naruto coming back after his three years of training with a powerful master, Jaraiya. He mastered multiple techniques and became much more powerful. The Akatsuki, a ruthless gang of antagonists in black robes with red clouds. Their task is to attain the Tailed Beasts from all of the jinchūriki. The series is mainly about Naruto and his allies attempting to fight off these tyrants. Naruto masters the amazing abilities of the Nine Tails throughout the series, immensely helping him battle. His powers gradually progress and the Akatsuki die off one by one.
That's the main idea. I don't want to spoil too much about the series though.
Review[]
Current having the sixth most sales in Japan, having of the three most sales in the world (next to Bleach and One Piece), and of the top five most sold manga in history, I believe Naruto and Naruto: Shippūden are massively underrated. Both series, I found very interesting and it certainly earns its popularity across Japan as well as the whole world.
With the constant movement and activity, the show rarely dies or slows down at any parts. They are always either talking or jumping from tree to tree wary of danger to walking around town for minor missions to fighting one of the Akatsuki. The shows is always moving and unlike the original series, fillers are not as frequent. There are times an arc will come up that seem like a filler, but they have an impact on the story. The animation is great, smooth, and flows. The angling and screen positioning they do match the animation well and hence, it adds onto the suspense. The animation is one of the best of any anime I have watched. The voices, sound effects, and overall audio are very strong and well-done. I really have no complaint in the audio. I feel it was done perfectly.
The story and plot has next to no gaps (at least none I can point out). The plot is logical. Each event leads to another you would not expect. Everything that occurs in the series is very well thought out and unexpected to the very end. I honestly personally could have not predicted any of the occurrences. The shows has parts that are filled with actions and characters get injured badly but fight it out. It also has its moments of humor. The plot itself is full of mystery, action, and comedy. Every element of the show is well balanced and the story really kept me on the edge of my seat. I saw nothing wrong with the story of the sequel, but it varies from opinion to opinion.
Each individual character was well thought out and each has their own unique dramatic back story that can easily affect the outcome of everyone else's lives. A gap is never there in a character's background so you will never be left wondering about a character. No character is completely bland, but not every character has a sad or overly serious history. Each character has something about their lives that makes them stand out. The creepy evilness of Kabuto and Madara dramatically changes everyone else's point of view on villainy. The chaos that occurs in the Shinobi War Arc is perhaps the best arc of the whole series. It brings on multiples elements of seeing each character, particularly each of the Five Kage's perspectives and history. They all have some sort of unique fighting style. Their jutsu is sole to them and two characters never share a similar battle style. The characters interact with each other well. Masashi Kishimoto had a good balance of action and shōnen-like scenes and the shōjo-like scenes with romance and affection. He does not overdo romantic relationships between characters when things are intense and serious, but he does not ignore the fact Naruto is destined to find someone he will find he truly loves sooner or later.
I personally found the anime thrilling, exciting, and very enjoyable. I couldn't watch one episode without watching the next. The suspense, romance, and action are well-balanced. In my opinion, I can say this is one of the best anime I've ever watched and is most likely my favorite anime and manga ever.
Again, take note that my review is about Shippūden, and not the original in particular.
Overall Verdict[]
- Animations: 10
- Story and Plot: 10
- Characters: 10
- Audio: 10
- Enjoyment: 10
- Overall: 10— This is a great and interesting anime that always kept me on the edge of my seat. I recommend you watch it.
Again, this is my opinion so if you disagree or want to rudely comment on this review, I don't care. This is what I thought about the anime. I hope you liked my review. :)
- だってばね！ --Yuzura☆炎のマスター