Does anyone else watch Naruto?

[Darkmatter]

After a brief discussion about Naruto with mobus, I realized perhaps I'm not the only person out there that likes watching this series.

Mobus, dont' leave me hanging. I know you do like it.

So my question is, does anyone else watch it?

If so, I think this thread will be popular because.... I have been a closet Naruto fan. Not anymore!

HINATA FOREVA!

[Mobus]

You goober. I tried to talk to you about it before, but you only said "my brother watches it..."

Little did I know you loved it but were just too sillywillybilly to admit it! Yes, I've been watching it for a long time now. I started watching it after some guy I knew briefly in WoW was *raving on and on about it. I started from the beginning, watching 20+ episodes a day (6+ hours) until I was caught up to the at-the-time current releases. I kid you not! It was a lot of Naruto in a short amount of time. I had plenty of time to burn and it didn't take me long to get sucked into it. Now I am hooked, as the wall of text that is about to ensue is proof of.

I love the character development and deep story. The filler was hard to handle at times, but I got through it! lol Some of those filler episodes were even pretty good. As an example - and if I remember correctly - episode 193 was absolutely hilarious. That was good filler. But to get back on track, if you get into Naruto, it can really pull at your emotion strings. The Naruto series has even made me cry before. I won't say what happened because I don't want to spoil anything for any future fans, but the last moments of the Zabuza/Haku "saga" made me cry. teehee ;P

On the other hand, Naruto is aimed towards a younger audience overall. Although definitely not exclusively so, the show can be pretty dang silly and childish. It adds a nice light/comic relief element that I like (sexy no-jutsu anyone?), but sometimes it can be bothersome...but it isn't as bad as Dragonball Z's childish side. In DBZ Goku can be facing off with some big bad super villain and for some reason they'll devote 90% of the episode to Mr. Satan being a freaking dumbass. I don't feel that happens too often in Naruto after the first introductory episodes and the filler. However, it does stay true to the anime formula in that most non-filler conflicts are really drawn out, spanning many episodes and always going on and on each time you think it's over... sometimes with more talking and running around than fighting, but usually much more fighting than other anime shows I have seen.

In fact, one of Naruto's good features is that much of what we learn of the characters, usually the bad guys - especially the ones who later become allies, is learned during the conflict, during the actual fighting. Through their fighting style, emotions, and especially through the thoughts, memories, and hidden feelings Naruto always seems to bring up in his most challenging adversaries, we learn a bit about the person and inevitably the plight in their past and present that has sent them down their evil and often destructive paths. Oftentimes we learn that the bad guys are not so evil, not so bad. They are just traumatized, confused, lost, alone, manipulated, etc. Naruto can bring out the good in someone if there is any left, either driving them to further madness or bringing them back to the light...albeit it rather violently. ;D

I could go on and on, but I'll try to spare you guys more wonderful sentence fragments to trudge through! I mean, I haven't even touched on the individual characters or gone into just how deep and involved the storyline actually is. Just let it be known that I like to watch Naruto and think it is great.

*Now who is raving on and on about it?

[Darkmatter]

Awesome read. I'll agree to everything you said. Another great thing about Naruto is the music. It grasps the situation in the moment. Its pure talent I say. I have the Music!

As for for the audience it is geared to. Its not what you think. Actually, the show in Japan is geared towards the older crowd. The manga (comics) are actually read by all age groups and most adults read them during the ride on the subways.

Western cultures believe that cartoons are exclusive to the entertainment of children. Only recently has this rift been slowly changing, with the simpsons as the helm.

In japan, Anime is very popular among all age groups and is not a bad thing to even let people know you like it.

[Mobus]

I didn't say that because of it being a cartoon. Just watch Cowboy Bebop. That is geared towards an older age group.

Naruto is geared towards the same age group as Cowboy Bebop now that it is in its Shippudden stage, but before, especially with all the fillers, I felt like I should have been 10 years old sometimes lol.

[Mobus]

Special note on "sometimes." It just got pretty silly sometimes, but luckily I almost always enjoyed the silly parts as well. 8)

[Darkmatter]

I didn't watch the fillers.

Everyone told me they weren't that good.

I'm glad i didn't, hah.

[Mobus]

The fillers did still have a bit of story, background, and character development in them. I don't regret watching them. You may want to give it a shot sometime. =)

[Darkmatter]

lol no way. Like you I spend a good chunk of time watching the old ones to get caught up. If it has nothing to do with the main plot, than I'll wait.

play EAW perhaps as my off time.

[Mobus]

Are you watching the current ones without having finished all the old ones first? I watched from the first episode on before watching the new releases. It was hard not to skip ahead lol. It was worth it because I went through them so fast with how many I would watch each day, but if I couldn't do that it would be pretty annoying because of how many they are...I'd want to see what's going on "now"!

[Darkmatter]

i watched the first 200 a while ago. I'm just watching the new ones now.

Haha @ avatar.

[Darkmatter]

So I'm all got up now.

Just watched the latest one.

I'm glad "He" is alive

[Mobus]

Me too! But I'm still patiently waiting for them to finally find you-know-who. He's been gone for a long, long time. An explosive reunion is due any episode now! It'll be great to see those two battle it out again. I like to go on youtube and re-watch their fights sometimes.

But more interesting will be finding out what happens beyond the fight. Will he be turned? Will he or someone else die? Etc. My guess is there will be some words between the two followed by the sweetest fight scene yet. After that I predict homo hugs, tears, and words shared between men that are only usually shared between males and females...

I should add that they won't be real homo hugs n' such...I hope. It'll just feel very homorific.

Also, can it be that we will see a uniting of Naruto and Hinata sometime in the series' near future? One can only hope!

And while I'm at it, let me edit this post yet again and say that it would be really dang nice to know who Naruto's parents are. I have my theory (the popular rumor spreading around), but we'll never know until we know.

[Darkmatter]

lol.

I was more pumped that Hinata will finally appear in the next episode.

[Mobus]

darkmatter said:

lol.

I was more pumped that Hinata will finally appear in the next episode.

ORLY?! I must have missed that. Hawt!

[Darkmatter]

Yeah, it was at the very end. "On the next episode..."