[ronin myael]

One thing you learn watching Naruto is that few villains are actually born that way. Sasori was cool as beans, Haku was clearly not a villain at heart, though he fought for the wrong guy. 'demon' Zabuza found redemption in death. The sound Genin were being used by Orochimaru, who, in turn, became obsessed with immortality to meet with his parents. A folk story Sandaime told him about the white snake's symbolism.

I refuse to believe Naruto villains are as clear cut as you say they are. Wasn't Gaara clearly a villain when introduced? Yes he was. There is a fair number of them that are actually evil and stay that way, but making this kind of generalisation isn't convincing.

i've always thought that orochimaru was just afraid to die. a lot of people lose their parents but they don't try to conquer the world. most of history's "villains" were born with the pretense of a noble cause. hitler lied to himself and the german people that he only wished to raise them from the muck of poverty, to claim what is theirs, blaming the jews for taking that right. but in fact, he desired power, he liked the fact that people followed him and listened to him. he did it to fulfill his own selfish needs. orochimaru did what he did out of his own desires, it wasn't to meet his parents or whatever.

when i first encountered gaara i thought he was a cool, intriguing character. but like itachi, i've always known there is a major reason why he turned out the way he did. if i were gaara, i too would have been consumed with anger considering what happened to him. he was a misguided, angry kid, but i didn't think he was evil. i was like that when i was younger. if gaara had turned out to be the main villain of this series it would have been better for me. or maybe nagato. but they didn't. they ended up becoming naruto's "fans". orochimaru was the ultimate baddie, he was pure evil to me and he died as such. let's see how madara fares. but so far, he seems to be leaning more towards the pure evil villain as well.

And I think it's silly to ask for something else. When I read OP, I don't suddenly expect Luffy to become smart, dark and edgy. Naruto's main staple was always an unerring, unabashed optimism, in spite of everything that had happened to him.

Did you seriously want more Yami Naruto? Because I sure as hell didn't. Naruto is a character that strove for this impossible goal since day 1 of the anime, and still is. There's no reason he should give up, or develop a darker side, considering this kind of outlook has never worked against him. Heck, it brought him all of his current techniques and defeated/convinced its fair share of villains.

His only true failure, and we all know that's just temporary, is failing to bring back Sasuke.

When a hero's mentality evolves, like in the case of Sasuke, it's because his current condition doesn't satisfy him. Sasuke's perfectionism coupled with the goody-two shoes nature of Konoha and their laid-back attitude spurred him to seek a new way of doing things. And with that, his mentality changed.

ahh, but naruto hasn't failed yet. he will save sasuke in some way. we all know that he will, and he will become hokage one day, two of the more predictable aspects of this series.

not really, but it would be more "realistic" if he shows some desperation and hopelessness once in a while. but he never does. it's human to feel those emotions but he never falters, he remains a steadfast optimist no matter what. you might say that he's a just a fictional character and naruto is not written that way so there's no need for him to show more human emotions. but as a writer, you have to consider that, otherwise your story would just be another fairy tale. you want to inspire your young readers to strive for their dreams but not give them false hopes that they fail to see their limits. but that's just me. it all comes down to our own individual preferences i suppose. i guess we have very different concepts of what a hero is supposed to be. i prefer someone who is flawed, human, ordinary and yet capable of doing extraordinary things. someone who is scared to death and yet still fights for what he believes in. that's what you call courage and that's how real heroes are made. don't think i ever saw naruto get so scared he couldn't fight anymore except for the time sasuke called him a coward at the beginning of the series. naruto (and perhaps most heroes in shonen manga) came from the same mold. they're all optimists, extraordinary, special and almost perfect (save for some IQ problems).

one of the things that intrigued me with death note is that the main protagonist is really the anti-hero of the series. it was a fresh change. i'm still waiting for a shonen series with an ordinary hero, no super powers, no great lineage, and just the drive to prove himself. naruto started out that way until kishi gave him the kyuubi, powerful parents and monstrous power-ups.