Sometimes it’s the quietest moments that hurt the most. As epic battles rage on in Naruto’s world and ninja wars claim their own popularity, one particular scene stands out amidst all of this, a poignant game of Shogi between Shikamaru and his father.
This only around 3-minutes long scene taught us the various ways of dealing with loss and finding comfort in the people who love and care about us. With this, Naruto showed everyone a very vulnerable aspect of life that most of us cannot see, the fragile yet beautiful bonds that keep families united in the face of death and uncertainty!
Shikamaru Playing Shogi With His Dad Scene Was an Absolute Genius Scene in The Anime
The camera angle was insanely well done in this particular scene. A single candle, casting shadows on Shikamaru and Shikaku’s faces perfectly, concealed their emotions so well that their inevitable breakdown, later on, gave so much more emotional outbreak for the audience.
Studio Pierrot tried to be very thoughtful in their minimalist setting and subtle sound design, where music was totally absent and the soft clinking of the shogi pieces with gentle cicada hum evoked a sense of contemplative stillness. But as soon as the compassionate words of Shikaku opened a crack in Shikamaru’s shield, the pieces started to move rapidly. And finally, at a certain point, all the emotions Shikamaru tried to conceal came out bursting in a symbolic explosion as the board was overturned.
This particular game of shogi also acted as a symbol, reminding the audience of what was so valuable between Shikamaru and Asuma. With the stunning visual and audio directions, a flood of tears flowed from Shikamaru’s eyes, just as his composure broke into two, bringing light to the whole facade he tried to put up with in front of his dad to act strong. Later, he finally found clarity amidst these scattered pieces of emotions within himself, promising to honor Asuma’s memory.
Naruto Set a High Bar For Shonen Anime, Showing an Authentic Parent-Children Relationship That Lacks in The Genre
Absent or completely uninvolved parental love and guiding care are a few things that are pretty common in the wide spectrum of Shonen anime. Countless young heroes face life-altering struggles along without a parent, literally or emotionally elsewhere. We can totally see this in Ging’s disappearance in Hunter x Hunter, Endeavor’s cruelty in My Hero Academia, and Goku’s carelessness in Dragon Ball.
It’s quite interesting that these imaginary fathers somehow echo some of the more harsh realities most live with even in real life, almost leaving one to question what a good parent would look like in a world of chaos. While this scene in Naruto may be anime-only and not exist in the source material, it should be considered canon because of how profoundly impactful and beautiful it still is to this day.
Walls between the characters began to crumble, revealing the depth of love and understanding rarely explored by shonen anime. This genuine conversation humanized the grief over Shikamaru, reminding us that in times of such darkness: a good family is the real heaven. With this, Naruto truly raised a new bar for the genre, as it inspires heroes to learn strength not only from their powers alone but also from those who raised them unconditionally.
All episodes of the Naruto series are available to watch on Crunchyroll.
