Naruto/Naruto Shippuden discussion

Am I the only one who thinks naruto is better than naruto shippuden

Nah, you’re not alone. In fact I’m pretty sure most people prefer the original Naruto to Shippuden. Back in OG Naruto, there was a much darker tone to the series. I quite liked that. By introducing Zabuza early on in the series, it really made us question what it meant to be a ninja, it made Naruto question his own humanity. Each character had a message that they were meant to convey (Zabuza was just my example bc I love him) this really made the characters memorable and even the deceased ones are still fondly remembered today. Not only that, but it really helped to flesh out the world and more importantly, it got us more invested into the other characters and the conflicts which in turn, got us more invested in the story. Although it was extremely subtle at times, the overall tone of Naruto was much more gloomy. That portrayal of the world was almost gone in Shippuden. During the chunin exams, when people were dying left and right, the suspense almost killed me at times. This is because we felt such a deep attachment to all of the characters. Everything that happened had more meaning to it. When Naruto opened Zabuza’s eyes, that was a genuinely emotional moment. Despite the fact that we had only known them for one arc, I cried for those two. Seeing Gaara’s tragic past not only broke my heart, but also enhanced Naruto’s character and core values. The Search For Tsunade arc introduced us to a jaded old hag that was filled with bitterness due to all the grief and loss that she had endured during her life. However, Naruto’s idealism and bright personality really struck a chord with Tsunade and slowly but surely, this kid “relit” (idk if that’s a word) her will of fire. In Naruto, talk no jutsu made sense and it lead to many emotional moments to be completely honest, I didn’t really care if it was kind of cheesy. In Shippuden, you know what talk no jutsu is like. Due to Orochimaru’s presence and the Akatsuki’s introduction, there was always looming sense of danger. That is what kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the Akatsuki, but they just didn’t give off the same vibe as Orochimaru. Sure they were powerful and they were very dangerous, but they weren’t as cunning as he was and they were nowhere near as unpredictable. Back then, the characters actually felt like ninjas too, with clever strategies, hand signs, ninja tools, and scrolls. I still remember how Haku being able to use one handed ninjutsu was a super big deal and how a chakra limit seemed to exist. In Shippuden, this entire aspect to the show was lost and it devolved into people just throwing chakra at each other. I also hate the power creep that occured during shippuden. We had a power ceiling back in OG, it was very clearly defined by the Sannin, the Akatsuki, and the The Third Hokage. However, in Shippuden, with the exception of Itachi, these characters pale in comparison to the top tiers of the “new Narutoverse”. Orochimaru, who many people considered the most powerful shinobi alive, was reduced to fodder with his only saving grace being edo tensei. Somehow, he was simultaneously a top 10 character, yet also a nobody. Back in the original Naruto, almost everybody used lots of taijutsu, ninjutsu was also used, but it wasn’t ridiculously powerful. Genjutsu was also an incredibly interesting concept that was basically revealed to be “an Itachi thing/a plot convenience tool”. Back then, only a few characters were able to pull out large scale attacks and when they did, it was stunning. However, in shippuden, everybody seems to blow up mountains with little to no effort. Since Kishimoto was also willing to kill off cool characters, it was a thrilling ride. Dosu was one of the coolest characters in my opinion and to this day, I am still shocked that he died. Was it cheap? Yeah, sure. Could it have been done better? Yeah, sure. But was it a good move? In the end of the day, I think it was. I also find it nice that almost every single character had their “moment” Here are some examples. Kiba had an amazing fight during the Sasuke retrieval arc, so did Choji when he busted out his “miracle pills”. Rock Lee participated in arguably 2 of the best fights in the series and his character was fantastic. Shino had a few incredible displays of power, last but definitely not least, Neji had amazing fights, had a fantastic character arc, and underwent tons of character development. Now why did I choose these guys? What do all 5 of these characters have in common? They were all sidelined in Shippuden, never getting screen time ever again. That honestly sucks the most to me. Shippuden also had far too many plot holes and relied on cheap plot devices too much. The story was just a mess. Don’t even get me started on power scaling and how you needed eyes/a tailed beast to be relevant. I also believe that the hierarchy was much better in the original Naruto. You could very clearly tell the difference between a jounin level opponent and the genin/chunin. In the Land of Waves arc, we could see just how powerful a jounin was and it really gave me a newfound respect for the squad leaders. I still remember in Neji vs Hinata, the second Neji went too far, four jounin incapacitated him We knew that Kakashi was extremely strong, but he was nowhere even close to the top tiers. The weakest jounin that we had seen thus far (Kurenai) was still leagues ahead of Naruto and co. But then you get to Shippuden, and they’re basically fodder. I could go on and on about this but I think that I’ve said enough. Feel free to respond and we can duke it out!

Nah, you’re not alone. In fact I’m pretty sure most people prefer the original Naruto to Shippuden. Back in OG Naruto, there was a much darker tone to the series. I quite liked that. By introducing Zabuza early on in the series, it really made us question what it meant to be a ninja, it made Naruto question his own humanity. Each character had a message that they were meant to convey (Zabuza was just my example bc I love him) this really made the characters memorable and even the deceased ones are still fondly remembered today. Not only that, but it really helped to flesh out the world and more importantly, it got us more invested into the other characters and the conflicts which in turn, got us more invested in the story. Although it was extremely subtle at times, the overall tone of Naruto was much more gloomy. That portrayal of the world was almost gone in Shippuden. During the chunin exams, when people were dying left and right, the suspense almost killed me at times. This is because we felt such a deep attachment to all of the characters. Everything that happened had more meaning to it. When Naruto opened Zabuza’s eyes, that was a genuinely emotional moment. Despite the fact that we had only known them for one arc, I cried for those two. Seeing Gaara’s tragic past not only broke my heart, but also enhanced Naruto’s character and core values. The Search For Tsunade arc introduced us to a jaded old hag that was filled with bitterness due to all the grief and loss that she had endured during her life. However, Naruto’s idealism and bright personality really struck a chord with Tsunade and slowly but surely, this kid “relit” (idk if that’s a word) her will of fire. In Naruto, talk no jutsu made sense and it lead to many emotional moments to be completely honest, I didn’t really care if it was kind of cheesy. In Shippuden, you know what talk no jutsu is like. Due to Orochimaru’s presence and the Akatsuki’s introduction, there was always looming sense of danger. That is what kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved the Akatsuki, but they just didn’t give off the same vibe as Orochimaru. Sure they were powerful and they were very dangerous, but they weren’t as cunning as he was and they were nowhere near as unpredictable. Back then, the characters actually felt like ninjas too, with clever strategies, hand signs, ninja tools, and scrolls. I still remember how Haku being able to use one handed ninjutsu was a super big deal and how a chakra limit seemed to exist. In Shippuden, this entire aspect to the show was lost and it devolved into people just throwing chakra at each other. I also hate the power creep that occured during shippuden. We had a power ceiling back in OG, it was very clearly defined by the Sannin, the Akatsuki, and the The Third Hokage. However, in Shippuden, with the exception of Itachi, these characters pale in comparison to the top tiers of the “new Narutoverse”. Orochimaru, who many people considered the most powerful shinobi alive, was reduced to fodder with his only saving grace being edo tensei. Somehow, he was simultaneously a top 10 character, yet also a nobody. Back in the original Naruto, almost everybody used lots of taijutsu, ninjutsu was also used, but it wasn’t ridiculously powerful. Genjutsu was also an incredibly interesting concept that was basically revealed to be “an Itachi thing/a plot convenience tool”. Back then, only a few characters were able to pull out large scale attacks and when they did, it was stunning. However, in shippuden, everybody seems to blow up mountains with little to no effort. Since Kishimoto was also willing to kill off cool characters, it was a thrilling ride. Dosu was one of the coolest characters in my opinion and to this day, I am still shocked that he died. Was it cheap? Yeah, sure. Could it have been done better? Yeah, sure. But was it a good move? In the end of the day, I think it was. I also find it nice that almost every single character had their “moment” Here are some examples. Kiba had an amazing fight during the Sasuke retrieval arc, so did Choji when he busted out his “miracle pills”. Rock Lee participated in arguably 2 of the best fights in the series and his character was fantastic. Shino had a few incredible displays of power, last but definitely not least, Neji had amazing fights, had a fantastic character arc, and underwent tons of character development. Now why did I choose these guys? What do all 5 of these characters have in common? They were all sidelined in Shippuden, never getting screen time ever again. That honestly sucks the most to me. Shippuden also had far too many plot holes and relied on cheap plot devices too much. The story was just a mess. Don’t even get me started on power scaling and how you needed eyes/a tailed beast to be relevant. I also believe that the hierarchy was much better in the original Naruto. You could very clearly tell the difference between a jounin level opponent and the genin/chunin. In the Land of Waves arc, we could see just how powerful a jounin was and it really gave me a newfound respect for the squad leaders. I still remember in Neji vs Hinata, the second Neji went too far, four jounin incapacitated him We knew that Kakashi was extremely strong, but he was nowhere even close to the top tiers. The weakest jounin that we had seen thus far (Kurenai) was still leagues ahead of Naruto and co. But then you get to Shippuden, and they’re basically fodder. I could go on and on about this but I think that I’ve said enough. Feel free to respond and we can duke it out!