No, it’s not about wizards.
Summary:
- Some fans believe Naruto power levels got so high that it stopped being about ninjas.
- However, that wasn’t meant to be a realistic take.
- Still, the power scaling went out of control in the later arcs.
A lot of fans feel that Naruto became worse after the Pain arc. There are many arguments as to why that is the case, but the main one is that during that arc, the power levels spiraled out of control.
For many, this was the breaking point where Naruto stopped being about ninjas and started being “about wizards.” Powers like Pain’s Rinnegan are unbelievable even in a fantasy world like Naruto, at least to some viewers.
That said, if you use that argument, Naruto was never about ninjas in the first place.
Naruto Is Not About “Wizards”
Since the very first episode, we can clearly see supernatural elements in the series. Nine-Tailed Fox aside, the ninja techniques shown have nothing in common with reality. Yes, substitution and clone techniques are based on myths about ninja from our world. Still, they’re clearly fantasy, bordering on magic.
And in the first major arc, you get Zabuza summoning a water dragon. Then later, the entirety of the Chunin Exam arc shows characters with clearly inhuman techniques, and Orochimaru even resurrects the dead later. That hardly can count as “ninja techniques,” and that’s completely fine.
Naruto is not about “wizards,” and saying that is intentionally misrepresenting the series. The word “wizard” has certain connotations, and Naruto has nothing to do with those. That said, its power system is clearly magic.
It’s not about ninjas — it’s about myths about ninja and how they were perceived by common people. People often attributed supernatural abilities to ninja throughout history, and the series reflects that (although it has nothing to do with the real world).
There Still Is a Problem with Power Scaling
That said, the power level does actually get out of control around the Pain arc or somewhat later. Pain destroying Konoha in a single blow is not even close to anything we’ve seen before.
Other Rinnegan abilities are also very much out of this world, including making missiles using one of the bodies and seemingly unlimited resurrection (at the cost of your own life).
Later, the series gets even worse at power scaling. Madara effortlessly summoning two meteors to wipe out the Allied Shinobi Forces is just the beginning. We also get Tailed Beast Bombs, which can seemingly destroy large cities with a single strike. And the final villain, Kaguya, can teleport herself and others to different worlds at will.
Naruto was never a realistic take on ninja, but this kind of power scaling naturally upset many fans.