The Philosophy of Rock Lee - For The Boy Without Talent (Naruto)

i want to show i can be a splendid ninja as well even if i do not have ninjutsu or genjutsu [Music] hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard i'm sure we've all heard that i too believed it was a core theme of the naruto series but when we look at the outcome of rock lee against gara and further look at the direction that the series took after this fight more often than not talent will win but where rockley comes into play is that just because he didn't win that doesn't mean that he is a failure lee even in defeat is a great success because hard work no matter the outcome is a success rock lee the shinobi born without any talent or affinity towards ninjutsu or genjutsu was constantly demeaned by his peers as he was told time and time again that he couldn't be a shinobi after the academy he would meet his soon-to-be sensei my guy a man very similar to himself a late bloomer who believed in hard work and more importantly the only man who would believe in lee and shortly after the handsome devil would soon become my guy's prodigy guy sensei's impact in molding a talentless shinobi into someone who could believe in his abilities needs to be emphasized he sees so much of himself and lee to the point where he feels that his purpose his nindo is to make sure lee becomes the most splendid ninja possible and his presence alone influenced lee's way of living and his philosophy one of unwavering self-belief and determination chasing after one's dreams even if it means death because giving up is a pain that is so unimaginable for the two of them giving up is worse than death most of all it is a philosophy that asks them to uphold their promises no matter the cost guy sensei and lee have a bond unlike any other in the naruto universe and at every roadblock gaia was there to keep his student going lee trained his body to become one of the leaf's greatest taijutsu based fighters lee was faster than the two tomoe sharingan of sasuke easily dispatching him in their short fight and even more impressive was that lee was faster than gara's absolute defense all of this was to fulfill lee's own goal his nindo which was to prove that even without ninjutsu or genjutsu he could become a splendid ninja rock lee versus gara during the tuning exams is one of the most popular fights in naruto and a big part of that is the relatability that rocklee brings we've all felt inadequate or untalented at something and in the naruto world lee is the closest thing to our the audience's proxy and when gara fights lee it's a clash of two polar opposed people and lifestyles at this point 48 episodes into naruto we aren't shown the hours that gara put into mastering his absolute defense or the amount of times he's failed or looked weak in front of his peers the times that he's cried feeling that he wouldn't ever reach his goal because that never happened to gara but we have seen lee's dedication time and time again gara was perfect and he was terrifying he wasn't the happy energetic lee he was a cold-blooded bloodthirsty killer a kid who's never even been touched in this fight the talent went against the hard work and rockley represents the outcome of hard work and determination at different stages during this fight when he takes off his ankle weights and shows off his speed penetrating gara's perfect defense that's the fruits of his labor paying off when he enters the first gate in the second and finally the fifth when rockley is sacrificing his future to win this fight that is what determination is that's chasing after your dreams it was a classic underdog fight up until it wasn't but there lee was unconscious his leg was shattered and he was still ready to put his life on the line hard work overcoming talent was never a core theme of naruto's story because naruto himself was never without talent but began without the proper focus discipline or love required of course we know the nine taijin cherokee has plenty of skill and talent but naruto coupled his talent with hard work to boost the skill he was born with sasuke the uchiha with legendary eyes worked equally as hard to supplement his sharingan with a plethora of jutsu and skills the same goes for nedji lee's rival and many more but hard work overcoming his lack of talent was a theme for lee's personal story rocklee wanted to prove that he was a worthy shinobi without genjutsu or ninjutsu and he did gaara was untouchable literally before he fought lee but most of all gara was feared even by his own siblings even by joni and when lee was called to fight him there wasn't any fear taligarh was nothing more than a stepping stone a fight to prove his worth and lee pushed and exposed gara as human the blue beast even drew blood out of the one tail jinchiki two things that have never happened before happened to gara in the same fight sure he lost but he proved himself as more than a splendid shinobi he is worthy strong and he is valuable and bushy brow would later fight kimi maru to a standstill and i personally still believe to this day had he been placed against anyone else in his class during those exams the handsome devil would have won rock lee quickly became a fan favorite and that's no surprise he's inspiring and motivating i feel like doing 100 push-ups every time he's on screen his energy is so infectious and his presence alone grounds the series as motivating as he is he's also incredibly vulnerable he's able to admit when he feels that he isn't good enough or when he's lost and unsure when he feels powerless lee wears his heart on his sleeve when lee is balling over the fact that he feels weak it's such a moving scene because the pain of not feeling good enough and even feeling that you'll never be good enough can be devastating the fact that lee is able to be vulnerable and to feel all of these things to verbalize all of these things and to still have courage for me is the reason he's inspiring lee doesn't come from a legendary family or have a genetic advantage in fact he's at such a disadvantage when it comes to his peers but one by one he stood against prodigies without fear he stood against geniuses simply sharing the battlefield with ajinchirki in uchiha or a hyuga is a success in itself and to stand without fear is even more impressive lee's story and his character represented in one scene is him standing up to fight when he was unconscious and his body was broken against the most dangerous ganning in his class he's willing to die for what he values that's the level of determination that he has and that's how badly he's willing to fight for his dreams lee's arc proves that hard work doesn't always be talent but that hard work in itself is a success because of the simple fact that hard work teaches one how to be resilient it teaches patience it teaches how to never give up and how to adapt to failure and loss and these are all the lessons that lee has taken from working hard and has shaped who he is the reality is that lee became a splendid ninja the second he was able to touch gara and to become a genius of hard work that is something that no one else in the naruto universe can take from him he's the only one he's one of one rock lee worked harder than anyone and in his own personal journey of self-worth he won he upheld his promise rockley wanted to prove to himself that he could become a splendid ninja and instead he became great that is the power of youth you

Channel: Sage's Rain

Views: 758,869

Keywords: anime, naruto, rock lee, lee, might guy, shinobi, hard work, naruto uzumaki, neji hyuga, jinchuriki, uchiha, sharingan, kekkai genkai, guy sensei, gaara, rock lee vs gaara

Id: DWZHqMpg_Lc

Length: 9min 3sec (543 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 05 2021