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dinohunterpat Since: Nov, 2013
05/15/2015 01:13:29 •••

A Decent Show with Good Pt1 and Disappoining Pt2

Naruto is not a bad show per say. It overall has a good start and is rather enjoyable for the first part. However, much of its interesting characters are shoved aside in favor of the poorly-written and inconsistent villains.

Naruto started off pretty well with a likeable cast and some clever action scenes that mixes both clever strategy and showy stunts. Sure the character don't exact hide in the shadows like traditional ninjas, but they do use subterfuge and trickery in fights. I wasn't bothered by Sakura and Sasuke and to their credit they show some decent character development. Even after Sasuke became a villain, I still understand his goals and felt sorry for him.

However, the franchise loses much of its luster after the timeskip into part II. Part II did show the cast growing up and becoming more badass which is a good start. Even Sakura became much cooler in the time skip. Ditto for other Konoha residents like Choji and Hinata. It seemed like everything was going fine.

Too bad the Uchiha clan had to screw everything up. The Uchihas are some of the most self-righteous assholes in Anime/Manga history who steal the spotlight away from all the interesting characters that we've grown to love including the main hero. While I was able to sympathize with and tolerate Sasuke before the time skip, I absolutely hate him. Here he pisses away any audience sympathy by killing innocent body guards and leaving his comrades to die. Likewise, the villain Tobi is Obito Uchiha who turns to be even more unlikeable because he starts a war that kills thousands all because his love interest died. It would be one thing that the Uchihas are intentionally written to be evil scumbags, but the audience and characters are still expected to sympathize with them and they never get punished for their villainy. On top of that, every time the Uchihas show up, the fights become less about clever strategy and more about bloated spectacle and asspulls.

Overall, Naruto is still a good series that still has a strong start and likeable heroes. However, it's second part undid most of that good will with its shilling of the Uchihas. I just hope the author avoids making the same mistake of focusing too much on spotlight-hogging jerkasses in the sequel series.

Valiona Since: Mar, 2011
05/14/2015 00:00:00

I suppose I understand where the hate for the Uchihas come from, but I honestly never could agree with the fairly negative view of the Uchihas that seems quite pervasive, at least on TV Tropes. Perhaps it's in large part because I don't dislike the Uchihas that I was able to enjoy the series all the way through.

dinohunterpat Since: Nov, 2013
05/15/2015 00:00:00

I guess one's view of the Uchihas is really YMMV. Anyone who approach the series from a cultural aspect would know that family fidelity matters a lot in Asian countries so they would be more supportive of Sasuke's revenge.

But maybe I've been spoiled by other anime series with more noble villains, most of whom come from the Gundam (See Ramba Ral, Treize Krushenada, Andy Waltfeld, Sergei Smirnov). Still if you can mind the Uchiha then good for you then.


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