Boruto: Naruto Next Generations has recently gone into more depth regarding the alien invaders wielding god-like powers who happen to be the lineage of the predecessor’s last boss, the Otsutsuki Clan. But before fans of the series delve into the sudden escalation in power level, it wouldn’t be unwise to take a step back and look at the roots of the series as a sort of refresher.
When it comes to the Naruto series, with its 1000+ episode runtime and more than 10 full-length movies, it’s no surprise not everything would satisfy every viewer’s expectations. As is common with most anime series, things like filler episodes, retcons, and unsatisfying conclusions to arcs are sure to deter those from revisiting.
Foreseeing The Death Of Certain Characters
Knowing the fate of a character can ruin a viewer’s experience in more than one way. Unless a series can make the journey more satisfying than the end, it’s not likely a viewer can enjoy enduring tens or hundreds of episodes knowing what happens to a character before they get there.
With the long runtime and dark nature of a world in which children are raised as soldiers, it’s no surprise that, along the way, some characters meet a solemn death in Naruto. Watching a character develop knowing they’ll die can be a letdown for most viewers. It makes it tempting to either skip forward or not watch at all, especially in a series as long as Naruto.
Slow Power Scaling
The Naruto series is broken up into two titles: Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden. While the latter doesn’t suffer from this problem as much, the former has viewers endure battles against minuscule characters who they’ll never see again, which those who go back to revisit the series will come to learn are just a waste of time.
It’s so much of a problem in Naruto that it’s become something of a major flaw many Naruto fans choose to ignore. Enduring every Arc will have old viewers sigh at the problems that they know the character could solve effortlessly in the future. In a way, it invokes a sort of impatience that can’t be snuffed out unless there’s a story going on that they are willing to endure.
Knowing The Plot Twist
A plot twist can’t really be called one if the viewer knows what’s coming, a problem that revisiting viewers will no doubt have when visiting the series again. At the beginning of Naruto, there are many mysteries that normal viewers don’t get the answer to until the next installment, Naruto: Shippuden.
This wouldn’t be too much of a problem if the show didn’t try to hint at it too many times, something that’ll have old viewers eye-rolling, as they already know all the answers. It can really take away from the experience once the big reveal is made, especially to big questions like who Naruto’s parents are and what happened to the Uchiha Clan.
Animation From Another Era
While Naruto: Shippuden holds up relatively well, the Naruto anime was released sometime two decades ago. Anime wasn’t exactly mainstream back then either, which meant it didn’t receive as much popularity and funding as newer works do today.
Viewers who rewatch the series knowing how things will go in the future will have a fine time. However, viewers too adjusted to the quality of today’s high-budget anime might find it somewhat uncomfortable. Though, surprisingly, the most important battles in the series happen to be decently animated, even by today’s standards.
Revisiting The Worst Characters
The label “worst” doesn’t necessarily mean characters known for their vile deeds or misconduct, it could even mean those whose presence just ultimately makes the experience less enjoyable with their behavior or actions. And with Naruto‘s large cast, it’s no surprise that it has quite a few such characters.
Fans mostly agree when it comes to who the worst characters in the Naruto series are, with many reasoning that their decisions are mostly targeting the annoying archetypes that seem to be anime tropes for what seems like forever now. Ebisu, for instance, is an arrogant and perverted character who often chides Naruto, despite being someone of little importance, and yet he basically has multiple arcs in which he is featured.
Remembering The Characters Who Were Forgotten
Naruto is guilty of completely throwing aside interesting characters on multiple occasions to prioritize characters who are less interesting but more important to the plot. To many viewers, it seems like a waste of potential to characters who sometimes even outclassed the main characters.
Veteran viewers revisiting the series will have to watch on as the Naruto characters who deserved more screen time slowly fade away from the beginning of the series to the point where they basically become the backdrop to important events. It sort of trivializes what minor development they had up until that point.
Episodes Of Not Exactly Filler
While not exactly filler, Naruto tends to drag on events with needlessly repetitive flashbacks and minute-long internal monologues. This can really ruin the pacing of things from otherwise heart-palpitating events. It can also extend what should have been a short battle into a ~5-episode-length event.
This wouldn’t exactly be a problem if the issue had been resolved in the sequel installment, Naruto: Shippuden. However, revisitors of the series already know that such a pacing issue exists, even to the very end. It’s a problem that could turn a month-long rewatch into several months, a fact that will no doubt make those interested in rewatching the series hesitate.
Character Development Isn’t Always Necessarily Positive
Sometimes a character can develop in a rather unpleasant direction. Take Sasuke, for example: at the beginning of the series he’s slightly cold and hard to approach, but he still cares for his team. Meanwhile, in Naruto: Shippuden, he comes off as an unlikable selfish villain with an obsession with getting revenge, even at the cost of those who were important to him.
Opposite to this are characters with no progression, which leaves viewers with only a handful of decent and developed characters compared to the series’ beginning, which had many characters with so much potential. Knowing what their favorite character will turn into, or rather not change from, can be a major turn-off for returning fans.
Too Much Filler
Filler plagues both Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden to the point that it’s infamously known for it, and for a good reason too. Just Naruto alone is estimated to be about 40 percent filler episodes, which means dozens of hours watching events that are both non-important and will never be mentioned again.
Filler is undoubtedly one of the worst aspects of Naruto, which falls prey to other tropes, as well. It can completely ruin the pacing of certain arcs with uninteresting stories while viewers eagerly await canon continuations. It is one of the biggest reasons why people avoid rewatching the series, as unless they know what episodes to skip, they’ll be adding dozens of months to their watch time.
264 Hours Is A Lot To Ask For
With only 24 hours in a day, putting aside 264 hours to watch anime is a lot harder to do than it sounds, which could stretch watching the anime into a multi-month ordeal.
Ultimately, this is, without a doubt, the biggest obstacle when contemplating rewatching the series, as a time commitment is something not many viewers are willing to invest in unless they’re particularly devoted. It really puts into perspective whether it’s even worth it, as the time could arguably be put into something more productive.
