"Naruto average at best", say disgruntled reviewers

[Nine Devil]

sending a bom to her!

[CyN1caL]

The best part about Naruto is that they're ninjas!

You can't beat ninjas (unless it's Ninja Scroll tv )

Also, you know something has got to be good when you overhear kids that listen to gangster rap talking about what happened in the most recent episode...

[Kayess]

I agree with the person who said that the reviewer most likely did not follow the series too far in. I too found that the beginning dragged on until the meat of the Haku saga started. I hated Inari and wished he would just be killed or something... randomly.. I only stayed with the show because I was bored. As soon as the final bridge fight began, I was hooked into the anime. Man, I hate Inari... I hope soon in the manga they just have an "off" scene where he dies miserably.


Edit: I am sorry for turning my post into a "Hate Inari" and "Kill Inari"... but the topic brought out those feelings again

[Evilbunny]

Naruto is currently the up-and-coming Big Thing among anime fans. Everybody keeps talking about this show and how great it is - a popularity poll on AnimeNfo.com has it running in the top three even before its release in North America.

And yet once again I find myself befuddled as to why this show is getting so much buzz and hype. If it were the Shonen Jump newbies pushing this show, then I would understand, but it's really the long-time hardcore fans who are raving about Naruto. Everywhere you look online, people are talking about "ninjas! ninjas! ninjas!"

So with all the hype, I gave it a shot. I normally like shows like this, with action, thrills, comedy ... and yet, something wasn't quite right. I think it's because it's one of the most predictable shows I have ever seen. They practically tell you the entire story in the first episode alone if you see the right signs (which they make VERY obvious).

Listen to this: a Downtrodden Hero (tm), who is shunned by all his peers, but secretly encouraged by his teachers and his all-knowing Town Elder (tm), can instantly master Ultimate Techniques (tm) that no one has used in centuries, as long as he's not in class - then he's a total goof-up. He makes a vow that he'll become the Greatest Ninja Ever (tm), and by the end of the first episode, you know he's going to achieve it. And that's only half of the clichés that you see to start off with!

While Naruto is a likable enough scamp, his type of character has been done so many times before. Yuusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho, Haru from Rave, Goku from Dragon Ball ... he is The Shonen Jump Hero Archetype (tm). By this point, it's getting kinda lame. Of course, the girl, Sakura, he has a crush on ... is a two-faced bitch. And his "rival", Sasuke, is the calm, cool, collected, angsty ... Rival Type (tm). I mean, really, you're supposed to *like* them? The only characters worth really mentioning in this show are Master Iruka and Master Kakashi, who are cooler than the leads. If anything, the show should be named "Kakashi" and not Naruto. Even then, Kakashi is not much more than a Man of Mystery (tm), though at least he's got an interesting quirk or two, being rarely seen without his romance novels ("Make-Out Paradise", anyone?).

But this is an action series, and you generally don't want action series for the characters. So how's the action? Well, the animation *really* should be better. Not that's it's bad ... but it's mediocre. This show actually *does* have more visual tricks and handles action better than most Studio Pierrot anime. The biggest drawbacks, though (and they are big) are the character designs and the color palette. Kishimoto Masashi is an average artist at best, and his style simply doesn't translate well to anime. But the color palette - ugh, it looks like they used a toilet to mix all the colors. Everything looks like it was shaded with ... well, what you normally find in a toilet, lots of poop brown and pee yellow ... it's the worst coloring job I've seen next to Bounty Dog (and there was only *one* Bounty Dog). This really is the least visually appealing anime I have seen in a long time.

Musically, Naruto is a mixed bag. The opening themes are all really bad wannabe metal, and the first ending theme would be cool if they only had someone who was able to sing in English. As for the actual background music ... it's actually really good, with neat traditional-sounding chants and drums and instrumentation that set the background and mood much better than the visuals do. It has this wonderful primitive-yet-fantastic feel to it that simply *works*.

So with all that said, one would think that I would give this the lowest rating possible. Right? Ehh, actually, it is pretty fun and a good starter series, and would probably do very well on Cartoon Network. But does it deserve the hype it's getting? I don't think so.

It's just another average Shonen Jump show with average characters and average plot. Nothing spectacular or stand-out about it at all.

Hmmm, i disagree with a few of the things she said. She started off with saying that Naruto is very predictable because you know the main character is going to reach his goal. Now the real question is, has there ever been an anime where the main character did not reach his/her goal? Of course he is going to get what he wants he's the main character dumass!

Another thing is she asked if you are really supposed to like the main characters. No you don't. There are about a million other characters in this anime and you don't have to like only the main ones. In fact, most people hate sasuke and sakura and have no comment on Naruto. What is so awesome about this show is that the other characters are so well developed that you are not limiting to liking one. My favorite character is Rock Lee. And he wasn't introduced until the second arc!

As for the character designs and artwork, well, i can't really argue with her there considering the fact i have no idea what the hell she is talking about. To me, at least, Naruto is crisp, clean, and beautiful. Leaving out the first few episodes but they were just getting started then. If she thinks this artwork is bad she should go see One Piece. I'm not dissing the show but one has to admit it has a very basic drawing style.

From all this i can come to the conclusion that she has not seen past the first ten episodes. She would have commented on the haku saga or the other openings or endings if she had. So my best advice to her would be to actually watch the show then get back to us.

[cdkobasiuk]

Originally Posted by JubeiYamazaki

I can just FEEL the literal hate this person has for this show. Its obiviously a very biased review that shouldn't be taken seriously

2.) The color palette, who the hell attacks the color palette?
3.) "Kishimoto Masashi is an average artist at best, and his style simply doesn't translate well to anime."

Basically I think the person who wrote this review was trying to be "dfferent" and against the "majority" with somekind of "insight" which she severally lacks.

.

I don't think Naruto is over rated by people, not when I see how they rave about some other crap I think should be burned.

I've had someone else complain to me about the color palette. I never heard of such a thing. What do they want the color palette to be? Something from the circus? Crumbs, they are ninjas, Naruto's orange outfit is outlandish enough thank you. Maybe all those episodes in the mist/fog thru them off, but I wish people would pay attention to what they are watching.

I agree whole heartedly about the 'average' crack. If they know so much they should show us. I won't even diginify the music critisism with a remark.

Persoanlly I hate all reviewers for all media. They never get it right and I never agree.

cdk

[nanamasan]

that bitch is stupid n she should be burned

[Kayess]

All she is doing is execising her right to voice her opinion. Coincidently enough, she is also exercising her right to be wrong.

[Copy Ninja]

The opening themes are all really bad wannabe metal, and the first ending theme would be cool if they only had someone who was able to sing in English.

she didnt like ther op and ed themes...shes no anime fan, those songs rock.

its all a popularity thing though. when something gets this popular there will be people that dis it just for that reason...like DBZ all over (japanese eps are good)

and 4 real...how can you think anyone will take your opinion as a critic seriously if you only see the first few episodes

[Sethi]

First of all based on the review i don't think she ever got to see 10 episodes, she says that Naruto "can instantly master Ultimate Techniques (tm) that no one has used in centuries", i am sorry but where are those techniques? I hope that she doesn't refer to Kage Bunshin because if that's the case then she can't even read right, and if she used that as some sort of remark then she should have showed profs of that, on a side note i have yet to watch one of those techniques in Naruto but that's another matter.
Then she says that it's pretty obvious Naruto is going to achieve his dream and that he's the shounen hero Archtype, in that i totally agree, i mean HELLO this is a shounen anime what did she expected? It's not like we are going to see action movies already knowing the good guys will win, or romance ones where we already know that they are going to be together in the end.
Then she goes on saying that the only likeable characters are Iruka and Kakashi and mentioning only both of them and the team(Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto), what about the rest of the characters, there's more of them you know? If you don't like Haku or don't feel anything about his story then you are Ice Cold, oh yeah that's right she never got to that part.
After that she goes on and on about the colors and animation when she should have watched more of it, especially the fighting episodes like the ones in the bridge with Zabuza and Haku.
Finally she completes the review talking about the sound, at this point i think she was more like well since i talked trash about all the aspects of the anime i might as well talk trash about the sound as well, honestly Naruto openings and endings are very nice, she even said bad about "Wind" and that's like one of the best anime musics i saw.
But what made me lose all the respect was that after she said all this, after putting the anime in the worst possible place, and after clearly showing signs that she hates it, she says something like "Ehh, actually, it is pretty fun and a good starter series", My God make up your mind already, your a reviewer for crying out loud.

Now with all of this said i have to wonder why would anyone take this review serious when the person doing it saw a minimal number of episodes, didn't waited for the story to unfold clearly has some hidden grudge against the series and in the end of seeing the review we the readers see something like it's a pretty fun series and if you want something to hook your friends to anime than this is the show for it.

is it just me or that site says Naruto has been licensed by VIZ?? I thought they were talking about the ANIME Naruto and not the MANGA Naruto my bad then.

[Final]

If you're going to judge a show on its color palette and first few episodes then Neon Genesis Evangelion is the worst effing show ever. The colors were bland and all you have is Shinji crying infront of his old man while half an army is destroyed.

And as far as the art. This isn't a 26 episode show and its an ongoing manga. over 20 hand drawn pages a week for over the last 3 or more years!?! are you playing with me. Jim Lee doesn't even do 20 pages in a month for a 20 page comic. The artist as far as I know hasn't taken any extended breaks and the show isn't broken down into seasons. You have shorter run OVAs or one season shows like Trigun and FLCL in which the art was horrible and still has the same charactor archtypes that don't nearly take as much heat as Naruto does.

I'll just lump the critic up as a Hater pure and simple. Once things get bigger people will not like them just to say that they don't like them.

[wnkryo]

Originally Posted by Razer_2mb

As soon as you read this I am sooooo dead for showing you this:

First opinion
Don't try to argue with inagawayuu, the thread about her geting flamed is locked. Here's the thread where it was stated that 3 stars is not a bad review. (Note: You have to me a member.)

Any opinions on this review? (I haven't seen enough. Only seen 4 episodes.)

I'm sorry you do not agree with the girl who reviewed the anime, but to tell you the truth I would have also gaven it a similar review. Now before you jump to conclusions, you have to understand some things. Good anime reviewers do not (or should not) have any biased opinion towards an anime just becuase of it's popularity or such. We base an anime on the over all quality and little aspects that make the anime what it is. We can't say it should get 5 out of 5 stars just becuase it has ninjas or becuase this many amount of people like it so it has to be good. I know it can be frustrating to the fans, but when a reviewer (who knows how to add professionalism to his/her reviews) writes up that review he wants to make sure when some one looks over it they will realize all the aspects, whether good or bad, of the anime, and then get the true essence of it. The main goal is for them not to spoil any thing from the anime, but give them expert insights so that ultimately the person will deside on his own if they should go see it or not.

Edit: After reading her review I did see some things that could of been excluded. Also, one important rule that any reviewer must follow before they review an anime is to wait for the series to be done to come to any final conclusion. Nothing can be based on only a few episodes.

[Thyrz]

Woah I like her already. I agree with everything Christina said (c'mon, an anime has to have at least ONE unique thing), but nooooooo Naruto uses all the cliches in the goddamn book; ) Oh and the themes, yeah I hate them.

edit: Guys, no need to get all offensive. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

[Hisoka44]

Originally Posted by Thyrz

Woah I like her already. I agree with everything Christina said (c'mon, an anime has to have at least ONE unique thing), but nooooooo Naruto uses all the cliches in the goddamn book; ) Oh and the themes, yeah I hate them.

edit: Guys, no need to get all offensive. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes.

if she had continues watching she would point out that it is extremly slow, right after DBZ-slow, and the recaps almost is dangerous for your health in water country-arc, i almost died seeing those recaps.

[Sethi]

Originally Posted by wnkryo

I'm sorry you do not agree with the girl who reviewed the anime, but to tell you the truth I would have also gaven it a similar review. Now before you jump to conclusions, you have to understand some things. Good anime reviewers do not (or should not) have any biased opinion towards an anime just becuase of it's popularity or such. We base an anime on the over all quality and little aspects that make the anime what it is. We can't say it should get 5 out of 5 stars just becuase it has ninjas or becuase this many amount of people like it so it has to be good. I know it can be frustrating to the fans, but when a reviewer (who knows how to add professionalism to his/her reviews) writes up that review he wants to make sure when some one looks over it they will realize all the aspects, whether good or bad, of the anime, and then get the true essence of it. The main goal is for them not to spoil any thing from the anime, but give them expert insights so that ultimately the person will deside on his own if they should go see it or not.

Edit: After reading her review I did see some things that could of been excluded. Also, one important rule that any reviewer must follow before they review an anime is to wait for the series to be done to come to any final conclusion. Nothing can be based on only a few episodes.

wnkryo that's very true however and i would respect her review if she did that however she didn't do anything like that at all.
First of all you can't judge anything except you see a major part of the story and plot but since Naruto is so long well at least until the end of the Zabuza Arc, by the way she talks about it and the way she mentions the characters it's pretty clear she didn't, she most probably saw the first episodes and deduced well this is pretty much the normal shounen anime so i'll make the review.
Then she says that those type of main characters are beginning to be lame and that the show should have been named Kakashi because he is COOL, Right i mean sure i understand forget about why does Naruto wants to be Hokage and why he is despised forget all that no need to mention that, Kakashi is our man, we don't know anything about him not even his hobbies but hey he is COOL, she doesn't even gives the minimal hint to Naruto story.
So she says that the main character is lame, that she dislikes the main supporting characters, that you can pretty much see what's going to happen and also that the animation and sound are amongst the worst she saw, very well that's her expert opinion and i'll respect it because like you said a reviewer can't look to how popular a show is and give it the most honest review, so after saying all this what review will she give, a 1 or a 2 perhaps?
Of course not, she gives it a 3 after all the show is fun and good for starters
I'm sorry what's that you said? it's fun and good for starters? but i tought it was boring and the characters idiots, i am confused, what the show would also go well in Cartoon Network? but, but i tought that the animation was crappy and that the music sucks that's good for TV?
How can a reviewer after pretty much said that she hated the show, that the show is almost mediocre in every aspect, say the show is Fun?????
that's a BIG contradiction, did she mention anything why she thought it was fun, all i am reading is bad things what kind of review is this?
She rated the show not as a Shounen Anime, not as a Ninja Anime, she rated it as a popular Anime that doesn't deserve all the hype, she basically put the show down just so she could demonstrate she doesn't agree with the general ideia of it but in the end gave it 3 stars which is a positive review and i NEVER EVER saw a reviewer do such a thing after such review, if you don't like it you don't like it gain some guts and give it 1 or 2 stars and that's it, otherwise if you think it's fun with some flaws then show us that, because with this review we don't learn nothing new except it's very bad but fun ok good review.

[Kabuto Maniac]

I've been watching this thread from the beginning already, and it surpises me veryvery much that there can be such a discussion going on about such a unimportant thing. It's not like this is the worst mistake and the worst review ever?! it's not like this is the first article ever made up completely out of nonse?! It's not like this is the first time a reporter wants to make an as long as possible story with as much as possible words whilst doing the least effort possible for it?!

Why why why all these upset people? seriously, there is so much b*llsh*t going on in the media and all. have you guys any idea of how many of so called "statistics" of the USA-Iraq war have just been made up by a badly payed journalist, sitting behind his desk at three o' clock in the morning?! just let it go guys, this review isnot even worth talking about, anyway. I'm pretty sure each of u spent more time on this review than she did.

[Kisame Hoshigaki]

Originally Posted by Slade

I actually haven't watched a Naruto episode since... the Neji vs Naruto fight. I think I'll start watching it again when it goes into the arc when the infamous

Spoiler:

Itachi and his shark friend Kisame come in and kicks everyone's ass... I want to hear Itachi's voice and make sure he sounds as deadly as he actually is.

Recently I started watching Tenjo Tenge(it's pretty butchered but hey, it still has some good animation and the intro is hilarious... dance Aya! DANCE!! MUWAHAHA).

I don't watch as much anime as I used to... I have tons on dvd-rs I have yet to watch which I'll get to one day.

If I had to rate Naruto I'd give it around a 8.5 out of 10(from what I have seen and read so far). A rating system based off of 5 seems limited to me.

if you want to hear itachis voice go back to ep 30 in the beginning. i wonder if they will change the VA right now im not so sure if he fits the voice.

aw they butchered tenjo tenge? that sucks i was so happy to hear it was gonna be made into an anime

[Maxter]

Wasn't a bad review, but there was still quit a few things that I can't agree on.
I've liked all the OP/ED's so far (more or less).
I like the color-job, most of the time.
Some characters are much deeper than Christina-san seems to think. I mean, Gaara, anyone? You would think he was a pure evil guy who was born that way and that you would never find the reason to his behaviour, but you do, and it's a good, well-thought story.
Also, there are so many co-characters that still has quite advanced stories (for co-characters, that is), and that's a big plus.

I wouldn't say Naruto is perfect, neither would I say that the review was bad (How could I? It's the reviewers opinions put together into a text, I can't blame anyone for their opinions). But I do think Naruto is the best anime being aired right now, and also one of my absolute favorite animes, including older ones.

And yeah, it IS perfect to turn your friends into otakus. Believe me, I tried on my friend, and now he's even more geeky about anime than I am

[wnkryo]

Originally Posted by Sethi

wnkryo that's very true however and i would respect her review if she did that however she didn't do anything like that at all.
First of all you can't judge anything except you see a major part of the story and plot but since Naruto is so long well at least until the end of the Zabuza Arc, by the way she talks about it and the way she mentions the characters it's pretty clear she didn't, she most probably saw the first episodes and deduced well this is pretty much the normal shounen anime so i'll make the review.
Then she says that those type of main characters are beginning to be lame and that the show should have been named Kakashi because he is COOL, Right i mean sure i understand forget about why does Naruto wants to be Hokage and why he is despised forget all that no need to mention that, Kakashi is our man, we don't know anything about him not even his hobbies but hey he is COOL, she doesn't even gives the minimal hint to Naruto story.
So she says that the main character is lame, that she dislikes the main supporting characters, that you can pretty much see what's going to happen and also that the animation and sound are amongst the worst she saw, very well that's her expert opinion and i'll respect it because like you said a reviewer can't look to how popular a show is and give it the most honest review, so after saying all this what review will she give, a 1 or a 2 perhaps?
Of course not, she gives it a 3 after all the show is fun and good for starters
I'm sorry what's that you said? it's fun and good for starters? but i tought it was boring and the characters idiots, i am confused, what the show would also go well in Cartoon Network? but, but i tought that the animation was crappy and that the music sucks that's good for TV?
How can a reviewer after pretty much said that she hated the show, that the show is almost mediocre in every aspect, say the show is Fun?????
that's a BIG contradiction, did she mention anything why she thought it was fun, all i am reading is bad things what kind of review is this?
She rated the show not as a Shounen Anime, not as a Ninja Anime, she rated it as a popular Anime that doesn't deserve all the hype, she basically put the show down just so she could demonstrate she doesn't agree with the general ideia of it but in the end gave it 3 stars which is a positive review and i NEVER EVER saw a reviewer do such a thing after such review, if you don't like it you don't like it gain some guts and give it 1 or 2 stars and that's it, otherwise if you think it's fun with some flaws then show us that, because with this review we don't learn nothing new except it's very bad but fun ok good review.

Yah, like I said before, you can't write a review after seeing only a couple of episodes. Another thing, she can hate the show, but that doesn't mean she can't say it will still be "fun" , becuase in general you can describe how other people might feel about out (and not the reviewer).

To tell you the truth I really don't care about what review she gave. I just want to give other people insight on how reviewers operate before they come to any conclusions.

[Sethi]

Originally Posted by wnkryo

Yah, like I said before, you can't write a review after seeing only a couple of episodes. Another thing, she can hate the show, but that doesn't mean she can't say it will still be "fun" , becuase in general you can describe how other people might feel about out (and not the reviewer).

To tell you the truth I really don't care about what review she gave. I just want to give other people insight on how reviewers operate before they come to any conclusions.

Yes that's true but for that she should have mentioned along the review something like, despite all it's flaws hardcore shounen fans will still enjoy Naruto and i recommend it for them, she shouldn't have said "Ehh, actually, it is pretty fun and a good starter series" because that's her opinion right there and not the opinion of the general public.

I really couldn't care less about this review has well, and the point i am making is that most reviewers don't judge anime on the grounds she did, they judge the anime like you said, in which they give a honest score and then explain all the facts that led them to the score recomending the anime for a certain group of people or for the general, disregarding the fact of either the anime is popular or not, a review that puts the anime completely down and then all of a sudden says that actually the anime is pretty fun and gives it a 3 star score is just SICK, and is because of this crappy reviews that many people don't take reviews that seriously.

[Maxter]

Agreed. I mean, nowadays, who the hell let's a review decide whetever they should start watching a new anime or not? Not me, atleast. I ask my friends and on forums such as this one. Actually, i don't give a rotten cat's crap about reviews or Opinions (animenfo-style) or whatever. And now that I've watched Naruto for quite some time, I care even less about reviews about it.
I know that I love the anime, that's enough for me to keep watching.