When Naruto ended, the reaction to its last arcs was extremely negative — yet nowadays the series is as popular as ever.
People who criticized the ending probably found other things to do.
Boruto’s existence contributes to Naruto’s popularity, and there aren’t many series as epic as the Big Three.
When the Naruto manga ended in 2014, the fans felt mostly disappointed. With the last arc being criticized by the majority — and for many reasons. The main complaints were its extreme length, the dramatic increase in power levels, and a series of plot twists revealing more and more villains. It seemed like a once beloved series became the laughing stock of the community — and the reception didn’t really change with the anime ending in 2017.
However, if you look at the series now, it’s as popular as ever, with new fans getting into it, and the criticism doesn’t seem to be as hard as it was. This raises the question: what really happened?
Those who disliked Naruto probably stopped talking about it
The main reason behind the change in the public perception of Naruto is very simple: people who were the most upset about the direction the manga and anime went into simply… stopped talking about it. Most of them stopped caring as well, leaving others with the impression that Naruto’s final arc had a better reception than it actually did. Whether it was actually as bad as people were saying is for everyone to decide for themselves.
The current takes on Naruto are largely skewed because of nostalgia as well: many people grew up with the franchise, and perhaps only remember its stronger moments — or think its weaker parts were actually not that bad.
Boruto boosts Naruto’s popularity
Another reason Naruto’s popularity — and public opinion on it — is on the rise is the existence of Boruto. The sequel is controversial to say the least, with many older fans dismissing its existence entirely. It’s not all bad — some of the fights later in the Boruto anime are extremely well animated — but it’s a completely different thing from its original series, and for many, it doesn’t compare to it favorably. Despite that, it attracted a lot of newer fans, a lot of whom would go on to watch or read Naruto itself.
There aren’t many anime that are as grand-scale
In the end, the extreme dislike of the last Naruto arcs felt like an overreaction on the spot. Yes, the series might have dropped the ball, but it still had very cool moments — and a lot of them would hold up even against modern hits like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. Besides, Naruto is a classic, and there aren’t many series nowadays as long and epic as it is. Perhaps that fact is also affecting its popularity, considering the rest of the Big Three (One Piece and Bleach) seem to be on the rise as well.
Weren’t the last arcs really hated or something?
Summary:
When Naruto ended, the reaction to its last arcs was extremely negative — yet nowadays the series is as popular as ever.
People who criticized the ending probably found other things to do.
Boruto’s existence contributes to Naruto’s popularity, and there aren’t many series as epic as the Big Three.
When the Naruto manga ended in 2014, the fans felt mostly disappointed. With the last arc being criticized by the majority — and for many reasons. The main complaints were its extreme length, the dramatic increase in power levels, and a series of plot twists revealing more and more villains. It seemed like a once beloved series became the laughing stock of the community — and the reception didn’t really change with the anime ending in 2017.
However, if you look at the series now, it’s as popular as ever, with new fans getting into it, and the criticism doesn’t seem to be as hard as it was. This raises the question: what really happened?
Those who disliked Naruto probably stopped talking about it
The main reason behind the change in the public perception of Naruto is very simple: people who were the most upset about the direction the manga and anime went into simply… stopped talking about it. Most of them stopped caring as well, leaving others with the impression that Naruto’s final arc had a better reception than it actually did. Whether it was actually as bad as people were saying is for everyone to decide for themselves.
The current takes on Naruto are largely skewed because of nostalgia as well: many people grew up with the franchise, and perhaps only remember its stronger moments — or think its weaker parts were actually not that bad.
Boruto boosts Naruto’s popularity
Another reason Naruto’s popularity — and public opinion on it — is on the rise is the existence of Boruto. The sequel is controversial to say the least, with many older fans dismissing its existence entirely. It’s not all bad — some of the fights later in the Boruto anime are extremely well animated — but it’s a completely different thing from its original series, and for many, it doesn’t compare to it favorably. Despite that, it attracted a lot of newer fans, a lot of whom would go on to watch or read Naruto itself.
There aren’t many anime that are as grand-scale
In the end, the extreme dislike of the last Naruto arcs felt like an overreaction on the spot. Yes, the series might have dropped the ball, but it still had very cool moments — and a lot of them would hold up even against modern hits like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. Besides, Naruto is a classic, and there aren’t many series nowadays as long and epic as it is. Perhaps that fact is also affecting its popularity, considering the rest of the Big Three (One Piece and Bleach) seem to be on the rise as well.
