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Naruto is known to have a lot of moments that have stuck with the audience. Over the last 20 years, the series has made everyone cry, laugh, jump in excitement, or make them yawn with boredom. While Naruto did a lot of things right with the Shounen trope, it also missed in some departments that are best to forget about now.
The series itself is by no means perfect. Despite introducing numerous unique perspectives to fiction, Naruto brought forth unnecessary sequences — paired with poor writing. The following article lists a few things in Naruto that have aged both poorly and like fine wine.
Disclaimer: This article is subjective and relies solely on the writer's opinion.
Flashbacks and 4 other things that have aged poorly in Naruto
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1) Development of some side characters
Despite having some memorable side characters, the series somehow managed to completely ignore some characters who were initially introduced as interesting individuals. Characters such as Tenten, Anko, and Shino were completely wasted as time went on.
Naruto might have a huge range of cast, but that doesn't mean that some characters should become completely useless and irrelevant to the plot.
2) Fillers
Fillers can become a favorites if the studio animates them just right. With a good enough arc and entertainment to go with it, the audience becomes interested in their favorite characters' daily lives outside the main plot. However, Naruto's fillers become a bit unbearable after a certain point in time.
A few stories are so ridiculous, they became too over the top even in a show based around superpowers and fiction. Naruto's fillers added nothing to the overall main plot and angered fans with dragged-out episodes.
3) Use of flashbacks
Naruto is based on multiple timelines, each depicting an era of the world in the main series. Hence, flashbacks were one of the main ways of storytelling, especially after a new significant character got introduced. They told the audience their backstories, which got everyone hooked on the ongoing arc.
However, some flashbacks were overused so much that they made good scenes far too repetitive. Fights were dragged out for 4 to 5 episodes simply with the same flashbacks over and over again.
4) Resurrection of dead characters
No character in a series shows their full potential until they are close to their own death. Some leave behind a great scene worth remembering, while others, not so much. Naruto ruined the entire image of closure to well-written characters by bringing them back to life for the sake of plot and continuation.
Akatsuki, one of the most beloved antagonist groups in an anime, lost their uniqueness after they were resurrected and brought back only to become inferior to someone else. The entire concept felt out of place as characters that were developed and given emotional deaths were brought back to life once again.
5) Orochimaru
Orochimaru was introduced as an inhumane sort of villain in the first few arcs of Naruto, where they were shown to have no ounce of humanity left. Their experiments on children were somehow overlooked by the village, and the third Hokage even let them go after knowing everything.
Even after the main series, Orochimaru roams the village freely and works under Naruto, which seems very suspicious and wrong considering how no closure was given to their change in character.
Land of Waves arc and 4 other things that have aged well in Naruto
1) Shikamaru vs Hidan
Shikamaru and Hidan's fight was perhaps one of the most surprising encounters in the anime. Audiences were taken aback by the sheer wit and power shown by a minor character in the series. As a villain, Hidan was highly skilled in combat and could take down the likes of Jonin alone.
The fact that Shikamaru took on Hidan alone and completely defeated him has stuck in the minds of fans who witnessed the fight for the first time. It wasn't just about putting evil down, it was also about avenging a closed one. Shikamaru's parting words to Hidan made the scene unforgettable. He said:
"That pathetic Lord Jishan or whatever isn't your god anymore. I am."
2) Land of Waves arc
Land of Waves was the very first arc in Naruto, and is still a tearjerker for both new and veteran fans of the anime. It acted as a prologue to the entire series, where Team 7 had to escort Tazuna, a master bridge builder, back to the Land of Waves. The arc introduced the audience to Kakashi's Sharingan, and one of the antagonists called Zabuza.
The arc had surprises, epic fights, comedy, sadness, and everything appropriate to get watchers hooked on a long-running series.
3) Madara stealing Kakashi's eye
The Fourth Ninja Great War was full of memorable moments. However, Madara stealing Kakashi's Sharingan was both hilarious and epic. Although Kakashi did gain Mangekyo Sharingan later with the help of Obito, Madara was just going around and snatching people's eyes away.
This went on to show the proportions of the battle at the time. Kakashi's Sharingan allowed Madara to cast a Kamui on himself.
4) Obito vs Hidden Mist
Obito's first major fight came with him manhandling the Shinobis of the Hidden Mist. He used his newly gained power to murder and decapitate everyone in his sights — after witnessing Rin Nohara, the girl he loved — die at the hands of his best friend.
Every frame of the fight was very well done and showed Obito's Kamui's subtle moves at work. The entire sequence ended with Obito holding Rin's corpse in his arms in a literal pool of blood, with severed limbs of multiple Shinobis dropped around on the ground.
5) Rock Lee at the Chunin Exam
At the very start, Rock Lee and Gaara's fight could have been seen to have only one outcome. The one who wields sand and is a Jinchuriki will dominate someone with no Ninjutsu skills. However, when Rock Lee dropped the weights that were strapped to his ankle, the entire arena shook, literally.
All the character's expressions changed, and all of a sudden a fight that was going to end quickly took a huge turn. Rock Lee became a huge fan favorite after the fight, and it also introduced the concept of Taijutsu in the Naruto universe.
