Why is Naruto so popular?

[iBeast]

Originally Posted by roriconfan

Naruto lost a lot of the steam it had at first. Hatred is a thing to follow.

If you ask me "why", I can pinpoint the time it all started to go downhill. It was during the Sasuke rescue mission. Before that, each new area revealed a new aspect of the world, plus someone important was dying. During that arc, not only nothing new was revealed about the world (even Itachi's flashback was long and kinda troll and the valley with the statues had its history revealed a lot later) but also many characters miraculously survived.

Plus, the pace of the story slows down more and more. Which kinda contradicts the whole deal of empowering and training. A character who becomes stronger should speed up things and not drag down further. At least not like that. Also, the objective of the series became too clear and dragged as well. Save Sasuke, stop Akatsuki can keep you interested only for a certain amount of time.

Forever. I think when people start on something, especially something like Naruto, they will have to finish it at one point or another. So no not a certain amount of time, but as long as need be.

[xlilyx]

I agree with you on that one, iBeast. When you start watching something that get's you hooked or makes you wonder what could happen next you always want to finish it. This is very common in Naruto as for most people it get's you hooked and doesn't let you go and for some other people like me I just wonder what could happen next or how the plot could change. And some people (again, like me) just re-watch it because it is just simply one of the best anime/manga ever.
Thanks for reading.

[Janbustamante]

Characters in Naruto are cool especially the villains (Akatsuki).

[Spectacular_Insanity]

I've given this topic some more thought and despite the series myriad flaws, of both the writing and animation, the series still has themes we as viewers/readers can still relate to. That is, mainly, overcoming adversity despite the long odds with grit, determination, and no small amount of will. In Naruto's case, his adversity is the hatred and resentment of all that fear him as the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki.

That, and Akatsuki's fabulous nail polish. You can't beat the purple nail polish.

[renzokuken]

I think it's popular because of western media.
Nearly everybody knows about it, including people that doesn't know much about anime.
The fact that the series is very big may be another factor, just like Bleach and One Piece.
Plus, Naruto has nearly everything a classic anime needs, like epic story and characters.

[EnchantingPrincess]

Originally Posted by Janbustamante

Characters in Naruto are cool especially the villains (Akatsuki).

I love the villains.... Like Itachi...Sasori...(Itachi is my fav )
I also thought Gaara was cool being cold hearted...
I like him but better before

[TrueElements]

I always hated the fact sasuke was the main focus of the entire show, no matter how faw away it goes it always relates to him.

[EnchantingPrincess]

I don't like Sasuke very much... he waay too much of a Sasuke...
The only time I liked him was that ep with Them trying to see what was under kakashis' mask
Okay (back on topic)
I agree with Xlilx and iBeast

[flygon09]

There is like way too much focus on Sasuke, it's really annoying, and it kind of makes the series un-enjoyable.

[fmrugrat]

Agreed.

Also, the more evil he gets, the harder his redemption is going to be. Although considering the track record of redemption in Naruto, I'm sure the author is gonna try.

[roriconfan]

Naruto is very famous for using the most typical shounen elements in a cool-looking way. As long as slow pacing or reason don't get too much in one's mind, it is a good series.

[Haak]

I think there are many factors but the biggest one would be a large cast of characters, all with different personalities and qualities. We've got Naruto fans, Sasuke fans, Shikamaru fans, Neiji fans, Hinata fans, Kakashi fans etc. I mean it's like firing a gun an infinite amount of times at a target without looking. Eventually one of them is gonna hit.

[OtakuLuna13]

CUZ IT'S GOT NINJAS, DATS WHY!!!!

...Okay, not really.
Part of it has to do with it's a Shonen. Shonen's are almost always popular sooner or later. And maybe because it has all the things a successful anime should have.
1) A powerful, yet enccentric leading character, who is very likeable even though he's a complete idiot. He's one of those people that can make friends with anyone if the situation calls for it. He's the one that can change everyone's heart just but kicking the breath out of them.
2) The hot emo boy that treats everyone like crap, and yet almost all the girls fall head over heels for him. Probobly because he's a mysterious loner, and all girls feel the need to 'help' him and 'see the light'. And we all know every anime has to have an emo boy to be successful.
3) The annoying, yet smart girl that everyone seems to know. It's not that everyone likes this girl (God knows I don't.) but everyone can respect her because she's right in the head and down to earth. Yes, she is a fangirl, but that's to be expected at her age.
4) And we can't forget the teacher figure. This is the guy everyone looks up to and respects. They go to him for answers, because he seems all knowing and powerful. And when his students seem to go astray, he tries to lead them to the right path. He can also be laid back and wise all at the same time, kind of like a father.

....Anyway, that's just part of what makes the show so popular, of course, that's not the only things, but I'm just waaaaaaaay too lazy to list them all, so I just listed the really important characters.

[HikariVerushka]

The reason Naruto is so popular is because the high popularity of people flipping through the channels and just so happen to be stopped on Naruto. I also think that it is also the popularity of kids being able to watch what they want. Thats how i found out about it. actually found out by my friend saying they liked it. Unfortunatly were I live no one exept two or three people i know. I'm sure theres more but Naruto is so addicting you get caught in the story so fast.

[CMSensei]

Its popular because they like to watch Naruto get beaten up by Sakura.

[roriconfan]

Naruto is the archetypical story of a boy aimming for acceptance by the adults. And at first it looked mighty interesting by being a lot more than just that. It had a bit of everything like good action, romance, rivalry, cool outfits, schemes, treason, etc.

It is NOT so likable anymore for most but its fame keeps it alive. Just like the Pokemon series.

[Crimrui]

^ True that, and people like to see interesting jutsus wrapped up in good fights, and in that field, Naruto still delivers.

[ttdestroy]

I liked it more back when it first started but now it seems kinda "americanized", but maybe thats why it stays so popular.

I love this series but I wonder if Kishimoto actually has a plan for the ending, last time a got promised a great ending it was a show about survivors trapped on an island.......

[janipani]

If Naruto would start with its current quality, it would be really short run. The reason why Naruto is popular is that it was good and it had a good idea in the beginning.

[Kallen4life]

I watched it because it's Shonen

now I can't drop it, cuz I wanna know how it ends


also, sometimes it's good, even now

also, like some of the characters (they're mostly non-Konoha though)

also, like the crazy overpowered techniques that pop up in Shippuden - starting from MS and all the way up .. Pain's gravity shtick especially