I pretty much agree.
...Everything is a cliche.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Let's eat, grandma! Let's eat grandma! Commas save lives.
Part II is more clicher than Part I?
Cliches are overused ideas, stereotypes. Naruto being popular shonen is loaded with them, no surprise there. I used the word twice.
Mostly agree with this, even though I thought part 1 was pretty average to begin with. Part 2 is just where it became untolerable.
@arcsin Don't take jakyoku's comment too seriously. He was just looking for an opportunity to quote a movie.
I agree quite a lot. I enjoyed the Chunin Exam very much and that is basically what got me into watching the anime/reading the manga but as it kept going it started becoming too cliche/stereotype/unrealistic for my taste. Also, a lot of fillers and plot parts that were unnecessary and could have been skipped. I like impossible things when they are executed in realistic ways. At first it seemed like that in Naruto, I loved the fights...but then it just became too unrealistic and there came the big ass pulls but I saw that coming from miles away when the characters started becoming too powerful.
Masashi Kishimoto
should have had a talk with Eiichiro Oda or Naoki Urasawa about remembering characters. A big problem I observed is that a lot of characters are thrown into almost complete obscurity in other to give even more spotlight to new characters who in turn will be given the same treatment once even newer characters come along (almost all Konoha 11 > Sai > Team Hebi/Taka > Killer Bee), to the point were in the 4th Shinobi war we see how plot holes are being resolved in a very rushed manner. Sai, here's your brother that we haven't talked about in 300 chapters and that at the time seemed like it would bring side stories? he forgives you, bye, next!.
The first part I completely agree with. Although Saske's unpredictability takes the plot in new directions as a result, it also has a habit of making his character increasingly unlikable. Who'd have thought you could follow up an Even Evil Has Standards moment with Jumping Off The Slippery Slope, or that the perfect opportunity to make a Heel Face Turn would see him sliding further and faster than ever before? However, Sasuke's powers aren't so much asspuled as a combination of a genetic trait allowing for Awesome By Analysis Mega Manning and his own training.
Well he was implementing the earlier Training From Hell to speed up the proccess, while studying under a master with tried and true teaching methods no less. Hardly on the same level as his last power-boost, essentially just a single technique that he was immediately forbidden from ever using again. Not that the reason for it is important now that he has sage mode, but he was thinking about that as soon as he learned of its existance. Oh, and before you bring up his newest power boost, need I remind you that he had instruction from the only other living person to acheive the same, and his version is still incomplete with some serious negative consequinces if overused?
Naruto's like the protagonist from the Pokemon anime: A complete dumbass, but somehow the author expects us to believe that he's capable of pulling off amazing feats.
Leave a Comment:
The Rise and Fall of Naruto.
I'll assume the reader is already familiar and directly explain how this manga works: characters, story-propelled messages, and fights.
Typical shonen cliches comprise the story, peddling messages about not abandoning friends, protecting the motherland at all costs, and the evils of war and hate. This is executed surprisingly well, as many characters embody these elements: Naruto-friendless zero to hero, 4th Hokage- martyred for Konoha, Sasuke-hate will consume you. The first arc, Haku/Zabuza, pulls at your heartstrings through excellently timed but tedious flashbacks that develop the characters and show how they became who they are. This is best during the Chunin Exam arc, and the series peaks when Naruto fights Gaara, two foils. The fights in part I are well thought-out and often brilliant, especially Shikamaru's. The Sasuke Retrieval arc that caps part I is flawed but explains the motivations of the "other" main character and makes you anticipate part II.
Now starts the decline. With the possible exception of the opening Rescue Gaara arc, it's hard to care about the three-years-later part II. The plot pursues the face heel turned Sasuke, and though we can understand him, not enough people sympathize with him. The series devotes whole arcs to Sasuke, making him seem far more important than the titular character, Naruto. But he isn't compelling enough. Naruto, although stupid and bumbling, is a relatable The Loser is You, Idiot Hero. Sasuke's motivations become increasingly anti-intuitive, his powers asspulled as “genius”. The fight quality suffers greatly, to where now it’s how many shadowclones Naruto will use, and who is acquiring the latest wallbanger, Godmode Sue powerup (Naruto learns sage-mode in maybe 2 or 3 days?? What???). The creator relies on these asspulls to advance the story too, which suffers.
All this would be excusable if the characters still developed in coherent directions, but with the exception of Naruto and few others, they don't. Sakura is the shining example. This major character serves no purpose to the plot or anyone. The strong Sakura we saw in the Rescue Gaara arc was a tease and she has become weak, hesitant, and even more defined by her loathable infatuation with Sasuke. Choji is developed more.
In sum, Naruto part I is a touchy feely, character driven, shonen tale. Part II is a flat, unredeeming cliché.