I just finished reading Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto and surprise surprise it was good. Great, even. Lovable characters, engaging storylines throughout, really tight theming woven throughout the entire work, etc.
The Bad:
Before I gush about what I loved, I'm gonna get some nitpicks out of the way.
The art by the end of the Great Ninja War arc was really messy at times, which comes with the combat being so literally world-shattering. The character art was consistently good throughout, it just made the battle scenes in this battle manga hard to follow. Thankfully, the last fight was very very very easy to read.
I think that, while still engaging, the Great Ninja War arc got a little bogged down in fanservice and complicated fight scenes, which is the point don't get me wrong. Part of the draw of the series is the power system. It's just not a power system I personally could keep up with. By the end of it, I was treating everyone's jutsu like regular superpowers, ignoring the power system rules entirely. Same goes for the transforms people got, all of which I just mentally referred to as super saiyan forms.
Continuing on about the Ninja War, it definitely has some of the weakest moments in the series as a whole, but it's made up for by having some really genuinely great scenes and character moments. Naruto really rewards investing in EVERY character to some degree, which I like. And there's some really nice fanservice. Maybe I just have trash brain, but getting to see Zabuza and Haku and Sarutobi and all those characters that I loved but aren't around any more, that shit was fun. It had some dream matchups, some dream rematches, it's all just good fun.
Karin is just the worst character and I genuinely dislike her. Sakura's writing goes REALLY off the rails around the time of the Gokage summit. My favorite characters all ended up taking somewhat of a back seat, which is completely fine because they still got their cool moments. The Sakura thing is just so egregious because Naruto is a series where everyone feels very consistently written and each character is really easy to understand, and her fake confession to Naruto feels so out of place and mishandled because it just is not informed at all by her character up to that point and is a huge sore thumb in her arc.
Kishimoto's women are not great in general. Even Tsunade and Temari, who I love, are still like, not the best. Especially with how good his male cast is.
Killer Bee didn't need to be rapping with ebonics in the localization. It's a little cringe.
I wish the manga wrapped up Orochimaru's plotline a little neater.
Ok that's the bad
The Good:
The good is that it's good. It's really good. Naruto, like Bleach, feels so misunderstood by anime fans at large. The characters are lovable, their designs are appealing, the art is good, the fights are cool, the story is engaging, and it pays off well. It never truly loses the scrappy charm of part 1, it just grows up and matures alongside Naruto himself.
I think my favorite part is the Sasuke Retrieval arc of part 1, but the Pain arc is also really good and beloved for a reason. I guess my thing is like, when an arc isn't as good as the one that came before it, that doesn't make the arc BAD. I LOVE the Fake Town arc in Bleach, it's my favorite arc! It doesn't make Thousand Year Blood War bad.
Naruto's ending is incredible. That final fight is great, and Sasuke and Naruto are really compelling characters the entire series, so the final encounter pays off super hard in that regard.
And like, I dunno, I just love battle manga. All I really need in my life right now is good characters in a fun world with cool powers and a strong grasp on weaving a theme consistently throughout. Naruto's thesis is basically just Evangelion's thesis but with ninja wizards. "Human interaction is painful and you will be hurt and maybe even will want to hurt others, but human interaction can also be beautiful and healing and life-changing in a good way."
Conclusion:
There's this monologue that Sasuke gives at the end of the series. One that starts out with "We started out as lonely brats... starved for love and fostering hate." He then goes on to thank Naruto, saying "You never cut me off, in fact you never stopped trying to get close to me. You could have justifiably come charging at me with hatred, but you never stopped calling me your friend."
That shit is why Naruto owns. That shit is why I read fiction in general. Humanity kinda sucks, but people themselves can be incredible. Naruto owns because Naruto could be anyone, really. Naruto may be the reincarnation of some sage's kid, but that isn't what makes him special. What makes Naruto special is that he cares. He cares about others, he wants to see them grow and succeed and become better people.
THAT is why I read battle manga. Because at their best, they're life-affirming, positive works. Works that bring out the good of humanity even in the most dire of situations. They're like injecting pure, unfiltered serotonin into my eyeballs.
So yeah, Naruto is great. I get why it's one of the best selling comic series of all time. It's compelling and cool and has universal themes and relatable characters. It's not in my top 3 battle manga, but it's one that is going to stick with me for the rest of my life.
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