Naruto

[windstar]

Forget the ,,Yeah" thing...it doesn't fit in a review. It's good that you are trying, but try harder. :D Besides, your review is way too short...better luck next time. ;)

[jaysiff]

LOL

Nappa: vegeta! What does the review say about flashbacks!?

Originally Posted by TheKing

over 9000 flash backs!!

Vegeta: AHHH! Its over 9000!!!

Sasuke: I fucking hate you guys, I'm gonna cut myself.

[Azaireal]

First post; first critique.
Significantly spoiler free.
Note: Naruto is a person. Naruto is a television show.

Naruto (TV)

Summary:

Naruto is the continuing story of a young apprentice ninja trying to obtain his dreams. Of course, Naruto's life is not so simple as to simply walk sublimely to his goal. Naruto is fraught with ordeals which shape the development of the young protagonist.

Our hero is not left to his own devices, as he has the help of a myriad of individuals. The cast of characters in Naruto have various opinions of the hero, based on personal decisions.

In opposition to, or merely in the way of, Naruto is an assortment of villains and foes. Each step Naruto takes towards his goal is in the way of another individual or group. Conflict arises between Naruto and various people in response to the decisions the apprentice makes on his journey.


Animation/Design: 6.5 (letter grade C)

Animation quality is fairly decent, but continual usage of the same footage does not support a splendid animation score.

Naruto is fairly renowned for having creative character designs which accurately depict the personality of the individual. This is commendable, or even an amiable decision on the part of the designing artist; but, the environments which the characters in Naruto constantly find themselves drawn upon are not always visually ideal for complimenting the character designs.

Story: 6.5 (C)

The story line of Naruto is best described as arcs. A arc is a series of episodes pertaining to one event or combination of events to create a miniature story in the middle of the major tale.

Each arc has a distinct story, and a distinct tone. These tones vary in emotional appeal, and often lean toward the darker emotions. As a combination, the overall story seems to be a more accurate representation of life than a single uninterrupted tale. A person may walk to the market, but must follow their instincts if presented with obstacles which obtrude the goal. Naruto is confronted with many of these obtrusions, drawing out the length of the story.

Individually, an arc can be a very stunningly composed and emotionally inspiring event. As for the considerable presence of these events in relative proximity to each other, the effect can be numbing. The number of events with the same emotional elements detracts from similar stories within the series. The frigged reception of the 'Filler arcs' following the break from the manga is a chilling example of how a repetitive arc pattern can decimate the emotional value of a particular story line.

Given the shear volume of material covered, repetitive use of plot devices diminishes the effectiveness of the story telling. Given the parameters of the story (excluding elements which are not 'manga canon'), the series relies heavily on the use of certain dramatic instances to push forward the underlining meaning of Naruto's journey. After deliberately inserting that message in numerous scenes causes the story to lose its own originality within itself because it is continually falling back onto the central theme at the expense of progressing the story.

Characters: 9 (A+)

In Naruto, the stunning volume of unique characters is enough to give this category a high grade. Most of the characters in Naruto with speaking roles are distinguished individuals.

The greatest achievement for Naruto is presenting the characters in their natural element, behaving as they would. Some people are driven by their prejudices just as others are indifferent or even amiable under different circumstances. Characters have a theme, or deeper meaning, inserted into the story of Naruto(besides being the actors portraying the events).

Music/Sound: 8 (A)

[Japanese/English Subs]

Albeit, Naruto is one of the most irritating male characters in an anime series, his voice is surprising effective as a plot device for Naruto's character. This is true for most, if not all, the characters in Naruto.

The music is stereotypical of the story. Given that Naruto is a modern world (steams boats, cranes, hard hats, refrigerators, carton factories) it retains many of the sounds associated with traditional Japanese folktales. Thus, the combination of electronic music (guitars and synthesizers) with woodwinds and brass generates an appropriate sound for Naruto.

Overall: 5 (D)

Naruto's greatest flaw as a series is the longevity of the story. Given the volume of the series, it should overwhelm competition with shear bulk. Alas, shorter and more concise stories are give this series a serious challenge. Joining Naruto on his journey can be an ample task if attempted from the beginning. New anime viewers might enjoy this series for individual or incomplete forms while fully indulging in a twenty-four episode season short. The goal of the series is to observe the trials of Naruto, but that is a difficult task (73 hours from the start of Naruto to the beginning of Shippuden).

[mrtictac]

Originally Posted by jaysiff

LOL

Nappa: vegeta! What does the review say about flashbacks!?



Vegeta: AHHH! Its over 9000!!!

Sasuke: I fucking hate you guys, I'm gonna cut myself.

hahahaaa

nice review azai btw except maybe the characters, the characters are predictable, unoriginal, terrible design they all look like square torsos with no figure(u might say its realistic, but especially when they fight the square torso figures just looks silly), and the only thing they all have in common is that theyre emo about something

[cassiesheepgirl]

*revives the necro thread*

I finally got this one done, seems to have trouble writing this one for some reason. Quick note: None of the series names are currently italicised as I'm about to head out to work, but thought I'd quickly post this now. I'll add italics when I get home later. :)


Story: 6.5/10

I’m not ashamed to admit it – I adore shounen anime, though, with the dizzying highs of compelling fights followed by the bitterly crushing disappointment of tedious filler, it’s a rather rocky romance. Unfortunately, this love/hate affair is painfully apparent once again whilst watching Naruto.

Twelve year-old shinobi-in-training, Naruto Uzumaki, lives in the hidden ninja village of Konoha. Shortly after he was born, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox was sealed inside him and, as the host of this monster, Naruto has spent his life as the village outcast. The show follows him in the early stages of his career and the deadly foes that not only pose a threat to Konoha, but also to himself and the entire ninja world.

No matter how I look at it, Naruto doesn’t attempt to push the boundaries of the shounen genre all that much. Instead it joins a plethora of other similar shows and happily falls back on a box-ticking exercise. Lively, young male lead protagonist with an unusually strong power – check. Said character rapidly improves and becomes stronger with each passing mission – check. Group of friends whose bonds are stronger than any foe – check. Maybe with all the extensive publicity, fanboyism and build-up surrounding the series, I had foolishly come to anticipate that Naruto would be completely unlike any other shounen anime out there. Nevertheless, despite following this conventional recipe, I still found the plot wholly gripping.

Though initially the series appears to focus more on Naruto himself, attention soon shifts more towards the bigger picture and the introduction of the show’s main villain – Orochimaru. I find that this is when Naruto becomes far more intriguing as, with each event, more details came to light about the character’s pasts. This allows the series to become more than simply Naruto completing his missions.

Also, as is typical with such anime, the series includes a healthy dose of humour. For me, the inclusion of well-placed comedy can make or break a shounen anime. Luckily, Naruto balances the comedic content perfectly with the kick-ass action and riveting fights. I found myself completely enthralled in the world of the Konoha ninja and, in particular, the Chuunin Exam, Hunt for Tsunade, and Sasuke Retrieval arcs had me so engrossed, that even getting up and going to the loo became an unforgivable interruption.

It was all going so well until I was unceremoniously dumped into an eighty-five-episode run of filler – goodbye quality storytelling, hello mediocrity! The extraneous episodes add nothing to the plotline, and honestly I couldn’t give a flying shuriken about the hidden star village, or some rare beetle with an incredible sense of smell. Half a point goes to the ‘Curry of Life’ arc, which at least raises a smile, but the rest fail to make a lasting impression. While marginally better than the dismal turds of filler that Bleach foists upon its viewers, I would still rather repeatedly stab myself in the leg with a kunai than sit through this third of the series again.


Animation: 6/10

Naruto doesn’t boast any exceptional animation, though from a long-running series, I do not anticipate much else. However, the fight scenes do demonstrate some respectable movement, helping the viewer to engage with the action.

The series’ character design performs its duty well, but utilises a style that isn’t really out of the ordinary. Each character displays an odd visual attribute to match the quirk of their personalities. Details such as Kiba’s emphasised canine teeth help to re-affirm that he comes from a clan that works with ninja dogs, while the ‘Inner Sakura’ provides ample humour throughout. Though these idiosyncrasies aren’t spectacularly inventive, the result is nonetheless effective.


Sound: 8/10

Toshio Masuda delivers a first-rate score to accompany the series. Each piece ideally suits the tone of the scene and serves well to heighten the series’ comedy, tension and drama.

I found that Naruto’s myriad opening and ending themes would often leave little lasting impression at first, but in time I would find myself humming or singing along to many of them. The series’ first opening, ‘Rocks’, deserves particular mention for being strangely reminiscent of a corny and rather dodgy eighties rock song. As such, it satisfies my occasional desire for some truly cheesy music, and makes it onto my list of favourite anime themes.


Characters: 6.5/10

As typical shounen fare, Naruto’s cast neither appears to aim for, nor achieve any particular level of ingenuity. The characters are entertaining and appealing in themselves, but they don’t exceed expectations. Naruto himself is the archetypal lead protagonist – lively, powerful, and a bit dense. While some of his antics and lack of awareness may invoke a sense of irritation at times, Naruto’s unrelenting determination and loyalty to his friends make it difficult to entirely dislike him.

In stark contrast to Naruto’s vivacious personality comes the series’ secondary protagonist, Sasuke. As the polar opposite of his teammate, Sasuke is a quiet and highly intelligent ninja, and his composed and egotistical nature makes him appear little more than a complete asshole. However, with his often disagreeable temperament and his entire life being driven by a rampant desire for revenge, Sasuke becomes one of the show’s more interesting characters.

Meanwhile, the remaining cast simply seem to fit into nice little labelled boxes. Here’s the broody emo one; and there’s the evil genius guy; oh, and don’t forget that funny one, you know, with the massive eyebrows and freaky hairdo. While this is entertaining and helps to establish each person’s role, this stereotyping inevitably limits the amount of creativity in their character.

One of the more impressive aspects of Naruto’s cast comes from its character development. Naruto starts out as an oblivious attention seeker, but soon becomes a slightly less oblivious and far more capable ninja who is determined to protect his friends at all costs. His lonely past also makes this evolution in Naruto’s personality effective in a second way. As he gradually gains the trust and respect of the other ninja, those around him also begin to change. The admirable development of the series’ cast enables an array of easily pigeonholed characters to advance past the chains of some of their stereotypes and gain a greater depth of personality.


Overall: 6.7/10

So, does Naruto really merit all the hype surrounding it? Well, kind of. If I were rating this purely on enjoyment, then the nines would be flowing; I became hooked and couldn’t get enough. However, while the bulk of the plot is worth watching and has the ability to draw the viewer in, Naruto dedicates over a third of the series to superfluous and mundane plot-arcs. Consequently, I cannot honestly call it a masterpiece of Japanese animation. This series is very much a prelude to its successor, and only seems to scratch the surface of the plot. Fans of the shounen genre should definitely check this out, though you might want to do yourself a favour: skip the filler following the Sasuke Retrieval arc and move straight onto Shippuuden.

[ThePatches]

Content-wise, you're 99% of the way there. Because of your high sound score, you NEED to tell viewers to stay the hell away from the toxic Viz Media dub ("Believe it!").

As I need to bounce to work, I can't say more than I enjoyed reading it at this point. More in-depth assistance to come.

[cassiesheepgirl]

Originally Posted by ThePatches

Content-wise, you're 99% of the way there. Because of your high sound score, you NEED to tell viewers to stay the hell away from the toxic Viz Media dub ("Believe it!").

As I need to bounce to work, I can't say more than I enjoyed reading it at this point. More in-depth assistance to come.

Hee hee, I haven't actually heard the dub, though suddenly I'm extremely glad that I havent...

Edit: Have finally added the italics.

[KiraRin]

You're a brave, brave girl taking on this one Cassie. You're bound to upset someone :P

Originally Posted by cassiesheepgirl

Story: 6.5/10

I’m not ashamed to admit it – I love (adore?) shounen anime. Though, with dizzying highs followed by bitterly crushing disappointment, it’s always been a rather rocky romance. <-- I think you could into a little more detail here. What are the highs? The fighting? And the lows? Unfortunately, this love/hate affair was painfully apparent once again whilst watching Naruto. <-- to avoid the repetition of "love", how about "adore" or something more colourful?

Twelve year-old ninja-in-training [comma] Naruto Uzumaki [comma] lives in the hidden ninja village of Konoha. <-- I know its a ninja story, but its used a lot in this paragraph. I'm scratching my head on how else you could phrase it... Maybe "leaf village" and give a bit more detail? Shortly after he was born, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox was sealed inside him and, as the host of this monster, Naruto has spent his life as the village outcast. The show follows Naruto in the early stages of his career and the deadly foes that not only pose a threat to Konoha, but also to himself and the entire ninja world. <-- been taking lessons from Patches? Watch the amount of name dropping :P

No matter how I look at it [comma] Naruto doesn’t really attempt to push the boundaries of shounen anime. Instead it happily falls back on simply ticking all the boxes. <-- sounds to be phrased a little wrong. How about "Instead, it happily falls back on a box ticking exercise" Young vivacious male lead (protagonist?) with an unusually strong power – check. Said lead rapidly improves and becomes stronger with each passing mission – check. Group of friends whose bonds are stronger than any foe – check. However, despite following this benchmark shounen recipe, I still found the plot wholly gripping. <-- I'm just wondering if maybe a comparison to another shounen show would fit in this paragraph? Maybe explain how one pushes the boundaries?

Though initially the series appears to focus more on Naruto himself and his quest to become the strongest ninja in the village – <-- should be a comma the ‘Hokage’, focus (attention?) soon shifts more towards the bigger picture, with and the introduction of the series’ main villain – Orochimaru. I find that this is when the series becomes far more intriguing as, with each event, more details came to light about the character’s pasts. This allows the series to become more than simply Naruto completing his missions. <-- cut the use of hte word "series". You could use the show title again, or show.

Also, as is commonly typical <-- commonly and typical mean the same thing. Just a Vivi-ism :P with such anime, Naruto includes a healthy dose of humour. For me, the inclusion of well-placed comedy can make or break a shounen anime, and luckily this series includes the comedic content perfectly. This balances well with the kick-ass action and enthralling fights and I found myself completely enthralled in the world of the Konoha ninja. In particular I found the Chuunin Exam, Hunt for Tsunade, and Sasuke Retrieval arcs such compelling viewing [comma] that even having to get up and go to the loo <-- yay for Britishisms! became an unforgivable interruption. <-- the second and third sentences are structured very similarly. "Statement about shounen - personal example". Try and mix it up a little - difficult at times, I know >.<

It was all going so well until I was unceremoniously dumped into an eighty-five-episode run of filler – goodbye quality storytelling, hello mediocrity. The excessive amount of extraneous episodes adds absolutely nothing to the plotline. I couldn’t give a flying shuriken <-- I lol'd about the hidden star village, or some rare beetle with an incredible sense of smell. Half a point goes to the ‘Curry of Life’ episodes, which at least raise a smile, but the rest fail to leave any make a lasting impression. While marginally better than the dismal turds of filler that Bleach foists upon its viewers, I would still rather repeatedly stab myself in the leg with a kunai than sit through these episodes again.


Animation: 6/10

Naruto doesn’t boast any exceptional animation, though from a long-running series, I do not anticipate much else. However, The fight scenes however do demonstrate some respectable movement, helping the viewer to engage with the action.

The series’ character design performs its duty well, but utilises a style that isn’t really out of the ordinary. Each character displays an odd visual attribute to match the quirks of their personalities, though again, this isn’t a spectacularly inventive idea. <-- how about explaining the quirks? Maybe the "inner Sakura" :D


Sound: 8/10

Toshio Masuda delivers a first-rate score to accompany the series. Each piece ideally suits the tone of the scene and serves well to heighten the series’ comedy, tension and drama.

I found that Naruto’s myriad opening and ending themes would often leave little lasting impression at first, but after a while I in time would find myself humming or singing along to many of them. The series’ first opening – <-- another comma ‘Rocks’, deserves particular mention and earns a special place in my heart. <- would "for earning a special place in my heart" sound better? In sounding just like a corny and rather dodgy eighties rock track, it satisfies my occasional desire for some truly cheesy music, and thus makes it onto my list of favourite anime themes.


Characters: 6.5/10

As typical shounen fare, Naruto’s cast neither appears to aim for, nor achieve any particular level of ingenuity. Don’t get me wrong; the characters are entertaining and appealing in themselves, but they don’t exceed expectations. Naruto himself is the archetypal lead protagonist – lively, powerful, and a bit dense. While some of his antics and lack of awareness may invoke a sense of irritation at times, Naruto’s unrelenting determination and loyalty to his friends, <-- doesn't need a comma make it difficult to entirely dislike him. Meanwhile the series’ secondary protagonists and supporting cast simply seem to fit into nice little labelled boxes. Here’s the broody emo one; and there’s the evil genius guy; oh, and don’t forget that funny one, you know, with the massive eyebrows and freaky hairdo. While this makes for entertainment and helps to establish each person’s role, this stereotyping inevitably limits the amount of creativity in their character.

One of the more impressive aspects of Naruto’s cast comes from its character development. Naruto starts out as an oblivious attention seeker, but soon becomes a slightly less oblivious and far more capable ninja who is determined to protect his friends at all costs. His lonely past also makes this evolution in Naruto’s personality effective in a second way. As he gradually gains the trust and respect of the other ninja, those around him also begin to change. The admirable development of the series' cast enables an array of easily pigeonholed characters to advance past the chains of some of their stereotypes and gain a greater depth of personality. <-- I can't help but feel you spend a lot of time talking about Naruto in this section. How about a little more about Sasuke, as I thought he played a large part and deserves more than being "the emo one" :P


Overall: 6.7/10

So, does Naruto really merit all the hype surrounding it? Well, kind of. If I were rating this purely on enjoyment then the nines would be flowing; I became hooked and couldn’t get enough. However, while the bulk of the plot is worth watching and has the ability to draw the viewer in, Naruto dedicates over a third of the series to superfluous and mundane plot-arcs. Consequently I cannot honestly call it a masterpiece of Japanese animation. This series is very much a prelude to its successor, and only seems to scratch the surface of the plot. Fans of the shounen genre should definitely check this out, though you might want to do yourself a favour: skip the filler following the Sasuke Retrieval arc and move straight onto Shippuuden.

A lot of the vivisection is from me being picky, and coming up with a few suggestions to help the flow. Loving some of the puns in there though :D

H.

[cassiesheepgirl]

Originally Posted by KiraRin

You're a brave, brave girl taking on this one Cassie. You're bound to upset someone :P

A lot of the vivisection is from me being picky, and coming up with a few suggestions to help the flow. Loving some of the puns in there though :D

H.

Brave or stupid? Hee hee. Yeah I'm guessing that a more average score is likely to upset people, but I'm hoping that I got across that I actually enjoyed it enough to dampen some of the flaming. As such a big show, it'd probably be good to have a review up for this. Besides, I've managed to avoid upsetting anyone too much (except for you with Ping Pong Club lol), so it's probably my turn for some "OMG NARUTO IZ DA SHITZZZ!11!!11 Y U NO GIVE IT 11/10! U SUXX!!1111!!1" (It actually just caused me pain to type that lol).

Thanks for the feedback, I added in a paragraph about Sasuke, I think the only reason I didn't before is because it was getting long enough anyway lol. Also added in a few other bits and changed a couple.

[vivafruit]

Originally Posted by cassiesheepgirl

I’m not ashamed to admit it – I adore shounen anime. Though, You can't begin a sentence like this. "Though" is like "because"; if you want to use either at the beginning of a sentence, it needs to be at the beginning of clause. For instance, "Though I adore shounen anime, ..." with the dizzying highs of compelling fights followed by the bitterly crushing disappointment of tedious filler, it’s always been a rather rocky romance. Unfortunately, this love/hate affair was painfully apparent once again whilst watching Naruto. you switch tenses midway through this paragraph. Make it so that everything is present tense

Twelve year-old shinobi-in-training, Naruto Uzumaki, lives in the hidden ninja village of Konoha. Shortly after he was born, the powerful nine-tailed demon fox was sealed inside him and, as the host of this monster, Naruto has spent his life as the village outcast. The show follows him in the early stages of his career and the deadly foes that not only pose a threat to Konoha, but also to himself and the entire ninja world.

No matter how I look at it, Naruto doesn’t attempt to push the boundaries of the shounen genre all that much. Instead it joins a plethora of other similar shows and happily falls back on a box-ticking exercise. Lively, young male lead protagonist with an unusually strong power – check. Said character rapidly improves and becomes stronger with each passing mission – check. Group of friends whose bonds are stronger than any foe – check. Maybe with all the extensive publicity, fan-boyism one word and build-up surrounding the series, I had foolishly come to anticipate that Naruto would be completely unlike any other shounen anime out there. Nevertheless, despite following this benchmark this isn't the word you're looking for. A "benchmark" is a gold standard that similar works should be compared to. "by-the-book," "conventional," etc. work better recipe, I still found the plot wholly gripping.

Though initially the series appears to focus more on Naruto himself and his quest to become the strongest ninja in the village, the ‘Hokage’, attention soon shifts more towards the bigger picture and the introduction of the show’s main villain – Orochimaru. This sentence is very wordy. I'd suggest either cutting the underlined part or breaking the sentence into two parts. I find that this is when Naruto becomes far more intriguing as, with each event, more details came to light about the character’s pasts. This allows the series to become more than simply Naruto completing his missions.

Also, as is typical with such anime, the series includes a healthy dose of humour. For me, the inclusion of well-placed comedy can make or break a shounen anime. Luckily comma Naruto incorporates the comedic content perfectly and balances well with the kick-ass action and riveting fights this sentence is strangely worded. should be "naruto balances the comedic content perfectly with the kick-ass action and riveting fights". I found myself completely enthralled in the world of the Konoha ninja and, in particular, the Chuunin Exam, Hunt for Tsunade, and Sasuke Retrieval arcs had me so engrossed, that even having to get up and go to the loo wordy. change to "even getting up and going to the loo" became an unforgivable interruption.

It was all going so well until I was unceremoniously dumped into an eighty-five-episode run of filler – goodbye quality storytelling, hello mediocrity. this is a stylistic choice but I would probably have put an exclamation mark here The excessive amount of extraneous episodes adds absolutely nothing to the plotline sentences about extraneous episodes probably shouldn't have extraneous verbiage :P. I couldn’t give a flying shuriken about the hidden star village, or some rare beetle with an incredible sense of smell. these two sentences are choppy. I'd combine them into a compound sentence Half a point goes to the ‘Curry of Life’ arc, which at least raises a smile, but the rest fail to make a lasting impression. While marginally better than the dismal turds of filler that Bleach foists upon its viewers, I would still rather repeatedly stab myself in the leg with a kunai than sit through this third of the series again.


Animation: 6/10

Naruto doesn’t boast any exceptional animation, though from a long-running series, I do not anticipate much else. However, the fight scenes do demonstrate some respectable movement, helping the viewer to engage with the action.

The series’ character design performs its duty well, but utilises a style that isn’t really out of the ordinary. Each character displays an odd visual attribute to match the quirk of their personalities. Details such as Kiba’s emphasised canine teeth help to re-affirm that he comes from a clan that works with ninja dogs, while the ‘Inner Sakura’ provides ample humour throughout. Though these idiosyncrasies aren’t spectacularly inventive, the result is nonetheless effective.


Sound: 8/10

Toshio Masuda delivers a first-rate score to accompany the series. Each piece ideally suits the tone of the scene and serves well to heighten the series’ comedy, tension and drama.

I found that Naruto’s myriad opening and ending themes would often leave little lasting impression at first, but in time I would find myself humming or singing along to many of them. The series’ first opening, ‘Rocks’, deserves particular mention for earning a special place in my heart cliche. Kinda strange; I caught Kira using this in her review as well XD. In sounding just like a corny and rather dodgy eighties rock track, it satisfies my occasional desire for some truly cheesy music, and thus makes it onto my list of favourite anime themes. this sentence needs to be heavily reworked. It's wordy and awkwardly framed.


Characters: 6.5/10

As typical shounen fare, Naruto’s cast neither appears to aim for, nor achieve any particular level of ingenuity. Don’t get me wrong; cut the characters are entertaining and appealing in themselves, but they don’t exceed expectations. Naruto himself is the archetypal lead protagonist – lively, powerful, and a bit dense. While some of his antics and lack of awareness may invoke a sense of irritation at times, Naruto’s unrelenting determination and loyalty to his friends make it difficult to entirely dislike him.

In stark contrast to Naruto’s vivacious personality comes the series’ secondary protagonist, Sasuke. As the polar opposite of his teammate, Sasuke is a quiet and genius genius isn't an adjective ninja, and his composed and egotistical nature makes him appear little more than a complete asshole. However, with his often-disagreeable remove hyphen temperament and his entire life being driven by a rampant desire for revenge, Sasuke becomes one of the show’s more interesting characters.

Meanwhile comma the remaining cast simply seem to fit into nice little labelled boxes. Here’s the broody emo one; and there’s the evil genius guy; oh, and don’t forget that funny one, you know, with the massive eyebrows and freaky hairdo. While this makes for entertainment replace with "is entertaining" and helps to establish each person’s role, this stereotyping inevitably limits the amount of creativity in their character.

One of the more impressive aspects of Naruto’s cast comes from its character development. Naruto starts out as an oblivious attention seeker, but soon becomes a slightly less oblivious and far more capable ninja who is determined to protect his friends at all costs. His lonely past also makes this evolution in Naruto’s personality effective in a second way. As he gradually gains the trust and respect of the other ninja, those around him also begin to change. The admirable development of the series’ cast enables an array of easily pigeonholed characters to advance past the chains of some of their stereotypes and gain a greater depth of personality.


Overall: 6.7/10

So, does Naruto really merit all the hype surrounding it? Well, kind of. If I were rating this purely on enjoyment comma then the nines would be flowing; I became hooked and couldn’t get enough. However, while the bulk of the plot is worth watching and has the ability to draw the viewer in, Naruto dedicates over a third of the series to superfluous and mundane plot-arcs. Consequently comma I cannot honestly call it a masterpiece of Japanese animation. This series is very much a prelude to its successor, and only seems to scratch the surface of the plot. Fans of the shounen genre should definitely check this out, though you might want to do yourself a favour: skip the filler following the Sasuke Retrieval arc and move straight onto Shippuuden.

In general: the last review from you that I gave feedback on Howl's Moving Castle, and this represents such a huge step above that that I'm both impressed and a little mystified. Overall a good job going over the pros and cons of the series.