There are countless reasons whyaudiences love an underdog story. There’s something incomparably satisfying about watching a good-hearted protagonist defy expectations and overcome insurmountable challenges that fall before them. Underdogs that started from humble beginnings are some of the most noteworthy protagonists in all genres of media, and are perhaps most successful in shōnen battle anime. When characters are forced to face supernatural opponents, the heroes must work diligently in order to enhance their strengths and triumph over their weaknesses, generating some of the most exciting payoffs in fiction.Masashi Kishimoto’sNarutois one such story that can be considered an example of a quintessential underdog story in anime.
The titular hero of the series,Naruto, is first introduced as an orphan unable to pass his academy graduation exams in order to become a full-fledged ninja. Between his lack of academic talents and never-back-down attitude, Naruto is the prototypical underdog hero — except he isn’t. While there are many underdog elements in Naruto’s story,the complete encapsulation of his family connections, personal skills, and helpful circumstances provides a list of advantages that make him a distant cry from characters truly rising up from nothing.
Naruto’s Family and Teachers are Konoha’s Best Ninja
Naruto’s introduction does an incredibly effective job of portraying him as an underdog, before later revelations illustrate the many hidden advantages he didn’t know he had. He’s depicted as a trouble-making orphan, left to his own devices and often found inciting mayhem for attention from the village. However, because of the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within Naruto, the majority of Konoha residents shunned and ostracized him. There are a few exceptions to this treatment, such as Iruka and Teuchi, from Ichiraku Ramen, but none as surprising as the Third Hokage himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi.Naruto’s ultimate dream is to become Hokage, but why does the current Hokage seem to pay particular attention to this one low-ranking ninja that the village despises? Except, he’s not just an ordinary ninja.
Naruto actually has one of the most intimate connections with Konoha’s most important figures. In fact,Naruto has a list of familial connections that read like the Hokage monument itself: Minato (the Fourth Hokage), Kakashi (the Sixth Hokage),and Jiraiya. Naruto’s father was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf and the youngest ever appointed to the position. Famed as “Konoha’s Yellow Flash,” Minato instilled unbridled fear in the battles during the Third Shinobi World War, using his devastating speed to defeat hordes of enemy ninja at a time. Team 7’s Jonin leader, Kakashi Hatake, is likewise an internationally respected shinobi. Trained by Minato himself, Kakashi becomes the sixth person to hold the title of Hokage, leading Konoha in the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi World War. While Kakashi was Naruto’s sensei, he was already regarded as the most elite and capable Jōnin in the village, having been a child prodigy and former member of the ANBU Black Ops. Naruto’s godfather, Jiraiya, may not have been on the Hokage monument, but that was only because he refused the position onmultiple occasions. Jiraiya is one of the legendary Sannin, a trio of the Leaf’s most powerful ninja, and was Minato’s own sensei.
That lineage of fathers and teachers is already one of the most impressive groups of ninja in the series, but Naruto haseven moreadvantages owed to his family. Kushina, Naruto’s mother, isa member of the Uzumaki clan, a family of ninja known around the world for their powerful life force. Even among their relatives,the Senju clan,the Uzumaki have superhuman resilience, constitution, and chakra levels. They are also masters of sealing techniques, which made members of the Uzumaki family the perfect jinchuriki. Kushina was the previous jinchuriki ofthe Nine-Tailed Beast, Kurama, before he was sealed inside Naruto. Though Kurama was an ominous force and the original reason for Naruto’s isolation, it later became one of the most powerful forms of support for Naruto. Even from a young age, Naruto relied on Kurama’s unfathomable amounts of chakra to perform techniques most other ninja could not. The cherry on top of this hall of fame family tree is that Naruto himself is the reincarnation of Ashura Ōtsutsuki, the son and chosen successor of the legendary Sage of Six Paths. Naruto isn’t just descended from greatness, he is the living incarnation of one of the progenitors of chakra and ninjutsu itself.
The Saddest Aspect of ‘Naruto’ Is Also Its Best
The Uchihas are an iconic group in anime, but they also have one of the saddest histories.
Naruto Is More Talented Than People Think
Though he failed his initialacademy exit examand was never academically gifted, Naruto quickly proved that he is one of the most reliable ninja in the field. Continuously regarding Naruto as an underdog undermines the innate talent he exhibits when the circumstances are right or, more often, when his success is needed. Though he struggles with many techniques,Naruto also possesses an innate talent that allows him to learn difficult jutsu, even if he takes unconventional methods. Even before graduating from the Academy, a young Naruto was able to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu from a scroll containing forbidden jutsu. Just from reading the scroll, Naruto was able to learn the technique and, using his disproportionately large chakra supply, created dozens more clones than most ninja can even attempt. While still ranked as a Genin, the lowest ninja rank, Naruto learned the Rasengan from Jiraiya. The Rasengan is a powerful technique created by Naruto’s father, Minato, and demonstrated Naruto’s ingenuity as he used Shadow Clones to help him perform the difficult jutsu. Naruto’s strengths may not be in the classroom, but they are definitely out on the battlefield.
InNaruto: Shippuden, after a 2-year time skip and training period under Jiraiya (again, one of the Leaf’s greatest ninja), Naruto returned to the Leaf and continued to exceed expectations of his talent. After limited instructions from Asuma on how to use Wind Release techniques, Naruto was able to do something that no one else had done before:Naruto created the Rasenshuriken, a powerful combination of the Rasengan and his Wind Release technique.Not even Minato or Kakashi were able to successfully combine the Rasengan with their Nature Release, making the16-year-old Narutoall the more impressive. The pattern only continued, as Naruto effectively made a habit of surpassing his mentors. In preparation for hisfight with the Akatsuki, Naruto trained on Mount Myōboku where the ninja toads had trained Jiraiya before him. Yet again, in a shockingly short amount of time, Naruto mastered the Sage Mode, to an even more perfect competency than Jiraiya. Naruto’s reputation as a flunkie precedes him, as he has demonstrated his sharp mind and unparalleled talent on multiple occasions.
Characters like Rock Lee and Sakura are Bigger Underdogs
Naruto’s journey assuredly had many underdog elements, and he trulywasan underdog for a while. However, as Naruto’s history and natural advantages were revealed,it’s evident that he was not always going to be the David to Goliath. However, there are still a number of other characters that more effectively embody the underdog status compared to Naruto. The premier example ofan underdog shinobi is Rock Lee. Lee is literally unable to perform any ninjutsu or genjutsu, yet, through superhuman diligence and effort, he becomes arguably the best martial artist in the village. And he was only able to achieve this because his mentor,anotherfantastic example of an underdog, helped him work around his limitations. Might Guy, like Kakashi, is one of the top ninja in the village; however, unlike his rival, Guy was the embodiment of the underdog spirit. Might Guy’s father never became a Chūnin, while Kakashi’s father was one of Konoha’s most legendary ninja. For everything that Kakashi could accomplish with ease, Guy worked relentlessly in order to improve.
While Naruto and Sasuke,a prodigious talent from the Uchiha clan, may not be underdogs themselves, it’s their own Team 7 ally that embodies that spirit more completely. It’s not just that Sakura isn’t from a powerful ninja clan; she literally comes from a civilian family. While Naruto possesses immense amounts of chakra and Sasuke demonstrates skill beyond his years,Sakura relies on her self-studied intelligence and precise chakra control. She earns the recognition of Tsunade, another member of the legendary Sannin, and proves herself as an individual worthy of tutelage. Ultimately, even if Naruto’s underdog status was revoked, there are still plenty of characters in the series that exceed expectations without disproportionate advantages.
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village’s leader and strongest ninja.
Narutois available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
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