NARUTO

Dreaming Anime is a Trinidad-rooted, Caribbean anime publication for fans worldwide.

MORE THAN A DREAM OF BECOMING HOKAGE

Naruto begins as the child the Hidden Leaf Village would rather ignore. He wants to become Hokage, but beneath the loud pranks and impossible confidence is a more basic wish: to be acknowledged and to have a place among people who choose him. That emotional centre gives the story more staying power than its early rivalry-and-training setup might suggest.

The original series introduces Team 7—Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi—and builds its strongest early stretch around missions that test both skill and trust. Naruto’s stubborn hope is not simply a joke or a shortcut to victory; it becomes a challenge to characters who have learned to expect betrayal, loss, or isolation.

SHIPPUDEN WIDENS THE CONFLICT

Naruto: Shippuden carries that foundation into a larger, more consequential story. The threat of the Akatsuki, Sasuke’s path away from the village, and the wider history of the shinobi world push the series toward questions about revenge, inherited conflict, and whether understanding can interrupt violence.

The saga is strongest when it lets a character’s history change how we read their choices. Even its antagonists are often given understandable wounds, though explanation does not always excuse their actions. That tension—between compassion and accountability—is one of the story’s most compelling ideas.

WHAT STILL WORKS

Team 7 remains the emotional anchor. Naruto and Sasuke’s bond is messy, intense, and central to the series’ argument about connection; Sakura and Kakashi add their own histories and forms of loyalty. The wider cast gives the ninja world texture, and the best fights communicate character through strategy, sacrifice, and restraint rather than spectacle alone.

For all its scale, Naruto keeps returning to a human question: what happens when people who have been hurt decide whether to pass that hurt on? The answer is sometimes idealistic, but the story earns its optimism by showing how difficult it is to reach someone who has stopped expecting care.

THE LONG-RUN COST

This is a major time commitment, and not every stretch earns its length. Filler arcs can interrupt momentum, flashbacks and repeated explanations sometimes slow scenes that already made their point, and some supporting characters receive less development than their introductions promise. The later power escalation also risks making quieter ninja tactics feel less important.

Those are real drawbacks, not reasons to dismiss the series. Viewers who want a tighter route can use a reputable episode guide to separate the core story from anime-original material; viewers who enjoy spending time with a large cast may find the detours part of the experience.

VERDICT

Naruto and Shippuden are still defining long-form shonen: emotionally direct, built around memorable rivalries, and strongest when action grows from character. The series can be uneven and padded, but its themes of belonging, grief, and refusing to inherit hatred give the journey a lasting centre. Start with the original Naruto, then continue into Shippuden if the characters and world have you invested.

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WATCH THE ANIME

Open the official Naruto listing on Crunchyroll →

OFFICIAL SOURCES

Crunchyroll’s Naruto listing · Crunchyroll’s NYCC announcement report · Variety’s report