10 Early Mistakes That Still Haunt Naruto

At first, the series mixes lighthearted comedy with surprisingly harsh moments, hinting at a more serious world beneath its colorful exterior. As the story continues in Naruto: Shippuden and later seasons, that world expands and becomes more intricate than many viewers anticipate. However, some of the initial decisions made during the show’s creation continue to create issues as the story progresses.

While Naruto excels in many areas – boasting memorable story arcs, thrilling battles, and deeply moving moments that resonated with a generation of anime fans – some early character choices and plot points created problems that continued to surface throughout the series, even into the Boruto sequel. These initial decisions limited character development and, as the story expanded, made the central message about overcoming hatred feel less impactful. Despite its strengths, these issues ultimately lingered and caused complications as the narrative grew in scope.

Naruto’s Clown Reputation Lasts Too Long

At the beginning of Naruto, he’s presented as a goofy, clumsy student who struggles with even simple ninja skills. This was a clever way to mask his hidden sadness and create a later reveal of his power. However, the show continues to portray him as an irritating troublemaker for far too long, even after this initial purpose has been served.

Even as Naruto grows up and starts winning battles with smart tactics, people around him – both teachers and other students – still treat him like he’s clueless. This creates a disconnect between what we, the audience, see and what the characters in the story believe, and it starts to feel unnatural. When characters stubbornly refuse to acknowledge his improvement, it doesn’t seem believable; it feels like the story is artificially keeping everyone from recognizing his potential just to maintain a running gag.

Sakura’s Early Writing Puts Her In a Corner

Sakura Haruno starts out as part of Team 7, but in the beginning of the series, she doesn’t get the same detailed development as Naruto and Sasuke. Her character is largely defined by her feelings for Sasuke and her annoyance with Naruto. While she has natural talent in areas like intelligence and chakra control, the story doesn’t often focus on those strengths during the early storylines.

The show’s initial emphasis on romantic relationships and jealousy limited Sakura’s character development. This created a lasting problem: even when Shippuden tried to establish her as a capable medical ninja and powerful fighter, it felt like an uphill battle against her earlier portrayal. The fandom continued to remember—and joke about—her seeming lack of strength, because the story hadn’t convincingly built her up as an equal member of the main team from the start.

Sasuke’s Runaway Arc Takes Over the Story

Naruto and Sasuke immediately established a strong rivalry, with Sasuke often being the more naturally gifted ninja. This competition helped them both grow during the initial storylines, like the Land of Waves mission and the Chunin Exams. However, the story quickly made a misstep by focusing too heavily on Sasuke’s desire for revenge, separating him from the core group and making it difficult to bring him back into the fold.

After Sasuke gets the cursed mark and the story increasingly focuses on Itachi, most major events revolve around Sasuke’s suffering. The attempt to bring him back home ends on a huge cliffhanger, and the entire Shippuden series spends multiple story arcs pursuing him. While these events are crucial to the plot, dedicating so much attention to one character who’s run away makes it hard to fully develop the storylines of other characters.

The Sharingan Quickly Becomes a One-Size-Fits-All Power

When Kakashi first reveals his Sharingan during the battle with Zabuza, it immediately feels powerful and enigmatic. Its ability to copy moves, pierce illusions, and anticipate opponents’ actions would have been impressive on its own. But the Uchiha clan’s abilities quickly expand beyond that, becoming almost limitless. The Mangekyo Sharingan unlocks even more distinct powers, like Amaterasu’s intense black flames and Tsukuyomi’s ability to manipulate time.

As the story progresses, the Sharingan’s powers grow to include abilities like controlling minds, altering memories, and even changing reality itself, demonstrated through techniques such as Kotoamatsukami and Izanagi. By the end of Shippuden, these abilities become so powerful they can rewrite history and summon colossal, god-like beings. This incredible expansion of power made it difficult for other abilities to seem significant, effectively making the Sharingan the dominant force in the series.

Konoha’s Huge Cast Leaves Too Many Ninjas Forgotten

One of the best things about Naruto—and also a recurring issue—is the large number of compelling young ninja characters. We meet teams from Konoha and other villages, each with unique personalities and fighting abilities. Characters like Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Temari, Gaara, Hinata, Kankuro, and Kiba all feel developed enough to star in their own series. Unfortunately, the main story doesn’t give them all the attention they deserve.

Once the story jumps forward in time, it primarily centers on Naruto, Sasuke, the Akatsuki group, and eventually, the war. Characters who were initially prominent fade into the background, with their important contributions becoming limited. This creates a world that appears diverse on the surface, but often relies on the same few characters when it comes to the most crucial events.

Chakra Limits Never Really Stay Consistent

At the beginning of Naruto, mastering chakra control and building stamina are presented as crucial skills. Struggling with the Clone Jutsu is shown as a direct result of not having enough control, and succeeding at challenges like climbing trees or walking on water are seen as significant achievements. More advanced techniques, like the Shadow Clone Jutsu, are explained as being very draining, especially for someone like Naruto who tends to use a lot of energy. However, as the series progresses, these strict limitations on energy use become less defined.

Characters who used to carefully manage their energy now use incredibly powerful moves for extended fights without seeming to tire. For example, Naruto creates countless clones, maintains strong forms, and still has energy left for finishing blows during the Fourth Great Ninja War. This lack of consistent energy limits makes the story less suspenseful.

The Hyuga Clan Storyline Loses Its Teeth

The Hyuga clan seemed poised to become a central force for both power and ethics in the world of Naruto. The tension between the Branch and Main Families, Neji’s cursed seal, and Hinata’s silent struggles reveal a harsh reality of their clan’s strict social order. Their unique Byakugan ability is presented as a powerful and highly-regarded visual power, even among opponents. This initial setup suggests the series will explore how Konoha’s own customs can be damaging, regardless of external threats.

The story doesn’t quite deliver on its initial promise. While Neji lets go of his anger after battling Naruto, the underlying issues within the Hyuga clan aren’t clearly explained. The importance of the curse seal also diminishes over time. By the time the War Arc begins, the Hyuga clan is still around, but the original conflict feels less significant.

Edo Tensei Makes Death Hard To Take Seriously

Orochimaru’s use of the Edo Tensei technique against the Third Hokage was truly frightening. It brought the deceased Hokage back to life and forced him to battle his former village. At that point in the story, death felt final and impactful, making Hiruzen’s sacrifice all the more meaningful and convincing viewers that fallen heroes remained gone.

Edo Tensei returns with significantly increased power and scope. Kabuto perfects the technique, bringing back a massive army of famous ninja, including members of Akatsuki and past Kage. While this creates exciting battles and reveals previously unknown information, a resurrection jutsu that can revive almost anyone at their peak strength is difficult to control. Once available, it’s a power villains will inevitably overuse.

Naruto’s “Chosen One” Destiny Shrinks His Underdog Story

When I first started watching Naruto, I instantly rooted for him! He seemed like the ultimate underdog – a lonely orphan with no family and everyone in the village thought he was a nobody. Honestly, the only thing special about him at first was this powerful, but seemingly cursed, Nine-Tails spirit sealed inside him. But as the story went on, things got even more interesting! It turned out he wasn’t just any orphan, but the son of the legendary Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki! It completely changed how everyone saw him, and honestly, blew my mind!

Watching Naruto, it’s clear he operates on a completely different level than most ninjas, especially when he accesses Sage Mode and the Nine-Tails Chakra. It’s interesting because prophecies, both from the Great Toad Sage and Jiraiya, already pointed to him as someone special – the ‘Child of Prophecy.’ But as he gains these incredibly powerful abilities from the Sage of Six Paths, it almost feels less like he’s becoming a hero through his own efforts and more like he’s fulfilling a destiny that was set in motion long ago – like he’s simply the final part of an ancient plan.

The Cycle of Hatred Is Too Big For One Solution

Beginning with the early arcs, Naruto consistently explores the idea of a “cycle of hatred” fueled by revenge and loss. Characters like Zabuza and Haku first present this theme, which is then embodied by many others, including Nagato and Obito. The story shows how villages exploit children and nations prioritize power, ultimately harming innocent people. While the series initially suggests it will tackle this cycle head-on, Naruto ultimately proposes that empathy and understanding are the keys to breaking these patterns of revenge.

The core issue is the sheer size of the problem. By the time of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the cycle of hatred had grown to encompass entire nations, countless generations, and even powerful, otherworldly beings like Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths. Simply trying to fix this enormous problem with things like heartfelt talks or shared memories isn’t enough to address the deep-rooted issues within the ninja world.

2025-11-21 23:17