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An underdog story at its core, much of Naruto is about being counted out, only to rise to the occasion and triumph over ever-increasing odds. As a result, it has a mix of both - characters who are always underestimated (like Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki) and end up triumphing in multiple ways, as opposed to characters who are unable to live up to their hype.
In this article, we take a look at some of the top contenders for both groups.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, and Boruto, and is only reflective of the author's opinion.
5 of Naruto's underdogs
1) Naruto Uzumaki
The main character, of course, has earned his spot in this part of the list. Naruto Uzumaki is indeed an underdog, as he grew up an ostracized orphan, failed Ninja Academy three times, and was considered the weakest ninja, owing to barely getting a hold of the Shadow Clone jutsu. That quickly changed following Shippuden.
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While Naruto's ultimate success in becoming Hokage was inevitable, he had a tough time getting there. Not only did he have to battle tough opponents like Pain and Gaara, but also get along with people that were already counting him out, and ultimately triumph against ever increasing odds, despite having Kurama as an X factor. The whole child of the prophecy plot may have dulled this a bit, but that doesn't mean much when one considers that every single opponent Naruto has fought eventually recognizes that he's not the pushover they think he is.
2) Rock Lee
When speaking of underdogs, Rock Lee can barely be left off the list. This taijutsu using ninja of Konoha is constantly seen as a nobody. Be it his own teammate Neji Hyuga, Gaara or Kimimaro, Rock Lee is considered useless for not having ninjutsu.
Lee nearly incapacitates Gaara in the Chunin Exams as well as fights Kimimaro Drunken Fist and gains Neji's respect. Lee proves himself again and again to be the lynchpin of Team Guy, or at the very least, a very good pupil of Guy's as he continued his recovery following Gaara crushing his arm and leg. One of his biggest accomplishments was using his speed and a Rasenshuriken to bisect Madara and sever the Uchiha's connection to the Ten Tails, after Neji's death.
3) Hinata Hyuga
You cannot think of underdogs in Naruto and not have Hinata Hyuga on the list. Hinata was underestimated by the harsh training of the Hyuga clan and ultimately disinherited when she refused to strike her sister Hanabi.
While some of Hinata's feats happen in filler episodes/arcs, there are a few amazing canon feats Hinata has done that are worthy of respect. Hinata fought Neji to a standstill in the Chunin Exams, even if she ultimately lost and received major internal trauma. She removed several black receivers off Naruto and damaged one of Pain's bodies. She also had enough stamina to take over for Neji during the Shinobi World War, when he collapsed from exhaustion. Postwar, she and Naruto channeled Hamura Otsutsuki's power to destroy Tenseigan, and was able to convince Toneri to stop his madness.
4) Killer B
Killer B was most certainly an underdog from Kumo - the Village hidden in the Clouds. Holding the Eight Tails inside of him made him an outcast, as villagers wouldn't hesitate to throw things at him. Did B let that get him down and out? Not at all! Instead, he befriended this tailed beast in record time.
Apart from this, he helped save his brother A, and fought Minato to a standstill. B also fought Sasuke's Taka team and avoided capture by being clever with a severed tentacle substitution, and managed to hurt Kisame badly enough so that he had to flee. B helped Naruto stop the rest of the jinchurki during the Shinobi World War as well, and clashed with the Ten Tails.
5) Sakura Haruno
Sakura Haruno came a long way from being the girl who was perceived as useless during the Land of Waves arc in the series. At first, she was decried by everyone - both in and out of the universe. Her performance against Ino at the Chunin Exams didn't do much to quiet that. Then came Shippuden and the idea that Sakura was useless hit the brakes.
Not only did Sakura manage to get physically stronger, but she got smarter medically too. This saved Naruto's life, as well as the lives of many in the field. She also saved Hinata during Pain's assault, and helped everyone she could when Tsunade passed on her giant slug summoning. She also helped Chiyo defeat Sasori and proved essential to keeping everyone alive against Kaguya. Boruto proved that she hadn't lost a step, as she battled Shin Uchiha and was the best mother for Sarada.
5 overhyped Naruto characters
1) Sasuke Uchiha
To be incredibly fair, Sasuke doesn't disappoint in the power leagues. Throughout Naruto, Sasuke is a prodigy that's constantly getting more powerful. On the other hand, Sasuke has (or had) an equal number of people who thought he was overhyped since he either repeatedly kept losing or otherwise did not know when he was out of his depth (Gaara, Orochimaru). Among other crimes, he also abandoned his friends and tried to kill his allies.
While Sasuke delivered quite a few incredible fights and performances, his constant back and forth between the anti-hero and the villain made people tire of him quickly. This was mitigated, however, when he had his change of heart, and despite all the dad jokes made with Sasuke and Naruto, they both came around during Boruto.
2) Madara Uchiha
Madara was, no doubt, a very powerful member of the Uchiha clan, but viewers often tend to act like he's the alpha and omega of the series, when he doesn't hold a candle to the Otsutsuki or the Sage of Six Paths.
The problem with Madara was that he was super powerful even during the old days, which was enough to rival the current five kage - all of which went against the idea of the new generation taking over the old. Madara is definitely worthy of the villain spot but one could argue that he should have stayed in that spot until the very end, rather than be backstabbed by Black Zetsu before anyone could see his true power being unleashed.
3) Kaguya Otsutsuki
What's worse than fans overhyping a character? A show doing the same without any build-up! Props to Boruto for at least giving the Otsutsuki Clan some proper story instead of coming sharply out of left field. When compared to Madara, that was a big problem: At least Madara had build-up and flowed more naturally into the Naruto narrative. Kaguya doesn't fit the narrative at all and is too far out of place.
If Kaguya had been somewhat foreshadowed in anything leading up to her grand debut, maybe she would've been heralded better. The story seemed to hype her up with something fierce, but fans didn't like her and she was considered akin to a Dragon Ball Z villain showing up in Dragon Ball with no fanfare or accompanying justifications, being far too overpowered for a final boss.
4) Minato Namizake
The overhyping however, is not limited just to villians. There is a fair number of good guys in the mix, as well. Consider, for example, the character of Minato. The Fourth Hokage is incredibly fast and well-versed in the Rasengan technique, and is Naruto's father. He helped seal Kurama inside his son and has half the fox inside him as well.
The problem occurred when fans really believed he could solo people (as though that would work against Otsutsuki or even Madara). The ninja war required a group effort and so did Kaguya, and while Minato is a great Hokage, he has been outmatched by others.
5) Kabuto Yakushi
Another case of the show itself hyping up a villain while having little come of it. Orochimaru may have fit the bill better, but he had at least been shown to be quite the beast when his arms were working (and even when they weren't). Kabuto seemed poised to take over if Orochimaru died, which did happen.
His mastery over the Impure World Reincarnation technique is nothing to sneeze at, as he did manage to revive many people to fight in the Shinobi World War, including Madara. The problem, however, is that he feels like a side boss who requires a reborn Itachi and Sasuke to beat. His artificial sage mode was impressive and it did take Itachi trapping him in a time loop to stop him, but that is all that can be said about his contributions, other than him turning a new leaf when he broke out. Things might have been better had he been more active as a villain, with new powers at his disposal for longer.
