Forum - View topicWhat makes Naruto special?
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nerei
 Posts: 47 |
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Since young, I have always been deem as a weirdo or something as I am an anime otaku, and anime is not really popular in the area I live. I mean, people either have never heard of the word before, or they come asking me if Shrek is an anime.
Recently, the people around suddenly become fans of Naruto. As an anime otaku, I understand that they are other much better animes out there, but exactly what makes Naruto so special that almost everyone these days know only it? Is it the anime, or is it the publicity that is so successful? 
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Jadress
 Posts: 807 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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A bit of both, I suppose. Although I really don't know how much publicity there is other than word of mouth, since it's not licensed yet.
I think one of the main reasons Naruto is so popular is the characters. They are amusing, often relatable, and well-fleshed out. When they get into 8 episode long fights, you actually care about what's happening and who it effects. Plus, the whole ninja world setting is also pretty fun and interesting. I'm somewhat of a "Narutard," considering I own a headband, even I get sick of some of the slow, DBZ-esque pacing, but I like the characters enough to stick around. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7391 Location: Maine |
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Not the anime anyway, let's not forget about the manga. 
THANKFULLY they've decided to really speed up the current story line. Probably a good thing because they've got two long flashback mini-archs coming up if they so choose. Hopefully they can contain both flashbacks into one episode each. Emerje |
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Vash_the_Stamp3d3
 Posts: 154 |
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That is a good question. People at my school talk about Naruto all the time. The manga only has like 5 volumes and even though the show is over 120 episodes in Japan, it has not been licensed here in the states.
I can definetly see why Naruto is popular though. It has all the action of Dragonball Z, but is much more in depth both with the action and the plot. All the characters are unique and interesting, from the dark pasts of Naruto and Sasuke, the hard working nerd Rock Lee, the lazy instructor Kakashi, I can't think of any character in the show that I do not like. Unfortunately I dont have a cable modem, so I cant download the fan subs and the dvds you can buy have horrible subtitles. How everybody who isnt into anime know about it, thats odd, word of mouth must be really strong. |
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msi435
 Posts: 465 Location: Behind you! |
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Well it's like asking why was DBZ to addicting to everyone back when DBZ was awesome. No one really knows, I think a lot has to do with the characters and how you attach to them to a point where you care for them and you want to know what happens to them next. I have only seen up to ep 54 and I loved every minute of it, though the battles were drawn out it was just so cool! In other words Naruto has the same effect as DBZ.
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The Frankman
 Posts: 1160 Location: Binary Culture HQ |
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Also, 10 years from now we'll be saying we never liked Naruto and it sucks just like people do for DBZ.
Now, I've never seen an ep. outside of reading some Shonen Jump mangas, but they're very comparable. When it's licensed by (INSERT COMPANY HERE) I wonder if Gohan's VA will do "Nathan"  !
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Sword of Whedon
Posts: 683 |
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It's exactly the same as DBZ. Long, drawn out mindless fighting with just enough plot to tie it together.
And in 10 years there will be another show just like it and everyone will forget this one. |
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Rozzer
 Posts: 344 Location: So Cali |
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It has a lot of quality that are similar to DBZ, but now has better graphics, animation and not to mention everyone loves ninjas. I think it's funny how you say there are better animes out there other than Naruto, but to me Naruto falls into a catagory that is seperate from other series.
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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I'm not sure if you're at otaku level, you're still an anime newbie. I can go into many explaination base on the stuff you wrote, but I'm not going to. And if you fail to see why naruto is so popular, than I'm not sure if you have a thorough understanding of anime (like naruto) even if there are better anime out there. On the subject of Naruto, even before dragon ball, we had ninja turtles. Everyone love them because they were "ninja". Like most, you'll eventually be drawn to dragon ball z. You don't even have to like DBZ and still get into Naruto. Naruto is just a shonen title that does a lot of stuff with style and excellecent execution, even if it's limited to fighting. Many people looking for more are going to be dissappointed. It's not the best anime out there, but then again there isn't an anime that is made for everyone. Naruto is a shonen title that is done exceptionally well though....and shonen title are popular among teenage boys. |
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Rendart
 Posts: 111 |
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As much as I hate to admit it, Naurto will become the next DBZ... Even tho dbz was a good series all this hype and commercializing has made it soemthing to be dreaded. I am afraid naruto will suffer the same fate sooner or later. More to the point, people seem to like naruto for several reasons, such as the interesting plot with a few unexpected twists and likeable charecters, spoiler[also the rivalry between sasuke and naruto who are on the same team...] not sure if this is worthy of being a spoiler since it happens in the second episode... but why take chances.
-Rendart[/spoiler] |
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Jadress
Posts: 807 Location: Seattle. It purdy and nerdy! |
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I think whether Naruto becomes the next DBZ or not (as far as becoming insanely popular, and going on for way too long and getting worse and worse) sort of depends on how whore-ish the creators are. Unfortunatelty, everybody loves making money, so I don't doubt that it'll probably happen.
I don't think it's quite fair to say that Naruto and DBZ are the same. I never liked DB/Z, I thought it was lame from the get go. Naruto just has so much emotion and drama alongside the fighting. Granted, I think Naruto would be 50 times better if those big fights weren't so drawn out. |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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Naruto's just a great series. It's no literary masterpiece, but it has a great little story that draws the viewer in an keeps him caring about the characters. Sure, it's not for everybody, but it does seem to appeal to most anime fans' tastes. The only show with broader market appeal is Yakitate.
Yeah, but then what? The "instant gratification" part of me wants them to blitz through the series at its current pace, but the logical part of me knows that at this pace they will have completely caught up with the manga within about 3-4 months. At that point they'd either have to stop production completely for a while (like Hunter X Hunter), or start doing long format filler arcs. Personally, I hope that they stretch out the Kakashi Gaiden arc much longer than it was in the manga, since that's got a lot of interesting room in it. |
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Whiteness
Posts: 1 |
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heh, I've been meaning to check Naruto out only because I've seen so many recommendations from others
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Isaaru
 Posts: 375 Location: the oppressed colonies in outer space |
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Indeed Vash..and that is the secret to Naruto. Nobody has forced it down our throughts. Many watch, many like, few hate. We tell other people. I do wish people would stop comparing it to DBZ. There is some influence and inspiration from DBZ because the writer is a fan, but thats about it. Naruto is not the next DBZ, its better than that. |
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SalarymanJoe
 Posts: 468 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA |
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Define special.
What makes Naruto popular? Good, strong characters, nice animation, a reletively deep story, and constant action that allows viewers to pick up ASAP. Oh, two other words - marketing blitz. With J-pop stars doing opening themes, numerous video games, its hard to move about Japan without seeing something like Naruto here or there.
Why should we stop comparing them? Pretty much that description of why Naruto is popular is just as applicable for Dragonball or Dragonball Z. It has characters that people like with a lot of action and in the beginning half, had a pretty deep story. Dragonball's greatness was its character development, and I'm noticing a lot of that with Naruto. I thought Dragonball was great anime. It engaged the viewer and it made it exciting to watch. Sure, it drags, but there are numerous other series from nearly every other genre that drag with it. Naruto is likewise; just like Hokutou no Ken was before both of them.
This "hype and commercializing" is nothing near how bad it was marketed in Japan. Dragonball sold everything from books, posters, model kits, and videogames to eye drops and the "Super Power Desk". Did it go really commercial after it was licensed? Sure, I won't deny that. But because it was so commercial and reached so many more people it has allowed much more of a varied quantity of anime to get into the US, be profitable, and be enjoyed by even more people. Marketability or commercialization has good aspects to it and doesn't even have to be "sold out". |
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