Naruto Did Not Change the World - A Critique

Shinobi are all merely tools in the hands of Destiny love empathy kindness are simply not enough to change the Shinobi World there are too many institutions across Too Many Nations for Naruto's sole action to cause real change in the Shinobi World Naruto has always been a story about the institutions that govern and rule over their lives lives and even after he has saved the world children still continue to exist as soldiers for their Nations the Land of Waves Arc is a masterful intro as it sets the tone for this series it's an introduction to the injustices that plague the Naruto World beginning with tazuna the bridge builder their very first mission already examines how gate has taken control of the Land of Waves economy and has hired Zabuza to kill the man trying to revitalize it we then meet the demon of the the Hidden Mist we learned about his upbringing about having to kill over a hundred classmates to become a fully fledged ninja we learned about Haku being born with a kek Genai and being hunted down by his own father and family until he is left abandoned and homeless Zabuza then goes on to recruit Haku and the two become hired tools forced to repress their Humanity to fulfill their duties Haku who was too gentle too kind for the Shinobi world would do anything for the person most precious to him even if it broke his heart Haku sacrifices himself for Zabuza and gate then kicks haku's dead body zabuza's only response of this is that he used Haku just like he was used as this is the life of a ninja they are but tools to be used and discarded Naruto when he comes across abu's reaction to haku's death or his lack of reaction he is appalled appalled that Shinobi become emotionless when they attain a certain level of strength appall that but there was truly no love for the boy who sacrificed his own life for the only person who made him feel precious in that world Naruto is moved to tears eventually sobbing because Haku died while living under such circumstances in this Arc they learn that this is the life of a Shinobi being an emotionless tool Kakashi says that a ninja shouldn't be concerned with the reason of their own existence no matter the nation it is more important that they live only as tools to be used for their Villages regardless of the circumstances even the rough and hardened Sasuke has a hard time believing that this is the system he has subscribed to and he questions his teacher about it Kakashi responds that all ninja live their lives with that ideal bubbling beneath the surface of their minds disturbing them like it did Zabuza all Shinobi all people beneath the surface yearn to be valued beyond their abilities they desire to survive and live meaningful fulfilling lives because they are humans at the end of the day shobi exist in a system that profits off war and violence their means of survival are by taking on missions where they have to kill or protect powerful Shinobi demand a high price because their profits can possibly bolster a nation's economy so a Shinobi's value is measured by their strength so if their worth is only determined by what they can bring to their Nation if a shenobi exists purely to fight what are they when there are no Wars left to fight who are they and how can they live during times of Peace the Land of Waves Arc was only the introduction to the cruelty of the system the very next Arc is the revered tuning exams we learned that the tuning exams his real purpose is to gain a chance to supplement a Village's economy the third hok says the exams are a miniature war between the allies land the real winners of the tuning exams are not the gning being promoted instead it's once again the institutions because of its significant viewership among the distinguished guests of these nations the villages with the best showings Whoever has the strongest Shinobi become more alluring to the noblemen of these lands these powerful Shinobi and the Shinobi from these nations will be quick to get commissioned showing off to all the other nations that not only are they the most powerful but they are also wealthy in coin and political power the lands that lose or have a weak showing expose themselves to their neighboring Nations revealing their susceptibility in combat and potentially in war all of this is to be gained over children fighting why is it necessary to stake Our Lives keba asks that is the life of a Shinobi they are nothing but tools to a village means of a country heison goes on to say that preserving the balance of power at the risk of lives is the essence of friendship in the world of Shinobi power money and influence are Paramount their individual lives mean nothing their friendship means nothing their bonds mean nothing look at sakumo Hatake he was shunned so badly for choosing his comrades over the mission that he took his own life the village repeatedly demanded Shinobi to choose their Nation over any individual bonds that they have fostered it's why they have no problem ostracizing someone like Naruto or Sasuke because they don't provide any sort of monetary contribution to their Village so they don't matter anyone who doesn't help in bolstering their economy does not matter Naruto is the first to understand that and he learns that he isn't the only one in their Village who's been dealt a poor hand by the institutions that oversee their lives during the exams Nei recounts to the jinu the story of the Huka Clan how the side branch of the family had essentially become slaves to to the main branch threatening them with curse marks that can cause intense pain and even death when commanded a curse mark that is branded upon their third birthday 3 years old and they have to give up their autonomy all while the third Hokage stood idly by allowing this to happen within Clans Naruto's teacher was Kakashi and I'm sure he knows about his teachers troubled past he goes on to meet Obito another victim of the cruel system and he watched his two best friends suffer at the hands of the world right before his eyes what becomes apparent is that the leaf is amongst this world's greatest offenders despite its pleas for loyalty further they are some of the greatest oppressors when it comes to harming other Shinobi and because they always have the most powerful Shinobi the most powerful tailed beast no one can truly stand against them the whe of fire began as an ideal that Ashera followed seeking strength through love and preaching the importance of bonds as opposed to viewing only strength as a way to gain peace pay is the one who mentions that the will of fire is now used to justify senseless murder and War and we see how it's used to justify the extermination of konoha's own Shinobi Clans anyone who is against the will of fire or doesn't immediately adhere to it essentially becomes an enemy of the village the way the former hok speak about I and Shinobi in general is telling tobirama says that the uch are a clan possessed by evil calling Sasuke a scoundrel without even ever having spoken to him and the quote good ones are the ones who choose the village over their families to him people who were comfortable accepting the blatant segregation and disrespect of their own clans were acceptable they were the good ones the third Hokage says that Itachi was Never Bound by the quote trappings of the clan he was just another willing to blindly accept the will of fire over his own flesh and blood but Itachi's case is particular at 7 years old because of the Bloodshed he saw said that Itachi thought like a hok the third found the perfect candidate to mold and to manipulate to become a weapon against even his own people that's glossing over the massive role that danzo played in manipulating the then 13-year-old hashirama Praises Itachi who slaughtered his clan at 13 years old for the village hashirama the same man who created The Village so that children may retain their innocence and not become fully fledged Shinobi before they can even drink the same man who had to bury his siblings some as young as 7 years old this is the village he has become so proud of after Naruto is disgusted with the true purpose of Shinobi he vows to become his own kind of Shinobi he Prides himself on being a radically different ninja after the Land of Waves his Revelation and after the cheen exams his real purpose the true darkness of this world would continue to expose itself to him everywhere Naruto comes across gar much like his own story the fourth kazak KAG sealed a tailed beast into his own son so he could one day serve as a weapon for the village as the sand Village's budget was cut they needed a source of strength the same kazak KAG then tried six times to kill gar because he was a quote failed experiment his own son much like Nar OS G's manufactured loneliness LED gar to a place of hatred anger and violence it's not only in the leaf that these organizations disregard their own it's every single Shinobi Village the very idea of Ain shui is outrageous placing their country's military power into a child and raising them to become weapons some even die trying to tame the beasts inside of them and aside from be and Naruto the rest of them are hunted and K killed this world values military might over the lives of the children they implant these beasts in after gar he meets pay he learns about how the great nations's battles destroyed the village hidden in the rain how konoha and others left them orphaned their lands pillaged their people impoverished it was danzo of the leaf who orchestrated the plot to destroy the peace that yahiko and their akatski sought the plot that had yahiko kill also that power could be held by Hanzo and so that danzo could try and usurp the Hokage seed nagato tells Naruto that the peace large Nations en Joy only exists due to the smaller nations's sacrifices and these sacrifices are their very lives they manufacture these wars so they can profit and grow their economy the commissions that these citizens pay to konoha become War funds Here Naruto learns that Shinobi have always been deceitful and power hungry always because that is the nature of their existence greedy people who live to fight will always find a way to create another War to profit from Naruto learns on a macro level the politics of the Shinobi world a world plagued by Darkness a genuinely selfish world and konoha stands at the Forefront when he returns to the leaf after defeating pain he's praised as a hero he's acknowledged and applauded for the first time in his life this is everything he's wanted right but he's only praised because now he has value to the leaf all those people who shunned him and disrespected him they don't ever apologize they never recognize that no child should be allowed to be punished by their own people in that way that no child should feel Superfluous and question their own existence the third time he reunites with Sasuke he learns about how the UA has been wronged by their Village he now sees his best friend as a true victim of the Shinobi world he learns about the false dilemma Itachi was placed in yet he doesn't once think about the Integrity of their Village he never reflects on the actions of the second or third Hokage and that very same man turned out to be the one who approved the order for Itachi to exterminate his own people he isn't incensed and outraged by the fact that Sasuke's Clan was killed and yet he was the one who got shunned for it all of this all of it isn't enough for Naruto to seek radical change to me this isn't the same kid who wanted to write his own path Naruto was empathetic and loving enough to listen and pull so many individuals out of the self-harming darkness still he wasn't at all angry at any of the systems that created all of their situations at the institution that created his own how Naruto can still call konoha home and remain loyal to it after so many transgressions against not only him but so many of the people he had encountered is beyond me right before the war Naruto confronted this dark Naruto the reflection at the waterfall that was supposed to represent his inner desires Naruto overcomes him but the mere existence of this side of him only proved that there was so much rage and hatred towards the villagers and the village that he had suppressed and never once did he desire to change the world that made him this way I think Naruto should have hated the leaf more he should have despised these people the village that shunned him and let him live in that place that loneliness he calls hell they left him there to rot and waste away and maybe if he didn't have iruka and Sasuke he would have died because of the Beast inside or maybe he would have turned out like gar or Sasuke to me he should have despised this world and their system and their Elders because they took his father and mother away from him don't get me wrong Naruto saved the world he brought peace to the Shinobi world and United the great Nations this was an incredible feat in the face of mortal danger he lived up to being the child of Prophecy more than that he was a great loving friend when Sasuke was trying to sever his bonds and hold the weight of the world's Darkness on his own shoulders Naruto wouldn't allow his best friend to take on such hardships and risk his own sanity and joy and livelihood returning to that hell that's the kind of friend he is love is enough to save the world but it isn't enough to change it this series constantly preaches about aiding the Next Generation change helps the Next Generation more than anything this peace that Naruto brought was temporary these nations were only United because they had enemies in common Sasuke was right on that front after saving the world Mankind's Nature has not just magically become peaceful no longer seeking power or wealth these are problems that will always arise to quote quame tur you can have peace and have Injustice peace isn't the answer again Sasuke was absolutely correct in his idea to dismantle the Shinobi world as well nagato was correct in his idea to dismantle the Shinobi world love is not enough to end the cycle of hatred it requires action Revolution what would have truly changed the world would have been to Pummel these very systems that have defined every as ECT of his life and the lives he was so empathetic towards the one common link between every single person he's listened to Haku Nei gar nagato Sasuke his own life Etc is that the Shinobi and their Creed and their lust for power money War have destroyed their lives whether it's the very existence of child Soldiers the killing of classmates the gury or whatever we can even look at saucery of the akatski who was left incredibly Lonely by the Shinobi World rakuu whose failure in his Village's appointed Mission led to his imprisonment kis who killed his own comrades to ensure a successful Mission there's one common denominator at the end of the war Naruto and Sasuke stood at the top of the world the two most powerful Shinobi in the world they had the power to topple these institutions Naruto and Sasuke United in their loneliness United in their anger and their spite towards the system that has caused them to live through that hell that is loneliness finally have the strength to make real meaningful change they have the power to choke the war Market to control Wars power to truly change the world and they did nothing the same kid who wept after discovering that a lonely Child Soldier died being a tool to A system that never cared for him a kid who vowed to take a different approach Naruto a victim himself of the Shinobi world and his best friend suffered greatly at the hands of this system this darkness that he constantly talks about Sasuke having he has the chance to destroy the reason for it I think saving his best friend was a great Act of friendship a great Act of love but Bringing Down the very reason for his suffering for his own suffering would be the greatest act of love I think that would be truly understanding Sasuke at his core his desires and his motivations Naruto was supposed to be this radically different ninja one who forced all those with and against him to be more than tools and yet Naruto continues to exist and thrive in a system that would only destroy the next wave of children a system he now encourages Naruto and Sasuke don't get to topple the institutions that ruin their lives there is no Revolt no Revolution Shinobi continue to exist as tools for me in this aspect Kishimoto failed Naruto and Sasuke

Channel: Sage's Rain

Views: 143,657

Keywords: anime, tv, naruto, sasuke, naruto uzumaki, sasuke uchiha, itachi, itachi uchiha, obito uchiha, obito, kakashi

Id: egwNts3XX7o

Length: 18min 21sec (1101 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 30 2023