Naruto is one of the most popular and commercially successful anime of all time. The series has spawned countless movies, video games, and even fashion products as it has marched towards a position of global recognition. Now, as the sequel series Boruto continues, seems like as good a time as any to talk about the fan-favorite series from a slightly critical perspective.
Despite how popular it is, some things about the show just don’t make sense. Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto was too busy trying to establish his world and develop the characters to ensure that everything lined up properly. Obviously, an audience member needs to undergo a suspension of disbelief to enjoy a series like this, but that doesn’t mean certain things should be ignored.
Putting aside the fact that the two main characters essentially fought gods at the end of the series, a lot of the conflict and narrative progression in the series makes sense. In a series about teenagers kicking butt and saving the world, there are a lot of small things that will make even the biggest fans scratch their head and think.
With that said, come learn about 15 Things That Make No Sense About Naruto!
Throughout most of the series, Naruto Uzumaki is presented to the world as an orphan. Near the end of the series, Naruto finally learns the identity of his parents and recognizes that the power of their love flows through him.
Just like Harry Potter, it doesn’t matter if Naruto grew up with his parents or not because they still proved themselves as loving parents in their few actions.
Kushina Uzumaki didn’t hide her pregnancy; she walked around the city without hesitation. People knew that she and the fourth Hokage were expecting a child, so it doesn’t take much to assume that Naruto is their child. Yes, they both died during the Nine Tails attack on the leaf village so people may assume the baby died along with them, but Naruto literally has the same family night as them.
The third Hokage at the very least knew that Naruto was their child, so why didn’t he just tell him that?
One of the most common techniques in the Naruto universe is the substitution jutsu. When a ninja is in a tight spot on the battlefield, they quickly use a technique that allows them to switch places with a random log to spare themselves from injury. It’s a smart, quick defensive move that everyone from young genins all the way up to legendary ninjas utilize.
Despite the movie’s popularity, it’s never explained where all the logs come from! Do the leaf ninjas have a grove of trees that people chop us specifically for ninjas to use on the battlefield?
The audience is never shown any random trees falling down for no reason or anyone chopping logs to use for the technique, so it’s just a bit of a mystery!
Orochimaru is one Naruto’s most mysterious and villainous characters. He grows up to murder his former sensei and has his heart set on achieving immortality. In addition to being one of the world’s best fighters, he has a sharp scientific mind and is constantly plotting experiments on various prisoners.
At the end of the day, it seems Orochimaru is run pretty thin. He’s plotting for world domination, infiltrating chunin exams, and even trying to kidnap children, so how does he do it all? He has numerous scientific experiments taking place in his lair and even figured out one of the forbidden techniques.
Not only is he a strong ninja, but he has time management skills that we can all aspire to.
Kosuke Maruboshi is the strongest genin in Konoha. As a child, he made a poor decision that resulted in the death of his squad mates. Due to his guilt, he vouched to never be promoted beyond the genin rank, the lowest in the ninja hierarchy. Despite the accident, he continued training and grew into one of the leaf village’s strongest, most respected ninjas.
It may be honorable, but it’s also pretty confusing. At some point, it’s easier for people just to give him a special rank or refer to him by his name instead of pointing to his rank.
In the few appearances he makes in the show, it’s clear he’s an amazing fighter. He’s served under three hokages and even knew the truth about Naruto’s parentage all along.
Kamui is a special move that only a few ninjas have the ability to use. It is an eye-based move that creates a pocket universe in a weird space-time bubble. The technique allows someone to teleport great distances or even attack someone without being seen.
It’s a powerful move, but it’s also an extremely draining technique. When Kakashi first used it during the Pain story arc, it was visibly taking a toll on him. But later on, when he is fighting Tobi, the two of them are able to use the move a great deal of times without ever showing any fatigue.
Sure, Kakashi became more powerful as the show developed, but he shouldn’t have been able to use kamui so many times without being fazed.
There’s nothing wrong with sprinkling some modernity into the Naruto universe, but it seems the introduction of technology was a bit lopsided.
During the Pain arc, Shikamaru can be seen using a computer to try to figure out a solution to save the day. Somehow the world had computers before mass train systems or fast food. Railroads and locomotives, especially when they are steam-powered, tend to come relatively early in a country’s industrial development.
By the time Boruto rolls around, Konaha is firmly in the present with Gameboys and big screen TVs all over Konoha. Even Naruto, now serving as Hokage for the leaf village, uses a laptop to get through his daily tasks.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with technology, but it should have been introduced in a more realistic order instead of jumping straight into computers.
Throughout Naruto’s adventures, especially during his earlier years, everyone around him tends to be surprised by how far he can push himself. His reputation as a weakling got in people’s heads and no one took him seriously. Everyone from Kiba to Kakashi underestimated him and grew to realize how far he was willing to push himself.
Whenever Naruto does anything successfully, like use the hidden clone jutsu as a genin, people simply can’t believe it. At the end of the day, Naruto’s chakra levels are more impressive than people expect them to be. With or without the Nine Tail’s assistance, the Uzumaki clan are acclaimed for their chakra levels and Naruto is no exception to the rule.
Even in his later years, when Naruto’s skill levels are more properly established, everyone around him is surprised by his actions. Just like his parents, Naruto has a deep chakra reserve that allows him to utilize powerful techniques to constantly save Konoha from major threats.
Taking a broader perspective, anime, in general, is typically more perverted than children’s cartoons in the U.S. But Naruto some of the main characters in the show seem to be driven almost exclusively by their perverted needs. Kakashi keeps a pornographic book with him at all times, insisting that he likes it for the story more than anything else. On the other end of the spectrum is Jiraya, the man who writes those books and spends his time gambling and trying to flirt with any woman that will talk to him.
In addition to the pornographic materials alluded to in the series, some of the characters are extremely sexualized. Tsunade, one of the world’s most gifted and intelligent ninjas, intentionally used a special technique to stay young and attractive. Almost every character looked at her boobs at least once when they crossed paths. Additionally, one of the first techniques audiences see Naruto use results in him transforming into a sexy, naked woman in front of his entire class!
In a lot of ways, Konohamaru and Naruto are very similar. Both of them grew up as class clowns who disrespected the title of hokage and insisted they would grow up to be the strongest ninja the leaf village. At the end of the day, though, the core thing that connects them is their lack of a relationship with their parents.
While audiences know that the third hokage is Konohamaru’s grandpa and Asuma is his uncle, no information about his parents is available. The audience is told they are Anbu ninjas, elite fighters who sacrifice their identities to serve the hokage, but their names or abilities are never mentioned.
Konohamaru grows up to become on of Konoha’s strongest ninja and is dedicated to becoming hokage one day by the time Boruto rolls around.
Kimamaro is one of the last living members of the Kaguya clan. As a result of his bloodline, he received his family’s kekkei genkai, a special ability that allows him to manipulate his bone growth and mass to use them as tools in a fight.
While he spends a large part of his early life in a cage and feared by his family, he eventually finds purpose under Orochimaru and fought alongside him. His fight with Rock Lee is one of the best in the entire series and he proved himself a worth adversary for the leaf ninja.
All that aside, it’s kind of crazy that Kimamaro survived so long with an ability like that. Sure, he can manipulate his bones, but his immune system still works. Audiences see his health decline in the show, so he’s clearly susceptible to illness. So how does a man who is constantly cutting his body open with his own bones never have a single infection?
The best way to describe Rock Lee and Mighty Guy is to call them quirky. Both of them have strange behavior that others perceive as goofy, but at the end of the day they are both strong fighters who will do anything to defend their loved ones. Just like his mentor, Lee is a dedicated fighter who is willing to do anything to improve, and is incapable of using ninjutsu.
All those similarities aside, the fact that they look so similar never made sense. Yes, Lee is shown slowly adapting his outfit and hair style to match his personal her, but the two of them look so similar they could be related.
Guy is the son of the Eternal Genin while Rock is a member of the Lee clan, so there’s really no reason that they should look as similar as they do.
Naruto, especially the anime, is chock full of flashbacks. It seems like every time two ninjas square off on the battlefield at least one of them go through an introverted moment where they experience a rapid series of memories.
From a narrative perspective, it makes sense that these flashbacks occur so the audience can learn more about the backstories of certain key characters. But, looking at the situation logically, if these fighters are constantly in their heads thinking about something else, they’re probably not giving their best on the battlefield.
Either Naruto is standing still for a second lost in thought or they are moving and reacting slower than they should because their heads are elsewhere. Yes, these are all highly trained fighters, but they need to focus if they want to survive in the high-stakes battles featured throughout the series.
Naruto’s parents are gone and he is constantly made fun of when he is younger. Alone and unloved, Naruto even lives on his own and has no one looking after him. He doesn’t have any family, but there are people in the village that care about him.
It’s the Hokage’s job to protect and care for everyone in the village, so it’s a little odd that he just lets the young man stew in his loneliness. Even Iruka Sensei, who plays a fatherly role in Naruto’s life, never says anything about his solo living situation.
It’s unlikely that Naruto is the only orphan in this world, so why aren’t there any orphanages? There might not have been people prepared to watch Naruto when he needed help as a young man, but a properly regulated foster system might have saved him a lot of grief!
Instead of spending his childhood alone, he might have been able to grow up with foster brothers and sisters.
Everyone needs to eat and sleep in order to stay in fighting shape. Well, everyone but ninjas, it seems.
The earlier seasons of the show did a good job showing Naruto and some of his friends hitting the hay, but the idea was essentially abandoned as the series progressed. Later on, as the world found itself engrossed in a global skirmish, it seems no one ever took any time to rest.
It’s commendable that the ninjas keep fighting when the going gets tough, but at the end of the day they need to rest to perform at their best.
It seems like Naruto and his friends participate in battles that last days, and yet, their abilities never falter, despite the fact that they must be dead tired.
Sakura Haruno is one of the show’s main characters. The third member of Team 7, Sakura grows to become one of the most powerful ninjas in the world and an expert healer. Despite all that, her family is left out of the manga series.
It’s especially odd because a lot of the book’s major themes revolve around family, and yet, one of the main characters is never given an opportunity to have a family life of her own.
Yes, Sakura’s parents make minor appearances in Naruto Shippuden and there are alternate versions of them in Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie, but they’re never given a chance to become important characters.
For anyone here that watches Boruto, Sakura is now a mother essentially raising a child on her own. It would have been interesting to see if there were any traits in the Haruno clan that she inherited when it comes to the parenting department.
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