Naruto

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WARNING SPOILERS BELOW

I can't believe this... I really can't believe this...

Naruto is a manga that has been running for 15 years, I still remember catching up with the first seasons of the anime back when I was 12, I remember skipping the dreadful filler second half from the original series and going straight to Shippuuden, I remember ALL of it and it is suddenly over. Wow... feels like an entire era ending.

Anyway, Naruto was one of the first anime series I have ever watched (Dragon Ball being my first), and even though I had lost my interest and enjoyment in it for a very long ... time (I dropped it REALLY early when I had just started Shippuuden, it just wasn't doing it for me anymore), I still made an attempt at catching up with the manga because people told me it was ending and I wanted to see my late childhood fall apart just like that.

As for the actual review, Naruto started out as a fairly decent shounen manga, it told the story of a ninja called Naruto that was treated like shit by everyone else in the Hidden Leaf Village because he had the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him. At first, he's completely useless and kinda annoying, all he really did at first was yelling "I'M GONNA BECOME THE HOKAGE" like if there was no tomorrow. And for those wondering, the Hokage is the ruler of the village.

He later teams up with two other classmates alongside a more experienced ninja and form a team that does the jobs assigned to them, while at the same time, each character has its own goals and intentions. The most notable, other than Naruto, is Sasuke, an old childhood rival that had lost his family when he was younger, eventually leading to him carefully planning to take revenge on the person behind it. At first, they do some stuff as a team and it is a fairly enjoyable story that does its job in a decent manner. Nothing too special, but also something that I could watch and still get a kick out of. Yes, Naruto was a bit annoying as a character, but that didn't keep him from being likeable, and the same goes for all the other characters.... at least for a while...

Eventually, Sasuke runs away and the story goes on a timeskip, which wasn't really a good idea as the story kinda jumped the shark at that point. Filled with asspulls such as the 99 different forms of the Rasengan and the treatment given to side characters, the story past the time skip had a MAJOR drop in quality, which caused me to eventually lose my interest in the series. Not to mention the treatment they gave to Sasuke, which initially was a character full of potential, only for it to be turned into the most despicable one of the cast that SOMEHOW still does a 180 on his mood. One second he is planning to destroy the village, the other he simply agrees to help Naruto defeat the big bad because.... crap, I don't even know anymore, I really think not even Kishimoto enjoyed what he was doing anymore at that point, just dragging the story more than it needed for the hell of it.

And Naruto himself did not get any better too, he was turned into one hell of a Mary Sue that just pulled random powers out of his arse because he had to defeat the evil villain at the end of the day. For crying out loud, even the worst Fairy Tail asspull is not as big as a lot of stuff I've seen here. I don't even think this was about bloody ninjas anymore because, as far as I'm aware, ninjas wouldn't just summon meteorites in a Final Fantasy manner. Eventually, even Naruto's iconic "I'M GONNA BECOME THE HOKAGE" was toned down and that's when I realized that these characters were no longer what they used to be. What about the rest of them? Pffffft, they were thrown to the side after the so notorious timeskip, it's like they weren't even there.

Another thing I have to point out is that the story simply couldn't keep one consistent bad guy. The timeskip arrives and we are left with Sasuke running away to eventually become a bad guy, a psychotic ninja that wants to achieve immortality and a secret society dedicated to capturing the Tailed Beasts such as Naruto's Nine-Tailed Fox. Wanna guess which one was the real big baddie? NONE OF THEM! Sasuke? He becomes a good guy after a while. Orochimaru? Same thing. Pain, the leader of Akatsuki? Turns out he was a puppet after all. Tobi, the guy behind him? Same thing, a puppet as well. Madara? Not this one either. Black Zetsu, the guy that never had any spotlight? Nope, also a puppet! As it turns out (And here comes a big spoiler), the real big bad just so happened to be the entity that created the energy force they use in their battles? How, because she was somehow resurrected...

Overall, Naruto is a manga that does a fair job on the first part, but completely blows it near the end. If you wanna know if it's worth reading? Not really, unless you are planning to stop just before the timeskip begins

Mod Edit: This review may contain spoilers

I know there is many other people here on this site that have reviewed this Manga before, but i felt that i wanted to give my says about it since it now have ended.

For 3 years ago, i didn't like Naruto at all because it was so popular and so mainstream at that time. Other reasons is bacause i was afraid of going away from my other interestes in favor for Naruto. Oh man, i was wrong xD.

One day, i was sick and pretty bored, so i decided to watch an Episode of Naruto. I was pretty neutral there. ... Afterwards i read af few chapters of the Manga, and it got more interesting. Then i saw the battle between Naruto VS Kyubi, and that's the true beggining of my Naruto-hype xD.

Now for the Review itself.

Story - 9/10
The story builted up on a slow pace just as many other manga, but the part 2 aka Shippuden is clearly my favorite part of Naruto. All the battles, the wars and especially when the Akatsuki appears where they are after the Tailed Beasts so they could reach their goal is definitely one of my favorite part of Naruto. My top favorite part is where Madara and Hashirama meets Again, especially when Madara shouts "HASHIRAMA" like an little fangirl. I felt of my couch laughting like an insane XD.
Overall, the manga ended pretty good in my opinion, there is few things to come after that.

Art - 10/10
I think the art is amazing. I didn't really looked deeper to the quality of the artwork since i'm more into the story. But still, i like the artwork.

Characters - 10/10
There are really, really many characters introduced in Naruto, but there are some that are my top favorites.

Madara - His backstory is what is the most interesting thing about him, but i do also like his personality. He i also always first for battle xD. Madara is especially epic where he eradicates the Shinobi Allies wíth meteors and takes them out like bugs, while keeping his Poker Face xD.

Minato - His personality and his kindness to people is where he gets my thumps up. I do also like his way of fighting. Also the fact that he created the Rasengan is the reason he is one of my favorite characters from Naruto.

Tobirama - Like Madara, his backstory is what i like about him, and also because he is the man behind Rebirth Nun Jutsu. He's also a big racist against the Uchihas for many reasons, because of the first war for example.

Enjoyment - 9/10
I did enjoy Naruto from start to finish. It was a great journey xD.

Overall - 10/10
I can say i will read Naruto again some time in the future. I can definitly recommend it to anyone interested in a long manga.

Note: The 9/10 score is for Vol. 1-27 only. In my opinion, the series drops in quality by a huge amount in the last half and we'd be talking 6-7/10 if I rated Vol. 28 onwards. Naruto is difficult to rate when I love the first half so much...

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Naruto is a name that brings lots of memories to the front of my mind. Many years ago, when I was 14-15 and hadn't watched anime for very long, I was told about this hugely popular title. Being new to anime at the time, discovering I had 60-80 episodes to watch before I'd catch up wasn't a ... worry; discovering Naruto's a lengthy story actually made me even more eager to catch up. I caught up within a week, finding myself addicted to it, the weekly episodes working as a sort of drug that kept me going until the next episode aired.

...But, sadly, nothing in life lasts forever. The Naruto anime eventually ended up becoming a joke after the first 135 episodes due to the anime evil known as 'filler'; original stories the animation studio come up with when they run out of manga material to animate. Older Naruto anime fans had to endure nearly two years of soul destroying stories, involving cooking ninja, postmen ninja and a Tony the Tiger lookalike. And when the anime finally started to follow the real plot again, a combination of budget cuts and laziness meant it just wasn't enjoyable to watch any more.

After enduring so much, I decided that reading black and white pages to finish the story would be far more enjoyable than continuing to watch the anime adaptation. From that point onwards I've followed the manga instead of the anime weekly, starting from the point where the proper anime story restarted after the two year filler hell. I didn't read the first 250 or so chapters that came before because I already knew the story and reading all those pages would've taken a long, long time.

The volumes themselves are great. For a weekly manga, the art is top class and, unlike in certain other series, it's very easy to follow the action. There are even some pages in-between the chapters used for Kishimoto's (the manga author) personal thoughts, including some interesting information such as who his favourite character is, what manga attempts he made before Naruto, how he let a plant die by doing something silly, etc. His comments are great for Naruto fans who want to know more about the man who created what they love

Naruto's a relatively simple story that steals from other famous shounen (young boy) series, namely Dragon Ball. In Naruto we, the readers, follow a young ninja called Naruto who has a big dream: he wants to become the Hokage; the champion/leader of his ninja village. This dream is not a very likely one when Naruto happens to have the lowest grade his class and be better known for being a trouble maker than being a skilled ninja.

But, unknown even to Naruto, he has something special hidden inside him that sets him apart: Kyuubi (9-tails); the most deadly creature in existence that was sealed inside his newly born body as a last resort by the previous Hokage (at the cost of his life) when the Kyuubi attacked his ninja village (Konoha). Although a law was made preventing any of the adults revealing this afterwards, the adults hated Naruto because they saw him as the Kyuubi in a human form, and their hatred of him spread to their children even without them revealing the reasoning behind their feelings. This resulted in Naruto wanting to be respected, fuelling his dream to become the Hokage.

Using that plot as its base, the story goes on from there, quickly developing by putting Naruto in a team with two other rookie ninja: Uchiha Sasuke (Naruto's skilled rival) and Sakura (the brightest girl ninja, who just so happens to have a crush on Sasuke and hates Naruto). All three are distinctive characters that keep the series interesting with their differences, the dialogue between the three never being dull.

One last plot related matter worth mentioning is the manga/anime differences...or rather, the lack of. Some filler additions and less blood/gore aside, the story you see in Vol. 1-27 (excluding Kakashi Gaiden) and EP1-135 is practically identical. There wouldn't be much point seeing both if you wanted to see changes.

Finally: My overall thoughts about Naruto...

Aside from Naruto having some of the best fights ever, what makes it stand out from the crowd is the diverse cast of likeable characters and absorbing world. All too often with stories you find yourself disconnected, not caring about the supporting cast or surrounding world very much, but Kishimoto somehow managed to create a huge amount of characters and make most enjoyable to pass time watching. The length of the story obviously helped, with Kishimoto having a lot of time to develop the cast, but it was more to do with his ability to create charming characters than anything else.

One of the accusations many throw at Naruto due to its worldwide popularity is that it's too simple. Sure, its story is simplistic and aimed at young/teenage boys, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth the time of adults when the characters receive excellent development and there are adult themes used constantly (Naruto is, after all, set in a world where ninja kill other ninjas). Lots of grown men in their 20s admit to loving Naruto, and that's because it's the sort of story everyone can enjoy. Don't make the mistake of assuming that what's aimed at young boys in Japan is what's aimed at young boys elsewhere in the world - the Japanese aren't as overly protective as people in most other countries.

...Well, I think that's about it. I hope this wall of text helps at least someone!

It's done! The end of Naruto marks the end of an 15-year period, about half of which I spent waiting for weekly updates for the manga that was my very first.

Was it worth it? Maybe. I have a gut feeling that Naruto is going to be one of those manga that took great benefit from having a long-ass run time, and that a lot of the attraction towards Naruto was the fact that, well, "everyone else was reading it too." Reading Naruto was as much of a social exercise as it was a reading one, since it's mega popularity ensured that there would always ... be one or two people that you know that would be following it as well.

As far as the actual writing is concerned, I'd have to liken it to Harry Potter: ultimately flawed, but relatable. The themes of believing in yourself and the Power of Friendship™ have been explored numerous times before (and in a much better fashion by other manga/anime), and Naruto itself is a manga that I'm pretty sure could have been written in 200-300 chapters as opposed to the monstrous 700 that have presented over its 15 year run. Many, many, many characters are introduced, given their time in the limelight, and then thrown away because ultimately, it's all about Naruto. Kishimoto doesn't understand how to use scale to properly create climactic moments, and by the end, Naruto's supreme dominance over any of the other characters makes their attempts to seem relevant laughable and almost pitiable. The fact of the matter is, there are so many "oh, but this isn't my final form!" moments in the manga that reading the damn thing became a chore near the end due to the fact that Kishimoto isn't a very creative writer.

So why did I read all 700 chapters of what seems to be a quite mediocre effort? Well, Naruto was my first manga. Arguably, this fact combined with its existence as a social phenomenon made Naruto quite enjoyable to read (see my enjoyment score) despite its glaring flaws. It was fun to discuss the manga's weekly happenings with other people through its ups and downs--the experience was similar to that of following a sports team with other fans.

So, should you read Naruto? Probably not, unless you really, really like shounen's. It's a stunningly middle-of-the-road affair with little original thematic content that was made enjoyable to read due to the fact that it was mega-popular.

Story 4, Art 5, Character 2, Enjoyment 8, Overall: 5 (4.75).

Masashi Kishimoto is in my opinion one of the more refreshing writers on the manga scene. Though may I say at first, that yes while this is my favourite manga, and I along with many others find the story rather captivating and original in many ways (despite drawing from many common, and rather cliché themes), this manga is not necessarily for you, the reader, who is sitting comfortably at their computer screen wondering 'what good manga should I read next?' and has decided to let peoples' reviews sway them towards or away many possibly magnificent reads.

That is not the purpose of this review. As a ... fan, I'm standing here saying that this is not a manga to pass the time, this, like a good book will take time, and when you catch up to it, you'll be sitting at your desk waiting as impatiently as any fan to read the next chapter; like a hungry beast impatiently awaiting it's next meal. This is not a quick paced manga, nor is it all too slow. Kishimoto has found a rather acceptable pace, at which his story moves, but, if you are the kind of person with the attention-span of a teaspoon, this manga is not for you. Though, despite my last comment, if you are still reading this, you clearly are not; and so this manga is something you might enjoy.

The story is a classic one, of two friends, who, over time become further apart, and one betrays the other. Any more, and this would ruin the twists and turns that makes it so unique. A lot of the time you are patiently wondering, 'what will happen next?' even though you have a perfectly good idea. And this, makes the story one I would put up at the same level as any good book I have read in the past, thus the previous analogies. However, I am in no way comparing Kishimoto to Orwell, this is no Nineteen-Eighty-Four. This is not a world changing story, this is more of a Harry Potter, a famous franchise with many fans, and a fantasy world that people love to escape into. 9/10

The art work is good, but nothing original. If like me, you are reading and love Seishi Kishimoto's 666 Satan, the stylistic themes of this manga will be so similar that you will be pained at times to continue reading. Though despite this, Naruto's art work is still appealing to the eyes, and has some rather cool characters, and the fights are drawn out in such a way, that there is no challenge in following them. 7/10

The characters of this manga are what makes it so enjoyable however. Each has their own little quirks, and amusing traits. While you won't love them all, even the bit parts are more than the 2-dimensional characters you'll see in a lower caliber manga. From small characters like Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen bar, to supporting roles like Gaara and Shikamaru Nara, each character will make you desperate to see more of them. And of course, the greatest achievement of this manga is that, despite how much people hate, or love Naruto, the manga's protagonist, you will always see yourself cheering him on, and his unachievable goals and dreams, as they slowly appear more and more realistic. 10/10

Overall - 9/10

The world of Naruto is probably the most interesting aspect of the show. Despite being a show about ninja, the soldiers in this manga are really ninja in name only. They're actually much more reminiscent of modern soldiers with flashy ninja magic than mysterious, stealthy ninja.

There characters are a rather nice aspect of the show. Many of them are archetypes, but I find them entertaining regardless. I also feel like the characters that are around Naruto's age (teenagers) have realistic personalities. They're teenagers, and they act like teenagers. That's one of the reasons I like them. Many would disagree with me, so it's really a ... matter of taste and perspective.

The action scenes are rather exciting, but there certainly is better out there. The characters have a variety of different ways in which they do battle, and some styles are very entertaining. Others seems utterly ridiculous and completely out of place in a manga that's trying to be serious.

Now, while the series certainly has it's good aspects, the overall series is something worse than the sum of its parts. In fact, while Kishimoto clearly knows what he's doing from an artistic standpoint, his lack of story-telling skills shows through. He spends far too much time putting focus on minor characters. There ends up being so little focus on Naruto himself that it's almost impossible to feel any attachment toward him. I also find him to be rather annoying, which makes it even more difficult to feel for him.

Furthermore, he only focuses on one character at a time. He seems incapable of putting the focus on a group of characters, as he should. Even when the characters are together, they only seem to speak to one another when necessary, never saying much more than what's needed. So while the characters themselves are decent, the character interactions are not very well done.

The story also seems to get side-tracked quite often. Some story arcs have very little to do with the main story at all. Now, that wouldn't be such a problem, but a few of these story arcs each span over a few volumes. A lot of the time, it feels like a waste of time.

The art is quite good, but Kishimoto actually has a tendancy to show too much detail. He shows far more than what's necessary, taking up panels, taking up pages, and slowing down the progress of the manga.

The slow progress is the final nail in the coffin. The longer the series goes, the more it's flaws stand out. The series is good, but not good enough to justify the long, tedious progression of events.

Personally, I love this series. However, I have to admit that, looking at it from a critical standpoint, most aspects of this manga are so utterly mediocre that the series ends up looking even worse than it is.

On a final note, I'd like to say that when I read the manga in graphic novel format, as opposed to the one chapter per week format it's released in Japan and on the internet, I found the series to be much more enjoyable. This makes the series far less tedious, since many events are experienced in one sitting, since an entire chapter can--and often does--revolve around one minute event. Even the English release in the American Shonen Jump, which is released monthly, four chapters are released all at once, making it a much more satisfying read.

So, I would suggest either buying the graphic novels or Shonen Jump, or just waiting for the chapters online to build up, and read them about once a month instead of reading the latest one every week. This will make for a much more enjoyable reading experience.

The story is well-written. It's not just the usual shounen manga that's filled with action nonetheless since there are tidbits of angst and drama. Though the target audience of Naruto is usually the male populace, it is not a wonder that it can also captivate the hearts of the females.

Angst, drama and a little bit of romance mixed with action packed adventure is indeed wonderful. No wonder Naruto is sitting at the top spot for years now.

Indeed the story is magnificent since it is unique and captivating. Plus the fact that there are a lot of mysteries waiting to be unveiled makes fans ... go gaga over it. It's not a wonder how and why this manga has been sitting at the top spot for years now.

The anime is a must-watch while the manga is a must-read. Naruto is, indeed, amazing.

First thing's first, if you're not willing to read a manga that's very very long and drawn out then Naruto most likely isn't for you.
When people say that it's long and drawn out, they mean it. 400+ episodes, 570+ chapters, 50+ volumes later and it's not exactly close to being finished.
However, all those chapters, episodes and volumes give the creator an opportunity to further explain the plot and characters more thoroughly, which is a plus.

The story:
Without spoiling it too much, the story is definitely full of plot twists, some welcomed others absolutely detested, but that makes it all the more interesting. The characters ... do start to get a little repetitive, i.e. one character in the middle of the manga is a lot like one in the beginning. But it doesn't take much to get over that if you're into the story. Naruto, the main character, in my eyes is pretty static. He pretty much remains the same throughout the whole manga, other than aging 3 years; it might get a little old after a while, but there are many many other characters that are dynamic.

The art:
One word sums up the art for me. Amazing. The manga especially and some of the newer episodes. There's so much detail compared to a lot of other manga, which is awesome. :) Every once in a while, there are a few minor mistakes but those aren't noticeable unless you reread the chapter or have a magnifying glass nearby.

The Characters:
I already touched a little on the characters. There are a TON of characters, especially with the fillers in the anime. All the characters might be a little overwhelming, but you'll either forget the unimportant ones or get used to it. The plot twists occurs the most with the pasts of the main characters especially, sometimes even with supporting ones. Other than the art, the characters are probably the main attraction. They have their own personalities and traits, even if some of them are annoying. ._.

Overall:
Naruto is definitely one of my favorite Manga/Anime. I've been watching/reading it for around 7 years, so it would be hard to just drop it.
Once you get into the story, you'll understand. I will always recommend this manga/anime to anyone who is willing to try it out.

The story is outstandingly plotted. It is not very usual that the person who draws the manga is also the one to come up with the plot for it, as it is rather rare to see somebody manage to combine both drawing talent and original ideas in one. Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto manga creator, is such a shining example that something magnificent can be born when you are both gifted with drawing skills to be envyed for by many and the ability to come up with a plot and characters that have some sort of real depth and make the person who reads the story ... actually stop and think about a lot of things.

Naruto is not just about fights and action and kick-ass skills (which is however a major element of the story composition and adds that exciting flavour of dynamic to the story), but also about friendship and bonds and how connections can be formed, ruined and rebuild. As if the main purpose is not to entertain, but to rather show how cruel the world can sometimes be and how you must deal with all the pain and sorrow that you face throughout your lifespan. The main character, Naruto, is always the positive factor, the symbol of hope that signals light and kindess with his arrival, the one who never loses his path. He is also gifted with a stuborness that never ceases to amaze and a burning will to never give up.

The way I see it, Naruto is the kind of person that we all should try to become - bright, positive and never doubting in ourselves and our believes.

And what of the other characters? They are simply unique, each and every one of them in their own way. The range of varying personalities is stunning and the way the story keeps almost noone neglected really makes me admire the writor's skill.

And as for the art - I have followed through the story for quite a few years now and have seen it change and somewhat mature. It has of late become more realistic and more accurate for a ninja/shonen manga. Masashi Kishimoto has undoubtetly build a style of his own that is uncomparable to anything before it and anything that is yet to come.

Overall, as I now look up to what I've written, there were only good and positive things to say about this wonderful manga which I can without any regret call a masterpiece. It cant be helped. When something is good, it is good and that's the end of it.

Let's hope we shall be enjoying this manga for many years to come. It absolutely deserves to be placed as first in all sorts of rating systems!

One of the best manga out there, and getting deserved praise and attention!!!
Many people somewhat consider it overrated or point out flaws which basically, aren't flaws in my opinion, so let's get it to pieces (Review by the way follows up to chapter 571)

Story (9/10) | Characters (10/10) from me:
Okay naruto is a shounen manga, with basic shounen ideas, but the world naruto himself lives in, is thought out pretty well, very interesting, with it's own history and culture, political affairs etc.
Naruto starts off about a seemingly annoying little brat who has this need to do bad stuff to get attention and honestly I didn't ... like him at first, but as the manga goes on, his past is explained, his courage and bravery is shown you start to fall in love with this character... Naruto is not a fairy tale (not a manga lol, just expression) either, it tells a story about a harsh, ignorant society, which hates something it created itself... it's a story about two lonely guys, who are complete opposites but become friends afterwords, only to turn into each others enemies due to many factors...
but this is not Manga just about Naruto and Sasuke, it has a lot of characters in Part I who develop and have their own stories, very interesting ones as well, so here comes the first flaw everybody is talking about - the fact that they're ignored in Part II...
now let's take One Piece for example (love that one as well for the record) when in One Piece they move from one island to another, they leave crap load of characters behind, who rarely appear afterwords, but nobody complains because it's an adventure... something like that happens in Naruto as well, you should consider that author has told everything he wanted about the characters in Part I, that's why he's not using them in Part II, but many people have hard time dealing with this... this after all, doesn't mean Naruto has no more good characters, but rather Kishimoto moves to another group of new complex and interesting characters, a group named Akatsuki and tells about them for a long time in Part II... for me these new characters are way more interesting... and some old ones are involved too, but not everyone, you could say by this point only 2 or 3 out of Konoha 11 have actual development and screen time... and just like that, when Kishimoto is done with most of the Akatsuki, he moves to another group of new characters (to other Kage's and his guardians, to their history and tales)... so story is progressing and offering many new characters, I think author is doing right not to stick with ones he introduced in first part.
Apart from characters, story is getting more and more complex, and darker as well, not many PG-13 shounen mangas, would dare to give one of the side-characters chance for revenge, which he will take without any kind of hesitation and destroy his enemy completely without "Revenge is a bad thing" type of talk (Reference to Shikamaru vs Hidan), or rarely you would see that one of the main characters (Uchiha Sasuke) which you're driven to like for first 200 chapters, turns into a villain and enemy of Naruto... in this sense Naruto is very good...
Now the reason story doesn't get 10 is because this manga had it's own downfalls, one of them being first part of ongoing war, but apparently it's getting better with every chapter!

Art (9/10)
Now one thing everybody has to give Naruto credit for, is it's art and style, everything is detailed and very believable, I love Kshimoto's drawing and the reason why it gets 9 is well because there are other mangas out there with way better art, and it's the most original one as well, good, but nothing phenomenal

Enjoyment 10/10 for me, even with it's flaws in story telling sometimes, for me - it's always about the message author is trying to give us, and it's pretty much always smart enough... I love Naruto, it has a nice balance of humor, action, smartness or philosophy in it... you can just sit and enjoy Reading/ Watching it (though if you're gonna watch, find out about fillers first, you'll need to skip all of them, their number is too damn high)

Overall, as one of my favorite manga alongside One Piece, it gets 10 from me, because even though it has flows, you can't expect it to be Perfect since it's way too big and long to not mistakes... it's about idea and interesting world, tactics and characters depth... Naruto is truly a titan in this industry and it deserves fanbase it has... :)

P.S: if you're gonna read/watch it, know, you should only if you're ready for a LONG, very LONG ride...

Naruto is finally over, its had its ups and downs, including a very long list of problems, but is it bad or good? In a sense, it's kind of both:

Naruto had undoubtedly had a great influence on the manga culture, helping spread anime/manga to the west after Dragonball Z and setting up a new generation of readers. 15 years later, it finally finishes. But I've noticed one trend I wished would end already, is it bad because it's too popular? Its a shounen on shounen jump that practically uses shounen elements religiously. Being one of the "big three" its going to get flak for being ... "too popular" or "overhyped", but I will ignore that and look at it more objectively, or at least, as much as possible.

The Story - 5
The story, progressively, started getting worse. There was too much set up with little to forced pay off. Many plot elements got changed over time, such as Shikaku being the soul of a priest rather than the one tail, so nearing the end of the series, these inconsistencies made the story very hard to follow. The rapid change of main villains also didn't help and ruined the flow of the series. However, in certain arcs, when the pace and flow of the series really got rolling, things were good; but these moments, especially in Shippuden, were easily broken down by flashbacks and exposition periods. There may have been good moments, but the constant changing of lore and plot devices, really screwed the overarching story. Although the ending was satisfactory, to a degree.

Art- 7
The art is probably the best thing going for the series...kind of. There are some inconsistencies; a lot of times, especially late in the series, there are noticeable errors and improper face designs. But the improvement of the art style, when done right, is noteworthy, but stagnated quite a bit about half-way through Shippuden.

Characters-4
This was probably Kishimoto's weakest point, once again, especially in Shippuden. The characters were set up really well in the original series, somethng I noticed when re-reading. They all had their relationships and pasts integrated very well in to their character and the growth was apparent. But, trying to make them mature, was very hard for Kishimoto, especially female characters. Not only that, but with such great build-up, Kishimoto also wasted characters in Shippuden, to the point where no one else mattered besides Naruto and Sasuke. There are a few noteworthy characters: Jiraya, Tsunade, Itachi, Pain, Gaara, etc. but most others were just shounen tropes personified in Shippuden, even more so than in the original series. This also leads to his rushed villains problem and how the main characters change depending on which one their fighting. It's kind of disappointing, because Kishimoto is very good at setting things up but just as infamous in failing the execution.

Enjoyment-8
This is where Naruto shines the most, but only to those knowing what they're getting into. If you know this is a shounen, especially one in Weekly Shounen Jump, then you better expect friendship power-ups and believe in yourself's galore. But just because these elements have been overdone, does not immediately make them bad. You take what you get, this series wasn't fooling you, it practically advertised it. In terms of generating hype for battles, well most of them, Kishimoto is not so bad. Like I said earlier, although there are flashbacks and calm periods, when the pacing gets going, so does the hype. The one thing that many have a problem is that it changed styles and themes when transitioning to Shippuden. It went from being about ninjas to being more about Jesus saving the world things. But even that isn't too bad. They give a decent excuse for it and all things considered, a mangaka can interpret things however they please. If you don't like shounens like this, you'll probably not enjoy this series so well, but I have to say, you NEED to know what you're getting yourself into. I do not recommend it to anyone looking for something different in a shounen, such as FMA or Trigun, this is the Dragonball Z type of shounen with higher trope power levels, and this is what you should be expecting going in.

Overall - 6.5
When I first read Naruto and got to Shippuden, I actually dropped the series. I didn't give it a chance. I also kinda became a Naruto hater, mainly because I so loved One Piece. But after a friend, a Naruto-fanboy, begged me to give it a chance. I took it. Of course, throughout the experience, I noticed all the problems all the things and I constantly complained..yet I still continued to read. It was something about it that kept me hooked and I didn't know why. But one day, upon re-reading the series again, I had a realization. It was interesting. I wanted to see what Kishimoto would do, I wanted to see his silly plot changes, his uber-shounen-believe it fights, I wanted to complain about his mistakes, hating on Sakura or other characters, the world, the jutsus and different forms. It had a certain charm that made you want to criticize it, dared you to. If you've read a shounen it practically begged you to compare it. This perplexed me in such a way I didn't understand. The series is a mess, but a fun mess for any shounen reader. That is why if you read shounens, you should give Naruto a try. But if you're looking for a masterpiece or something great, look elsewhere.

I don't know why, there's a lot who sees Naruto as a bad manga.. This is my first review as there's so many bad reviews about it.. I actually thought it's one of the best manga, in fact, I thought it's underrated..

(Review from chap 49x) - Spoiler ahead

Story - It's true that Naruto has quite a "normal" plot, that's "rescue his friend" that has been overused in anime (I still find it nice though, lolx - exception for Bleach which used this twice..).. But it has maintained this ever since Sasuke was kidnapped.. What I meant was Naruto has never been out of the ... plot as he's been trying to bring back Sasuke to Konoha.. Yet they manage to make it interesting with sub arcs related to it.. Like beating with Sasori getting the whereabouts of Orochi.. Then learnt Futon Rasen during Hidan/Kaku's arc to beat Sasuke etc..

Art - I'm not a person who is into art or animation.. But Naruto's art is AT LEAST good, I assure..

Character - Isn't it interesting that you learn Naruto's name comes from Jiraiya's book which based on Nagato (It's like telling you Naruto isn't thaaat main character in the story)? Or maybe why Naruto is wearing orange colour shirt all this while? Isn't it cool that Itachi sacrificed so much for his brother? There's tons of character development still in the manga..

Enjoyment - Since the Hidan/Kaku's arc.. I have always thought Naruto's battle has become more interesting and strategic for JUMP style.. The battles are never boring then.. Then, Kishi even inserted some comedy or heart-warming stuff in between arcs.. It's also such a creative manga, like how the 1-9 tail beasts actually come from the 10-tailed.. It's truly an entertaining manga..

Overall - 10

Here is my complete review of Naruto and what I feel is good an bad about the series.

Plot - Naruto is the story of a boy who is the container for a demon responsible for destroying his village who is despised by most the village afterward despite the request by the Hokage who died to seal away the demon asking he be a hero. Its obvious from the beginning Naruto is a very lonely kid and acts out to get attention of any sort just to have his existence acknowledged by the villagers he deeply wishes would accept him, so in response to that he ... decides to aim for Hokage and become acknowledged by everyone as a great ninja.

Theme - The show is very much themed around relationships, friends, family, and that everyone has feelings and wants to be acknowledged and respected. Its a very much similar to Dragonball in some sense which isn't a bad thing at all as in many ways its done better.

Art - I feel the art style is shonen fitting and does its duty to the manga and always displays what is really going on quite well. I have never felt something could've been better done in terms of the art. I don't feel it is nearly as busy as One Piece or as barren as Bleach. It also doesn't do much fan service which some find annoying like Fairy Tail with the anti-gravity boob women and constant almost hentai ecchi moments.

Characters - The characters are all pretty interesting and each have their quirks and things about them that make them noticeable. I feel everyone has personality and points interest. Naruto is a blast to watch grow as a character because he is in many ways the underdog story while at the same time is nostalgic to anyone who grew up with Goku. However I wouldn't call the characterization and development perfect in any way as some of the "Konoha 11" need more time in the spotlight to be called developed such as Shino an TenTen. Alot of the side characters especially are definitely characters who I feel need alot of attention an development compared to Naruto an Sasuke which are very well done. Sasuke is a character that has fans polarized on terms of love or hate. He is also the tragic character of the series and gets a good amount of focus in Part 2 and the end of Part 1. I feel his rise to villainy has been steady and well paced with a few over the top moments where its just over done. However I would say its a minor flaw in a wonderful enjoyable tale with good characters. I also feel the handling of the demon fox has been less than perfect in many cases for a show that is about friends an relationships I felt disappointed that the fox hasn't played a much bigger role. I also found the heroine Sakura to be unimportant, bland, and basically useless which I had hoped to see change at some point. However all an all I think the characterization has been done very well and continues to improve.

Enjoyment/Overall - I love the series alot and have found it to be one of the best mangas I've read. If you're looking for something shounen with a good plot. I'd say Naruto is for you, but its not perfect nor should you expect it to be. To me for a shounen manga this is a very well done one. Part 1 is very humorous an very much the start of the story while Part 2 really is more plot driven and mature without a few humorous moments thrown in now an then.

SUMMARY REVIEW
Story: AMAZING

Art: AMAZING

Character: AMAZING

Enjoyment: AMAZING

Overall: GOD LIKE
...
REAL REVIEW
Story: The story is AMAZING. This is not a simple story. It does not just contain just a single element. The substance of this story is made of so much. Their is alot of Action, some Romance, lots of comedy, and so many others. The story is just an amazing work. This has to be one of the greatest stories of all time. Ever.
Their is so many stories branched out everywhere coming from so many characters. Also many of those stories link together, and create one amazing sensation when they intersect. What I love about it is that Naruto is not just about Naruto. Many of the characters have their moments in this manga. Also because this story is about ninja their is alot of secrecy, and secret plots, or decieving plots, and alot of suprises, and their are alot of introductions to new missions.

What the story is about. It is about a boy named Naruto who grows up in a ninja world, and is shunned by everyone surrounding him. Through his presseverence, and raw determination of obtaining his dream of becoming Hokage (The leader of his village), he begins to obtain the loyalties and friendships of many ninja. The proccess of Naruto growing up is not an easy task. In himself he contains a demon that was sealed into him by the previous Hokage in order to save the village. He encounters many villians, and many obstacles he must overcome, in the universe of ninja.

Art: The art is AMAZING. The art concepts in them selves are phenominal. The character design is second to none. The backrounds are contain so many different enviroments, and are masterfully done. Also the transitions are so fluid. Their is not a single moment where I had to re-look at a page to understand what is going on.

Character: The Characters are AMAZING. The amount of characters in this manga is amazing. Their are so many. And the similarities, and differences between them are so distinct. This manga contains so many personalities. It also has to what I believe the some of the best interpritations of what heros, villians, good guys, clutzes, strong women, and so many others should be. Here is a list of what they are.

Ultimate Hero: Naruto
Ultimate Bad Ass: Sasuke
Ultimate Villian: Ma?a?a
Ultimate Cool Guy: Kakashi
Ultimate Legend: Yondy
Ultimate Character Ever: Itachi
and Their are so many other ultimate characters that I left out, like Shikamaru, Jiriaya, Zabuza. The characters are just amazing
I can explain so much on how awsome each charater is made to be, and give so much detials on them, and yet be unable to answer so many questions.

This manga contains so many awsome and new inventive elements in it that diversefy it so much from other mangas, stories, anything. And it also contians other many great elements from other mangas, and stories, and everything. To me this has to be in the top 5 Ultimate Manga. One of the greatest ever.

Screw you guys im helpful

The story is just for some reason alot better in Manga, I dont know why but it just is...The art is just...mindblowing because you ca see every tiny last detail! The characters are...or do get very annoying and its always the same thing like mutants or something. the enjoyment is great and you never want to let go of the book you always say "One last page!" then "One more page!" You never want to stop! So overall I give this a 10 because its just an amazing Manga to read.

Naruto is the best manga i have ever read. The storyline and art are both amazing! Its very different from any other manga and its definitely a manga that you can't put down.

What got me hooked on to it is how traditional looking it is. In Naruto's world, everything is so surprising! Not only does it have groundbreaking action, but also comic relief from all the stress that either the characters already have or has built on them. So I think that giving Naruto a try will be worth it! :)

Mod Edit: This review may contain spoilers.

Coming up with precise numbers to essentially give a value to a series that spans 700 chapters and well over a decade in production is not an easy thing. Much has changed over the years of publication, but I guess overall I would give the series a "very good".

Like many other people, the Naruto anime was my introduction to the world of anime--something that literally changed the course of my life. The storyline of a young boy who had the courage (or more like the gall) to always stay confident and continue smiling despite growing up alone in a ... community that openly detested him is heartwarming to say the least. I liked that the series also introduced a wide range of characters--Kishimoto really succeeded in creating not just a village, but an entire world within his story.

STORYLINE:
As one would expect from a 700 chapter-long series, the series has its highs and its lows. For me, the peak was pretty early in the series throughout the Chunin exam arc, so it was a little bit of a disappointment that the series never really made it back to that high later on. Then again, the main trio of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke weren't nearly my favourite characters, so maybe my problem was that I didn't care about the people who mattered the most. Having said that, the fact that I was still interested enough to keep reading should speak for the story's quality. The chapters are relatively short (compared to monthly publications) and almost all of them end with some sort of cliffhanger, so I ended up stopping at points to save up for longer reading sessions.

CHARACTERS:
On the topic of characters, I would have to argue that they are far from perfect. He did a good job of creating diversity in his characters and strong, complex personalities in many, but there were many characters who were sadly quite shafted and remained static throughout the series (I'm looking at Tenten and Shino). I wouldn't say that ALL his female characters are always weak, submissive and useless, but the series is a far cry from gender-equal. In part I can accept that this is because the manga's intended audience was for young boys who probably don't care if there's gender equality and all that stuff, but still.

ART:
The art... is good. It's definitely improved over time from both experience and technological advancements. I like many of the character designs and I like that they change as the characters mature. Personally I cared more for the social interactions within the story than the fight scenes, so sometimes some chapters of endless fighting were a bit difficult to follow/envision.

ENDING: (contains no specific spoilers, but discussion of overall flow)
Personally I did not like the ending, but I didn't HATE it. When the whole shinobi war started to drag out and literally EVERY CHARACTER WHO WAS EVER SLIGHTLY SIGNIFICANT made an appearance even if they had to defy reality (AND DEATH) to do so, I started looking forward to an end. The ending I got wasn't everything that I wanted, but it was an end. I'm happy that Kishimoto had the guts to see his story to completion including establishing finality with his character relationships (rather than leaving things ambiguous and inconclusive as is the style of most Shonen manga), but I also feel like he crossed the line and forced the pairings too far. I'm also not a fan of the introduction of children (AT ALL.) to imply the relationship of the parents, but at the same time I can't imagine Kishimoto showing us the depth of their relationships in any other way (hand holding, hugging, walking together maybe. Beyond that? No, not even kissing). Regardless, I felt like I had to read the final chapter because "OCD, I have to finish this!" (not to mention my OTP), and did so knowing that I probably wouldn't like much of it. If you don't care for pairings or mentions of children, I'd recommend stopping at 699.

So there you have it, my review that took me 40 mins. I expect most people will have already tl;dr and left this massive review, but if you're still reading it, thank you =) It's a review for myself as much as for anyone else anyways because... it's done. It's over. Naruto's ended. My childhood just ended with it. Huh.

Time to move on with life and keep telling myself that I will NOT be reading the sequel about the children. I won't do it. I won't. (...The lies... I'll cave, I know it. >_>)

Naruto is an excellent series about a 12 year old boy named Naruto Uzumaki who wants to become Hokage, leader of Konaha the Hidden Leaf Village of the Fire Country. The problem for him is, first he is horrible at ninjutsu and has failed the final exam at the ninja academy 3 times which if was not bad enough he is the Jinchuriki (a human vessel), of the Kyuubi, the 9 tails demon fox, that was sealed within him at birth by Minato, who was the 4th Hokage. For this reason he is tormented by the villagers, his classmates and even his teachers. They blame ... him for the death of their beloved leader. Things change for him in the first episode after Iruka, his sensei at the ninja academy, saves him and shows that he is cared about, and to top things off makes him a ninja.

The first thing I'll mention first about the series is, that its long and feels like it takes forever to answer questions at times. But on a good note, at least unlike some series the many posed questions throughout the series get answered.

There's nothing I hate more in a series than when the characters obtain powers with no explanation. At least you do not have to worry about this in Naruto cause the powers of ninjutsu are almost all explained in the 1st season except for change of nature and elements which is focused on in the 3rd season of part 2.

Character development is great for all the main and main-supports in part 1, but in part 2 it mainly focuses on Naruto and his rival and best friend Sasuke Uchiha. In my opinion I like this in one way cause to be truthfully honest some characters are boring and will never go anywhere. But on the other side some characters I really enjoyed from part one like Neji, Lee, and Chouji are rarely shown in part 2.

The artwork is fairly good. It definately gets better throughout the chapters. Though sometimes I find that later on in part 2 there seems to be some inconsistency problems. The excellent writing though takes this problem away.

Overall I really enjoy reading this manga and would reccommend it to anyone whether you're not into the genre of action or fantasy or even if you're not into manga/anime all that much, because the messages within the story are so inspirational and you can really connect with the characters.

I overall would give this a 9/10.

Naruto gets a bad rap a lot just because it's popular but I've loved it. The story is inthralling and the characters are entertaining, even though I really don't like some of them. But that's what makes it great! I love some characters and "dislike" others! That's a great thing in a manga when you come to have distinct feelings to each character. As you read, the story will have its ups and downs but don't give up! It keeps getting better and it'll have you guessing around every chapter turn!

I'm going to say it: this manga is bad. Shots fired. I'm undoubtedly a minority, seeing as how most people enjoy Naruto a lot, but I stand firmly by my opinion. Let's start from the beginning.

Surprisingly enough, the manga starts out very good. It has an interesting set of characters (with the exception of Sasuke), mixes comedy and drama well, and has an enticing storyline. This manga truly had a lot of potential. This all applies for the first part of the manga. Afterwards, it falls flat on it's a$$. Naruto, perfectly demonstrates the problem with manga that overstay their welcome. It starts resorting to ... clichéd villains, simplified characters, weak motivation and over-the-top action. What happened? I think the answer is simple: it got crushed under it's own weight. It became too big to handle. Naruto tried to expand it's world but the sheer size of it all became it's own cause for mediocrity. But what really suffered the most was the characters:

SPOILER.

Naruto, who was originally a likable kid, misunderstood by society becomes an obnoxious, preachy brat who grows into a sort of messiah. Gaara, who was one of the most complex and interesting characters in the manga became a bland clone of Sasuke (who in turn became even more bland and pathetic). Kakashi, who was an interesting teacher and badass became a mopey idiot guilt-tripped by Obito. Madara and Obito are the worst, following some half-a$$ed idea that the world sucks just because some person they were close too died. It's not like death happens or anything. But I think the worst part of the manga is the preaching they do while they fight, especially between Naruto/Kakashi and Obito/Madara. It's basically "This world sucks and I hate everything" - "No, it doesn't" - "Yes it does, you'll think like me in the future" - "No, because I have FRIENDS