In 1999, a series would be published that would take the world of manga by storm: this series would grow to become one of the best selling manga in history and would be the biggest modern anime in the U.S. The series is none other than Naruto.
Naruto is a series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It was the tale of a boy named Naruto Uzumaki and his journey to become the greatest ninja in his village. There's a lot more to it than that, but that's pretty much the story at its core.
I remember being ten years old and watching the premiere of Naruto in the U.S. I was completely in love with the character of Naruto: a boy born with nothing and looked down upon by his peers along with the majority of his village who had to fight tooth and nail to earn respect of those around him. The series in itself had this perfect balance of cool characters, an interesting world, amazing fights, and just all around awesome moments that made you either want to tune in for the next episode or pick up a volume of the manga (or do what the majority of fans did and go online) and read what happened in the next chapter.
I have been following the story of Naruto for nine years and I had seen the series at its best and worst. I witnessed every single twist, every single fight, every single moment that made it what it was. I also witnessed how the series practically ruined nearly every single aspect of what made it so great in its final arc and made it a shell of its former self (Hell it's debatable that the decaying of it's story began LONG before its final arc). But I'm not here to drawl on the negatives, I'm here to celebrate it.
Even when it was taking its turns for the worst, Naruto still managed to entertain me in some form. Whether it was through the comments of Youtube videos where fans would could up with insane theories and speculations, or when I'd watch and laugh at whatever person would rant his head off about how horrible a certain chapter or character was. Or when I would go to the forums where people would verbally & virtually be at each other's throats over who should be Naruto's girlfriend (I'm not making that up. Type in Naruto pairing wars in Google right now. That's some intense shit that fans are probably STILL talking about. And I'd be lying if I didn't participate in that stuff when I was younger).
As corny as it sounds, Naruto had a huge impact on my life. To use metaphorical terms, Dragonball was the series that presented me the gate to anime and manga. Naruto was the one that kicked that gate down and introduced me to a brand new kind of medium for entertainment. A lot of the friends I made in my life were people who had a common interest in Naruto, even in college this fact STILL rings true. It's the reason why I want to be a story writer myself (Hopefully I won't be fifty when I actually finish and publish the stuff I write.) It's part of the reason I created this blog that you're sitting in front of your computers reading right now.
Was Naruto the greatest manga/anime ever. No. Far from it (I don't even know if I could put it in my top 10 list). But what it did for an entire generation of kids was introduce this insane and fun medium that hopefully they won't drop off now that the series has ended.
Whether you loved it, hated it, praised it, or trashed it, Naruto will forever have its place in the Manga & Anime World. And it will always have a place in this reviewer's heart. Thank you Masashi Kishimoto for this Roller coaster ride of a story you've created.
And thank you Naruto, for giving me nine years of entertainment.
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