Some Naruto Fans Will Never Be Able To Look Past Their Issues With The Show's Writing
Masashi Kishimoto's legendary manga, "Naruto," burst onto the scene in the late '90s, bringing the story of the outcast shinobi vying to become Hokage to readers worldwide. It was only a short time until TV Tokyo swept up the series, adapting the author's work, which became one of the most well-known anime shows ever. Fast forward a few decades, "Naruto" and "Naruto: Shippuden" have wrapped up Kishimoto's original story, spanning over 700 episodes and witnessing Naruto Uzumaki becoming one of the most powerful shinobi of all time.
Naturally, a show of that length comes with its fair share of issues. Ask any anime fan, and they are bound to know of some of the most glaring problems with "Naruto." First and foremost, the series includes many insane filler arcs, requiring viewers to follow a list of skippable filler episodes to get through the show in a reasonable amount of time.
Another glaring issue plaguing the "Naruto" fandom is the anime's reliance on and overuse of flashbacks. Ask any "Naruto" fan about any main character's backstory. Chances are, they can tell you every little detail. No, that's not because they studied each character's story, but because the show constantly regurgitates the same flashbacks to viewers, embedding their stories into fans' minds whether they want it or not.
While fans can remedy both of these problems by skipping the filler and flashbacks, there's another possible issue with "Naruto" that isn't as easily solved: the show's overall level of storytelling. In fact, many fans believe the show's writing to be subpar.
Fans filled Reddit with negative opinions about Naruto's writing
In the Naruto subreddit, u/Omnitrixter10000 asked, "What are the major flaws of 'Naruto?'" The thread includes hundreds of responses, with u/Samkazi23 practically writing a novel focusing on the poor writing down the stretch of "Shippuden." "The writing of female characters was lacking," they said. "You could count on one hand the number of well-written female characters. Especially Sakura, who was touted [to] be the female lead." They continued, diving into The Fourth Great Ninja War arc, saying the story took a nose dive once it introduced Kaguya as the final big bad. u/Axendil replied, agreeing with the statement and suggesting that Kishimoto wasn't sure how to end the series, making the final arc a bit of a mess.
In another thread, this one in r/NarutoFanFiction, a now-deleted user suggested that all characters in "Naruto" were the victims of poor writing. "We never get to see Naruto overcome his fervent hatred of the villagers," they pointed out, stating that it led to a lousy parallel between him and Sasuke. u/pixelbeast07 doubled down with their response, saying Itachi, one of the most beloved characters, is one of the worst written, calling the number of plotholes in his backstory "unbearable."
In another thread, u/SamOfGrayhaven listed their grievances with the series' writing, with "the interesting characters are the side characters" being their top complaint. After rewatching the series, u/meromeromelo89 also came to the conclusion that the writing doesn't hold up, saying, "It didn't age well." Interestingly, u/Onikame rallied in defense of the show's filler, saying "Naruto" was one of the first examples of an anime that caught up to the source material, prompting the need for filler arcs to pass the time.