Grief is not something you think of when you think of Naruto.
Don't forget that the story is not just about fillers and goofiness.
A lot of conflicts in the world of Naruto are resolved by fighting, and fighting brings death.
The way Naruto handles deaths and subsequent grief is astounding.
It helps Naruto grow into who he is.
When you think of Naruto, "grief" is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. It's a long series, filled with action and period-accurate goofiness. It became the definition of a shounen show, a staple in the industry, a benchmark and guideline — in some ways it was a perfect showcase of things you shouldn't be doing with a series, but still, a guideline.
You remember the complex story, the abundance of fillers, the badly written female characters, and tons of memes that followed the release of the new episodes. You remember that attack names have to be shouted, that character has to go through gradual growth and not be a badass right from the start. You remember that this growth is non-linear. And that's when you probably dig up the concept of grief that is, surprisingly, explored quite extensively in Naruto.
Under the quirky facade lies a layer of pain
The quirky design of the characters, the memes, and the general popularity of the show not only among seasoned anime lovers but among the younger audience sometimes make people forget that it's actually set in a time when a lot of conflicts were resolved in combat. The setting is not peaceful at all, and while the show itself focuses on Naruto's personal development, the world around him is hungry for power — just look at the ninja villages trying to one-up each other. And in times like these, this hunger can be satisfied in a simple way: with deaths.
Sure, it starts as a show where Naruto learns about being a cool ninja, but soon after meeting Haku, he faces the harsh reality of what being a ninja actually means: he faces death, and the story now follows him accepting the fact that one day in order to protect someone — or something — he loves, he'll have to be able to kill. His famous Talk-no-Jutsu doesn't always work, despite how much he wants it, because it's not the time when this approach was useful.
Death helps the characters grow — yes, even in Naruto
Naruto as a show kills off quite a lot of characters. Some deaths feel unreasonable, some are well-deserved; all of them drive the plot forward, and one of the things that also adds to the development is the way the characters who stay alive deal with those deaths.
Grief in Naruto is portrayed in a guttural, soul-wrenching way, one that leaves the characters dealing with the lasting repercussions of the multitude of deaths. Just rewatch the shogi scene with Shikamaru to feel the sheer scale of how deaths affect the characters.
And the way it is shown allows Naruto to break this cycle of hatred, to choose the path that seems more pacifistic than the one taken by those who were there before. Without this pain, it wouldn't have been possible. And this aspect of Naruto should never be ignored.
Let it all out.
Summary:
Grief is not something you think of when you think of Naruto.
Don't forget that the story is not just about fillers and goofiness.
A lot of conflicts in the world of Naruto are resolved by fighting, and fighting brings death.
The way Naruto handles deaths and subsequent grief is astounding.
It helps Naruto grow into who he is.
When you think of Naruto, "grief" is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. It's a long series, filled with action and period-accurate goofiness. It became the definition of a shounen show, a staple in the industry, a benchmark and guideline — in some ways it was a perfect showcase of things you shouldn't be doing with a series, but still, a guideline.
You remember the complex story, the abundance of fillers, the badly written female characters, and tons of memes that followed the release of the new episodes. You remember that attack names have to be shouted, that character has to go through gradual growth and not be a badass right from the start. You remember that this growth is non-linear. And that's when you probably dig up the concept of grief that is, surprisingly, explored quite extensively in Naruto.
Under the quirky facade lies a layer of pain
The quirky design of the characters, the memes, and the general popularity of the show not only among seasoned anime lovers but among the younger audience sometimes make people forget that it's actually set in a time when a lot of conflicts were resolved in combat. The setting is not peaceful at all, and while the show itself focuses on Naruto's personal development, the world around him is hungry for power — just look at the ninja villages trying to one-up each other. And in times like these, this hunger can be satisfied in a simple way: with deaths.
Sure, it starts as a show where Naruto learns about being a cool ninja, but soon after meeting Haku, he faces the harsh reality of what being a ninja actually means: he faces death, and the story now follows him accepting the fact that one day in order to protect someone — or something — he loves, he'll have to be able to kill. His famous Talk-no-Jutsu doesn't always work, despite how much he wants it, because it's not the time when this approach was useful.
Death helps the characters grow — yes, even in Naruto
Naruto as a show kills off quite a lot of characters. Some deaths feel unreasonable, some are well-deserved; all of them drive the plot forward, and one of the things that also adds to the development is the way the characters who stay alive deal with those deaths.
Grief in Naruto is portrayed in a guttural, soul-wrenching way, one that leaves the characters dealing with the lasting repercussions of the multitude of deaths. Just rewatch the shogi scene with Shikamaru to feel the sheer scale of how deaths affect the characters.
And the way it is shown allows Naruto to break this cycle of hatred, to choose the path that seems more pacifistic than the one taken by those who were there before. Without this pain, it wouldn't have been possible. And this aspect of Naruto should never be ignored.
