Left to Right: Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke
I just finished the first story arc (episodes 1-19), which introduces the main characters, follows them through their training and first mission as ninja. I have to admit I didn't like it much at first, but (damn it!) cheerful underdog Naruto grew on me...fast! I love the modern ninja Japanese-ish fantasy world that Kishimoto-san illustrates so beautifully. I also blame Naruto's intense adorableness.
The story begins in the Hidden Village of Falling Leaves and orphan Naruto Uzumaki is once again in trouble for causing mischief. He's an attention seeker and loves pulling off big pranks to anger the elders of the village; in that way, his elders are forced to acknowledge him and Naruto thriv on the attention, negative or otherwise. As a ward of the village, Naruto attends the Ninja Academy with the intense desire to become the Hokage--the most powerful Ninja in his village. He has a decent chance at his dream; although Naruto doesn't know it, the powerful forest spirit of a nine-tailed fox was sealed inside him upon his birth to protect his village. I don't know how the village elders managed to explain away the tell-tale marks on Naruto's cheeks, but whatever!
Despite this, Naruto remains dead-last in his class and fails the graduation exam, which requires the students to demonstrate how much they have learned by performing the Clone Technique. While Naruto is decently skilled in the basic ninja attacks (jutsu) taught at the academy, for some reason he is never able to made an adequate clone. The only technique he is good at is a technique he came up with on his own: Sexy Jutsu. As the name night imply, Naruto is able to transform into a beautiful (and naked) young woman to distract his teachers.
Determined to prove to his teachers he has what it takes to be a ninja, he steals the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's house (which is an incredible feat in itself!) and teaches himself the difficult Multiple Shadow Clone technique in a matter of hours.
Naruto is given a late graduation and receives his ninja headband. However, to officially obtain the rank of Genin (lowest-level ninja), graduates must undergo a field evaluation administered by a Jonin (high-level ninja), who would become their Squad Leader should they pass. Naruto is teamed with Sakura Haruno, the girl he's had a crush on forever, and the handsome Sasuke Uchiha.
The three form a comical team. Naruto adores Sakura, but Sakura only has eyes for cool-headed Sasuke, who loathes both Naruto and Sakura. Naruto quickly sees Sasuke as his rival, not only in love, but in his pursuit of becoming Hokage. Sasuke is easily the most intelligent of the group and is able to master new techniques quickly, earning the praise of Sakura. This causes no end of frustration to Naruto, who learns new techniques through the mistakes he makes while trying to achieve them. Once learned though, he masters them completely and is able to perform his techniques at a level even Sasuke cannot.
Their Jonin-Teacher is Kakashi, an eccentric, but extremely powerful ninja. To pass his test, he says, they must take the two silver bells hanging from his belt. Only those with the bells at the end of the day will pass and become an official ninja. Through his testing of the three heroes we see a wide variety of advanced ninja techniques--Shadow Clone Technique, Body Replacement Technique and Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique among others. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura each try to defeat Kakashi independently, but it's only after they fail that they learn Kakashi's lesson--teamwork and the sacrifice of personal desire is the key to success as a ninja.
...and another failed attempt by Sasuke.
Naruto and Co.'s first mission is to escort a bridge-builder to his island country and protect him from the evil mob-organization bent on destroying his bridge to keep their monopoly on the island kingdom. In the end, Naruto inspires the battered island village to stand up and fight against the evil Gato Corporation and the bridge is completed. Along the way, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura learn to refine their chakra, or spiritual energy and engage in one of the most violent and emotional anime battles I've ever watched.
The primary henchmen of Gato Corp, despite their antagonist standing, are two of the most empathetic characters I've come across in all the anime I've watched. Their deaths are tragic and the emotion of their backstory and devotion to each other is as strong as Naruto to Sasuke and Sakura. n the end, you can hardly call Zabuza and Haku villains. They simply had different motivations than Naruto and Co., which made them enemies, but only in that respect.
Zabuza and Haku | Naruto | Copyright Masashi Kishimoto
And that's what makes a series classic. When you have heroes and villains you become attached to--heroes and villains you truly care about--that is what makes a series come to life. Everything else is just an added bonus.
Lastly, the music of Naruto is phenomenal! I love the mixture of the traditional Japanese flute, taiko drums, shamisen with Western-style rock music.
So, I must say I'm enjoying Naruto as a whole. Despite the characters being pre-teen, I'm looking forward to watching the main characters grow into themselves and their talents. I'm sure many, many more fascinating characters and heart-pounding adventures await me as I continue my journey through Naruto.
Thanks for reading!
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