Why do we keep talking about this series?
Naruto is a type of anime that is impossible to have never heard of. You might have never seen an episode, but are sure to know even a couple of details or characters’ names. But with great power comes great responsibility… We mean, with a lot of popularity comes a lot of criticism, and Naruto cannot avoid that no matter what.
Due to its immense popularity Naruto has acquired the status of a benchmark for an average shounen. A young kid with a big dream, a revenge-seeking villain-like character undergoing significant character development, a female character who is obsessed with the main protagonist — sounds familiar? Yes, we’ve seen that in countless series since Naruto. But the industry used to be different 20 years ago.
Back then anime used to be a niche interest, and anime fans used to be treated like outcasts. There weren’t as many shounen series as there are now, so at some point the ideas of Naruto seemed pretty fresh. Fans mention being extremely hyped back when huge plot points of the story were revealed, and they were really enjoying the show and were proud of being part of its fandom. That’s why it hurts them so much when new viewers start watching the series but don’t feel as enthusiastic about it.
Moreover, Naruto is widely known for its filler episodes that don’t really move the story forward. And with the audience getting more and more impatient and the overall pace of life increasing, people don’t have this much tolerance towards a series that just wastes their time.
Since Naruto is quite a long anime, its quality was not meant to stay the same throughout its entirety. Some viewers point out various self-repetition examples of the series and overuse of different clichés.
Character development is another thing that is on the criticism menu for some fans. To be more precise, it’s the luck of the said development. They long for more complexity and depth.
As we’ve said, the show is quite old, and the first episode of the series aired more than 20 years ago. So it’s a bit unfair to treat it the same way as we treat some modern shounens. We can’t deny that Naruto used to be (and still is) a worldwide phenomenon and made thousands of people’s hearts beat faster during its awesome battles. So maybe it’s time to let the hatred go and treat it with a warm nostalgic feeling that we have for a series that influenced our anime journey?