The friendship between Naruto and Sasuke is one of the most iconic in anime.
It’s certainly strong, but fans have issues with it.
The main one is that we don’t get many scenes of them together, and the friendship feels underdeveloped.
The friendship between Naruto and Sasuke is one of the most iconic in all of anime. Initially, they didn’t really like each other — Naruto considered Sasuke spoiled and stuck-up, and Sasuke considered Naruto stupid and annoying.
Still, they proved to be able to work together — and even care for each other — during the Land of Waves arc. After Sasuke left the village, though, their friendship was tested by time and distance. In the end they still considered each other friends — but the actual writing of their friendship is really questionable.
They Remained Friends Despite Becoming Enemies for a While
Think about it: Naruto’s main motivation for half of Shippuden was to return Sasuke to Konoha. Meanwhile, Sasuke only cared about getting stronger and killing his brother. He was seemingly content with sacrificing his friendship with Naruto, though he still cared about him deep down.
Sasuke’s dismissal of pretty much all of his own friendships comes from a classic trope. He was told that friends made him weaker and held him back — and Naruto was the opposite, doing things for them and relying on them every now and then.
This is an interesting thematic conflict in the series, and it seems that Naruto prevailed in the end — they still remained friends even after being enemies for a while.
The Friendship Felt Underexplored
The start of their friendship, though, doesn’t make sense to many. The infamous kiss scene aside, it’s just hard to imagine why Naruto would care so much about someone he’d only known properly for 6 months — and even then, clashed with pretty often. To many, his obsession with Sasuke looks unhealthy.
Do you think the friendship between Naruto and Sasuke was unhealthy?
That part, however, is easily explained. While Naruto had some friends in the academy (Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba), it was initially stated that he didn’t. Still, he was never particularly close to anyone else — not as close as he got to Sasuke in those few months.
Besides, Sasuke was a kindred soul to him — someone who also lost his entire family due to a horrible tragedy.
While Naruto can hardly be blamed for being so attached to Sasuke, fans still wish their friendship was explored better. Perhaps some amount of slice-of-life scenes — or more scenes of their training together — would have helped.
As such, while we understand where the friendship comes from, we find it somewhat hard to get invested in. Naruto’s obsession with Sasuke was practically considered a meme for years.
They needed more scenes together in Part 1.
Summary:
The friendship between Naruto and Sasuke is one of the most iconic in anime.
It’s certainly strong, but fans have issues with it.
The main one is that we don’t get many scenes of them together, and the friendship feels underdeveloped.
The friendship between Naruto and Sasuke is one of the most iconic in all of anime. Initially, they didn’t really like each other — Naruto considered Sasuke spoiled and stuck-up, and Sasuke considered Naruto stupid and annoying.
Still, they proved to be able to work together — and even care for each other — during the Land of Waves arc. After Sasuke left the village, though, their friendship was tested by time and distance. In the end they still considered each other friends — but the actual writing of their friendship is really questionable.
They Remained Friends Despite Becoming Enemies for a While
Think about it: Naruto’s main motivation for half of Shippuden was to return Sasuke to Konoha. Meanwhile, Sasuke only cared about getting stronger and killing his brother. He was seemingly content with sacrificing his friendship with Naruto, though he still cared about him deep down.
Sasuke’s dismissal of pretty much all of his own friendships comes from a classic trope. He was told that friends made him weaker and held him back — and Naruto was the opposite, doing things for them and relying on them every now and then.
This is an interesting thematic conflict in the series, and it seems that Naruto prevailed in the end — they still remained friends even after being enemies for a while.
The Friendship Felt Underexplored
The start of their friendship, though, doesn’t make sense to many. The infamous kiss scene aside, it’s just hard to imagine why Naruto would care so much about someone he’d only known properly for 6 months — and even then, clashed with pretty often. To many, his obsession with Sasuke looks unhealthy.
Do you think the friendship between Naruto and Sasuke was unhealthy?
That part, however, is easily explained. While Naruto had some friends in the academy (Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba), it was initially stated that he didn’t. Still, he was never particularly close to anyone else — not as close as he got to Sasuke in those few months.
Besides, Sasuke was a kindred soul to him — someone who also lost his entire family due to a horrible tragedy.
While Naruto can hardly be blamed for being so attached to Sasuke, fans still wish their friendship was explored better. Perhaps some amount of slice-of-life scenes — or more scenes of their training together — would have helped.
As such, while we understand where the friendship comes from, we find it somewhat hard to get invested in. Naruto’s obsession with Sasuke was practically considered a meme for years.
