Naruto

Mod Edit: This review may contain spoilers I know there is many other people here on this site that have reviewed this Manga before, but i felt that i wanted to give my says about it since it now have ended. For 3 years ago, i didn't like Naruto at all because it was so popular and so mainstream at that time. Other reasons is bacause i was afraid of going away from my other interestes in favor for Naruto. Oh man, i was wrong xD. One day, i was sick and pretty bored, so i decided to watch an Episode of Naruto. I was pretty neutral there.Afterwards i read af few chapters of the Manga, and it got more interesting. Then i saw the battle between Naruto VS Kyubi, and that's the true beggining of my Naruto-hype xD. Now for the Review itself. Story - 9/10 The story builted up on a slow pace just as many other manga, but the part 2 aka Shippuden is clearly my favorite part of Naruto. All the battles, the wars and especially when the Akatsuki appears where they are after the Tailed Beasts so they could reach their goal is definitely one of my favorite part of Naruto. My top favorite part is where Madara and Hashirama meets Again, especially when Madara shouts "HASHIRAMA" like an little fangirl. I felt of my couch laughting like an insane XD. Overall, the manga ended pretty good in my opinion, there is few things to come after that. Art - 10/10 I think the art is amazing. I didn't really looked deeper to the quality of the artwork since i'm more into the story. But still, i like the artwork. Characters - 10/10 There are really, really many characters introduced in Naruto, but there are some that are my top favorites. Madara - His backstory is what is the most interesting thing about him, but i do also like his personality. He i also always first for battle xD. Madara is especially epic where he eradicates the Shinobi Allies wíth meteors and takes them out like bugs, while keeping his Poker Face xD. Minato - His personality and his kindness to people is where he gets my thumps up. I do also like his way of fighting. Also the fact that he created the Rasengan is the reason he is one of my favorite characters from Naruto. Tobirama - Like Madara, his backstory is what i like about him, and also because he is the man behind Rebirth Nun Jutsu. He's also a big racist against the Uchihas for many reasons, because of the first war for example. Enjoyment - 9/10 I did enjoy Naruto from start to finish. It was a great journey xD. Overall - 10/10 I can say i will read Naruto again some time in the future. I can definitly recommend it to anyone interested in a long manga.

It's done! The end of Naruto marks the end of an 15-year period, about half of which I spent waiting for weekly updates for the manga that was my very first. Was it worth it? Maybe. I have a gut feeling that Naruto is going to be one of those manga that took great benefit from having a long-ass run time, and that a lot of the attraction towards Naruto was the fact that, well, "everyone else was reading it too." Reading Naruto was as much of a social exercise as it was a reading one, since it's mega popularity ensured that there would alwaysbe one or two people that you know that would be following it as well. As far as the actual writing is concerned, I'd have to liken it to Harry Potter: ultimately flawed, but relatable. The themes of believing in yourself and the Power of Friendship™ have been explored numerous times before (and in a much better fashion by other manga/anime), and Naruto itself is a manga that I'm pretty sure could have been written in 200-300 chapters as opposed to the monstrous 700 that have presented over its 15 year run. Many, many, many characters are introduced, given their time in the limelight, and then thrown away because ultimately, it's all about Naruto. Kishimoto doesn't understand how to use scale to properly create climactic moments, and by the end, Naruto's supreme dominance over any of the other characters makes their attempts to seem relevant laughable and almost pitiable. The fact of the matter is, there are so many "oh, but this isn't my final form!" moments in the manga that reading the damn thing became a chore near the end due to the fact that Kishimoto isn't a very creative writer. So why did I read all 700 chapters of what seems to be a quite mediocre effort? Well, Naruto was my first manga. Arguably, this fact combined with its existence as a social phenomenon made Naruto quite enjoyable to read (see my enjoyment score) despite its glaring flaws. It was fun to discuss the manga's weekly happenings with other people through its ups and downs--the experience was similar to that of following a sports team with other fans. So, should you read Naruto? Probably not, unless you really, really like shounen's. It's a stunningly middle-of-the-road affair with little original thematic content that was made enjoyable to read due to the fact that it was mega-popular. Story 4, Art 5, Character 2, Enjoyment 8, Overall: 5 (4.75).

Naruto is finally over, its had its ups and downs, including a very long list of problems, but is it bad or good? In a sense, it's kind of both: Naruto had undoubtedly had a great influence on the manga culture, helping spread anime/manga to the west after Dragonball Z and setting up a new generation of readers. 15 years later, it finally finishes. But I've noticed one trend I wished would end already, is it bad because it's too popular? Its a shounen on shounen jump that practically uses shounen elements religiously. Being one of the "big three" its going to get flak for being"too popular" or "overhyped", but I will ignore that and look at it more objectively, or at least, as much as possible. The Story - 5 The story, progressively, started getting worse. There was too much set up with little to forced pay off. Many plot elements got changed over time, such as Shikaku being the soul of a priest rather than the one tail, so nearing the end of the series, these inconsistencies made the story very hard to follow. The rapid change of main villains also didn't help and ruined the flow of the series. However, in certain arcs, when the pace and flow of the series really got rolling, things were good; but these moments, especially in Shippuden, were easily broken down by flashbacks and exposition periods. There may have been good moments, but the constant changing of lore and plot devices, really screwed the overarching story. Although the ending was satisfactory, to a degree. Art- 7 The art is probably the best thing going for the series...kind of. There are some inconsistencies; a lot of times, especially late in the series, there are noticeable errors and improper face designs. But the improvement of the art style, when done right, is noteworthy, but stagnated quite a bit about half-way through Shippuden. Characters-4 This was probably Kishimoto's weakest point, once again, especially in Shippuden. The characters were set up really well in the original series, somethng I noticed when re-reading. They all had their relationships and pasts integrated very well in to their character and the growth was apparent. But, trying to make them mature, was very hard for Kishimoto, especially female characters. Not only that, but with such great build-up, Kishimoto also wasted characters in Shippuden, to the point where no one else mattered besides Naruto and Sasuke. There are a few noteworthy characters: Jiraya, Tsunade, Itachi, Pain, Gaara, etc. but most others were just shounen tropes personified in Shippuden, even more so than in the original series. This also leads to his rushed villains problem and how the main characters change depending on which one their fighting. It's kind of disappointing, because Kishimoto is very good at setting things up but just as infamous in failing the execution. Enjoyment-8 This is where Naruto shines the most, but only to those knowing what they're getting into. If you know this is a shounen, especially one in Weekly Shounen Jump, then you better expect friendship power-ups and believe in yourself's galore. But just because these elements have been overdone, does not immediately make them bad. You take what you get, this series wasn't fooling you, it practically advertised it. In terms of generating hype for battles, well most of them, Kishimoto is not so bad. Like I said earlier, although there are flashbacks and calm periods, when the pacing gets going, so does the hype. The one thing that many have a problem is that it changed styles and themes when transitioning to Shippuden. It went from being about ninjas to being more about Jesus saving the world things. But even that isn't too bad. They give a decent excuse for it and all things considered, a mangaka can interpret things however they please. If you don't like shounens like this, you'll probably not enjoy this series so well, but I have to say, you NEED to know what you're getting yourself into. I do not recommend it to anyone looking for something different in a shounen, such as FMA or Trigun, this is the Dragonball Z type of shounen with higher trope power levels, and this is what you should be expecting going in. Overall - 6.5 When I first read Naruto and got to Shippuden, I actually dropped the series. I didn't give it a chance. I also kinda became a Naruto hater, mainly because I so loved One Piece. But after a friend, a Naruto-fanboy, begged me to give it a chance. I took it. Of course, throughout the experience, I noticed all the problems all the things and I constantly complained..yet I still continued to read. It was something about it that kept me hooked and I didn't know why. But one day, upon re-reading the series again, I had a realization. It was interesting. I wanted to see what Kishimoto would do, I wanted to see his silly plot changes, his uber-shounen-believe it fights, I wanted to complain about his mistakes, hating on Sakura or other characters, the world, the jutsus and different forms. It had a certain charm that made you want to criticize it, dared you to. If you've read a shounen it practically begged you to compare it. This perplexed me in such a way I didn't understand. The series is a mess, but a fun mess for any shounen reader. That is why if you read shounens, you should give Naruto a try. But if you're looking for a masterpiece or something great, look elsewhere.

Mod Edit: This review may contain spoilers. Coming up with precise numbers to essentially give a value to a series that spans 700 chapters and well over a decade in production is not an easy thing. Much has changed over the years of publication, but I guess overall I would give the series a "very good". Like many other people, the Naruto anime was my introduction to the world of anime--something that literally changed the course of my life. The storyline of a young boy who had the courage (or more like the gall) to always stay confident and continue smiling despite growing up alone in acommunity that openly detested him is heartwarming to say the least. I liked that the series also introduced a wide range of characters--Kishimoto really succeeded in creating not just a village, but an entire world within his story. STORYLINE: As one would expect from a 700 chapter-long series, the series has its highs and its lows. For me, the peak was pretty early in the series throughout the Chunin exam arc, so it was a little bit of a disappointment that the series never really made it back to that high later on. Then again, the main trio of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke weren't nearly my favourite characters, so maybe my problem was that I didn't care about the people who mattered the most. Having said that, the fact that I was still interested enough to keep reading should speak for the story's quality. The chapters are relatively short (compared to monthly publications) and almost all of them end with some sort of cliffhanger, so I ended up stopping at points to save up for longer reading sessions. CHARACTERS: On the topic of characters, I would have to argue that they are far from perfect. He did a good job of creating diversity in his characters and strong, complex personalities in many, but there were many characters who were sadly quite shafted and remained static throughout the series (I'm looking at Tenten and Shino). I wouldn't say that ALL his female characters are always weak, submissive and useless, but the series is a far cry from gender-equal. In part I can accept that this is because the manga's intended audience was for young boys who probably don't care if there's gender equality and all that stuff, but still. ART: The art... is good. It's definitely improved over time from both experience and technological advancements. I like many of the character designs and I like that they change as the characters mature. Personally I cared more for the social interactions within the story than the fight scenes, so sometimes some chapters of endless fighting were a bit difficult to follow/envision. ENDING: (contains no specific spoilers, but discussion of overall flow) Personally I did not like the ending, but I didn't HATE it. When the whole shinobi war started to drag out and literally EVERY CHARACTER WHO WAS EVER SLIGHTLY SIGNIFICANT made an appearance even if they had to defy reality (AND DEATH) to do so, I started looking forward to an end. The ending I got wasn't everything that I wanted, but it was an end. I'm happy that Kishimoto had the guts to see his story to completion including establishing finality with his character relationships (rather than leaving things ambiguous and inconclusive as is the style of most Shonen manga), but I also feel like he crossed the line and forced the pairings too far. I'm also not a fan of the introduction of children (AT ALL.) to imply the relationship of the parents, but at the same time I can't imagine Kishimoto showing us the depth of their relationships in any other way (hand holding, hugging, walking together maybe. Beyond that? No, not even kissing). Regardless, I felt like I had to read the final chapter because "OCD, I have to finish this!" (not to mention my OTP), and did so knowing that I probably wouldn't like much of it. If you don't care for pairings or mentions of children, I'd recommend stopping at 699. So there you have it, my review that took me 40 mins. I expect most people will have already tl;dr and left this massive review, but if you're still reading it, thank you =) It's a review for myself as much as for anyone else anyways because... it's done. It's over. Naruto's ended. My childhood just ended with it. Huh. Time to move on with life and keep telling myself that I will NOT be reading the sequel about the children. I won't do it. I won't. (...The lies... I'll cave, I know it. >_>)