Why is Naruto so popular?

[Medalist]

I care to disagree. I think it's so popular just because people got addicted to it after seeing it. And in DBZ they almost always one but atleast alota the good guys died every now and then. They were never invincible but together they could get the job done. And The hero never wins, whilst in Naruto that seems to be happening up until now. But then that's just every series, but none of the Good Guys actually "lose" in the end but meh./

[neoeagle]

The reason is relation between the following elements:
Sasuke, naruto, akatsuki .

remove any from the above Naruto will lose its lore.
Example;
1.Naruto ,Akatuski ( hero vs bad guys wow how original)
2.sasuke ,Akatuski( some guy wants revenge wow original)
3.Naruto ,sasuke( good friends , one of them went berserk other wants to save him wow original)

[robitussin217]

I don't know why I feel the need to discuss this. I think anime, with the exception of Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist, rely too heavily on drama to draw their series out. I'm tempted to say Naruto is more of a soap opera than an action anime show. I hate watching Naruto train forever, or watch the kids talk about someone with a pensive look in their eye while the camera angle changes once every 30 seconds to another angle of "the pensive look."

At the same time, I love Naruto's character and many of the others. I go to college for music, and am not the best musician, but feel that I might have something no one else does, like Naruto. I equate the ninja technique with musical technique. And, the motives of the characters aren't quite the BS that you get in other anime shows. The comedy is above average. Also, if I am lucky enough to catch an action sequence, I always thoroughly enjoy it. The action is top notch. However, I'd like to see the resolve between Sasuke and his brother, but I can't stay interested through all this training. It's barely subplot. It's a good show, but if they cut out a lot of pure filler, it would be great.

[Gaara133]

As others have said the music in this show is awesome (even some of the intros and endings). I have episodes 1-164 on dvd's somewhere and yet I watched pretty much the whole Naruto Hundo on cartoon network . The story line is pretty good too it seems that every episode (not the fillers so much) leaves you on a cliff hanger and leaves you biting your nails and saying, "WTF! What happens next!?! I have to wait a WHOLE WEEK before the next one comes out!?!" At least that's how I see it. Not to mention each character in the show is different from one another so as others have said it's easy to identify yourself with AT LEAST one of them.

[Quzor]

I couldn't really explain why I liked the beginning of the Naruto series so much (1-130something), other than meeting the characters and seeing some of the epic battles (Gaara v. Lee, Sannin "summons" battle come to mind). However, with the Shippuuden, I love it because I love seeing how all of these characters have grown over the two and a half years we haven't seen them. What new techniques have they learned, what techniques have they refined. And, as an added bonus, we still get introduced to new characters with new techniques all their own...

Spoiler for [manga]such as...:

Who'd have thought we'd run into a couple of immortal ninja like Hidan and Kakuzu, or a ninja that could turn his own body into a puppet!

It keeps me coming back each week, at least to read the manga. The only thing that's still keeping me interested in the anime is seeing how the stories translate to animation, and I must admit, I'm a little irritated with the anime at this point, but that's another story for another thread. Overall, I love it because of the quality combination of character interaction and interesting fighting abilities...man i wish I could do that stuff

I didn't bother watching the two and a half years of filler because a friend of mine told me it was only moderately entertaining, and I trust him enough to believe that.

[Sinestra]

I think at this point i cant stop watching Naruto is because i have invested so much time in it I have to stick with it no matter how long it takes to see an ending. If i were to quit now i would be so soured and im generally interested in what happens to all the characters mainly the Konoha 12

[BlackShinobi07]

Because of Sasuke!!

[Suzumiya Haruhi]

I never really saw anything spectacular about Naruto.

Give me another ninja anime that actually has ninja in it, instead of wizards pretending to be ninja any day.

[ghstwrld]

I'm looking for a thread on NF that addressed the same topic, but haven't been able to find it. I think some one had brought up the fact that Naruto's popularity is due to the perfect storm of it being relatively new at the time, a fansubbing boom, dsl becoming wide spread, dbz could have possibly been ending at the time, and there may have been some other stuff (WOW, that's more than a little vague lol).

Hopefully, someone more knowledgable can elaborate on this line of thinking.

[sydneybarton]

Because It Is Sooo Frickin Awsome....thats Y!

[Whitemoon648]

Naruto is popular because it is one of the few adventure animes that is long and actually has a good story, in which characters grow up. and add to it awesome BGM, comedy and action, and there you have it.

[sydneybarton]

naruto just awsome.........theres no reason naruto was made to capture ppls attention. i mean come on its a ninja show about a aragant kid with a fox demand trapped in him and a million girls falling for a sexy kid with a brother that has a evil brother that kiled his clan and now wants to kill his brother and claim the fox spirit and use it for evil..................so.........whats not to like?..

I LUV NARUTO :*)

[SuperKnuckles]

I actually used to be a long time Naruto hater. I hated it with a passion since 2003 and 2006.

HATED it and all its fans. Truly and honestly.

Then come summer of 2006, nothing to do, and I caught it all up from the manga and even from the worst fillers near the end of Naruto series (pre Shippuden) and now I quite love it.

Right alongside JoJo, Berserk, Hajime no Ippo for me, though those manga arguably have had tighter action and history than Naruto so far.

I think the thing is that Naruto tends to reach into the childhood aspirations more so than most fighting shonen stories, much more than usual. There are honest aspirations from childhood and it all translates into the characters' adult lives.

Also, the whole modern style ninja with highly personalized and individualized jutsus are just VERY cool as an idea. I imagine up my own ninjas and their jutsu all the time. A few years ago, I would have thought it was all retarded. Now I'm knee deep in it, I'm loving it.

[abazou]

ya because sasuke is in it

[2H-Dragon]

I don't see why it shouldn't be popular? I don't know, but the manga is a good read the anime is a good watch. It's a long on going show. With plenty drama a long the way. It's also pretty "cool" and it isn't way to crazy to be a trun off, but interesting enough to keep you going. Not to mention it grows on ya. The fights are cool too. Most people aren't looking for stuff that's filled with gore and crazy deep things.

Naruto is a winner(well the manga is ).

[SuperKnuckles]

Objectively, the crucial fights were incredibly animated too. Some of the best fighting animations I've EVER seen at times.

Ep 26 of Shippuden helped make the case for that. Hopefully Studio Pierrot will jam all their budget into the crucial fights with incredible animation.

[Seraphis]

Characters, they gave us this premise that the world is full of ninjas with vastly ranging abilities. My initial attraction was finding out a lot of these abilities, and I liked how they would show you a certain character, yet not their abilities or techniques for a long while. By the time I'd seen a lot of techniques, there were a few that really interested me, and I follow them and the story.

[Rezard]

Originally Posted by SuperKnuckles

I think the thing is that Naruto tends to reach into the childhood aspirations more so than most fighting shonen stories, much more than usual. There are honest aspirations from childhood and it all translates into the characters' adult lives.

I think you got it, I always tried to say something like this, but never found the right words.

[marijolee]

To be quite honest, I have no idea.
I am constantly making fun of it. But it is one of my most favorite shows.

[lucy06]

i think naruto is a one of a kind anime,i cant think of any other anime thats similar in characters. the whole theme is cool and akatsuki are awesome,lots of good villains and sagas plus a mix of humor,battles,emotional moments its got everything in my opinion. a very unique anime well its my fave^^


ok and theres a lot of hot guys in it
itachi
sasuke
deidara
sai
hidan
sasori