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Originally Posted by avmoghe
Yes, Lee is crippled right now.. I admire the creator for doing that. He will TRULY deserve my respect if he KEEPS Lee crippled for the rest of his life. However, I'm quite sure he doesn't have the balls (for lack of a better word) to show that. I'm sure Lee will be back again fighting... given the tone of the series.. its quite obvious.
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OK, I'll agree with you now. You're right. Probably by the end of the series everyone will have done their best and the world will be a better place for it. I, too, would respect the decision to keep Lee crippled for the rest of the show. But you're right, that's not going to be what happens (been reading spoilers
). I suppose my model for such debates should be how much in awe I was when I thought they had really killed Sasuke during Haku vs. and how disappointed I was when it turned out 'oh wait, he's not dead! hurray! it's a miracle!'
Dangit, and here I was almost convincing myself that I had found a fighting show with a wholly respectable story that wasn't one-sided. I think I just wanted to find one though.
Well, we won't know the real answer to all of this for a long time, anyway. But you're probably right. I still think it has the best plot of any fighting/tournament show I've ever seen.. (unless you count Rurouni Kenshin as a fighting show.. which it is, but it feels wrong to classify it as such somehow)
Of course, Lee WOULD have died by his own decisions if Gai hadn't stepped in. That puts the stakes somewhat higher.
As for Naruto. He IS the perfect model for showing determination. He is NOT the perfect model for showing how you can better yourself through hard work. He is an unnaturally talented person who also happens to have a big heart. His innate 'talent' is that he suffered for most of his childhood.. and after he was "saved" by Iruka-sensei's self-sacrifice for him, he has sort of made it his mission never to abandon anyone and always to take care of those he cares for. That's just a decision based on a lucky circumstance. His big heart comes from the life he *happens* to have led, being ostracized and then having someone put their life on the line for him. Naruto's function in the story is to show how you can apply what you know to what you care about. Of course.. the whole idea of 'protecting your loved ones with your own two hands' is pretty outdated and unnecessary/unfeasible. But.. whatever. And I don't consider the choice to stick around and fight to the end - "hard work" - really hard work when a character has determined to protect the ones they love with their own lives. Once that decision has been made, all he has to do is forget about his own life and put everything he can into the fight. Again, that's a state of mind, not a conscious effort.
Anyway. Point taken. Overall: you win.