Why All the Hate on Naruto?

[JDB15]

Just my first reactions to some of the reasons:
-Animation crappy? It's looks like ANY regular anime.
-Filler? Yeah, I guess so, but it's not that much of a problem compared to DBZ (minus the "Filler Arc" that happened after Naruto vs Sasuke, aka the end of the main story).
-Battle scenes taking a while? It's more of a problem that they talk a lot during the fight.
-They are not real ninjas? Well it's another world, what a ninja is in that universe is whatever they see it as.

Anyway...:
I don't hate Naruto, but I don't like it as much as I used to. I stopped watching while a few episodes in the Filler Arc, and refusing to watch it on Disney XD (what about watching it online? Not really into watching Anime online, unless I'm really into it, ie DBZ and Bobobob. Plus when I want to watch an anime online, I forget to anyway.)

I used to enjoy reading the manga, but the anime is pretty terrible. The "Believe it" line is infamous despite the fact he doesn't utter it once in the manga :/

I don't get people bitching on the "Believe it" line nowadays. He stopped saying that by the beginning of the exams.

One thing I'm wondering is what is with all the hate on DBZ in here.

 

[Gustof26]

I dislike all anime equally (I like some, but they are few and far between), Naruto just showed me that.

I think its the;
Poor writing.
Less poor writing, and more cliche.

Dull episodes.
It Desperately needed a good editing team to cut out the things that simply detracted from the whole effect. Exposition should be done well, or not done at all.

Unnecessary monologuing.
Ah, sadly your correct this is all to prevalent in anime. It also seems to appear in western comics as well, but that's something for another day. This is also something that could be fixed through simple editing. Measure a sword swing, it takes about 1-3 seconds at most, no one should ever be able be make a speech in that time

Poor animation.
Subjective, but so is most complaints at most things


Cookie cutter characters. (say that 5x fast)
Cookie cutter characters, cookie cutter characters, ookie mutter later, ahem. Yes the characters which started out as things that were developing (Sasuke being less of a Anti-hero cliche, Naruto being more a wild card, and Sakura being more useless) become nothing but cardboard posters of cliches. Honestly, the side characters are more interesting...Shikumaru any one.

Dull 'Evil cuz I'm Evil' villains.
Yeah, once more I'll refer to the first Arc, Zabuza was a well done villain. Everything after...well, one is made fun of as being a pedo while the other is as bland as Spam. Let's see one want's to be immortal, why? So he can learn all the spell, I meant Jutsu's, why? No reason.

hallow characters. (Literally no one does anything surprising throughout the whole series)
I'd beg to differ, they do lots of surprised, just things that made wished they hadn't surprised you. Example A.) Sasuke. Yeah he want's revenge on the man who murdered his clan. Been done before, but not as magical ninja's who haven't look up the word stealth before. It might have been interesting to see him slowly before a darker character as the series went on and he was consumed by revenge. Instead he get's cursed by an evil snake villain, so 1.) taking away the importance of choice of him being a darker character. 2. Doing all of his character changing off screen. Literately they had too use two years worth of unseen cannon to explain a character development. Whew

Unintelligent characters. (The only solution to anything is to beat the other guy up)
One word, Shikumaru, a word I most likely misspelled. Why? Because he's a side character, odd right. Why? because he's possibly one of the most interesting characters. He's only been in five fights in the entire show. Each time he's won not by pulling some "super new move" out of his arse, but by outsmarting the crap of his opponent. He's tricked them, he's baited them, he's basically the Ninja version of batman. Sad fact, he'd make the best Hokage out of any of the characters.

Anyway, I'd imagine that that has something to do with it.

Well I can only hope that this helped, and that you might try to check out the series once more, and if you do. I'd imagine that this had something to do with it. Gustoff signing off.

 

[William Dickbringer]

The same reason why people hate on COD.

you mean some people have actual complaints and some just hate it cause it's popular
O.T. I gave up after 100 episodes got bored could watch any more

 

[cainx10a]

snip

There are a ton of reasons why Naruto is bad. Chakara for instance makes no sense with what was explained at first I mean at this point in the show everyone's essentially a wizard because for the most part they just shoot beams at each other. Also how does chakara make you live forever?

If they are ninja why doesn't anybody ever sneak I mean they did at the start a little but its was quickly abandoned so that makes no sense. I get that its Naruto's thing to run straight in but everybody does it not just him.

The anime has increasingly low quality especially in the later seasons I remember watching a whole minute of the same three punch cycle of a character hell the jumping sequences don't make any sense and they take up a good chunk of half the episodes.

The characters motives are very poorly constructed. Sasuke wants to destroy the whole village because one guy requested his brother kill his clan effectively saving thousands of lives not to mention it was his brothers choice to go along with the plan and the clan really had a shallow reasoning for trying to take over and this is just one character there are many more too.

The worst thing of all is that everything gets solved by love.

You've read an awful lot of the series for someone who doesn't enjoy it very much.

Chakra IS magic. Or might as well be. It doesn't need to be explained. It's generally accepted that mysterious, powerful forces that come from within that are capable of an uncertain plethora of abilities can exist within a fictional universe without breaking suspension of disbelief.

Remember when they tried to explain the force in star wars? Everybody hates midichlorians.

Yeah, the animation is relatively cheap. But you gotta stretch out a limited budget to have an episode every week. And on. And on. And on. Besides, the anime is supplementary material anyway.

And Sasuke wants to kill everyone because he's buttfuck crazy. He goes from traumatized 8 year old, to traumatized brooding loner 12 year old, to traumatized axe crazy 15 year old. It's an entirely logical progression based on the events of the series.

And correction, everything is solved by FRIENDSHIP and TEAMWORK.

You pretty nailed it.

Then just like hating CoD or WoW, hating anime is pretty cool too, but then again, unlike Bleach whose fillers are better than the canon story, Naruto has the same issue with too much filler rather than a one arc-filler thingy, which ain't that bad since it allow other characters to take the spotlight. But then again complaining that the main character is having too much spotlight in a show with named after him is a bit silly.

 

[Yeager942]

I've just always thought it was poorly written. It has most of the common anime stereotypes that I just can't stomach.

 

[Fanfic_warper]

I'm not sure why people hate on naruto and I'm not gonna read through 7 pages of possible reasonings suffice it to say that Naruto is my all time #1 favorite manga of all time.

I will admit that the anime is a tad bit weak, but otherwise it's still the best story out there in my opinion.

 

[Nathan Crumpler]

I have two problems with Naruto:

1: It is called Naruto when it should be called Rock Lee.
2: It is about Naruto when it should be about Rock Lee.

I personally think that Rock Lee has a more compelling story and is less annoying than Naruto.

 

[RoboKy]

Ahhh. Why do I dislike Naruto? Well, I'll be the first to admit that Naruto isn't by any means bad (the manga). It has good action, some character development, and is fairly interesting. When people dislike Naruto, it could be because it's popular and it is popular on the internet to hate popular things. Others dislike Naruto because it has become a bit too boring (not enough character development to really push the narrative). Still others, like me, dislike Naruto because of the premise. The first few volumes, ninjas were actually ninjas ie. being subtle, using stealth and cunning etc. However, in the recent volumes the main characters of the series have become so overpowered that stealth becomes a moot point. I mean why use stealth when you could blow them up with super wind spinny ball or crush them with a big flaming spirit? Ninjas were always stealthy because of necessity. Now, stealth is no longer a requirement. Therefore, Naruto by having its characters become ridiculously overpowered, can no longer differentiate itself from any other superpowered manga series. You could replace the ninjas with saiyans and still not notice any real difference. Finally, the manga falls into the trap of having its characters become super powerful in too short a time. Years to master a technique? Naw just do this life-threatening exercise for 15 min. and you're golden; and since we know that since Naruto is the main character, he'll never die from the exercise and predictably become super powerful with bare minimal effort.

 

[RoboKy]

oops. sorry. double post

 

[wottabout]

Sorry if this has already been said, I didn't read the thread past the first post...

I agree that Naruto doesn't deserve all the hate, but I am confused about what you mean with Death Note. I read the manga and watched a few episodes of the anime, and I didn't notice any major differences. A bit rushed, fewer explanations, more gratuitous chip-eating, but that was it. A quick check on Wikipedia shows that the manga ended May 2006, and the anime started October 2006. So what do you mean about the anime doing its own thing and having filler? I don't want to sound accusatory, I just honestly want to know whether there were differences that I missed.

 

[RatRace123]

Well, personally I find the US dub to be annoying. (Believe it)
And ninjas don't wear orange jumpsuits.
Orange isn't a subtle color!

 

[DanDeFool]

I?ve heard plenty about the constant flashbacks and monologues, but it?s really only a little more excessive than most everything that comes out of Japan. They love that stuff. When a character realizes something important, or has a moment of self-reflection, they will monologue about it. That?s how it works; the vast majority of anime and JRPGs consist largely of this inner dialogue. So I don?t understand how this can be an argument against one particular show without being an argument against the entire artistic culture (which I think we can all agree would be a bit ethno-centric).

Personally, I think saying that dissing on the flashbacks and monologues is ethno-centric is a bit hyperbolic, especially when it's Naruto we're talking about. A character having a flashback and some monologue when they have an epiphany or to briefly revisit an important story element is one thing, but when flashbacks take up 50%-80% of more than half your episodes, that's just too goddamn much.

A good flashback can provide needed exposition, and taking some time to reflect is something we can all appreciate, but when you stop the story dead to revisit something the viewer/reader already knows MULTIPLE TIMES PER EPISODE, you've crossed the line from making an artistic statement to wasting our fucking time. If you're going to do a flashback, make it short, and to the point: 30 seconds at the most. We don't need to re-watch half of Season 4 every goddamn episode.

Not only that, but Naruto has some of the worst pacing I've seen in an anime since Dragon Ball Z. I remember during one of the early story arcs, where Sarutobi and Oorochimaru were locked in a death struggle, each one pushing beyond the limits of their strength, trying to finish the other off before succumbing to their injuries. This would have been an interesting and effective scene, IF THEY HADN'T CUT TO IT MULTIPLE TIMES FOR EIGHT GODDAMN EPISODES. Honestly, we didn't need to spend 25% of eight episodes watching a sword move just slightly in and out of Sarutobi's torso.

And yes, I'll grant you that the mangaka is the pace car for this sort of thing, and you can't push beyond the story without inundating us with filler, but that's beside the point. The point is, whether it's filler, flashbacks, or bad pacing, this kind of bullshit really brings the story down. It's the price you pay for pursuing this kind of parallel development, and it's a big one.

Bottom line: I don't think Naruto is the worst anime ever, but I still think it deserves most of the criticism it gets. It kind of went downhill after the first few seasons, probably because after that they had plenty of flashback material. :/

 

[Darchrow]

The anime/manga itself is okay, great at times but its only downfall is its sheer length. The favorite arc was the chunin (sp?) exams because they elaborated on the side characters who seemed much more interesting then the trio (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and David Bowie!). The fights with Brock Lee, Negi, Choji and Shikimura were tons better to watch during the exam arc and also during the arc when Sasuke ask Orochimaru to be his sugar daddy.

When the side-characters were more interesting then your lead then you need to rethink your character choices. Sasuke is way too brooding for my taste a bit like Shinji or Simon but Simon in Gurren Lagann actually grows a pair in about 7 epidoes, whilst Sasuke doesn't stop brooding until about the 400th chapter? Shinji I can't talk positive about (whiny as hell) but at least in the EVA movies he is portrayed a lot better.

Naruto is just too cookie cutter, has his own pains and tries to empathize with everyone even if they've been trying to kill him the past 6 hours. Reminds me a lot of the battle with Naruto against Pain, Pain is trying to destroy the damn village and instead of killing him upfront he does his usual monologue crap for 2 chapters gets a flash back of pain's past and makes pain do a heel turn at the end before he dies. It feels so lazy on the writer's part and also doesn't yield that many good villains, the only true villain was Orochimaru who was just too interesting and getting into Sasuke's pants whilst technically being a Female Transvestite.

You don't see Jotaro doing a damn monologue for 1 hour trying to get Dio Brando to become good, instead of killing him. No, you get an EPIC battle between Jotaro and Dio Brando.

The major problem I have is with Naruto/Bleach fans, but that is a different story entirely.

Don't know what its like growing up in USA/Europe but my usual anime line-up when I was a kid was something like, Magical Knight Rayearth, Nadia, Card Capture Sakura, Revolutionary Princess Utena, Dragon Ball and if I stayed up extra late I got myself some Fist of the North Start. So when I got introduced to Naruto/Bleach I was kind of "meh".

 

[Kimarous]

It?s a fantastic coming-of-age story with interesting, strategic battles and well-developed characters that are easy to care deeply about.

I would disagree with you on that point, at least for the most part. My gripes with the series isn't the dub (which I don't mind) or the filler (hell, I even liked a fair chunk of those). Rather, I have a problem with a bunch of characters and how they are used. I'll try to keep it brief, and keep in mind that I'm mainly going by the manga here...

1) Sasuke. Enough said. Seriously, it should be self-explanatory.

2) Naruto has the problem of being annoying in two major ways. He was annoying for the longest time on account of being an idiot, then he took a level in badass by becoming the Toad Sage, and now he's annoying on account how he's blatantly THE MESSIAH now.

3) Female characters, period. Name ONE that's well-developed and actually DOES stuff. Sakura has done diddly squat in Part 1 AND Part 2, and even her fight with Sasori doesn't count because she was puppeteered the whole time. Ino almost never shows up, Hinata's confession to Naruto has had zero impact on anything, Temari and Tenten are practically part of the background, Tsunade is relegated to a desk job, Kanon got crushed in her one fight, Karin is used like a tool even by characters... the list goes on.

4) All the really interesting characters are rarely seen and never get a real chance to shine. Shikamaru is arguably one of the most interesting characters in the entire series, leagues beyond Naruto and Sasuke, yet he only gets to do stuff in the Chunin Exams, Rescue Sasuke, and Hidan arcs. Imagine how much more interesting this series would be if we didn't focus so heavily on Team 7's members. What if it instead followed Shikamaru's team, or Hinata's, or Team Guy? They have so much potential and it's squandered on more "I will save Sasuke!" "I will avenge my clan!" crap.

5) Lastly, neat battles aside, the end motives of the villains are always just silly. C'mon... "Nuke no Jutsu" (hyperbole here)? "Turn moon into mind-controlling eye, since it's the corpse of the original tailed beast"? Just... silly.

Anyhow, that's just my opinion. I still like the series to an extent and keep up with it, but those are my main issues.

 

[Vandenberg1]

I know threads about why someone else does or doesn't like something I do or don't like are abundant, but this is one I just really don't understand, and I'd be interested to know why. Personally, it?s not my favorite anime, but I love it anyway. It?s a fantastic coming-of-age story with interesting, strategic battles and well-developed characters that are easy to care deeply about.

It?s fine not to like it, of course; you are entitled to your tastes. But the anime community seems to largely consider Naruto the quintessential example of a terrible, overrated anime, like it?s the cool thing to hate, and I just don?t understand that.

A common complaint I?ve heard is about the filler, but the fact is this is not sufficient reason to decry the show?s quality, mainly because it is simply the lesser of two evils. Shows like Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note, while both amazing shows, amount to disappointing endings because they just did their own thing when they caught up with the manga. Naruto instead takes the approach of making a filler arc when it catches up to the manga on which it?s based, in order to let the manga get ahead enough for the anime to adapt it. Filler is necessary in order to keep the show running while allowing the show to still follow the story of its source material. That?s far better than just going off on its own and eventually ending disappointingly.
Because its flull of PUS**IES... watch Hellsing Ultimate or Hell even YU Yu Hakusho
Beyond that, if you hate the filler, skip it. The rest of the show is great, even if some of the filler really isn?t; something such as filler, which is made specifically so it can be easily skipped, simply does not speak to the quality of the show as a whole.

I?ve heard plenty about the constant flashbacks and monologues, but it?s really only a little more excessive than most everything that comes out of Japan. They love that stuff. When a character realizes something important, or has a moment of self-reflection, they will monologue about it. That?s how it works; the vast majority of anime and JRPGs consist largely of this inner dialogue. So I don?t understand how this can be an argument against one particular show without being an argument against the entire artistic culture (which I think we can all agree would be a bit ethno-centric).

These are just my thoughts; anyone care to share what it is that apparently makes this show so terrible?

EDIT: The English dub is also a weak argument (though it is awful). Don't complain if what amounts to an American vocal adaptation is sub-par, just watch the original.

 

[Freddyqaqualung]

Well, I had a friend who was obsessed with it and tried to force me to watch it, so I was reluctant to say the least. It just seemed so dumb at the time. Then I tried to watch it; I know I'm not giving it a fair chance, but I couldn't stand Naruto's character at all, so I just couldn't watch any more of it, and that didn't encourage me to read the manga either. Plus, I like Sci-Fi and conclusive endings like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop (I'd say Outlaw Star, but that ending's a stretch). The only exception to this was Berserk, and I hope they give it an ending. To be fair, I haven't watched that many animes and I've read even less manga, but still.

 

[cdstephens]

I watched the show as a kid.

Hated the dub. Filler was stupid.

Beyond that, if you hate the filler, skip it.
EDIT: The English dub is also a weak argument (though it is awful). Don't complain if what amounts to an American vocal adaptation is sub-par, just watch the original.

As a kid, I had no access to watching the original or skipping the filler if I actually wanted to watch the show.

I have nothing to say about the manga, but I've heard negative things about it in terms of how the pacing is set up. This comes from my girlfriend who reads Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, among many other things and she only reads Naruto and Bleach simply because she feels she has invested so much time into it that it'd be a shame not to, despite the low quality. She geninely enjoys One Piece though, and so do I after she forced me to read all the chapters in a summer.

 

[Nouw]

I read the Manga, not the anime. And personally, I love it.

 

[Nisselue]

I have watched Naruto for the last 6-7 years and i love it my only big problem with it is those fillers ohh those god damned fillers, it's the same thing with Bleach. And i have just watched the series with the japanese voiceactors and english subs, tried out the American dubs tho but those where just horrible. xD

 

[kypsilon]

Because hating Dragon Ball GT is soooooooooo passe....