Imagine watching the film rocky, and rooting for Rocky Balboa’s training in the slums of Philadelphia and fighting against an obviously superior opponent with all the odds stacked against him. Then about half way through the movie you learn that actually Rocky’s dad was the undisputed champion of the world in every weight class, his mom was an Olympic athlete, his coach is actually a retired Muhammad Ali, his life had actually been watched over by the president of the United States because he is a secret weapon of the USA against foreign invaders, and that he’s also an literal reincarnation of the demigod Hercules sent down from Olympus to vanquish his opponent. Sort of devalues the whole underdog narrative doesn’t it?
I remember one scene when Naruto as a kid was looking at some masks and shopkeeper just snapped at him, pushed him and then threw the mask at him... Naruto got up, picked up the mask and ran away.....that scene mad me cry
having watched both videos, i'm sorry but i'm going to have to side with plague. once you find out about naruto's parents and all the power he has inherited from his bloodline, it no longer matters how hard he works or what he had to overcome. naruto becomes less of a character you can relate and becomes a case study of nature overcoming nurture, which entirely contradicts the theme of starting with nothing and earning what you have through determination and hard work. i appreciate the argument you make on why people should show more sympathy to naruto the planet buster (probably wasnt a good idea to end the video mentioning that), but that's not the issue plague was arguing
I don’t think anyone who actually watched the series would claim that Naruto had it easy or that he didn’t have to work incredibly hard, he obviously did, but the things he eventually goes on to accomplish could never, ever be achieved by a normal person no matter how hard they worked, which still contradicts the supposed moral of the show.
This is a joke. Naruto was not an underdog at least as a ninja in this story but as an individual on a personal level he most definently is an underdog.
Naruto is one of those that hide his depression behind his smiles, while on the inside he is hurting on such a deep level. He has experienced so much pain, which is why he can empathize with other people's suffering. This is also why he feels so strongly about wanting to help everyone. He wants to make sure nobody suffers the same pain he did, which is why he works so hard. At least, that is how I understood his motivations.
I'm kinda sad you didn't bring up the Genjutsu Itachi put Naruto through. How he just started to break down as all of his stresses (at the time of the series) appeared to him as avatars on different parts of his body. Sasuke appearing talking about how badly he wished he killed him, Sakura scolding him for not bringing back Sasuke, Kakashi calling him a disappointment, Gaara telling Naruto how alone he is and how he wishes he could be happy like Naruto, etc.
Yes Naruto worked hard and trained hard. And had to experience many emotional losses and dilemmas. He had a tough life. (And Hinata loves him very very much despite everything...?) Hence, he is the underdog.
I don't think I've ever really compared my childhood to Naruto's with any actual thought, but I have kind of resonated with the loneliness he felt. Though mine wasn't nearly as bad, I didn't have a father and my mother died when I was young. I eventually made some friends, but I usually spent a lot of time practically alone at my house. It's not that my great aunt and uncle didn't care for me, but by the time they got me, even though I was only a couple of months old, they were on the decline of their physical health. I did manage to make some friends that lived pretty close though. My longest and one of my closest friends was the neighbor that lived right across the street, and we have been friends for a long time and most of my other friends I came into contact to directly or indirectly by him. So in a way I can relate to a bit to how Naruto grew up, but again not nearly as harshly as he had it. Maybe this is why I enjoy the series so much, but I've never actually pondered on it, so I don't know
Naruto actually inspired me to go study again . he taught me that never give up and it is not never to late to start over again and follow your dreams.
To Be Honest it was pretty much hiruzen’s fault for everything he did not have to tell the villagers about naruto nor did he have to let him sleep in a crappy apartment.I honestly sympathize with naruto because Minato sacrificed his life for naruto and only asked for one thing in return which is To treat naruto like a hero.Everything minato accomplished would go to naruto since that’s his son.
