Why is Naruto so popular?

[0TaKu0]

Firstly, like many other's I find it really hard to explain why I like Naruto so much, to really answer this question in a truthful matter. It's different for everyone, some because they can relate to the characters, some because it handles real life issues but on a subtle level, some because they just enjoy the ninja genre, some because they think hand seals are cool, some because they like the summonings, some because they like the type of character Naruto is and "His way of the ninja", some simply because it's anime. There is a million, zillion, gazillion, reason's as to why this anime is so popular, honestly this question would really be impossible to answer because not everyone is alike and I can almost guarantee you each person will have a different answer for it, we are all different other wise it would be equilibrium. (Equilibrium, great movie btw)

Now I for one, I like Naruto for the simple fact it's Anime or (Japanimation) I have always been fascinated with the Japanese culture, from the things they do to traditions, to the way they behave, to martial art's to their art's, even the things they eat. Anime has been a part of my life since I was like 13 (The first anime I saw although its kind of embarrassing to say, is Sailor Moon), after that when I saw the anime "Ninja Scrolls" is when I really started getting in to anime. However, I would only watch what they showed on TV at that time, I was not really familiar with the PC, torrents, or.. stuff . Though.. after I started watching Escaflowne on Fox 5 which was suddenly taken off before it ended, it pissed me off, then card captor's which was ok, but I always felt something was missing... and then Shaman King... which I also felt something was missing. So I started doing my research, I found out why Escaflowne was taken off from Fox 5, I found out why I felt card captor was missing something, and Shaman King.

Ever since then, I decided I would never watch an anime that USA touched, they butcher it. They edit things out, remove full episode's if they think its inappropriate (EX: Shaman King is 64 episode‘s I think Fox 5 turned it in to 48 due to what they thought was “Inappropriate content“, change music, change lines, it pissed me off to no end because I thought to my self "Who the hell are you to decide what I want to watch" Bastards I thought, ever since then I have been watching only subbed/uncut anime and nothing more, I hate most USA stuff, I hate most dubbed stuff, USA even goes as far as changing the color of blood in Anime or remove it all togather. (EX: Samurai Champloo) The first subbed anime I watched after this incident, was Hunter X Hunter, and of course all the Anime that I watched on TV I re-watched subbed and Uncut.

Moving on, although it maybe hard for me to admit. I did pick anime when I wanted to relieve stress or "get out of reality" I can honestly say, even in some parts of my life, anime has kept me sane and was there when other things or other people were not. None the less, anime is anime, it would have to be a really, really bad anime for it to repulse me. I pretty much like and watch every anime I can and I have time for. I also found that I developed the interesting hobby of "Archiving" anime that I download, its not something I decided, its just something that happened, slowly but surely my CD book became filled with DVD's of burned anime episode's from all different anime, from all different fan-sub's.

In a way, I could literally say I am who I am today is at least... 20% because I watched anime since I was 13, 10% from all the RPG games like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Legend of the Dragoon, Zelda, I played, 10% from all the Independent films or movies, action, horror, mystery, science fiction, chick flicks, comedy I watched, 20% from Friends, Family, Girlfriends, 20% from life experiences, 10% from music, and 10% of me being me (So yea, its pretty obvious everything we watch, do, listen to, probably even eat influence us in some way, some greatly, others less). I also enjoy the art in different anime's, because I draw my self. .(EX:Gankutsuou - The Count of Monte Cristo, a very High culture Anime with Radical and New Animation/Colors). I think anime characters are really "pretty" meaning, if you have watched as much anime as my self, I have never really seen an anime person who is "unattractive" they are all drawn to be "attractive" in one way or another, not to mention the personality's. Most anime girls have personality's that are almost nonexistent in reality, from being submissive, to aggressive to, "My only reason for living is to take care of you - (Kaede-Chan from Shuffle) kind of melts your heart right? However o_O its really strange but all the guy's in every anime I have watched their personality's are much like the personality’s of real guys in real life, what does that tell you ? I just think it's weird that girl's in anime and girls in real life are on opposite ends in term's of personality, while the similarity of guys in anime and guys in real life (personality wise) is actually really accurate.

Oh lets not forget the possibilities of pairings and couples with in Naruto or just Anime it's fun to think about and imagine who would end up with who or will end up with who and what might happen, I for one am very fond of anime that have hints of love or romance or anything close, there should always be some of that to make any anime more interesting. When you think about it most of your favorite anime or just most anime always have that. Though it always keeps you guessing haha, who likes who, who will end up with who, it reminds me of so many anime. Then there’s fan service anime XD , hehe I wont get too much in to that..

So yea, that’s my answer... I still think this question is nearly impossible, because the reality of asking "Why is Naruto so pupular?" is like asking why is Anime so popular? Truth is anything I typed up there is probably not even the case, I typed what came to be I still don’t know why I like Anime or Naruto so much.. I just do It's as simple as that.

Originally Posted by Fukitsu Naruto

-The perverts have Tsunade (if you need me to explain this to you then feel free to slap yourself, go on you deserve it), Anko and Temari.

Hey hey hey!!! Nothing wrong with "Perverts" I'm a HUGE pervert, and not afraid to admit it, but I'm the good kind. There's two kinds, ones you like to be around, ones who follow and stalk woman. Lol I'm definitely the good kind, none the less yea anime does have that, but there's also people who go for personality like Hinata, or if you ever watched the anime "Shuffle".. or "Mai Hime" or "Love Hina" or "Ah My Goddess" or.. "School Rumble" I just love all the girl's in those five particular anime, the characterization is amazing, the personality's are all different, not one of them is like the other... Ama Shigure, and Asa Shigure.. I heart those two from Shuffle XD. It's just too bad girls like that don’t exist, as I said above its strange how anime girls and real life girls are on opposite ends, but anime guys and real life guys (personality wise) are very close.

Originally Posted by ^Shikamaru^

Naruto isn't as popular as it use to be... 1+ year filler

Lets not forget one thing, allot of people on this form's are fans of the Manga.. as well as the Anime, don’t forget Naruto's popularity, a huge amount of it is due to the Manga as well. There are things there not yet seen in the Anime.

Originally Posted by Suna no tate

In truth, the woman repulses me.

Ditto.

[Sabaku Kyu]

Don't feel bad about Sailor Moon being the first anime series you saw as it was one of the first, if not the very first anime to be shown on US TV (what most people define as 'anime' anyway. there were earlier shows animated in Japan to be released in the US). Pretty much everyone on this forum is old enough to remember that anime wasn't always available in every video and bookstore like it is now. Manga was pretty much non-existent except in comic book shops and the few anime titles availiable were kept in that dark corner of the video store labeled "Japanimation". And that weird thing called the "internet" was just a buzzword. I think Sailor Moon was also the first anime I ever saw and Ranma 1/2 (since the video game had grown fairly popular) the first manga. Both of these turned me off to anime and manga for a while, since I just thought all of it was romance stuff about teenagers with freakishly big eyes.

That changed when I saw the movie Akira over a friend's house, which was simply awesome. So I gave anime another chance and began renting some of the movies. Still, at the time, the only thing widely availiable was Ninja Scroll which I don't care for, and the video-game based Steet Fighter and Fatal Fury movies. Escaflowne was the best thing out. Disappointment. Then Dragonball Z came out on the Toonami line-up and I of course, got caught in the phenomenon (Don't anyone dare judge me. Every kid and teenager loved DBZ when it came out, if you didn't, you're a communist). It was the first anime television series I really followed and probably the first for many U.S. viewers.

Now to tie that into Naruto's success, which no doubt draws heavily from DBZ. What Naruto emulates best is DBZ's character personalities and interaction. DBZ had just enough plot not to be mindless, but it was mostly character driven. The characters where very memorable and many became the archetypes for the characters you see in shounen today. Naruto is the same way as it concentrates mostly on the characters while keeping the plot relatively simple making it easily accessible to a wide audience. Of course, nearly all manga/anime have realized that characters are the key to a great story but IMO Naruto currently handles its characters best. It has a huge cast, but all of them are given a good amount details: quirks, flaws, likes, dislikes, distinct speech and show a huge range of emotions. It's most like what made the Simpsons so insanely popular. All the characters had different levels of importance and frequency of appearance, but no one was just a face in the crowd.

Not that Naruto is the best series out there. There are anime/ manga with better plots, more complex characters, better animation and drawing. Naruto's just fun and easy to get into. If a series like Cowboy Bebop is the "filet migon "of anime then a series like Naruto is the "hamburger 'n' fries". Always on the menu.

[Suna no tate]

Originally Posted by Sabaku Kyu

Not that Naruto is the best series out there. There are anime/ manga with better plots, more complex characters, better animation and drawing. Naruto's just fun and easy to get into. If a series like Cowboy Bebop is the "filet migon "of anime then a series like Naruto is the "hamburger 'n' fries". Always on the menu.

Hmm... what anime series has a better plot? More complex characters? I'm not saying this to attack, just curious. When I sit and think about it, there really isn't all that much of a plot in naruto. Or better yet, whatever the real heart of the plot is has yet to be revealed. And cowboy bebop had a plot? Gee... somehow I must have missed it among all the random episodes...

I've been watching this deathnote series (and trying very hard to not read the manga) and its been very well written to date. The art is very nice too... but the series is so dark in nature that I don't think many people will like it.

[Sabaku Kyu]

Originally Posted by Suna no tate

Hmm... what anime series has a better plot? More complex characters? I'm not saying this to attack, just curious. When I sit and think about it, there really isn't all that much of a plot in naruto. Or better yet, whatever the real heart of the plot is has yet to be revealed. And cowboy bebop had a plot? Gee... somehow I must have missed it among all the random episodes...

I've been watching this deathnote series (and trying very hard to not read the manga) and its been very well written to date. The art is very nice too... but the series is so dark in nature that I don't think many people will like it.

Well, this is mostly a matter of opinion but there are a few that come to mind. Full Metal Alchemist is a good example. The plot is much deeper, slower and complex than the Naruto plot which is fairly straightforward. It also has more adult themes and topics (and I just don't mean in terms of violence). For this reason, it is generally not considered a shounen manga. The anime also generally has better animation quality than Naruto though they were produced around the same time. The difference is especially evident looking at the Naruto filler. Gantz is also a good example, once again, more adult than Naruto and somewhat more realistic and more believeable characters. I'm sure others could probably add to these examples.

Cowboy Bebop did have a plot but wasn't really focused on until the final few episodes. The main plot was often just presented in subtle hints inside the random plot of the current episode. I was mainly referring to the caliber of its characters and the quality of animation which is top-notch considering that it had been out for a number of years before Naruto was even put into production.

[Suna no tate]

aahh... I only saw the first 20 episodes. I always thought it was weird that that... whats his name?... vicious I think, that he only showed up once or twice and that seemed such a loose end. Now I think I'll finally watch the final 6 episodes or so...

[Papaya]

Cowboy Bebop was all style and no substance.
The character development was completely forced. Rather than a continuing plot with continuing character development, they devoted one or two episodes to each character and fully explained him/her. This is the worst type of storytelling.
As someone already mentioned, the show was almost all filler. In addition to this, many of the technically important characters like Julia are largely... well... ignored as far as the storyline goes.

It only stands out because of its animation, soundtrack, and character design. Those things made it tolerable.

[rio]

The reasons why naruto is popular, is not easy to say for me.

but, by seeing the posts of mina-san(everyone,anyones)here,
i remembered the day i knew the story and how this pop culture, manga
and anime was around me in my early days .
so i 'm going to write what it was like, a little,and how i have been feeling
about naruto.
if it would be boring or very long for you, i'm, sorry.^^；

The first time i knew the story, Naruto, is when i was a high school
student,..or junior high school student..;;(sorry it is very unclear;^^)

i was grown up with anime and manga, and those were naturally
around me as if it was a part of my life.
maybe mainly because the country i was born is a small island
famous for anime and samurai,and,also because i have a brother.

i had watched anime, like every one here knows, sailor moon ,
draemon , and many Jump anime.
and had read manga like shoujo manga, which was constructed by
mainly love when i was very younger like the many other girls of my school
and, a lot variety of shounen manga , my brother bought especially jump series^^.

that was really interesting
and i really loved that.
and , that was one of the most common topic i could share with
my friends and classmates and my brother .

but, that time hasn't continued so long .
since about the time i had entered junior high school, i and other people around me
has a little changed .
we had a lot of time to spend in the school,for the club activity
and, needed to have a long time to study in private.
and, maybe like all other countries' girls, japanese girls had lost interest in
manga and anime and absorbed in other things like boys ,fashion ,tiny cute
things.
as for me,though i hadn't lost much interest in them,
i also started to have interests in cute accessories,
foreigne music, clothes,naginata(budou like kendo) ,etc
and wanted to spend the littler private time with them.
so the time i spend with anime and manga had, decreased surely.

and such time had continued for a long time .

however, oneday, my brother bought a comic book, and it was called
'Naruto'. he asked me 'do you read it?' after he read it and he added
'it 's very interesting.'

at first, i didn't care so much though it seemed interesting
because that was a Ninja story.
but , after starting to read that , my thoughts toward the story has completely changed.
it was very interesting, unique characters, jokes,friendships,
emotions, cool stories were full in it.

so i took a liking to the story ,
and it became a very precious thing to me.
and i also think so now.

.. but ,though i can think there are a lot of appeals in naruto,
i think it 's difficult to say that are the reasons i love the story.

but, if i think seriously the reason why , i think i understand what i
haven't noticed and most attractive thing of naruto for me.

that is, maybe,kishimoto sensei tells things ,i haven't known though
i thought i have known well already .
the things he said seems very natural , and everyone might know,
and were said many times so far.
but for me, that are things i 've never heard before , and are not
part of myself actually.

so i was moved by the story .
and it is a main reason why
i like the story so much i think.

other people have their own reasonｓ why they like the story ,
so i cannot say the way i think about naruto is the reason why naruto is so
popular.

so, please take this post as a mere view of a fan. ^^

dewa¨

[Kogepan]

Originally Posted by rio

so i was moved by the story .
and it is a main reason why
i like the story so much i think.

same reason here >.> i think it's shared by many people too

[raikage]

Originally Posted by Papaya

Cowboy Bebop was all style and no substance.
The character development was completely forced. Rather than a continuing plot with continuing character development, they devoted one or two episodes to each character and fully explained him/her. This is the worst type of storytelling.
As someone already mentioned, the show was almost all filler. In addition to this, many of the technically important characters like Julia are largely... well... ignored as far as the storyline goes.

It only stands out because of its animation, soundtrack, and character design. Those things made it tolerable.

I honestly thought that was how the show was supposed to be.

When there's that many standalone episodes, I figured it was supposed to not have a cohesive plotline.

IMO that's what makes Bebop such a great gateway anime, it doesn't matter if the first ep you see is #1 or #17. With the exception of the Julia and the final run, you don't need to watch them in order, which helps when it airs on Cartoon Network and you'll experience exactly that.

[Papaya]

Originally Posted by raikage

I honestly thought that was how the show was supposed to be.

When there's that many standalone episodes, I figured it was supposed to not have a cohesive plotline.

IMO that's what makes Bebop such a great gateway anime, it doesn't matter if the first ep you see is #1 or #17. With the exception of the Julia and the final run, you don't need to watch them in order, which helps when it airs on Cartoon Network and you'll experience exactly that.

Good point.

It does vary on your tastes though. One of the biggest reasons anime fans have against American cartoons is that they lack a cohesive episode-by-episode plot, after all.

I guess Cowboy Bebop being an anime made me expect a less episodic structure.

[raikage]

To continue the derailment of this thread...

If you live in the US, you can see the continuing-plot theme occurring in more and more shows -- 24, Lost (or so I hear), to a lesser degree Grey's Anatomy -- and all of a sudden the flaw shows: You must watch every episode or risk being utterly left behind.

For us, as people who download anime straight from Japan to be watched on our schedule; at whatever time we wish, we don't quite notice that. But tell someone in order to enjoy this show, you must be home and sitting in front of your TV on Thursday nights, 8 pm, the dynamic changes somewhat.

[onepiecelover]

Ok I love shounens and Naruto is pretty much one of the coolest ones. I dont know why its so popular but the action in it , I like. It is funny too at times and I mostly like Naruto because of what can I say........idk, I just do STOP STARING AT ME AAAA. ok I give up, I like Nauto but I dont know why

[amOKchen]

I love naruto because I think its very cleverly made when they fight(love fighting animes), naruto himself is just like I wan't a main character to be :>

Same with one peice, luffy the captain is just brilliantly made the way he behaves.

[Ziv]

Originally Posted by Kidd

Yeah with a character like Tsunade a show can't go wrong; THAT'S girlpower folks ^_^x

So 65 year olds with D cups maks shows good? I never would've guessed.

[Grifis]

I have no idea why it is so popular but to me Naruto is characters driven. It has some very likeable characters that keep the interest of the audience, at least on my part. I like it more than Bleach for this reason. And one thing about Naruto is the new idea of 'twists' in fights (like oh A is winning but until next ep B is winning then again it's back to A is winning), which the author is abusing a lot to this point. But at the beginning it was refreshing. In short, I care for certain characters enough to follow their story and that's one of the appeal of Naruto from this perspective.

[onepiecelover]

You know, one thing that I have noticed in Naruto is the difference in appeal of the characters, all the naruto characters( although some laching character develeopment) are so unique that everyone has a different character they like and that is one of the main reason people like Naruto

[Corn]

Originally Posted by Sabaku no Gaara

Because it's a good story that stirs my emotions...that's why I love it.

I agree. It does not matter if the characters where 12 or 21 or 31 or 40...


Naruto is just a combination of many great things. it has a colorful cast of characters, good music, great corny dry japanese humour, its just fun and fluff, and still manages to awe...

narutos most amazing moments is when its able to make the viewer cry. few shows can stir up so many emotions. And thats whats so cool about Naruto. On the outside, it looks like another retarded shounen anime along the lines of mindless crap like DBZ, but underneath there is personality and bite and flair to be one of the best their is(when its not filler of course).

[Sasuke_Akatsuki]

I hope i don't sound cocky but it's popular because cool people like me watch it

[Mangekyo]

...........You do...

[radu1987]

I believe that Naruto is popular because it combinesc different aspects presented in different tipes of animes : it containes humorous situations (mostly initiated by the main caracter), dramatic ones (there ar countless examples),and it has a rather violent aspect to it...bloody,dark(it`s one of the few animes that flashes the sight of blood so nonchalantly in the eyes of the viewer...the only ones that I can relate to are Elfen Lied , Hellsing).
Last but not least is the attiitude of the main caracter that trully motivates and moves everyone : his optimistic and confident spirit ( I`d say till the point of down-right pighead stuborness)...

I`ve started to watch animes for over a year and Naruto is by far the oane that has touched me the most...