Fandoms can be completely wild on most occasions. But especially with revisiting the series. Such is the case with Naruto. The series premiered 22 years ago and was a massive hit.
Looking back at the episodes, fans aren’t too happy with certain aspects. This especially has to do with a particular moment in the series. And there’s more to it.
Masashi Kishimoto’s series has its fair share of problematic moments. It is only recently people are calling him out. Be it Sakura’s hate or his sidelining of characters, the mangaka isn’t exempt from criticism.
This time, though, the Redditors went overboard with their baseless arguments. It also highlighted the divide between readers and viewers in this aspect.
Redditors discuss Naruto’s worst crime
Naruto is praised for its compelling storyline, battles, and impeccable animation. The series reigns supreme with its portrayal of friendships. The camaraderie and family bonds are what sets it apart from other big three series.
The series peaked in its outlining of tragedy and loss. Amidst the heroism and friendship, however, the series has its flaws. Like most shonen manga, Kishimoto’s series is laden with problems. And there’s more to it.
From badly written female characters to nerfing, it isn’t exempt from criticism. In recent decades, fans have questioned the mangaka’s problematic writing. This applies to Sakura and Orochimaru.
In their criticism of characters, fans may have gotten too far. This is true with Third Hokage’s case. Like most characters in the series, Hiruzen faced flak despite his efforts. In a similar vein, Redditors took the blame game too far this time with this character.
A Reddit post discussing the protagonist’s evils garnered a diverse range of responses. Of all the misdeeds, the hero was wrongly accused of inappropriate actions toward Sakura. And this is how most users responded.
The discussion outlines the biggest flaw within the Reddit community. There’s a huge divide between readers and viewers. Most arguments point to the lack of research and knowledge.
While this is a recurring problem within the community, one thing is certain. The mangaka failed big time in writing healthy romances in his series.
Masashi Kishimoto’s ineptness in romance stories
Writing female characters isn’t Masashi Kishimoto’s best suit. But writing romance is completely out of the question. He did give us some beautiful couples in the story.
Be it Kushina-Minato or Shikamaru-Temari, it doesn’t negate the problem. From stalking to obsession, the series normalized problematic behaviors as love. This is especially true with Sakura’s undying devotion to Sasuke. And there’s more to it.
From Hinata’s stalking to Sakura’s obsession, Kishimoto struggled to write healthy relationships. On top of that, there are several inconsistencies between the characters’ romances.
Most of the romances in the series feel rushed. This is the case with Naruto and Hinata’s dynamic. Amidst the toxic ideals of love, there are only a handful of healthy relationships. Most importantly, fans often tend to ignore these subtle details.
To put it simply, fans’ hate for a character is often attributed to their lack of knowledge. While this is a recurrent problem, it only ensues more chaos within the fandom.
Naruto is available for streaming on Crunchyroll. The manga is available for reading on Viz Media.
