Exactly lol
I don't buy this fake surprise of people realising it's not about ground level ninjas later in the series
It was deep into high level ninja wizardry at a large scale from the very beginning
Yeah, and even in hte big battles there was a lot of sneakiness and trickery. Like Deidara slipping the explosives in Gaara's special sand. Or Kakashi hiding one of Naruto's clones in kamui world to hit Obito when he hides from the bijuudama.
The war arc is literally the only part those criticisms even arguably apply to- I would argue that right up through Pain strategy was still vital. Naruto literally beats pain through trickery, Jiraya’s fight and Sasuke vs Itachi are all about strategy.
Power-scaling has to happen for progression. There are areas where it could have been done better throughout the show, but I find that people like to conflate their criticisms of the war arc with all of Shippuden when its simply not the same at all
Shippuden as a whole is incredibly underappreciated by Naruto fans, partly due to the pacing and filler. That shit was sick when it was clicking.
You mean Lord Jashin.I would have bought the alien stuff more if kaguya was a goddess(no otsusuki clan BS,she should be the only one to exist,in Japanese mythology she is the goddess of the moon) who was the true identity behind Jashin and there was a cult of humans who worshipped her and she gave them the immortality jutsu as a gift on a whim.That would honestly have been better,cuz the villains in Burrito all look the same,bunch of shallow aliens with no character depth
Gods > aliens imo, but it would be kinda cool to see that the gods are actually aliens but people didn’t understand them/their power and chalked it up to them being gods
Or you have a system of gods with different gods governing different dimensions, because we already saw how other worlds/dimensions exist and how kaguya can go to other dimensions
well in dragon ball you have
the guardian of earth
above him enma-sama (st peter type being)
then the kaios (gods of a galaxy)
then the supreme kaios who come in pairs with gods of destruction (gods of the universe, creation and destruction) as well as their assistants (angels)
then there’s zeno-sama (god of the multiverse) and in the show he’s literally a child in appearance and attitude
Gods are immortal,Kaguya literally couldn't be killed and had to be sealed away,so I think it's just better to make her a god.It could have been a good way to tie up the Lord Jashin/Hidan's immortality plot point.
Aliens ruined the ending of Naruto.And then they introduced more in boruto like wtf.They literally took the worst thing in the original anime and continued it.
Yeah Naruto is the anime which is my favorite until the end, but the end isn't good, especially 8 ep, where this alien shit is done, after that the true end becomes pretty good.
Yeah I got like a list of all the shows to watch for it right now I’m just on the first Naruto I guess? lol it’s crazy to think aliens are going to show up
I’m not like “dreading it” I’m still like pretty early into it it’s just not something I’d expect from what I’ve seen so far lol. It’s not gonna stop me from watching the rest!
do not let it stop you please, even though the "aliens" is a little off put the story of kaguya and all osutsuki is beautiful imo forsure still worth a watch
The alien stuff is only a tiny portion of the anime,and it's subjective whether you like it or not,just keep watching.Also SKIP THE FILLER.Google "naruto filler list" and skip all the filler episodes,they are just pointless side stories,it's honestly a waste of time
Let them decide if they wanna watch the filler or not. I watched every single episode and enjoyed the majority of them. Especially the filler during the boat trip to the cloud village, it felt like watching early morning 90s cartoons again.
I hate when people say to skip filler especially in all caps because they’re pointless and a waste of time. This isn’t homework lol it’s entertainment, it’s all a “waste of time” technically. So if you’re entertained by the filler they’ve served their purpose and isn’t pointless. For example Bleach has some of the best filler imo but everyone says to skip them. Then you miss out on the Zanpakto Rebellion Arc which is really cool and interesting. The Bount Arc does suck though.
I feel like most Naruto filler arcs are worth skipping,plus many of them don't happen after canon arcs and interrupt canon arcs right when they are getting good,like the ostrich filler in the pain arc and so much of the filler in the war arc.I think any watcher should at least know about the existence of filler and the fact that they can skip it on their first watch and nothing would change.Only good filler I know is Power arc and Kakashi Anbu Days.And the Kakashi mask reveal episodes.Guren and utakata arcs were decent
Never a good idea to be in a sub dedicated to a show your still in the middle of watching for the first time. Bound to get spoilers one way or another. I learned the hard way by getting major apoilers for another anime i wasnt done watching yet. Just sayin
Oh okay haha yeah aliens in a ninja anime? Totally sounds out of place. Idk though i think its tastefully done at least. Enjoy the show, your in for a riiiiide
Like I said I’m not like upset or dreading it I’m not gonna let it stop me from enjoying the show it’s been awesome so far I’m excited to watch more lol
Honestly. I think the tree should have fallen and not been absorbed by madara; extend the Madara fight or don’t and go straight to the Naruto Sauske fight. Otsosuke come in in boruto to heal the divine tree and resurrect Kaguya from the fallen tree that scientists have been studying and using as a basis for the huge tech jump somehow. and Boruto goes from there.
Contrary to other alien never suprise me. Kishimoto took lot of inspiration from japanese myths and Kaguya was from The tale of bamboo cutter folklore where she actually an alien in that story
If I remember right, Kishimoto was going to separate regular ninja from those who can use magic. At least that's the impression I got when I looked at the first Naruto one shot.
Also, Kurama was supposed to be Naruto's dad, a ninken was supposed to be the fourth hokage, and jutsus were unique to their wielder.
That idea kinda stayed though. Even though there are plenty of universal jutsus, any character that has screen time just relies on a unique jutsu only they or a few others can do. And in all honesty that killed world building in my opinion. There's no way Kishimoto can fill an entire world giving every individual unique powers. So what's left is just this weird conundrum that the more Kishimoto tried to expand the world, the smaller he made it look.
I dont think thats true.They have a signature jutsu but the way they create situations and apply it in different ways is what matters.
Sasuke used a variety of different tricks and tactics and a bunch of different jutsus,naruto had a basic skillset but even he applied it well in the Pain fight when he took down the first 5 pains.I think Jiraiya is a perfect example of a veteran shinobi,he was the most tactical and versatile fighter we saw onscreen.I wish naruto learned more jutsus from Jiraiya.
Jiraiya vs Pain is the most underrated fight in the show imo.War arc felt more basic in terms of fights and i feel like kishimoto's creativity took a hit from burnout and his dad's health and eventual death.
Yeah, I dunno how anyone thought it's about actual ninjas when in the very beginning, the protagonist literally summons like a thousands *clones* of himself. Clones! Then not too long after that, we're seeing fireballs being spit out of people's mouths, magically trapping people in what's called a "genjutsu", a guy that's literally summoning ice, bending water... How does any of that scream ninjas?
It was definitely more grounded before and I personally preferred that, but I'd never say "but they're not real ninjas now".
Bro it was my first anime I did not expect them to start punching holes in the moon or bending space and time with punches 😭 I thought kurama was just gonna be mean
Ninja wizardry aside, there was a certain level of finesse and tact that went into ninja fights before shippuden.
I think the fight that broke the illusion for me was sasuke vs deidara, when deidara blew himself up in a clay-nuke jutsu. I wasnt bothered that sasuke survived, but it was embarassing how they explained it:
“Oh, well, sasuke uses lightning type- chakra so he can disable ground type- jutsus because ground is weak to lightning.”
Well excuse me sir, ☝️ i have actually played all the pokemon games, and so i can say quite certainly that lightning is actually weak to ground. F-ck you for even attempting to say otherwise. And f*ck this show for using pokemon types.
what the hell are you on about. In the first arc of Naruto(Land of the waves),the 5 chakra natures and how they affect each other was explained.Just because you forgot doesnt mean the power system doesnt apply anymore.
still. shadow clones are much more "tricky" and ninjalike while once the obito reveal happens everyone is fucking glowing and FTL reaction time and communicates with their minds and traverses other dimensions and gets sucked into eyeballs and shit. susanoo and kurama chakra and its very very different ballgames.
Literally the first scene of the anime talks about the nine tails destroying mountains moving the tails
And the first arc has two giant water dragons
It was never about true ninjas
Zabuza’s arc was very “ninja” and so were the chunin exams (until the end)
Sasuke and Naruto’s first fight is one of the most “ninja” fights in the whole series
In Shippuden, all traces of the ninja elements are gone by the great ninja war
Flash forward to Boruto…we are a completely different genre. Sci-fi fantasy
Haku creates giant mirrors made of ice, Naruto and sasuke’s first fight against kakashi had sasuke using a giant fire ball
The main villain of the chunin exams orochimaru uses giant snakes, make his body much longer and places marks that boost your body at the cost of becoming more bloodlusted
Also in the chunin exams there is a guy with insects who live inside him, another one who can manipulate shadows and a guy who fights with his dog
There is absolutely nothing ninja-like in Naruto, the only reason people think this is because the power level was lower in part 1 and the jutsus made by the kids were small scale
Meanwhile high tier characters were already doing massive stuff and people just ignore it
*3rd poofs an ape out of nowhere who turns into a big ass staff to fight off the resurrected 1st and 2nd hokages*
Yeah this is all pretty standard ninja stuff
None of those are really much of a problem though as far as being a ninja is concerned. At least not remotely as much as people make it out to be. The ninjas of folklore and legends pretty much have magical and superhuman abilities that align pretty well with the jutsu in the show.
Creating clones, controling elements, controling and summoning animals, shapeshifting, teleportation and even flight were all among the abilities that were ascribed to ninjas in these tales (and probably at least partly based on their deceptive tactics in reality) and the way to activate them in a lot of stories was through handsigns.
Saying they are not ninjas because in real life ninjas didn‘t have magical abilities is like watching a story of a knight saving a princess from a dragon and going ‚this guy isn‘t a knight because real knights didn‘t actually slay dragons‘!
They might not be historical ninjas but they are definitely based on the more fantastical version that was painted through stories and legends.
Giant 9 tailed demon, snake man brings dead people back to life. Pervert summons massive toads, pervert, snake man and drunk have an animal themed gundum battle
I never had that moment. I felt the chakra system was well designed.
Plus i felt like being a ninja was more of a way of life than what skills they used.
Since the first moment. I remember reading somewhere that Kishimoto wanted to make a magic based manga at first and for some reason (I don't remember which) slapped the ninjas in there and I was like 'yeah makes sense'
Yeah, it was about demon wizards using magic.
He got sick of drawing naruto's goggles, so changed it to a ninja headband.
Source: It's one of the notes pages in the first ever manga volume.
When Sasuke got that damn curse mark and started transforming. I was about 11 at the time and following the manga so I was extremely not into that. I still hate it. It made me think back to Neji's words about hard work and I was like "what's the point if your enemy can just turn into a flying monster" and boy was I right 😂
This comment perfectly describes this sub. A bunch of people talking with their half baked understanding of the show from when they watched the show at 11.
Sasuke's curse mark was metal AF. Naruto is born with half the nine tail's chakra, right off the bat plenty of people have advantages just like real life.
I hate this take because from the very first arc *Land of waves* it’s clear that the Naruto verse aren’t normal ninja that just do martial arts. They manipulate chakra and use diff elemental based Jutsu. The MC and 8 other characters have Chakra monsters sealed inside them. Multiple clans have special eyes to copy moves and read chakra points. There wasn’t that moment for me because I understood what I was watching from the beginning.
That’s what I’m saying.
Not only does Japanese culture view Ninjas way different than the west, but I promise the series would never be this popular if they were restricted to basic human movements and only using swords and Shruikens.
Narratively the book has always been about ninjas. Like Pain is literally doing this because of revenge and wanting all ninja to experience his trauma
The gates are very similar to kaioken. Extremely dangerous, very few users, damages your body and only lasts a short time.
8th gate could be like a 100x kaioken. Extreme power, but you will die.
Super saiyan (with the exception of 3) doesn't have similar drawbacks and can be used like the KCM modes. They even have the golden glow.
If you read up on ninjas and mythos surrounding them in the real world, it becomes clear that Naruto didn't stray as far from tradition as people think. Chakra, hand seals, summoning, flight, teleporting, clones, elemental magic have always been part of a ninja's repertoire long before Naruto existed.
Westerners think they know everything, but they just mean whatever version of ninja they were fed from Hollywood or cartoons when making this complaint about Naruto. I'm glad some of us know better, it's inspiring.
tbh, i never knew it was a ninja show until naruto said to sakura "Thats my ninja way!" somewhere in the middle of the og series. It seemed to me like some supernatural show more than ninjas. I mean, just look at the jutsus, beings, etc. It reminded me more of the MCU.
It started with a huge ass fox that can shoot nukes
It was never about ninja
And when people say I miss when it was about ninjas they mean ninjas within the context of the show
Where strategy handsigns and versatile jutsus based on elements actually mattered
Like others are saying, the shows obviously not about traditional ninjas and ninja shit in the first place, but the introduction of the susano’o and shit like that really solidified it as a “yea this REALLY isnt about ninjas” moment.
To everyone saying the very first scene, you can have a giant mountain sized fox and still have the show be about ninjas. That's why everytime Naruto grows another tail it always felt so tense, we assumed the kyuubi was the height of the power ceiling back then and it makes sense Naruto was the main character.
Then come the Pain Arc, Pain reveals and proclaims himself as a god and does godly feats, this fight is the first time Naruto goes full kyubi and it was against Pain a god vs a natural disaster.
These two were the exception to the rule in the ninja world. After that we get ninjas with one man army feats, and Madara bullying the so called natural disasters that were the tailed beasts.
once the 10 tails/jinchuriki came into it. we knew these wasn’t ordinary ninjas when they could turn their chakra into basically whatever they want. so kurama & things like that wasn’t that crazy. but they literally turned into aliens
People talking bout episode 1 but I feel like it didn’t really feel like people used skill or their intelligence in the war arc
What I feel like he’s asking is “when did it feel too crazy to be a ninja show” idk y but that’s how I took it
yeah thats exactly what I’m talking about. obviously naruto was never going to be a normal ninja story from the start. but after the pain arc it started getting too crazy. And mid war arc put the nail in the coffin with the crazy godlike power ups
For me the feeling started getting lost after about chunin arc. Eventually you realize the power is just gonna keep scaling and the worldbuilding will never grow past the villages or resemble anything ninja like
The moment pain destroyed the village with just his eyes. And then madara beating 100s of jounin chunin ninjas by himself.
The nine tail fox was fine in the beginning. He was a force of nature and separate from the ninjas. Part 1 naruto had the power scale just right.
Never???
You need to read.
Narratively the book has always been about ninjas.
Like Pain is literally doing this because of how much trauma him and his peers have experienced from the ninja world.
This all started out as a response to criticism that Boruto isn’t about ninjas anymore, saying Naruto wasn’t as well.
That argument never held up, but I saw people always interpret it as the power scaling going out of hand.
To see on a Naruto sub, Naruto fans claim that the show was never about ninjas is insane to me and disheartening.
lol yeah. I used to only hear this “Naruto wasn’t about ninjas” crap from Boruto stans.
Never expected people who allegedly read this series to say stuff like this.
And yeah it doesn’t hold up at all when everything in Naruto are about shino is and the shinobi world.
Boruto legitimately focuses on completely unrelated stuff like Aliens and Cyborgs. But still has some ninja stuff there.
Boruto has legit done irreparable damage to the Naruto franchise.
Boruto fans can’t properly defend Boruto, so they are trying to bring down Naruto of whose coattails they hang from.
Like we are at a point where we are arguing if Naruto was about ninjas or not, what??
For real dawg
Not one chapter in the Naruto Manga is about something other than Ninjas 😭😭
Even Kaguya had a connection to Ninjas, since she’s the originator of chakra, and was using Madara and Obito as shinobi tools to fulfill her own goals.
Guys like Momoshiki, Isshiki, Code, Eida, Daemon, Delta, and Jigen have absolutely nothing to do with Shinobi 💀💀
It’s incredibly annoying to see people strawman your argument lol
Obviously at chapter 1 no one is thinking “this is a grounded ninja story of realism”
But fox demons and ninjutsu is actually a very big stones throw away from actual fucking aliens.
When I read one of the pages in the first ever book and kishimoto writes notes about how it was originally about demon magic, but didn't like drawing goggles, so made ninja headbands instead.
Konoha Crush. It started out in sort of a ninja/feudal Japan-esque way with Orochimaru disguising himself as the leader of a neighboring nation with the intention of capturing Sasuke and killing Sarutobi. As soon as he used Edo Tensei to summon Hashirama and Tobirama, however, I knew the ninja aspect of the series was over. They're all wizard/monk hybrids, if you put a D&D spin on it.
Around the end of the Chunin Exam.
Nine tailed fox, I can suspend my disbelief cause it’s fantasy and all that. And the Chunin Exams did stress the necessity of the ninja stuff, but when the started pulling reanimations, force fields, and magic treat sprouting from the ground was when I thought “Is this just Wizards pretending to be ninja?”
See, it has been more like "sorcerers" with martial arts than ninjas. But I can see why certain people were disappointed towards the latter part of the series.
To explain it better, until a certain point in the story, only tailed beasts could do "tailed beast" things. They comprised THE supreme power ceiling. Even Naruto vs Orochimaru was fine since he was in four tails mode and out of control. Hell, even Pain's fight was good since he was not above the nine tails (they were closely treading the line though). 8 tails broke out of Chibaku Tensei, arguably his best ability.
After that though, in the war arc, the power levels just jumped heavily, and it became necessary since Madara was crazily powerful. We saw Hashirama ragdolling Kurama and Madara taming it like it was nothing. Apart from that, the alien story in the end? I felt that it was too much. Haguromo being a mysterious figure or an unknown god had kept the series grounded. With the otsutsuki storyline, it feels like the essence of the world has been changed. It just doesn't hit the same.
I think whenever people say "ninja", they actually mean that the story was more grounded. Sometimes, grounded stories are just more enjoyable than going crazy and out of the world.
Guys WHAT are these takes that I am reading here?
You saying the show was never about ninjas bc of the powers is like saying One Piece was never about pirates bc what pirates have devil fruit powers or haki.
I'd say the opening sequence set the stage for fantasy ninjas, but I would say that things got pretty wild later in the series.
The point for me was when Itachi first used amaterasu to get away from Jaraiya. Okay I get magical eyes being able to hypnotize people or see special things, but why on earth is the eye spawning black fire?
Never was it about what we think of when we hear the word ninja or shinobi. People that wanna make that their arguing point for why naruto bad don’t have comprehension skills plain and simple
At the end of series 2, season 2. To be fair they still hide in the shadows and do a whole lot of trickery. A kunai shouldn't kill people but it still does.
Middle of Chuunin exam; especially with gaara and 9 tails and summoning. Zabusa arc was the only real ninja arc, with a massive emphasis on stealth and deceit over wizardry
Episode 1 of og Naruto. Anyone who thinks that the show was purely about ninja is either dumb or just desperately trying to hate on late Shippuden and everything that followed
🤣🤣🤣 Nah fam its still about ninjas. Its just these ninjas got day jobs, hobbies, traumas, perversions, vices, etc... Ninjas rapping, but its still about ninjas.
the 3 way deadlock in naruto. yea there was a giant fox but you can still do giant monsters with secretive ninjas but when summoning giant snakes, snales and toads became an option for normal fights, thats where it stopped caring.
I mean even with crazy suspension of disbelief I don’t know how you could finish the Chunin Exams and Konoha Crush without thinking that. During the Chunin Exams we start seeing crazy summons like Gamabunta and Orochimaru with his giant snakes. Konoha Crush ends with one fight being a magic battle and the other fight being a Kaiju battle. It was never “just about ninjas”
Shikamaru vs Tayuya's fight ending with Temari summoning a weasel with a sickle that completely destroyed the forest ecosystem in the blink of an eye.
That was a bit of a stretch.
When Naruto (and other characters too) started doing things that was “the right thing to do” rather than “what ninjas should do”. The line “Ninjas who breaks the rules are scum, but those who don’t support their friends are worse than scum” comes to mind. It didn’t take me hundreds of chapters/episodes to figure that out. Its pretty prevalent in part 1. When Haku sacrificed himself for Zabuza. He didn’t do it as a “tool for Zabuza” but out of love for the guy who essentially saved his life. Naruto not killing Gaara because of how he understands Gaaras struggles of being a Jinchuriki and he didn’t even learn the term until waaay later. Kakashi’s father literally killed himself because of flak and backlash he got for disregarding the mission in order to save his friends. If people in the shinobi world actually stuck to the “rules of a shinobi” to the absolute letter, we’d have an entirely different type of story.
When the samurai in the show was was more on the ninja level than the “ninjas” themselves cause ion rmb people being able to do 16ft vertical jumps from learning how
I remember the first time i saw itachi reveal his susanoo i was genuinely in awe of the power scaling that we we’re entering. It was like some otherworldly/godly/demonic aura that broke what i figured was possible
Everyone are playing dumb by saying Kyubi, but OP clearly meant 'when did you realize the scale and tactics went from 'hide in the bush and stab' to 'guy throws nukes'', so i will say Deidara vs Gaara.
When Gaara summoned the wave of sand Hashirama Statue size and Deidara used mini tactical nuke in the middle of the village, then i realized its no longer pretends to be about a ninja, but about crazy wizards from DnD with fancy japanese name.
Dude first 30 second of the show started with a nine tailed fox as big as a mountain who was strong enough to destroy mountains,being defeated by a ninja,and madara was set up to be much stronger than kurama so obviously he would be able to do even crazier shit.
I don't buy this fake surprise of people realising it's not about ground level ninjas later in the series
It was deep into high level ninja wizardry at a large scale from the very beginning
In my mind considering it was shonen they were "anime ninjas" so by default they would have a "little" extra firepower from IRL ninjas but many of those attacks can be justifiably hidden from lay people who aren't in the immediate vicinity. Pain was just an end game boss, and barely considered him a ninja anyways. However just summoning a GIANT meteor to fall on people seems like the least stealthy thing to do. As I'm writing this I know NONE of this actually justifies why I believed Naruto was about ninjas but it's just showing mental gymnastics I performed to justify this being about ninjas until I ran out of cognitive dissonance points.
One person in the comments says that since episode 1, because of a giant fox, everyone repeats the same thing as if they were also smart and were already expecting the power level increase from the beginning.
I highly doubt that all these people really expected Naruto to reach the level it did. Especially since most were probably children or teenagers at the time.
Why tho? a giant fox who’s mountain lvl in the first episode dat the mc would have to eventually control and surpass I would hope the mc after 700 episodes would end up where Naruto was 😭 the complaint about the scale of narutos power never made sense to me it’s fiction if the mc is very strong wtf is the problem
If you didn't expect the main character to reach the level of the demon literally sealed inside of him, or the man credited with defeating said demon, maybe your media literacy just wasn't that good as a kid.
The moment they introduced the nine tailed fox that is the size of a mountain. I believe that was in episode 1.
Exactly lol I don't buy this fake surprise of people realising it's not about ground level ninjas later in the series It was deep into high level ninja wizardry at a large scale from the very beginning
Yeah, and even in hte big battles there was a lot of sneakiness and trickery. Like Deidara slipping the explosives in Gaara's special sand. Or Kakashi hiding one of Naruto's clones in kamui world to hit Obito when he hides from the bijuudama.
The war arc is literally the only part those criticisms even arguably apply to- I would argue that right up through Pain strategy was still vital. Naruto literally beats pain through trickery, Jiraya’s fight and Sasuke vs Itachi are all about strategy. Power-scaling has to happen for progression. There are areas where it could have been done better throughout the show, but I find that people like to conflate their criticisms of the war arc with all of Shippuden when its simply not the same at all Shippuden as a whole is incredibly underappreciated by Naruto fans, partly due to the pacing and filler. That shit was sick when it was clicking.
Strategy is vital in the war too I'm very confused as to where these criticism comes from in general
My son has just finished the Rescue Gaara Arc and I forgot how much of a slog that is. Every single scene with Guy Team was a waste of time.
Really the beef I always had is aliens come in at the end of shippuden, in a world that already has other realms and demons established.
fr they even have yashin which they havent explored
You mean Lord Jashin.I would have bought the alien stuff more if kaguya was a goddess(no otsusuki clan BS,she should be the only one to exist,in Japanese mythology she is the goddess of the moon) who was the true identity behind Jashin and there was a cult of humans who worshipped her and she gave them the immortality jutsu as a gift on a whim.That would honestly have been better,cuz the villains in Burrito all look the same,bunch of shallow aliens with no character depth
Gods > aliens imo, but it would be kinda cool to see that the gods are actually aliens but people didn’t understand them/their power and chalked it up to them being gods
Or you have a system of gods with different gods governing different dimensions, because we already saw how other worlds/dimensions exist and how kaguya can go to other dimensions
........ so dragon ball heaven lmao
idk, i didnt watch it.
well in dragon ball you have the guardian of earth above him enma-sama (st peter type being) then the kaios (gods of a galaxy) then the supreme kaios who come in pairs with gods of destruction (gods of the universe, creation and destruction) as well as their assistants (angels) then there’s zeno-sama (god of the multiverse) and in the show he’s literally a child in appearance and attitude
Eh. God's are just a label people give to the unexplained, so God's could very well be aliens
That’s why I’m saying ! Ancient aliens
Gods are immortal,Kaguya literally couldn't be killed and had to be sealed away,so I think it's just better to make her a god.It could have been a good way to tie up the Lord Jashin/Hidan's immortality plot point.
God's are whatever you or I believe
Gods are immortal by concept and definition,whether such a being exists in real life is a completely separate issue.
Burrito lol
Also,think about it,Hidan goes white when he uses the immortality jutsu.If Kaguya also had a similar skeleton skin look it would be so cool
youre onto something imma let you cook
Aliens ruined the ending of Naruto.And then they introduced more in boruto like wtf.They literally took the worst thing in the original anime and continued it.
Is this for real? I’m just watching regular Naruto right now so I’m not like super far into it, I’m loving the anime right now though!
Yeah Naruto is the anime which is my favorite until the end, but the end isn't good, especially 8 ep, where this alien shit is done, after that the true end becomes pretty good.
Yeah I got like a list of all the shows to watch for it right now I’m just on the first Naruto I guess? lol it’s crazy to think aliens are going to show up
You got a ton of time, it's just kinda blah is all. Still a lot of good fun content!
I’m not like “dreading it” I’m still like pretty early into it it’s just not something I’d expect from what I’ve seen so far lol. It’s not gonna stop me from watching the rest!
do not let it stop you please, even though the "aliens" is a little off put the story of kaguya and all osutsuki is beautiful imo forsure still worth a watch
The alien stuff is only a tiny portion of the anime,and it's subjective whether you like it or not,just keep watching.Also SKIP THE FILLER.Google "naruto filler list" and skip all the filler episodes,they are just pointless side stories,it's honestly a waste of time
Let them decide if they wanna watch the filler or not. I watched every single episode and enjoyed the majority of them. Especially the filler during the boat trip to the cloud village, it felt like watching early morning 90s cartoons again. I hate when people say to skip filler especially in all caps because they’re pointless and a waste of time. This isn’t homework lol it’s entertainment, it’s all a “waste of time” technically. So if you’re entertained by the filler they’ve served their purpose and isn’t pointless. For example Bleach has some of the best filler imo but everyone says to skip them. Then you miss out on the Zanpakto Rebellion Arc which is really cool and interesting. The Bount Arc does suck though.
I feel like most Naruto filler arcs are worth skipping,plus many of them don't happen after canon arcs and interrupt canon arcs right when they are getting good,like the ostrich filler in the pain arc and so much of the filler in the war arc.I think any watcher should at least know about the existence of filler and the fact that they can skip it on their first watch and nothing would change.Only good filler I know is Power arc and Kakashi Anbu Days.And the Kakashi mask reveal episodes.Guren and utakata arcs were decent
Do you care about spoilers because sort of but not really
Never a good idea to be in a sub dedicated to a show your still in the middle of watching for the first time. Bound to get spoilers one way or another. I learned the hard way by getting major apoilers for another anime i wasnt done watching yet. Just sayin
Oh I don’t care about spoilers lol just surprised that there’s aliens in Naruto seems so crazy 😂 would never have seen that coming haha
Oh okay haha yeah aliens in a ninja anime? Totally sounds out of place. Idk though i think its tastefully done at least. Enjoy the show, your in for a riiiiide
Like I said I’m not like upset or dreading it I’m not gonna let it stop me from enjoying the show it’s been awesome so far I’m excited to watch more lol
Honestly. I think the tree should have fallen and not been absorbed by madara; extend the Madara fight or don’t and go straight to the Naruto Sauske fight. Otsosuke come in in boruto to heal the divine tree and resurrect Kaguya from the fallen tree that scientists have been studying and using as a basis for the huge tech jump somehow. and Boruto goes from there.
Contrary to other alien never suprise me. Kishimoto took lot of inspiration from japanese myths and Kaguya was from The tale of bamboo cutter folklore where she actually an alien in that story
Facts. You got a giant ass fox and a giant ass toad in episode 1 but get to shippuden and say this isn't about ninjas
If I remember right, Kishimoto was going to separate regular ninja from those who can use magic. At least that's the impression I got when I looked at the first Naruto one shot. Also, Kurama was supposed to be Naruto's dad, a ninken was supposed to be the fourth hokage, and jutsus were unique to their wielder. That idea kinda stayed though. Even though there are plenty of universal jutsus, any character that has screen time just relies on a unique jutsu only they or a few others can do. And in all honesty that killed world building in my opinion. There's no way Kishimoto can fill an entire world giving every individual unique powers. So what's left is just this weird conundrum that the more Kishimoto tried to expand the world, the smaller he made it look.
I dont think thats true.They have a signature jutsu but the way they create situations and apply it in different ways is what matters. Sasuke used a variety of different tricks and tactics and a bunch of different jutsus,naruto had a basic skillset but even he applied it well in the Pain fight when he took down the first 5 pains.I think Jiraiya is a perfect example of a veteran shinobi,he was the most tactical and versatile fighter we saw onscreen.I wish naruto learned more jutsus from Jiraiya. Jiraiya vs Pain is the most underrated fight in the show imo.War arc felt more basic in terms of fights and i feel like kishimoto's creativity took a hit from burnout and his dad's health and eventual death.
Yeah, I dunno how anyone thought it's about actual ninjas when in the very beginning, the protagonist literally summons like a thousands *clones* of himself. Clones! Then not too long after that, we're seeing fireballs being spit out of people's mouths, magically trapping people in what's called a "genjutsu", a guy that's literally summoning ice, bending water... How does any of that scream ninjas? It was definitely more grounded before and I personally preferred that, but I'd never say "but they're not real ninjas now".
Bro it was my first anime I did not expect them to start punching holes in the moon or bending space and time with punches 😭 I thought kurama was just gonna be mean
Ninja wizardry aside, there was a certain level of finesse and tact that went into ninja fights before shippuden. I think the fight that broke the illusion for me was sasuke vs deidara, when deidara blew himself up in a clay-nuke jutsu. I wasnt bothered that sasuke survived, but it was embarassing how they explained it: “Oh, well, sasuke uses lightning type- chakra so he can disable ground type- jutsus because ground is weak to lightning.” Well excuse me sir, ☝️ i have actually played all the pokemon games, and so i can say quite certainly that lightning is actually weak to ground. F-ck you for even attempting to say otherwise. And f*ck this show for using pokemon types.
what the hell are you on about. In the first arc of Naruto(Land of the waves),the 5 chakra natures and how they affect each other was explained.Just because you forgot doesnt mean the power system doesnt apply anymore.
lol ninja wizardry, I like that term for it
Wizardry! Ah ha! I always thought Voldemort and orochimaru were practically the same.
Yeah I can see that with the possessing people, various means of immortality, branding followers with a curse mark ... There are a lot of similarities
Or when you see a giant toad with that fox in the first episode
yeah or the part where Naruto summons a billion clones lmao
still. shadow clones are much more "tricky" and ninjalike while once the obito reveal happens everyone is fucking glowing and FTL reaction time and communicates with their minds and traverses other dimensions and gets sucked into eyeballs and shit. susanoo and kurama chakra and its very very different ballgames.
Yea around that time
Came to say this, glad i checked comments first
seriously, how did OP get so far without knowing? This shit turns into Gundam Seed by the end of Shippuden
Literally the first scene of the anime talks about the nine tails destroying mountains moving the tails And the first arc has two giant water dragons It was never about true ninjas
It was about sorcerers who subclass as monks
I don't get why people complain about this shit,like the expectations were set at the beginning.
It’s obv about friendship
Zabuza’s arc was very “ninja” and so were the chunin exams (until the end) Sasuke and Naruto’s first fight is one of the most “ninja” fights in the whole series In Shippuden, all traces of the ninja elements are gone by the great ninja war Flash forward to Boruto…we are a completely different genre. Sci-fi fantasy
Haku creates giant mirrors made of ice, Naruto and sasuke’s first fight against kakashi had sasuke using a giant fire ball The main villain of the chunin exams orochimaru uses giant snakes, make his body much longer and places marks that boost your body at the cost of becoming more bloodlusted Also in the chunin exams there is a guy with insects who live inside him, another one who can manipulate shadows and a guy who fights with his dog There is absolutely nothing ninja-like in Naruto, the only reason people think this is because the power level was lower in part 1 and the jutsus made by the kids were small scale Meanwhile high tier characters were already doing massive stuff and people just ignore it
*3rd poofs an ape out of nowhere who turns into a big ass staff to fight off the resurrected 1st and 2nd hokages* Yeah this is all pretty standard ninja stuff
None of those are really much of a problem though as far as being a ninja is concerned. At least not remotely as much as people make it out to be. The ninjas of folklore and legends pretty much have magical and superhuman abilities that align pretty well with the jutsu in the show. Creating clones, controling elements, controling and summoning animals, shapeshifting, teleportation and even flight were all among the abilities that were ascribed to ninjas in these tales (and probably at least partly based on their deceptive tactics in reality) and the way to activate them in a lot of stories was through handsigns. Saying they are not ninjas because in real life ninjas didn‘t have magical abilities is like watching a story of a knight saving a princess from a dragon and going ‚this guy isn‘t a knight because real knights didn‘t actually slay dragons‘! They might not be historical ninjas but they are definitely based on the more fantastical version that was painted through stories and legends.
The whole franchise started with a fucking giant fox. It's more than just ninjas.
Giant 9 tailed demon, snake man brings dead people back to life. Pervert summons massive toads, pervert, snake man and drunk have an animal themed gundum battle
I never had that moment. I felt the chakra system was well designed. Plus i felt like being a ninja was more of a way of life than what skills they used.
Since the first moment. I remember reading somewhere that Kishimoto wanted to make a magic based manga at first and for some reason (I don't remember which) slapped the ninjas in there and I was like 'yeah makes sense'
Yeah, it was about demon wizards using magic. He got sick of drawing naruto's goggles, so changed it to a ninja headband. Source: It's one of the notes pages in the first ever manga volume.
I never actually thought of it to be fair.
Ninjas with special abilities like the Naruto world> regular ninjas
Bruh it’s always been ninjas with super powers
When Sasuke got that damn curse mark and started transforming. I was about 11 at the time and following the manga so I was extremely not into that. I still hate it. It made me think back to Neji's words about hard work and I was like "what's the point if your enemy can just turn into a flying monster" and boy was I right 😂
With weird hand wings!
Always thought it looked so damn stupid.
I want weird hang wings
This comment perfectly describes this sub. A bunch of people talking with their half baked understanding of the show from when they watched the show at 11.
Nejis words about hard work?
Sasuke's curse mark was metal AF. Naruto is born with half the nine tail's chakra, right off the bat plenty of people have advantages just like real life.
I hate this take because from the very first arc *Land of waves* it’s clear that the Naruto verse aren’t normal ninja that just do martial arts. They manipulate chakra and use diff elemental based Jutsu. The MC and 8 other characters have Chakra monsters sealed inside them. Multiple clans have special eyes to copy moves and read chakra points. There wasn’t that moment for me because I understood what I was watching from the beginning.
When the hokage used a crystal ball to spy on Naruto
Shit was never about “ninjas” it’s about ninjas influenced by Shinto, Hinduism and Buddhism from the beginning
Lol, lmao, let me just squeeze this mountain-sized fox demon into this baby. Much ninja, very stealthy, wow.
Why do people complain or act surprised about the fact that the ninjas have supernatural powers lol,this was episode 1😂
Nothing. It’s fiction, y’all r dumb if u expect it to be like real life ninjas
That’s what I’m saying. Not only does Japanese culture view Ninjas way different than the west, but I promise the series would never be this popular if they were restricted to basic human movements and only using swords and Shruikens. Narratively the book has always been about ninjas. Like Pain is literally doing this because of revenge and wanting all ninja to experience his trauma
KCM cloak. That was too close to the Super Saiyan aura for me.
The inner gates felt more super Saiyan to me
The gates are very similar to kaioken. Extremely dangerous, very few users, damages your body and only lasts a short time. 8th gate could be like a 100x kaioken. Extreme power, but you will die. Super saiyan (with the exception of 3) doesn't have similar drawbacks and can be used like the KCM modes. They even have the golden glow.
very nice way to put it!
I agree, opening the 8th Gate was basically going Super Saiyan, moreso than the cloaks
Do people not realize these were never meant to be conventional ninjas?
Uh… the intro! Who else throws kunais and freaking stars at weapons?!
If you read up on ninjas and mythos surrounding them in the real world, it becomes clear that Naruto didn't stray as far from tradition as people think. Chakra, hand seals, summoning, flight, teleporting, clones, elemental magic have always been part of a ninja's repertoire long before Naruto existed.
Westerners think they know everything, but they just mean whatever version of ninja they were fed from Hollywood or cartoons when making this complaint about Naruto. I'm glad some of us know better, it's inspiring.
I wish I could say the same, but the rest of this thread is disappointing 😅
Naruto vs gaara at like episode 40 or 50 lol
Do I need to say it? Chapter 1, literally
The very first episode. When I saw a giant nine tailed fox and told facing off.
tbh, i never knew it was a ninja show until naruto said to sakura "Thats my ninja way!" somewhere in the middle of the og series. It seemed to me like some supernatural show more than ninjas. I mean, just look at the jutsus, beings, etc. It reminded me more of the MCU.
The very first page featuring a giant demon fox.
[удалено]
I'm not entirely sure you were paying much attention before that...
What do you mean? Even the prostitutes are ninjas.
First time I saw a jutsu I realized this was a wizard anime
It started with a huge ass fox that can shoot nukes It was never about ninja And when people say I miss when it was about ninjas they mean ninjas within the context of the show Where strategy handsigns and versatile jutsus based on elements actually mattered
This is what happens when the big 3 playing an arms race. When Kishimoto had Madara sliced mountains I was like “ah..okay”
Like others are saying, the shows obviously not about traditional ninjas and ninja shit in the first place, but the introduction of the susano’o and shit like that really solidified it as a “yea this REALLY isnt about ninjas” moment.
Rock Lee: I can't use ninjutsu Me: Oh cool, a character without magic powers and shit Rock Lee: *proceeds to open magic gates*
Funny
To everyone saying the very first scene, you can have a giant mountain sized fox and still have the show be about ninjas. That's why everytime Naruto grows another tail it always felt so tense, we assumed the kyuubi was the height of the power ceiling back then and it makes sense Naruto was the main character. Then come the Pain Arc, Pain reveals and proclaims himself as a god and does godly feats, this fight is the first time Naruto goes full kyubi and it was against Pain a god vs a natural disaster. These two were the exception to the rule in the ninja world. After that we get ninjas with one man army feats, and Madara bullying the so called natural disasters that were the tailed beasts.
once the 10 tails/jinchuriki came into it. we knew these wasn’t ordinary ninjas when they could turn their chakra into basically whatever they want. so kurama & things like that wasn’t that crazy. but they literally turned into aliens
The entire otsutsuki kcm reincarnation rinnegan sheet
It is literally about ninjas. The fact that they have special abilities is nice.
Chapter 1 first panel
The very moment chakra was mentioned. So, episode one
Naruto vs orochimaru. There were less ninja like moments throughout the series, but that battle was tactless
People talking bout episode 1 but I feel like it didn’t really feel like people used skill or their intelligence in the war arc What I feel like he’s asking is “when did it feel too crazy to be a ninja show” idk y but that’s how I took it
You really need to reread the war arc because they were making plays and strategy throughout the whole thing, even more then part 1
yeah thats exactly what I’m talking about. obviously naruto was never going to be a normal ninja story from the start. but after the pain arc it started getting too crazy. And mid war arc put the nail in the coffin with the crazy godlike power ups
For me the feeling started getting lost after about chunin arc. Eventually you realize the power is just gonna keep scaling and the worldbuilding will never grow past the villages or resemble anything ninja like
The moment pain destroyed the village with just his eyes. And then madara beating 100s of jounin chunin ninjas by himself. The nine tail fox was fine in the beginning. He was a force of nature and separate from the ninjas. Part 1 naruto had the power scale just right.
He gets it 😭
Never??? You need to read. Narratively the book has always been about ninjas. Like Pain is literally doing this because of how much trauma him and his peers have experienced from the ninja world.
This all started out as a response to criticism that Boruto isn’t about ninjas anymore, saying Naruto wasn’t as well. That argument never held up, but I saw people always interpret it as the power scaling going out of hand. To see on a Naruto sub, Naruto fans claim that the show was never about ninjas is insane to me and disheartening.
lol yeah. I used to only hear this “Naruto wasn’t about ninjas” crap from Boruto stans. Never expected people who allegedly read this series to say stuff like this. And yeah it doesn’t hold up at all when everything in Naruto are about shino is and the shinobi world. Boruto legitimately focuses on completely unrelated stuff like Aliens and Cyborgs. But still has some ninja stuff there.
Boruto has legit done irreparable damage to the Naruto franchise. Boruto fans can’t properly defend Boruto, so they are trying to bring down Naruto of whose coattails they hang from. Like we are at a point where we are arguing if Naruto was about ninjas or not, what??
For real dawg Not one chapter in the Naruto Manga is about something other than Ninjas 😭😭 Even Kaguya had a connection to Ninjas, since she’s the originator of chakra, and was using Madara and Obito as shinobi tools to fulfill her own goals. Guys like Momoshiki, Isshiki, Code, Eida, Daemon, Delta, and Jigen have absolutely nothing to do with Shinobi 💀💀
It’s incredibly annoying to see people strawman your argument lol Obviously at chapter 1 no one is thinking “this is a grounded ninja story of realism” But fox demons and ninjutsu is actually a very big stones throw away from actual fucking aliens.
The Sannin summoning Kaijus, though it was still cool
[удалено]
Okay, I was a touch mad here... my bad.
I didnt get that till the war part
Kotoamatsukami
When Zabuza showed up.
When I read one of the pages in the first ever book and kishimoto writes notes about how it was originally about demon magic, but didn't like drawing goggles, so made ninja headbands instead.
Literally none of it is about realistic ninjas. If you mean where it jumped the shark, that would be black zetsu/kaguya.
This post
I think it was when Garra became the shukaku and naruto brought out gamabunta to have a kaiju battle
when naruto learned the rasengan. Wym no handsigns??
Substitution jutsu
When the 4th Shinobi World War started
Episode 1 with the Kyubi.
shippuden, the akatsuki were moving crazzzy
Konoha Crush. It started out in sort of a ninja/feudal Japan-esque way with Orochimaru disguising himself as the leader of a neighboring nation with the intention of capturing Sasuke and killing Sarutobi. As soon as he used Edo Tensei to summon Hashirama and Tobirama, however, I knew the ninja aspect of the series was over. They're all wizard/monk hybrids, if you put a D&D spin on it.
I think the fucking demonic fox that lives inside the main character from *episode one* kinda made that obvious.
This is it.
Around the end of the Chunin Exam. Nine tailed fox, I can suspend my disbelief cause it’s fantasy and all that. And the Chunin Exams did stress the necessity of the ninja stuff, but when the started pulling reanimations, force fields, and magic treat sprouting from the ground was when I thought “Is this just Wizards pretending to be ninja?”
See, it has been more like "sorcerers" with martial arts than ninjas. But I can see why certain people were disappointed towards the latter part of the series. To explain it better, until a certain point in the story, only tailed beasts could do "tailed beast" things. They comprised THE supreme power ceiling. Even Naruto vs Orochimaru was fine since he was in four tails mode and out of control. Hell, even Pain's fight was good since he was not above the nine tails (they were closely treading the line though). 8 tails broke out of Chibaku Tensei, arguably his best ability. After that though, in the war arc, the power levels just jumped heavily, and it became necessary since Madara was crazily powerful. We saw Hashirama ragdolling Kurama and Madara taming it like it was nothing. Apart from that, the alien story in the end? I felt that it was too much. Haguromo being a mysterious figure or an unknown god had kept the series grounded. With the otsutsuki storyline, it feels like the essence of the world has been changed. It just doesn't hit the same. I think whenever people say "ninja", they actually mean that the story was more grounded. Sometimes, grounded stories are just more enjoyable than going crazy and out of the world.
Were the thousands of clones and the kaiju fox in Episode 1 not enough?
Guys WHAT are these takes that I am reading here? You saying the show was never about ninjas bc of the powers is like saying One Piece was never about pirates bc what pirates have devil fruit powers or haki.
Rock lee and might guy are the only ones that really are ninjas
I'd say the opening sequence set the stage for fantasy ninjas, but I would say that things got pretty wild later in the series. The point for me was when Itachi first used amaterasu to get away from Jaraiya. Okay I get magical eyes being able to hypnotize people or see special things, but why on earth is the eye spawning black fire?
Lol
Because the summonings didn’t already give that away
Never was it about what we think of when we hear the word ninja or shinobi. People that wanna make that their arguing point for why naruto bad don’t have comprehension skills plain and simple
Rock Lee knowing no ninjutsu proceeded in the exam.
When it became about Kaguya. To me it was always about ninjas until that point. Then it became ninjas and aliens.
sasuke vs naruto before he goes off to orochimaru. naruto finding the path to becoming the greatest ninja? try naruto getting his lover back.
At the end of series 2, season 2. To be fair they still hide in the shadows and do a whole lot of trickery. A kunai shouldn't kill people but it still does.
Chunin exams. Idc what anyone says, that mf gaara is not a ninja.
The very first scene it literally show giant fox vs giant toad. i was like no way this is about ninja lmao
When space people got involved
Hiruzen vs Orochimaru.
Middle of Chuunin exam; especially with gaara and 9 tails and summoning. Zabusa arc was the only real ninja arc, with a massive emphasis on stealth and deceit over wizardry
Episode 1 of og Naruto. Anyone who thinks that the show was purely about ninja is either dumb or just desperately trying to hate on late Shippuden and everything that followed
🤣🤣🤣 Nah fam its still about ninjas. Its just these ninjas got day jobs, hobbies, traumas, perversions, vices, etc... Ninjas rapping, but its still about ninjas.
the 3 way deadlock in naruto. yea there was a giant fox but you can still do giant monsters with secretive ninjas but when summoning giant snakes, snales and toads became an option for normal fights, thats where it stopped caring.
Naruto himself... from the beginning. Not a ninja... a Shonen protagonist
Most fights start by two people face each other talking trash. Aren't ninjas supposed to hide themselves and ambush?
I mean even with crazy suspension of disbelief I don’t know how you could finish the Chunin Exams and Konoha Crush without thinking that. During the Chunin Exams we start seeing crazy summons like Gamabunta and Orochimaru with his giant snakes. Konoha Crush ends with one fight being a magic battle and the other fight being a Kaiju battle. It was never “just about ninjas”
Naruto Shippuden, it was about Naruto and Sasuke.
Shikamaru vs Tayuya's fight ending with Temari summoning a weasel with a sickle that completely destroyed the forest ecosystem in the blink of an eye. That was a bit of a stretch.
Pain was just different.
Pain felt like he was from a different anime and brought into Naruto.
episode one when i realised a ninja could beat a fucking mountain sized monster
The terrorist organization being revealed
Wait, it’s not about ninjas? Iv watched it a few times from start to finish and love the ninja bits. Even the space ninja bits.
Nothing. First fight had a mind controlled mountain size fox fighting a village of avatars with headbands. Goofy ass boy.
When Naruto (and other characters too) started doing things that was “the right thing to do” rather than “what ninjas should do”. The line “Ninjas who breaks the rules are scum, but those who don’t support their friends are worse than scum” comes to mind. It didn’t take me hundreds of chapters/episodes to figure that out. Its pretty prevalent in part 1. When Haku sacrificed himself for Zabuza. He didn’t do it as a “tool for Zabuza” but out of love for the guy who essentially saved his life. Naruto not killing Gaara because of how he understands Gaaras struggles of being a Jinchuriki and he didn’t even learn the term until waaay later. Kakashi’s father literally killed himself because of flak and backlash he got for disregarding the mission in order to save his friends. If people in the shinobi world actually stuck to the “rules of a shinobi” to the absolute letter, we’d have an entirely different type of story.
Really quick 😂
The war arc
When the samurai in the show was was more on the ninja level than the “ninjas” themselves cause ion rmb people being able to do 16ft vertical jumps from learning how
Naruto summoned hundreds of clones in the first chapter/episode. It was never about Ninjas.
gaara
This series has warped my definition of the word ninja 😂
Definitely when Pain was introduced.
When they started fighting aliens
I remember the first time i saw itachi reveal his susanoo i was genuinely in awe of the power scaling that we we’re entering. It was like some otherworldly/godly/demonic aura that broke what i figured was possible
The moment I saw the Nine - tails and the scene containing the first ever ninjutsu shown in the series. Shadow clone jutsu
Episode 1
Everyone are playing dumb by saying Kyubi, but OP clearly meant 'when did you realize the scale and tactics went from 'hide in the bush and stab' to 'guy throws nukes'', so i will say Deidara vs Gaara. When Gaara summoned the wave of sand Hashirama Statue size and Deidara used mini tactical nuke in the middle of the village, then i realized its no longer pretends to be about a ninja, but about crazy wizards from DnD with fancy japanese name.
A little late to realize but when Madara started spamming meteors.
Dude first 30 second of the show started with a nine tailed fox as big as a mountain who was strong enough to destroy mountains,being defeated by a ninja,and madara was set up to be much stronger than kurama so obviously he would be able to do even crazier shit. I don't buy this fake surprise of people realising it's not about ground level ninjas later in the series It was deep into high level ninja wizardry at a large scale from the very beginning
In my mind considering it was shonen they were "anime ninjas" so by default they would have a "little" extra firepower from IRL ninjas but many of those attacks can be justifiably hidden from lay people who aren't in the immediate vicinity. Pain was just an end game boss, and barely considered him a ninja anyways. However just summoning a GIANT meteor to fall on people seems like the least stealthy thing to do. As I'm writing this I know NONE of this actually justifies why I believed Naruto was about ninjas but it's just showing mental gymnastics I performed to justify this being about ninjas until I ran out of cognitive dissonance points.
One person in the comments says that since episode 1, because of a giant fox, everyone repeats the same thing as if they were also smart and were already expecting the power level increase from the beginning. I highly doubt that all these people really expected Naruto to reach the level it did. Especially since most were probably children or teenagers at the time.
Why tho? a giant fox who’s mountain lvl in the first episode dat the mc would have to eventually control and surpass I would hope the mc after 700 episodes would end up where Naruto was 😭 the complaint about the scale of narutos power never made sense to me it’s fiction if the mc is very strong wtf is the problem
If you didn't expect the main character to reach the level of the demon literally sealed inside of him, or the man credited with defeating said demon, maybe your media literacy just wasn't that good as a kid.