Gushing About Shows You Like (Sugar Wiki)/Naruto


 * Naruto, even with its gaping flaws and shonen cliches, will forever and always hold a special place in my heart. I love that annoying, adorable little bastard (and a fair amount of the other characters too).
 * I think the plotline is woven in a way that makes you want to know what happens next with an absolute passion. Also, when looking closer, the characters are more complex than we realize and have the potential to be even better. And the newly discovered plot is amazing at surprising me.
 * Naruto has some of the most endearing characters I've ever run across, so much so that I will continue to look forward to its weekly updates, regardless of quality.
 * Not to mention some of the most distinctive-yet-cohesive character designs ever. You can instantly tell a Naruto character from any other kind of character and yet each one of the Loads and Loads of Characters looks distinct.
 * While the portrayal of women in Naruto is far from ideal, this troper appreciates the varied body types (and personalities) of the female characters, and the fact that Kishimoto is more prone to sexualizing the males than the females (even if the males in question are in female form at the time).
 * Even though Kishimoto has the subtlety of a sledgehammer when it comes to hinting at future plot twists (I'm calling it now--Kakashi is totally not dead), I absolutely adore the way the world is set up. It's a crying shame the most interesting character don't get any development, though... I'm looking at you, Shino.
 * Despite the fact that my enthusiasm for the show has waned, I still think it holds a special place in my heart, simply because of the massive potential it had/has.
 * Ditto. The only reason I'm into manga at all is because my brother picked up a copy of Shonen Jump years back, and I happened to come across Naruto (specifically, the Zabuza arc, when they fought Zabuza for the first time). I was blown away, even though I barely understood what was going on. It's true that the series is intensely flawed, and frankly, I'm hoping it ends soon before it decays any further. But its premise, its fantastic, detailed universe, and its interesting characters gave it the potential to be the greatest series of all time (and indeed, if every arc was as good as the Zabuza arc, it would be).
 * Naruto is one of the most popular anime/manga series to hate on right now, but I couldn't care less. Even after my general interest in anime and manga has significantly died down, I have never lost my enthusiasm for Naruto. Never before have I encountered such a lovable main character. From the overall story to the fight scenes to the side characters, everything is just excellent. My love for this series is going on 7 years strong, and now that the story is reaching its climax, I know it won't fail to disappoint. Even if it doesn't end the way I hope it does, I could never bring myself to dislike it, let alone hate it.
 * Though he may not be nearly as fond of the series as he once was, this troper can't deny that the first 16 volumes of Naruto are still some of the best quality Shonen comics he's ever seen. Naruto is what introduced him to manga/anime more than anything else and he still loves many of the characters and themes presented in the early volumes. Truly it could've been the stuff of legends just like One Piece and FMA if Kishimoto remembered there were other characters and villages in his story. But alas. Definitely check out the Zabuza and Chunin Exams arcs.