No one seems to know history.
Summary:
- Naruto didn’t know anything about Konoha’s history.
- That can’t be explained by him not paying attention, as other characters suffer from the same thing.
- Either the school system in Konoha is failing, or this was a poor plot device.
Naruto boasts a rich worldbuilding — even richer than that of most other battle shounen series. It’s hard to see at first, but the more you watch the anime, the more you learn about the world.
However, Naruto himself seems to learn about the world along with the viewer. While it’s easy to explain — we need some way for the characters to tell us about the world, and that happens through Naruto — this raises huge concerns over the education system of Konoha. These concerns only become worse in Boruto, too.
Naruto Doesn’t Know Anything About the World He Lives in
In the first arcs of Naruto, the titular protagonist seems to be unaware of the entire history of the village. He doesn’t know what happened to the Uchiha clan (at the start), despite that happening fairly recently — surely, he would have heard at least some people talking about it.
He doesn’t know who Sannin — Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru — are. What did he even learn in the academy, and how does he want to become a Hokage if he doesn’t even know anything about his people?
There’s more that Naruto doesn’t know than just history. He seems to be unaware of mission ranks and types, as well as completely clueless about the chunin exams. Granted, other characters actually know it, so that’s probably because of his poor attitude towards school.
It’s not like it’s about Naruto alone, though. He can be given an excuse of slacking during his lessons. Sakura, who is said to be one of the best students in her year, doesn’t know about the fate of Sasuke’s clan at the start.
And Sasuke doesn’t even know who Madara Uchiha is — he lived just a few generations ago, too, and was one of the most important people when it came to establishing the village.
Boruto Has the Same Issue
In Boruto, this issue is actually not fixed: it becomes even worse. Naruto’s own son doesn’t know who Sasuke is — didn’t Naruto consider him his best friend? Naruto’s status as a Jinchuriki is hidden, too, and for no particular reason.
And, of course, no one seems to be aware of Orochimaru — and his history was very recent. He absolutely should be despised — if not punished — for his crimes, but no one knows about them.
It’s a Rather Poor Plot Device
It’s easy to explain this by Naruto’s lack of attention in the academy in Part 1, but it can’t be explained for other characters. In the end, it was probably Kishimoto finding easy ways to give worldbuilding to the readers, but now, it feels like a bunch of plot holes.