Kinda controversial post to make, ne? But I just feel this is an important thing to talk about when it comes to structuring manga. It is somewhat a critique. Mostly a comparison of Naruto to HunterxHunter. Sorry for that, but there are so many similarities that it's hard not to compare.
I am talking about Naruto before Shippuden because this was around the time that I stopped reading/watching Naruto just a bit after the time skip was introduced in the manga. This was before the filler episodes, although I did watch the filler episodes, I only did so half-heartedly (as background noise while I did something else).
The real reason I stopped reading/watching Naruto is probably because I had a friend who was a big fan and my brother watched it with me. This fueled an obsession with the series. Then I moved to the new school and the only kids who knew about Naruto were so different from my friends at my old school that I felt distant to a series that I grew up with. It was no longer my childhood, it was the childhood of other kids who saw it from a completely different perspective than I did. My brother stopped watching it with me, and then the filler episodes came.
So basically my only experience with the series is where we first catch a glimpse of Masashi Kishimoto's own originality and story-telling, instead of the HunterxHunter beginning.
Let me start off with the strengths of Naruto from what I had read of the series.
The lore and setting are probably what get readers most invested in the story. Masashi Kishimoto is very good at creating a believable world for us. HunterxHunter's world is more surprising, but it doesn't feel very grounded. I can't remember any of the place names (except, like, York Shin...but I can't really imagine the city so well in my head), while I can imagine myself walking the streets of Konoha.
The character designs are quite catchy. I think this what got me reading Naruto in the first place. Not only is the art fairly good, but the designs are fun. I like Naruto's jacket and Sakura's outfit which looks both useful and stylish. There weren't really any characters that wore over-the-top outfits and that made it a bit more believable and I could take a few moments more seriously.
The Zabuza/Haku Arc was a wonderful start to the series. It got us invested in the characters and wanting to see what the next mission they would be going on.
And then the Chuunin Exams. These were especially interesting because we got to see the other teams that we only had glimpses of at the beginning.
But this is where Kimishimoto begins to get...too inspired by HunterXHunter. I won't go into detail about how they are similar, because my point isn't really about how much Naruto is like HunterXHunter...XD
I'll just get to biggest reason why I stopped reading ('cause this is getting long).
Orochimaru is an awesome, fun character. He is a TON like Hisoka, except he's snake-like instead of like a joker. They both do the tongue thing, they both are quite playful and sadistic, and they are both incredibly powerful.
Right?
Apparently not in Naruto. Orochimaru is built up as a terrifying new villain. How could Naruto possibly defeat him? Then he joins the Akatsuki and his terrifying status is broken by the even stronger members.
Hisoka in HunterXHunter, even if he is not the strongest, you know he will figure out a way to get there. Even the scariest of villains are at least intimidated by him.
My point is that audiences (like me~) get attached to villains as much as they get attached to the main character. We look forward to seeing the villain get scarier and scarier, but when they get overpowered by some scarier guys and he's NOT out of the picture, then we feel a bit cheated.
For me, at least, I want to see the villain, with all their backstory, or just all the screen time... I want to see them succeed at least. Maybe just a little. So that I can be like 'HOLY CRAP! WHAT IS THE MAIN CHARACTER GOING TO DO NOW?!'
Of course, you can go and say that Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon and numerous other anime did the same thing. The difference here is that they destroy one major villain after another so we can't really compare their power to each other. Is Cell stronger than Buu? Who knows, that's up for debate. It's something the audience gets to think about. Is Itachi stronger than Orochimaru? Apparently. Do I not get to think for myself? It's okay if they are flawed a bit, but not so much that I no longer worry for the main character anymore. Then what is their purpose in the story?
I sound like some Orochimaru fangirl here! XD But I am more of a fan of terrifying main villains.
One of my favourites of all time is Berserk's Griffith. Not only is his beauty unmatched but his power is unfathomable. HOW IS GUTS EVER SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT HIM? And this is where the story gets interesting because we know there is going to be a resolution to this story, but how? (Okay, in Berserk's case maybe not, but I still want to hope for it! ;m; )
In conclusion, villains must maintain their intimidation as much as the main character must maintain the audience's interest. The villain should grow as much as the main character.
Feel free to debate me in the comments~ But please be aware of my ignorance of certain areas of Naruto that I can't go look up on Naruto wikia. Although I think my point is more about shounen as a whole, it's just a major fault I found in Naruto that isn't just with Orochimaru, but since I know more about Orochimaru I care more about what happened to him.
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Now for WAHAHAHA part (if this post wasn't long enough)
I just realized I get to create new characters for meh webcomic~! The one with Seiichi and Tadao and all those peeps. Already looks like a lot of characters, right? But then I realized I need a lot more minor characters to fill in the gaps~!! YUUSSSSSS!! I GET TO DO MORE CHARACTER DESIGNS~! :D I felt a bit sad about finishing most of the mainies' designs...And inspired by HunterXHunter which has a HUGE cast of characters I have concluded that I need way more characters than I have~
Speaking of which and going back to my point above...I-I don't think I have a villain...O.o; Actually...none of my stories have villains..Is this a good or bad thing? I mean, I have minor villains, but nobody big major scary...Like I try to make my stories so grey that everyone ends up being a good guy from a different perspective...;orz Maybe this is a bad thinggg...;m;
Okiedokie! Sorry if I offended anyone for the above! ;3;
