Action: 8/10
To me action is a key element in any anime, hence the reason why I watch mainly action filled animes. Naruto is definetly action packed, fight scenes are very regular in Naruto which always keeps you on your toes. The action scenes have not only been drawn great by Masashi Kishimoto but they're also animated great. What I love about the action scenes in Naruto is that because the story is revolved around ninjas you get to see a load of kick ass moves and even really weird weapons. I don't think I could ever get sick of watching ninjas fight, see their skilled dodging and awesome martial arts! If you're looking for an action packed anime, then Naruto's a perfect choice.
Animation/Art: 9/10
Masashi Kishimoto is a very talented mangaka. The artwork of Naruto I believe is really detailed and uses good colours and you can tell that a lot of work goes into each drawing. The bodies are drawn proportionally, so the head isn't huge whilst the body is tiny, vice versa, it's normal. The animation of Naruto is also very intriguing, there's epic fight scenes that are smooth and flow really well, unlike other animes that just leave the viewer confused. Naruto also doesn't repeat the same scene over like I've noticed some other animes do; like dragonball Z will repeat the same 10 fighting frames over and over for a few minutes. No problem with the animation/art, though during the Chuunin Exam Saga/Ark there was a load of dodgy animation used, well the drawings changed as dodgy scenes were occuring and Sasuke looked extremely weird, fortunately once that Saga/Ark ended everything went back to normal.
Characters: 10/10
The first episode of Naruto introduces us to mainly Naruto and of course Iruka and Mizuki. However throughout the next episodes many more characters are introduced, other characters that reside within the hidden leaf village. In particular we meet Naruto's team 7 squad; Kakashi, Sakura & Sasuke, who will come to be known as the main group of the whole Naruto series. The first major saga/ark in Naruto is the Chuunin Exam, which was actually such a genius idea for the Naruto audience to become familiar with all the new characters that are introduced. We get to know a load of Leaf Village ninja and ninjas from a variety of different village.
Naruto is the main character, yet he's the biggest goofball and has had life pretty hard. Having a main character like Naruto is interesting because he's not your typical "genius" or "prodigy" like so many other animes have. Sasuke in this case is the prodigy. All the characters in Naruto have their own individual personality that sets them apart; Naruto the determined goofball, Sasuke the vengeful prodigy, Sakura the Sasuke lover, Kakashi the copy ninja and that's just naming a few. We even learn the history of most characters through flashbacks, which is great. I love how detailed Naruto is in that way. The characters are generally great, all the differences between them creates such an interesting storyline.
Fillers: 3/10
This is perhaps Naruto's downfall, the only extreme problem with Naruto is definetly it's fillers. I mean sure the odd 1 or 2 fillers is fine every so often but the Naruto anime had a HUGE consecutive 80+ filler episodes, that's a load to watch in a row! I mean for fillers they're still pretty interesting, but it's just the same, it's so repititive. Within those 80 fillers they were all just Naruto going out with different ninjas to accomplish pointless missions, though I must say some were funny. Fillers are not a good thing for any anime, Naruto is proof of that. Many anime fans probably get discouraged to watch Naruto because they've heard of the bulk fillers they've had. Not so good.
Humour: 8/10
The reason I judge animes on humour is because most of them do have humour, it's just all expressed in different forms. The humour used in Naruto is childish but still hilarious, well that's how I find it. Take for example in the preliminaries of the Chuunin exam, when Naruto's versing Kiba. Naruto is getting owned so he decides to pull out his "secret weapon" and what does he do? He farts on Kiba and Akamaru, i found this hilarious, especially since Kiba's smelling is like 10 000x better than humans because he can smell just like a dog. It's the little things like that I find hilarious, stuff like that occurs in Naruto frequently. The pervy sage Jiraiya also plays a great comedic role in the anime, you just have to laugh when he comes on the scene with his old perverted ways.
Music: 10/10
The music in Naruto is amazing! I don't know how they do it but they come up with the best music to match all their scenes. The opening & closing theme songs are really cool, the english ones not as much but hey the Japanese ones are wicked! I remember watching the 3rd hokages funeral episode and the music they play during that episode was just so serene and perfect for that episode, unfortunately I can't remember what song it was.. ah well. The music they play on Naruto is just so fitting to the anime, like it's so random and if used in any other anime it most probably wouldn't suit, so kudos to the great choice of music!
Overall:
Hats off to this anime, Naruto in my opinion is a great anime for all audiences. Whether your a child, teenager or adult I'm sure if you love anime then you'll love Naruto. It has the ability to suck its viewers in right from episode 1. Its based around an intriguing story line which will keep you guessing. We are also able to relate to certain situations that may occur within Naruto, like many orphans can probably relate to the loneliness Naruto initially feels because he has no parents.
My only real problem with Naruto is the bulk amount of fillers, if they ceased the production of fillers and actually got on to animating the actual manga series I'm sure they would please many more fans. I guess they don't want to rush though seeing as if they do they'll catch up with the current manga in no time.
The whole initial series of Naruto has now completed with a final 220 eps, but that's only because a follow up series was created "Naruto Shippuuden" which is Naruto 3 years after his training with Jiraiya, Naruto Shippuuden is currently up to episode 102 as I write this.. I can see plenty more being created in the future to. The manga at the moment is also up to chapter 444, who knows when it will finish.
So my final thoughts.. well Naruto is a great anime and manga that has perhaps changed the anime world, I would have to say that it made anime a bit more famous among younger kids as it gets huge publicity whilst being on TV. I doubt many people will ever forget Naruto, it's one of those animes that will stick in our heads. Well it will in mine anyway. Oh and don't get me wrong, it's not just a childrens anime, it has a load of blood and gore for an older audience, along with Jiraiya and his perverted moments.. they're classic. It will leave an everlasting impression in your head!
Rating:
