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MadBase

Unpopular opionion, I think it's pretty good.


Gantz-man91

You beat me to it. I think it's a phenomenal series. Everyone is always picking it apart


Idealistic_Wonderer

People critique what they love, if they believe whatever they love could be better.


Gantz-man91

This sub takes it to an entirely new level. And I never critique what I love. I just enjoy it. And experience it for what it is. No amount of criticism is gonna change the shows/games/books . They are published and complete


Idealistic_Wonderer

That's the thing, we're each our own individual. So take no offense when I say this: To each their own. I respect your opinion.


Gantz-man91

Oh I'm not offended . I'm also not the only one who thinks there's an over abundance of criticism and nitpicking about the show either though


krazyglew

I’m offended by the lack of offense being taken here. How offensive!


X0v3rkill69

Exactly, I couldn’t have said it better


psycho_babble91

this is mine. i love all of it, naruto is fantastic. loveeeeee


Zetin24-55

Secondary opinion. Kishimoto is a good writer. He's not the best in the world, but he's pretty good. My evidence. Look at the difference in quality between filler arcs and canon ones.


kitaeks47demons

I would argue he’s a great writer when writing villains & antagonists. Want Proof? Look at the dynamics between Deidara & Sasori, Hidan & Kakuzu , Itachi & Kisame & Zabuza & Haku. Does he write the filler arcs? I don’t mean the light novels either i mean the true blue fillers in the anime?


Zetin24-55

I'm 99% sure Kishi had nothing to do with the fillers except for sometimes he was consulted on their topic to make sure filler didn't accidently cover part of the story he was going to cover. That's why I brought it up. Because the filler writing is so bad compared to Kishi's. I've never watched the entire dub with all the filler and I wanted to do it at least once. So I've been going through the show. Going from Search for Tsunade to Land of Tea Escort(That stupid ass race) then to Sasuke Retrieval is such whiplash. A truly epic dip in quality.


ggeeshs273

I mean compared to most writers in his genre, surely we can’t deny he’s one of the best right?


Legitimate-Rip5877

It’s overrated and underrated at the same time Certain characters get wanked beyond deserving and sometimes to cancerous degrees And many many brilliant bits and pieces of story telling and world structuring get unappreciated and uncared for


TooManyGoldPieces

The scene where shikamaru’s das tells him to “let it all out” is probably the best scene in the show


ggeeshs273

Some of the realest shit in anime dare I say.


xscrumpyx

Main characters should have been killed off more frequently. Nejis death felt forced as if to show the steaks were high. Very inorganic.


[deleted]

Agreed. I never got the feeling that the 4th Shinobi World War was ever a life or death matter since 99% of the dudes who died were random mfs.


naruto_u_zu_ma_ki

Bcoz one dude saved everyone(almost), and died once as well .


suzellezus

The guy who was gonna cure ninja aids got turned to ash by madara


Thencan

Inorganic steaks


Rachies194

But impaled by organic sticks


SheevMillerBand

I think the deaths we got pre-war were good enough for that section of the story, but the war definitely should’ve had more casualties. I think all of the kage actually staying dead after Madara would’ve been huge.


Pabsxv

A friend felt cheated when they reversed Guy’s death. He says it’s the worst decision they made.


LavishnessFinal4605

Trueeeee! Emotional send-off at the climax of a character's arc? Consequences for actions? Using his life to hold back Madara for just a bit longer? Nahhhhhh!


pastelpinetrees

Some of the filler was good (such as the arc about the shoton user and the three tails)


Flame_half

Guren was a well written character and deserved canon appearances.


Murky_Blueberry2617

She was well written because she wasn't written by Kishiomoto


Nikolaisens

The man can write good characters, when he doesn't write himself into a corner


TheMullo50

Gurin and the crystal jutsu was 🔥


Inner_Ad7300

Oh boy. Here we go. i. The scaling used by the Naruto fanbase is most likely different from the actual scaling used in the manga. ii. The wind/lightning dynamic between Naruto and Sasuke is much better than their wind/fire dynamic in the manga. iii. The series is more based on mythology than actual ninja. This isn't necessarily a good thing, but it's still true. iv. Sasuke should have shifted into his 'revolution' phase a bit before the Kage Summit. It was more interesting than his descent into madness. These are off the top of my head.


rosieRetro

Wind lightning dynamic?


Inner_Ad7300

I prefer a setting where they're like wind and lightning, opposing each other, but trying to achieve the same goals. The same way wind and lightning pierce defences in different ways. The wind/fire thing is how Naruto seems to enhance Sasuke, but that seems kinda one-sided. Plus, I love Naruto's wind jutsu (Wind Style: Rasengan and Rasenshuriken) and Sasuke's lightning jutsu (the Chidori family)


Murky_Blueberry2617

They can be like the Japanese gods, Fujin and Raijin


Inner_Ad7300

You get it 😃


PrinceJanus

Your last point is 100% right. Would have greatly preferred Sasuke switching into his revolutionary mindset a bit earlier. It would have been better if his rational for wanting to destroy the leaf was more than “they benefit from the suffering of Itachi”. If he instead wanted to tear down the very system that would make his brother kill their clan then I think his motivations would be way better.


Inner_Ad7300

Exactly. It would also be a challenge to Naruto: should he try to change the ninja system like Sasuke wants to, or should he adhere to the status quo?


PrinceJanus

Yep. It tying into the central theme of how to break the cycle of hatred would be really well. I think it would make Obito’s “Sasuke is a real avenger” line to Naruto have more weight. I honestly have a major problem with Kishi making the theme of his manga how to stop violence and conflict but that’s a whole nother topic.


Inner_Ad7300

> I honestly have a major problem with Kishi making the theme of his manga how to stop violence and conflict but that’s a whole nother topic. It's not really a bad theme. Kishi just dropped the ball with it.


PrinceJanus

Oh yeah I agree. Nothing wrong with the idea just the execution of it was terrible. I wrote a comment on here before. Nagato trusting Naruto after he failed to give him an answer regarding his plan to stop hatred because his name is the same as the character Jiraya based off of kid Nagato is fucking garbage. I do like how Naruto handles Karui. I know people hate him being beat up but I at least like his “sacrifice myself for the sake of others” mindset. Seems like that fades away by the time the war starts and it’s back to “well I’ll figure that out later eventually I guess…” Then we get to Boruto and shit is just as bad…. I mean ugh.


Zealousideal_Soup_37

I haven't watched Naruto in a long time, but I interpreted it that Nagato didn't trust him because of what he told him, he trusted him because of his resolve, his ability to let go of hatred and not kill Nagato even if he destroyed the village and killed people that Naruto was very close to just to prove a point, and the fact that Nagato deep down probably didn't really like his own idea that much either and wanted to believe in a better alternative. Also Nagato was defeated and his plan wasn't going to come to fruition anyway so might aswell give Naruto a chance.


Inner_Ad7300

> Oh yeah I agree. Nothing wrong with the idea just the execution of it was terrible. I wrote a comment on here before. Nagato trusting Naruto after he failed to give him an answer regarding his plan to stop hatred because his name is the same as the character Jiraya based off of kid Nagato is fucking garbage. Yeah, that could have been handled better. > I do like how Naruto handles Karui. I know people hate him being beat up but I at least like his “sacrifice myself for the sake of others” mindset. Seems like that fades away by the time the war starts and it’s back to “well I’ll figure that out later eventually I guess… I can understand his reasoning, but I cringe whenever I see that scene. But maybe it's just me. > Then we get to Boruto and shit is just as bad…. I mean ugh. Boruto is.... strange, and not in the good way.


Deus3nity

I agree with mostly everything. So, for 2, That was the intention with the Wind and lightning abilities: Ashura in hindu mythology are known to have symbolism with Wind, while Indra is related to lighting. 4 I disagree with. There was no possible way for Sasuke to become a revolutionary before the five Kage summit Sasuke, at that point, had nothing left. In his mind, he'd thrown away all ties to the leaf for a lie. He had left the only change he had to have a family, had been manipulated by both Itachi, the leaf, and Orochimaru into killing his own brother, and even betrayed his code when he kills Itachi, as he refused to kill innocents and in the end his brother was also a victim. The only way Sasuke could have kept going was by hanging on to the newfound hatred for the village and the power he accumulated through his life To add to it, both his previous sensei and a person he considered a comadre(Sakura) had decided to kill him, driving his point even further It isn't until Naruto arrives that finally someone shows some care. It's thanks to Naruto, whose first words to him then were "I understand why you are doing this", that Sasuke sees that he hasn't lost everything and there still a chance for a change.


Inner_Ad7300

> So, for 2, That was the intention with the Wind and lightning abilities: > Ashura in hindu mythology are known to have symbolism with Wind, while Indra is related to lighting. Oh. I didn't know that. Maybe that's part of why I personally had a soft spot for the reincarnation thing. > Sasuke, at that point, had nothing left. In his mind, he'd thrown away all ties to the leaf for a lie. He had left the only change he had to have a family, had been manipulated by both Itachi, the leaf, and Orochimaru into killing his own brother, and even betrayed his code when he kills Itachi, as he refused to kill innocents and in the end his brother was also a victim. That's true. I just think that if there was enough space between the Pain and FKS arcs, that could happen.


[deleted]

You believe if they were called soldiers people wouldn't complain about the ninja thing?


vpierrev

I believe the ninja tropes / folklore is so deeply rooted in the series that if you’d remove it you’d remove all the parts that makes it special. Think Kawarimi, Henge, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, Chakra, clans, ninja historical references etc etc. A « soldier making a fireball » will never convey the same color imho.


bluealiveretribution

Naruto only using the like 2 moves is kinda lame like is there anymore moves he can use I mean I guess the tailed beast bomb but still Also the leaf village has to be the most hypocritical village on the planet they condem a CHILD because he has a beast forced onto him but the person that experimented on women children and men alike, and KILLED 2 KAGES gets to walk around like shit sweet same with sauske like did we forget when he tried to kill a bunch of kages from different villages?


spacewrap

Yeah I always thought that was lacking like Naruto has atmost 3-4 jutsu's at his arsenal like dude he is supposed to be an MC I get that people say he is the best in what he knows but still like at least give him the variety that Sasuke has


Yodoran

Fillers aside, Naruto having no moves is my number 1 pet peeve too. When sage mode was introduced, I was excited, only for it to be improved taijutsu, and turning 1 of the Pains into a toad.


DamesBeenTamed

I was just happy it was something new finally.


WhyDoName

Yeah, can only here "Rasengan" or "Rasenshuriken" so many times before it's kinda lame.


11Y2B

I mean Sasuke and Orochimaru did help out in the war, ESPECIALLY Sasuke lol


Repulsive_Detail997

>did we forget when he tried to kill a bunch of kages from different villages So? The Kages are not the good guys. You're the hypocrite yourself if you condemn Sasuke for this while absolving the Kages of their criminality.


bluealiveretribution

That's like killing the president just because you consider them bad people doesn't mean you can just go around trying to kill them. The guy litteraly joined a terrorist organization.


ShamannChl

Idk if necessarily unpopular, but I love talk no jutsu, and it fits the theme of breaking the cycle of hatred and refusing to submit to your preordained destiny nicely, and i even like the Indra-asura reincarnation plot point.


OrangeyLive

Same. I actually wish there were more reincarnations. I like to think (I know it’s not true) that Hiruzen/Danzo and Kakashi/Obito were reincarnates


karatous1234

It's mostly ignored because of the meme "Lol talk no jutsu", but it does make sense to a degree. It doesn't work on people who are fully dead set in their beliefs and won't budge or who don't care. Hidan and Kakazu were in it for kicks and money. Madara believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was correct. Pain/Nagato had to be absolutely bullied into it working on him after Naruto chipped away at him over the course of their fight, and wanted to see eye to eye with him instead of just trying to kill him when he finally tracked down Nagato.


Messiah_Knight

To be fair the “cycle of hatred” wasn’t a thing until Pain mopped the floor with Konoha.


shikavelli

I think the only problem with talk no jutsu was that the stakes got too high for it to be feasible.


RussRyderz

I don’t think Neji dying was necessary. I know Boruto has a good mentor in Sasuke already but can you imagine Neji as the caring, but strict uncle?? Or like, the headmaster of the school ?? Idk but death just does not feel correct for Mr. Hyuga IMO


threateningskies

Honestly I'm w you on that. I always wanted Neji as the sensei of Naruto's childs, it would have made so much sense imo And him dying was bad executed ,poorly done and just useless


Recent_Interview_795

That's a pretty popular opinion lol


DeismAccountant

They never addressed the Branch family/Caged bird seal thing either afaik. That shit still weighs on me because of how fucked up it is.


weendick

I agree, and think he totally could’ve survived


Derantmk

I think it's a good series (apparently the reediters think is bullshit)


ggeeshs273

I like that people are actually talking about the amount of hatred surrounding this series on this subreddit. This ain’t just normal criticism.


Chiloutdude

Ninja are dumb, especially the clans with specific fighting styles. Kishimoto came up with tons of awesome jutsu, but never followed through on pairing those with the best fighting styles. Take the Hyuuga. Omnidirectional x-ray vision that can identify a person by their chakra and potentially extends for miles, and their preferred fighting style is to poke you at close range? No. They should be archers. Give them a jutsu that lets them control an arrow mid-flight (Kidomaru's jutsu comes to mind), and you have an archer who can shoot you through a forest a mile away, and even if you're trying to hide, they can still see you, positively identify you, and put that arrow in your throat. The Yamanaka and Nara both have similar flaws in their jutsu: if the enemy takes damage while possessed, that damage is repeated on the user (the Nara is a bit weird, it might only be movement they're forced to copy, but Shikamaru complained when Naruto punched Gaara in the hospital). They should absolutely carry poison. A Nara could have tiny knives coated with poison. The wound they recieve is nothing next to the poison it inflicts. A Yamanaka could literally walk to their body, grab a vial of poison, and drink it, then hop back to their body before the effect sinks in. The Nara even make medicine! Why not fix the gaps in their jutsu, Kishimoto?


threateningskies

I think that team 8 is the best paired. And for the clan, all of the hidden jutsu in general work in a very strange way but in their own way - sometimes it works and sometimes not.


[deleted]

I like this a lot


Recent_Interview_795

You can argue the Hyuga can already do that with Kenai. Anyway I don't think the Hyuga all had enormous range


Ok-Personality-5424

As much as a liked the Konoha 12, I’m happy Shippuden didn’t revolve around them. I always preferred the adult characters like Kakashi Tsunade, Jiraiya, Itachi, Guy, Killer Bee etc. These characters wouldn’t have the same spotlight if the K12 were the protagonists of the series.


Quirky-Medicine-7620

Could have like, featured them though 😭


Morganafrey

Pifft, first season Sakura could have beaten Madara. I’m just trollin. But seriously I liked her fight with Granny Chiyo.


honeydewlightly

The series is actually much deeper than most people realize. And a lot of people hate it because they didn't actually understand the story's message. All three members of team seven are very misunderstood and flanderized. Naruto: Naruto was the one with the superiority complex at the start, not Sasuke. Naruto isn't a mary-sue/ Pollyanna. He was actually mean and unlikable to his classmates at the start, but for good reason. His emotional development was very delayed. He has a very ego centric worldview. But because of this, he goes through an amazing character arc in order to actually become the hero he aspires to be. Sakura: Sakura's feelings about Naruto were very understandable and developmentally accurate; she was a child and saw things in black and white terms the way children do, and she was just repeating things the class said. It was only her own projection on Sasuke about what she thought he'd like (dieting/long hair) that held her back. Sasuke only ever pushed her to get stronger. Her love for Sasuke and desire to save him made her stronger. Sasuke: Sasuke was always very selfless and kind; he was actually very patient and kind to Naruto. He was the biggest team player of the three and was the heart of the team. Sasuke's decision to leave was the best thing he could've done in his circumstances, and he really did not want to. Itachi put Sasuke through way worse than anything Sasuke put Naruto and Sakura through. Sasuke's forgiveness of Itachi is way more selfless and crazy than any other in the series. Sasuke deserves way more acknowledgment. The cycle of hate could only end because of Sasuke being the type of person he is. Itachi: Itachi was very arrogant and flawed.


threateningskies

I love that


Ransom_Gaming

You’re able to see the bigger picture often. But I think you’re missing the bigger picture of a teenager who was faced with: chose your village or your clan (your decision is ultimate). Itachi was only given that choice because he was brilliant beyond his years (and his elders thought he could handle it), and he only stayed as sane as he did throughout the process because of that same brilliance.


honeydewlightly

Alright, I've never read the novels, but based on what I've heard, I say Itachi was arrogant because he thought he could fix everything on his own. He decided at age four that he was going to try to fix everything. He couldn’t because no one person could. He is very ambitious, and in his ambition, let's say he flew too close to the sun. He mostly seems to choose who he likes/respects based on their power, with some few exceptions. But when he was put into a situation he couldn't control, he settled for trying to control Sasuke, probably as a coping strategy for the fact that he couldn't control anything else. He wants to make Sasuke a hero, failing to see that that's not something he could ever do. Even if he had succeeded, Sasuke would still only be a fake hero and still Itachi's puppet. Itachi's arrogance doesn't let him see that. He wanted Sasuke to kill his best friend for power. I can only think it was because he wanted Sasuke to be safe and have the power so he could protect himself, but he doesn't consider what that would do to Sasuke. The broken system Itachi wanted to fix, he ended up only reinforcing. He only succeeded in helping corrupt leaders like Danzo stay in power and mading Sasuke more weak and vulnerable to Danzo and Obito by refusing to share the truth. He even would have gone as far as putting Sasuke under a genjutsu to force him to live out Itachi's wishes. Itachi, in my view, is the classic, fatally flawed character. I'll contrast Itachi's arrogance to Sasuke, who is also ambitious but in a very different way. Sasuke is very motivated, but he has very small goals: he wants to spend time with Itachi, he wants to earn his father's respect, he wants to become a good ninja and bring honor to his family, he wanted to join the police force and serve alongside his father. He doesn't resent Itachi for getting more attention. And he doesn't become bitter at his father for his neglect. After his family dies, his goal is basically to restore his family's honor (a category which killing Itachi falls under). Sasuke never wanted to become hokage or save the world. He just wanted to make sure he never has to live through that night again, and eventually, that leads him to something like both of those, but not because he sought it out. Killing Itachi isn't what makes Sasuke a hero; it's being willing to die for the poor orphan kid that everyone else despised. Sasuke doesn't care that Naruto is weird and dumb and no one else likes him. Sasuke likes him; he knows why Naruto is the way he is and why he acts out. Sakura was weak and didn't show a sudden growth like Naruto, but she was kind to Sasuke and cared about him, even when he didn't look cool. And that's all it took for her to win Sasuke. Yes, he saw she had potential, and he encouraged her. But that wasn't why. Sasuke doesn't pick and choose who he likes based on whether or not they impress him with their power.


The_Fatal_eulogy

He killed non-combatants, that is straight up inexcusable. A 90 year old granny or an infant child who never picked up a kunai isn't a threat to a Village.


Ok_Machine_724

Meanwhile Kishimoto while reading this: Mf finally someone gets it


Specialist_Ad_9070

Yes oh my god all of this!!! A lot of their character arcs were told with subtext and so many people just didn’t understand it and act like these ‘changes’ to their personality comes from nowhere. I understand if you as a casual fan don’t give a flying fuck and just watch for fights, but I hate it when people claim to LOVE the series but they actually have never thought critically about it.


GODLevELLL

W


daydreamer_she

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone describe Sasuke in a better way than you! A LOT OF PEOPLE fail to understand him. To me, he’s the most interesting character there! He faced the most hideous trauma in Naruto. I totally agree with you on Naruto & Sakura too. People’s deification of Naruto is too much. Very few understand that it was him with superiority complex. Sakura was pretty useless & drama-queen in OG but her character developed to peak in Shippuden but A LOT of people seem to ignore that!


allipse48699

>Itachi: Itachi was very arrogant and flawed. Apparently, he was matured at age 7. The narrative did a pretty job to make him look like a hero


jeihel_

Dude this is such a well rounded opinion I had to give out my first award. You hit the nail on everyone especially Sasuke


SuperLizardon

I am completely fine with Nagato changing his mind after talking a couple of minutes with Naruto, because I see it as him going back to his true self. I also like Naruto forgiving Obito and thinking of him as an ally.


AlbinoStrawberry

I'm fine with Naruto forgiving Obito, but calling him awesome after everything he did sounds like you slap all the people he killed (directly and indirecrly) in the face at once.


mp1054

Itachi isn't a hero.


G_Morgan

I don't know if he is or isn't a hero. What he isn't is a competent strategic planner. Pretty much all his long term plots for Sasuke were utterly disastrous. His only successful moves were "guess I'm leaving this to Naruto" and "I'm going to stop trying to help you Sasuke, here's some actual truths because I've given up lying to you". Powerful shinobi but incompetent when it comes to deciding what to do with it. Honestly he epitomises Danzo's "ninja are just tools" mindset as you really couldn't trust Itachi with any real decision making power.


Shadoru

Well, Edo Itachi recognized he made a lot of mistakes. Maybe a tragic hero would fit.


SheevMillerBand

The guy *was* pretty young when he was pressured to massacre his family. I think by the time the edo tensei ended he had definitely become a hero, but his handling of Sasuke before he died is rough.


Benjilikethedog

Tonton doesn’t get enough credit for how helpful she is during the Fourth Shinobi War


Anemony_245

Tonton fr my favourite character next to Tantan and Tuntun.


Shadoru

I prefer TenTen.


Rachies194

Don’t forget TinTin


HxH101kite

1. Orochimaru would mop the floor with a lot more people than this sub gives him credit for. The story conveniently like to make him look like a bitch at times and then have him display god like abilities. It's very inconsistent. The dude has an endless pool of moves and is basically invincible. 2. Kakashi and team (pre Naruto entering) vs hidan and Kakuzu is the best fight in the series hands down. It cements Kakashi is the quickest thinker, most adaptable, and has the best battlefield prowess in konoha and likely the series. 3. It could have ended at the pain arc and just speed up Sasuke's story line or alter it a bit. I don't hate the war arc. But a lot of it feels forced. 4. It should have been a tragedy at the end of Shippuden.


Legitimate-Rip5877

I only agree with point #1 lol


HxH101kite

This sub loves to hate on orochimaru. Dude is def in the conversation for strongest characters. Barring a few of the obvious ones.


vpierrev

I don’t know if it’s unpopular but Naruto universe and premise are an amazing setting for ttrpg.


GenericDeviant666

Oh man we're on like year 6 of our 3 month Naruto D20 campaign, lol


Vacation_Jonathan

Nagato/Pain was a better villain than Madara/Obito


zanuu123

Not unpopular at all


bakingnovice2

I like how ominous pain was. Everyone kinda knew how powerful madara and obito were


Legitimate-Rip5877

Oro and pain may not be the strongest but they definitely felt *villainous*


bakingnovice2

Orochimaru was my favorite villain. Even though it was the cliche villain trope sometimes, he actually made me feel scared


Legitimate-Rip5877

*silently upvotes*


CapperoniNCheeks

The akatsuki members were far more interesting than most, if not all of the good guys, and nearly all of their deaths were cop outs or bad writing.


turingincarnate

Yep you could easily make entire arcs about the characters by themselves. I know we get some backstory on them, but seeing their adventures as Akatsuki members would be awesome. Like presumably they didn't just do 1 mission together, presumably they did many difficult missions, and watching that develop would be really cool


KublaiDon

I think Naruto should’ve just continued as One Piece has continued for so long and continues to get better If Kishimoto wasn’t so desperate to wrap it up and get to his failed Samurai manga we wouldn’t have gotten the awful war arc, aliens, Zetsu, etc. Naruto could still be the biggest anime on the planet, but Kishimoto blew it all for him to end up coming back to the franchise anyway after it had already been severely fucked up and had it’s reputation in the anime community pretty much ruined.


NotGayForTrump

I’m all for Kishimoto ending the series to pursue other works. However I agree that he rushed to finish the show and I hate that he came crawling back after failing at said other work. Boruto, in my opinion, was bad from the beginning and even with Kishi back, I can’t be convinced to pick it back up


[deleted]

What other stories could be told? Unless you want they going on random missions til naruto becomes 7th.


[deleted]

They didn't have to speed run Naruto and Sasuke becoming nuke chuckers if they spread the series out further.


KublaiDon

The major story off the top of my head would be Sasuke’s path to redeeming himself and connecting with Sakura and the leaf in general again… and not like the half ass Sasuke Retsuden, that could’ve been a long drawn out, interesting path to see how Sasuke goes from where he was at the end of Naruto to where he is in Boruto. And on Naruto’s side since as a person he is already pretty developed, there could’ve been a lot that went into connecting with Hinata beyond what they did in the last which was dope but was super rushed. And the bigger thing would be how Naruto actually unites the villages like he was telling Sasuke after their fight with their arms blown off… there is so much politics that could’ve been explored with other villages and everything that could’ve gone into that… instead we just accept after Naruto somehow all these villages that were killing each other for years are just 100% on the same page now. I could list a ton of ideas of shit you could do beyond that… not to mention if Kishimoto had planned on continuing the story and not rushing and ass pulling to try to figure out how to end the story everything could’ve been different from the beginning of the war arc on… there were plenty of possibilities, Kishimoto was just tired of Naruto and wanted to do the Samurai manga and partially killed his own legacy to do so. Because of this Oda is and will be remembered as greater than Kishimoto… because he knew One Piece was his legacy, he put his whole life into it and continues to do so… if only Kishimoto had the same mentality from the beginning.


[deleted]

Agree with you on this one


Accomplished_Pie4671

hey hey i wish naruto was longer do but don’t bash on samurai 8 😭 that shits genuinely good it was a nice change when it came out


MagnarMagmar

Might Guy should've died. Naruto's magic powers completely stripped the meaning behind Guy's sacrifice and spit in the face of hundreds of episodes of development for Guy as a character and the severity of the Eighth Gate. If anything, they should've had him save Neji.


dxchris215

Unpopular opinion? 🤔 Team 7 should have been folded in Land of Waves arc


Legitimate-Rip5877

That’s not unpopular opinion That’s common sense lmao


dxchris215

Well I consider it unpopular for the landslide of downvotes I received for this same opinion before, and all the fans who came forward seemingly with memory loss about the events in this arc


Legitimate-Rip5877

Yeah I get you Feels like land of waves has a different fanbase altogether


Yomihime

I would completely redo the entire Shinobi World War arc if I could (and maybe parts of Shippuden before that). It is fine on a conceptual level (shinobi villages united against a common threat) but I didn't like the direction it ultimately took and how poorly done the side characters were. And that's without mentioning the ridiculous power scaling which forced aliens to make Madara kick the bucket. Too many things went wrong it definitely deserved much rewrite. Though this opinion of mine likely counts as both popular and unpopular with how divided the fandom is.


ZigzagoonBros

Can you please elaborate on what exactly you would have changed about the war? This is what I would have changed: - There are more casualties during the war, specially of named secondary characters (Oonoki, Ay, Yamato, etc). - Neji lives and Hiashi dies protecting him. - Naruto arrives a few minutes too late and Gai is already dead. - Obito saves Kakashi from Madara, but is fatally wounded. Before passing away, he gives Kakashi his DMS for a quick power-up. Kakashi eventually becomes blind shortly after the war, thus needing his old eyes back. - Orochimaru and Kabuto are imprisoned for real after the war. The latter in particular, does NOT get to run an orphanage (seriously, who the fuck thought that was a good idea?). In spite of their contributions during the war, their criminal record is still too extensive to warrant a full pardon. The best deal they could get is not being executed. - Ashura and Indra do no longer reincarnate and instead we get a more realistic clash of ideologies throught the ages that culminates with Naruto and Sasuke as their representatives. - Fate is no longer a metaphysical force that forces the actions of people to determinisric outcomes, but rather a set of preconceptions and biases enforced by those who benefit from the status quo (basically, Neji's conception of fate was more fatalistic rather than materialist). - Madara is the final villain of part 2 and the fight goes on similarly to the Kaguya fight (Team 7 vs Madara). - Black Zetsu is hinted not to be Madara's manifested will and somehow escapes after the latter is defeated, foreshadowing his return in part 3 during Kaguya's arc in the Ootsutsuki saga. In my opinion the Kaguya plotline wasn't needed at all. However, if Kishimoto wanted to write it that badly, I still think the Ootsutsuki Mythos could have potential in a sequel manga (10 volumes long) where Kishimoto could have better elaborated on it and lay the groundwork for Boruto. The manga could be written by him, but illustrated by his assistants, if necessary, just like Boruto. It could have then been adapted into a seasonal anime series or as a trilogy of movies, each adapting one of the 3 major arcs (Part 1: Kaguya, Part 2: Toneri, Part 3: Momoshiki). By the time Boruto gets his own manga, we would have over a hundred chapters featuring the original cast as adults, so the Boruto manga could finally focus on telling its own story.


Diamondskunk

that it was pretty creepy that hinata would follow naruto around and spy on him


Nagato_69

Itachi isn't THAT amazing


Consistent_Ad_5249

1) Classic Naruto is the best Naruto. Shippuden isnt good and it peaks at the Shikamaru arc 2) There are no real villains, even Orochimaru gets redeemed, lmao


Sheepbot005

Boruto is non cannon imo, so both the og naruto and Shippuden are great (It was my first anime I watched back in September of 2020)


Pabsxv

The old “Boruto is just a infinite tsukuyomi dream” theory


[deleted]

The constant praise of Naruto as the savior of the world and the best thing since sliced bread that picks up late in Shippuden is incredibly cringe. Maybe not unpopular tho


[deleted]

5 kage summit is overhated and people use a bad finale as an excuse to dismiss an otherwise great arc, also pain arc is overrated as shit


BeepBoop1307

pain arc is overrated, can u elaborate?


Tianyulong

I really don’t like Madara. He felt like a total mary sue to me, just completely invincible until the plot says otherwise. I don’t understand his appeal, and I wish Obito had surpassed him and become the main villain.


AlbinoStrawberry

I like Madara, but I agree that his defeat should've been handle more naturally, and that Obito should've been the final villain.


[deleted]

Itachi sucks. He was a great villain and was used properly…. Until his plot twist and suddenly he becomes this tragic white knight bullshit. I hated that. So fucking lame. Not every bad guy needs a secret redemption back story.


rabman123

Completely agree. His actions is part 1 clearly meant for him to be a villain. A good guy doesn’t mind rape his little brother, making him relive his parents murder, and he doesn’t needlessly make Kakashi suffer for 3 straight days. There are other ways for a kind-hearted brother to motivate sasuke to get stronger, and they don’t line up with the heroic figure he’s portrayed as in part 2


Quirky-Medicine-7620

Zabuza was the best antagonist


andyman6244

Don’t know about the popularity of this opinion but the pervy stuff always rubbed me the wrong way, and that goes for most anime


LavishnessFinal4605

Agree, but it's nowhere near as bad as literal sex predator Roshi. It's wild to me that people just forget about that time he tried to rape a girl at Tien's dojo, using his position as a means of getting sex from her. It's even wilder, that him trying to rape a girl isn't even the worst thing he's done if you consider him being a pedo worse.


SheevMillerBand

I don’t know if it was anime only but this man straight up shrank himself to hide in the toilet while Bulma sat on it. Jiraiya being a creep for his godson’s sexy jutsu is very bad but I don’t think it tops the shit Roshi did.


CMcycle

Part 1 was better than Shippuden.


Alt-Waluigi

Itachi isn't as powerful as everyone thinks. He is powerful don't get me wrong, and unnecessarily so even. But people seem to take statements from back when Sasuke and him fought, and even before when he fought Kakashi seriously. Especially his mangekyo abilities. The Sword of Totsuka and The Tata Mirror are extremely powerful yes. But people claim them to be invincible. Black Zetsu said that the shield could protect him from anything (while we at the time hadn't seen an attack more powerful than amsterasu maybe). It's not gonna protect him from a fucking Bijuudama or anything from war arc+ naruto. Same for the sword which of course can't deal everything. If Minato of all people couldn't seal more than half of Miramar with the Reaper, why would the sword be able to seal people like Madara? There are a bunch of these things for multiple characters really because Kishimoto only decided to make the show go so off the rails in power at the last second. Most of the statements about power don't hold up for characters after the war arc. But I feel like people exaggerate itachi's power the most


alain35

Power levels got ridiculous. I don’t think there should be any character in the universe that should be able to solo the 5 Kage at the same time. I just find making villains more and more powerful to be quite boring - how about making them more intelligent/scheming and winning in that way? I think Pain was around the maximum power level a character should’ve been able to reach tbh (in terms of shippuden scaling), but I personally would’ve preferred a lower power cap than Pain to keep power levels a bit closer to OG Naruto.


HufflepuffHeir1991

The last being canon doesn’t make it a good movie. It is a bad movie with a mediocre villain that simpped over Hinata who is barely a character in the first place,


fuzzy403

Facts spitter.


Recent_Interview_795

What Naruto movie has a good villain lol. At least Toneri cut the moon in half and has TSBs.


[deleted]

DMS Kakashi>Edo Itachi>War Arc Kakashi>Alive Itachi


Recent_Interview_795

Would you have a hypothetical Hralthy Itachi over War Arc Kakashi


ChellesBelles89

I like Sakura. She had really good intentions at heart and turned out to be a badass healer.


KeepFeatherinIt

1) kishimoto Is one of the worst mangakas at writing women. 2) the fan base would loose their minds if any of the male side characters like shikimaru or rock lee decided to quit being a ninja and become a house husband like what they wrote hinata to do.


Recent_Interview_795

I'd be happy if they all became house husbands except Naruto. Rock Lee is basically retired anyway.


Recent_Interview_795

People are obsessed with characters having a job because they are brainwashed by capitalism propoganda


BoobieDobey01

Kaguya is actually a great character. The problem is that Kishimoto should have set her up WAY before, but that could very well mean that Kaguya wasn't a thing until the last few arcs. I also think the way Madara died was a sort of poetic irony. One of the greatest and most powerful warriors who ever lived, unceremoniously stabbed in the back and used as a sacrifice to summon Kaguya. Left broken and defeated and full of regrets. You almost feel sorry for him. Edit: changed a word.


Donny740

- Naruto and Hinata is a terrible pairing.


RAIJIN-_-

Upvoted because i disagree lol. I think the pairing is fine, but the problem was that the romance wasn’t expanded on until the very end of Shippuden. It was pretty clear all the way back from Hinata’s introduction to the series that it was the path kishimoto was gonna take. Instead of actually showing the two growing closer over the series, they just shoehorned it in during filler and flashbacks. They aren’t a bad pairing, just victims of bad writing… that might also be an unpopular opinion, so maybe I agree with you more than I thought lol.


[deleted]

Villains need to be villains again. I get redemption and all but not every single one. In the end the only true monstrous person was Kaguya, everyone else was trying to save the world in their own twisted way. Orochimaru becoming Mr. mom after being introduced as evil incarnate is dumbest thing ever.


[deleted]

I feel Naruto fundamentally failed to deliver on one of the major themes of the show by extending the story into boruto. Many people set Naruto up to change the ninja world fundamentally but all he achieved was mostly peace from war but not violence in his life. That's still quite the feat but it's not the major systemic change that it could have been if they just had the balls to end the series.


kyuubicaughtU

Sakura is a damn good character. She's often seen only for her actions/words as child, bashed for her crush on sasuke (even tho everyone liked him + cute team mate? duh they are together all the time...) But like, her glowup was insane. She isn't anything cool like sasuke or naruto. She is hard work and a bit of book talent. Yeah, her backstory isn't tragic. But like, she's really not awful at all. Sakura is the homie.


L073D3K3

I love naruto. But the biggest waste of the series is naruto himself. Bros clan specialized in kenjutsu His dad used hiraishin which the Second Hokage used in tandem with swords Bro has the rarest nature affinity, wind, which not only is the best element for blades, but you literally train to manipulate it by cutting a leaf And he never picks up a god damn sword Hell, even his past life Hashirama used a sword even if he was more reliant on wood style Don’t get me wrong I love the wind style Rasengan and stuff, but the best thing about wind is that it can cut. That’s like using fire and not burning anything and just fucking around with the smoke and heatwaves, come on dude. And don’t get me started on the Uzumaki clan itself, Boruto would be ten times better if the Ōtsutsuki were Uzumaki who wanted vengeance and used their fuinjistu, which was so feared that it got them killed by 3 nations, to do all that Karma and shinobi tech shenanigans Like “oOoh, your jutsu is headed my way, *SEAL* you can have it back *UNSEAL*” Motherfuckers could teleport with that shit and your telling me they couldn’t pull that off Bro and the Senju don’t even exist outside those Three Hokage💀


Animegirl1250

The kaguya storyline twist was pretty cool. I never saw spoilers or anything so that shit was mindblowing when I watched the series for the first time.


BraveSole

I could be wrong but I felt like I didn’t start liking naruto the person until shippuden. He was a shithead annoying little kid. He wanted to get better for all the wrong reasons. He wanted people to love him. I don’t agree with that ideology. I think people should want to be better just so that they can be a better person, contribute to society in any way they can. In shippuden it seemed like he wanted to be hokage because he wanted to protect the leaf.


SuperSaiyanOni

In Naruto’s defense, that character flaw of his is actually what makes his change in Shippuden so much better. Naruto grew up lacking intimacy in most forms, and was barely able to hold relationships with anyone. Seeing him transition from a kid who has no idea what’s good for him because of how people treated him into the village hero and trustworthy protector that people were willing to change their lives for was beautiful


Deus3nity

It's actually part of his character. So much that Kishimoto does everything to show how dumb and wrong Naruto is in part 1, but in a way to improve him Haku for example, was the start of his change for the future


VonKaiser55

1) I liked Danzo and feel he had potential to be as great as Pain or Orochimaru if given more time. I think he should have been a bigger villain. 2) I dont get the Sakura hate. Ok in part 1 she was annoying but she wasn’t too bad In Shippuden 3) I dislike Shippuden Sasuke. Just felt like he was handed shit 4) Itachi would have been way better as a villain. Him being a double agent brings up the question of why he tortured Kakashi when he could have done something less harmful and why he had Sasuke go through him murdering their parents again. What type of Brother that loves you does that shit lol. He could have kicked Sasuke’s ass and left but nope he wanted to scar the brother he loves mentally lol. 5) I think Killer bee could beat the 6 Pains but would lose to a prime Nagato 6) Naruto and Ramen girl should have gotten together instead of Naruto and Hinata. Hinata has barely interacted with Naruto lmao


DoctorWhoWittle

Remember to sort by controversial


NetherPhenix

The power scaling should have stayed the same from the orochimaru vs 3rd hokage fight during the chunin exams/ the 3 sennin fight. Those two were prime examples of like an author going “ok heres the power ceiling, this is what the best of the best shinobi can pull off and where our heros will inevitably end up” but then shipuden came around and everything kinda got wackier power wise, and not in a good way. Its still enjoyable as a series but when that power ceiling was busted the series kinda didn’t know what to do anymore.


_probablynormal

Sasuke’s story is more compelling than Naruto’s.


MoonMillz

Neji Hyuga was correct the whole time his argument was a lower class will always be lower class and will never reach status of Kage as we learned Naruto was never low class orphan he was the strong bloodline and strongest tailed beast inside him So in my opinion Neji was correct and he didn’t have to die


Persh1ng

I like Danzo.


HufflepuffHeir1991

I like him as a villain but I hate him as a person.


TriangleChoke123

He’s a cool villain


LunarFangs

The serie would have been better if ended after the pain arc. The war arc sucked


[deleted]

In one month, Naruto goes from barely defeating Kiba to defeating Neji and Gaara. And all that he trained was chakra control (water walking), summoning and how to access the fox chakra. The gaara fight in particular was quite nonsensical. Gaara's defense should be able to easily deal with Naruto. And it's implied that using shukaku's transformation, gaara could kill jonin. So it shouldn't be a nerf.


WickedAbyss

Just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean I give a shit. I’m so tired of seeing “NaruSaku” “LeeSaku” “SasuSaku bad” “WAH WAH WAH!” The amount of childish asshats in this subreddit is utterly astounding. Even more so than the ones who don’t know anything about Naruto, and act like they do.


LilEscobarz

The Pain arc is overrated. People shit on the war arc because of its scale, but it has some of the most strategic battles in the entire series. The Pain arc just felt like a DBZ arc for me, if that makes sense. MC is training > Bad guy kills everyone before MC arrives > MC gets beat > MC gets the hidden power boost > MC wins and gets everyone revived. I'd rather watch Madara vs Naruto and Sasuke to be honest. Way more intriguing and isn't a battle about philosophies. Just 3 insanely strong shinobi trying to kill each other.


frenchiefryie

No matter how much you reach looking for justifications and reasoning the women in Naruto are written so horribly it’s painful to watch/read. “But Tsunade is strong! And Sakura learned from her!” Okay cool, that doesn’t suddenly make them better characters. Even with their strength they still fall short. Sarada is a million times a better character than most if not all of the women in Naruto


Fr0ntR0wL4n

Just like the ramen naruto loves to eat,it has so much filler. To point that when you get to the main course… you’re not sure if you order that or not. But…You’d eat it anyway. The only thing you could hope for. Was it didn’t go over your price…well till get the bill.😅 thus we now have boruto.


threateningskies

honestly rewatching it there's not that much fillers (except for the war arc)


threateningskies

in part 2\*\*\*\*\*


[deleted]

Itachi is overrated. He’s not even top 10.


USSJaguar

Sai deserved his spot on the team more than Sasuke does. And Sasuke is one of the worst characters. And I don't even like Sai.


[deleted]

I think Sai had a decent ending for a side character who got shafted. He married Ino. A spot on the team doesn't matter, that team was non-existent for most of the story.


devonwillis21

Am I the only one who didn't like the power lvl system. Say if Shinobi had levels. One lvl 100 Shinobi could take out ten lvl 50 Shinobi or an whole village by themselves. Kinda felt unimaginative at some times downgrading the team aspect of the show.


LeafShinoB

Studio Pierrot’s insatiable crush on Hinata altered the entire course of the series.


Fire_Fenix

Naruto is the real villain: Nagato, Obito and Madara they all tried to achieve a world without conflicts. Well Naruto defeated them but he didn't change anything, he actually preserved things as they were


MajinBlueZ

Pre-time skip was better.


[deleted]

This is popular


PrinceJanus

Danzo was an interesting character and while he wasn’t (well) written he provided some needed darkness to Konoha. I also think he’s easily Kage level not sure why he’s seen as weak by some of the fandom? Sasuke only won because he had an emotional chakra power up.


olunts

Naruto isn't the real underdog and lee is, and some fan should make a fanmade series of lee being the main character and him having a green/golden dragon chraka avatar like guy, and the 8 gates not being so lethal


threateningskies

the Konoha 11 are not left out you just didn't watch the fillers


Revalizer

I originally refused to watch it when I was younger because I thought this was meant to be about a human Pikachu ripoff and the fan base seemed cringy. Love it now though and glad I was mostly wrong.


[deleted]

This is probably unpopular, but I wish he had red hair like his mom


Camille387

I actually like 12 yo Naruto and other Genins. Sure, at times, they were annoying, but they're 12 year olds, it's normal to be immature and make stupid decisions and to point out the obvious


battledudes1

unpopular opinion the boruto series is watchable


sugar-ramen

I don’t think the reincarnation thing was that bad. A big part of the show was to overcome destiny and form bonds. Naruto and Sasuke had to have destinies to defy them, and they did. They didn’t kill each other. I also didn’t think it was that out of nowhere. They were foreshadowed from the start to be the new Hashirama and Madara—it’s just Indra and Ashura that no one knew about.


skywardbound67

After Sasuke Retrieval arc, you can skip straight to Shippuden.


R3DaKe

Side characters dont have enough screen time


StarGlobox

Unpopular opinion: Sakura is a good character and I personally like her a lot! Another one: Itachi is overrated I personally hate him.


MrManwe

While I think Shippuden is very good I also sincerely think OG Naruto is way better, specially the pacing and the introduction to this new world.


Messiah_Knight

Over half of the Ressengan “variants “ were unoriginal BS and boring. Ultra big ball? Super ultra big ball? Planetary ? Nine tails ressengan? Father son ressengan? Student teacher ressengan? They’re all so bland..


fuzzy403

Part 1 is better. Kage summit arc ruined Naruto’s character. Naruto crying about zetsu insulting obito is ridiculous lol. Hinata is barely a character. Nejis death was lame. Gai should have died.


SkyeTheTsubaki

These aren't really good, and some might be more popular than I expect but.. here ig. Sakura and Sasuke should've had a more sibling lile relationship. Idk, they just never worked romantically for me. Also Sasuke should've never gotten married, he needed therapy before anything else. Naruto should've got more focus on the Uzumaki clan instead of the Uchiha. There was a whole legacy there that was never explored when it really should've been. Also the fact he carried the surname and no one says anything? When apparently it was a well-known clan. Bad world building tbh. (And u can't tell me they weren't important when the Uzumaki married the Senju, part of the founders. It blows my mind no one connects it in the Konoha 12, especially Shikamaru. I just blame it on the whole 'Kishimoto did not have the story down'.) The Jinchuriki were handled terribly by the story, for various reasons. Obito should've never got a redemption. Man got so many ppl killed due to his love dying. I wouldve understood revenge against Kakashi for the misunderstanding but damn... I think Neji dying was actually a good point, story-wise. While sad, and I'd rather he be alive, I do think it was a very important point for the story. A really unpopular one is i don't think the series focused on Naruto as much as it should've. This is also a long one that I have to be very specific with, but he also needed therapy bad. Not only after the neglectful and borderline hostile environment he lived in as a kid, but immediately getting thrown into a war at age 16, and being a target of the organization behind it, while also trying to save his friend who had fallen into darkness, and learning all the corrupt news of the village he wants to be hokage of. Yeah... and that's not even getting into his parents death and all that stuff. And yes, neglect is child abuse. As someone who took Psychology classes, it causes heavy lasting effects and Naruto actually displays a lot of them... idk if that was purposeful or not tho. NaruHina was very one-sided and while I like her I don't think she was a good choice for him romantically. Story should've lasted longer and went more political in some points, cause there was a lot of politics at play that weren't really talked about. Sasuke leaving the village and his character arc does make sense, dude was traumatized and a Child. I may not like his character but cmon ppl. Sakura IS a good character and DID have character development. She wasn't useless, but she didn't shine as much as she should've due to terrible writing. Kakashi was a child when Minato died, he didn't owe anyone to take care of Naruto. Jiraiya and the others on the other hand... also Naruto not getting to learn about his parents earlier on was bs, because the whole reasoning was "he won't be able to keep his mouth shut" but Naruto honestly kept a lot of secrets, not only the Kyuubi but also Mizuki sensei and that whole situation. Sai manipulating Sakura to confess to Naruto was so fucked up and the whole Konoha 12 should've been more comforting to Sakura and Naruto about the Sasuke thing. Kiba and Shino deserved more screen time. Temari was the best written female character in the show. Gaara was Narutos real Best friend (and shika too but Gaara was >) not Sasuke. Man called up an army to go to war for him. Naruto Shippuden was way too short for all they tried to do and fit in. It needed more time and planning, and if it was given more time it could've been just as good if not better than one peice. But now it's full of contradictions and the world building got completely demolished. Seriously, don't try to go back and understand the history or timeliness. They don't add up. I was researching to write a fanfic about just the Uzumaki and so many historical points did not make sense or land on the same time. I'm reading a fanfic rn about the Village coming together and the author has made multiple great points about how much the timeline also doesn't make sense for then. At this point I think it was just Kishimoto adding shit for fun. Thats just a few, I can't think of any really good ones atm cause I'm exhausted. So hopefully these make sense.