So I just finished Naruto after nearly a month of reading it from beginning to end. I had read and seen Naruto anime and manga 10+ years ago but after going up to about 200 episodes I just couldn't take the fillers or the week to week waiting for each new chapter or new episode. And so I decided to do the same thing I did with InuYasha and quit cold turkey with the plan to read it/watch it once it's finished.
Naruto was an amazing series and although it had some ridiculous power-ups just like InuYasha it was not as repetitive because of the sheer number of complex characters and background stories. InuYasha tended to upgrade with every new sword and although Naruto had plenty of that with every new version of the ball attack (Rasengan) and eye technique (Sharingan), it still brought in interesting new elements such as Sage techniques and the history of chakra. I think where Naruto had lowered in quality though was when it made resurrection way too common. It cheapens deaths of important characters when you can just bring them back to life in so many different ways. I've seen this happen in various long-running TV shows as well and it's really quite unfortunate that they seem to be running out of ideas when they start bringing back characters. Permanent death is really more impactful in storytelling though it is also a major risk to take.
Now onto more details with spoilers:
I can talk about various plot elements but that will take awhile, should I do a part 2 to this review then it would be worth going into. But I will focus on the main characters. I really enjoyed the very last battle between Naruto and Sasuke though the reason for the fight in my opinion was rather weak and forced. The ending of both their severed arms was both touching and meaningful after so many chapters and such a long journey. Now had he left them both armless, it would have been more meaningful and set up Naruto Gaiden a little more. Because truthfully, they had gotten so all-powerful by the end of Naruto, leaving them armless would have made the villains in Gaiden seem a little more menacing.
I also loved the Obito-Rin-Kakashi relationship, though Obito magically coming back to give Kakashi Sharingan eyes seemed a little too convenient and random, if all dead characters could send over to the living some super powerful chakra and powers, why doesn't Naruto's mom or all the other dead characters just do that? Obito wasn't the only one either but at least with the Great Sage of Six Paths, it made sense since he was nearly godlike.
It was a little disappointing that a lot of great characters like Gaara and Rock Lee seemed to be swept to the side because of all the new characters and villains introduced. Gaara did get some airtime as a general but compared to how powerful he was and bringing back his dad and more character development, I think his powers could have gotten a better level up. Rock Lee also had this entire part devoted to his recovery, I was really hoping to see more of his drunken fist fighting or showing his own taijustsu rather than him just using what Guy taught him.
I did like the character development on some of them, like Kabuto and Madara but it got to a point where I felt as though there was more time and energy spent on developing the villains than the main characters. For instance Neji's death was pretty random and didn't have as much impact in my opinion since we barely have seen him for so many chapters get any focus.
I am not a fan of the pairing at the end of the series with Hinata and Naruto mainly because Hinata grated on my nerves. Even at the end, the last thing in the midst of the major battle you see her do is trip and fall. There's a time and place for bumbling moments to illustrate a ditsy/cute heroine like they do in Sailormoon but the last final war battle is not one of those moments and especially if you're a supposedly powerful ninja with a strong bloodline. Even in Sailormoon you don't see her doing that kind of stuff in the last battles, maybe in the first few volumes to illustrate her clumsiness but there's a point where character development comes with a little more grace. I guess knowing Sakura was still into Sasuke, there's not too many other options since Naruto didn't have as much relationship development with other women.
That's where I'm a little divided on Sakura. In terms of comparing to the other characters, she's still so weak that it's irritating and she has moments where she's so clingy that it seems like she didn't grow out of her girly crush. On the other hand, compared to how she was in the beginning, she has gained quite a bit of development with her trying to give up on Sasuke but just loving him too much and her healing/Tsunada power skills. My favorite chapters with her is probably those with the battle with Sasori and her healing skills where she saves Naruto where you see him almost die. I also liked the part where they found Sasuke and he actually caught her, that was sweet. I did like the forehead tap moment and liked that they ended up together despite him using the mangekyou on her to make her think he punched through her so she wouldn't interfere with his fight with Naruto.
I would have actually been ok with a Naruto-Sakura pairing but it was so obvious that she was not over Sasuke that the story would have had way more development of her moving on in order for that to happen. This relationship between Sakura and Sasuke is what in my opinion really opens up the question for Naruto Gaiden. What is up with Sarada and who is her real mother is top of mind for everyone.
I actually really enjoyed Naruto Gaiden or at least the 9 chapters out because it introduces all the children and show your favorite characters as they aged and grew up. I would like to see chuunin exams for the gen 2 of Naruto and hope that the author goes beyond the plan to do it as a short series. I think they just need to make sure not to bring back any of the resurrection stuff and maybe lower the powers of Naruto and Sasuke and it will make for a great Naruto part 3.
**UPDATE
Just read the most recent chapter of Naruto Gaiden (10 maybe the last chapter?) and it was awesome. As I mentioned previously I was somewhat uncertain of whether I liked Sakura or not at the end of the series. But I will say that after Gaiden, I really like Sakura and Sasuke as a couple, it was a pretty cute ending to the arc.
