For years, the "coveted" title of Most Awesome Shonen Action series has gone to Akira Toriyama's Dragonball and Dragonball Z series. Mighty warriors, mighty powers, and mighty combat proved to be a winning combination not only in Japan, but worldwide, as well. Dragonball proved to be such a cash cow that not even Toriyama himself could stop it, as his own publishers and marketers urged him to continue... resulting in even more awesome & absurd villians, powers and contrivances. Dragonball would eventually surpass Toriyama's own interests, as he had finally moved on to other things by the time Dragonball GT was green-lighted.

Still, Dragonball has endured, residing in the same club as Saint Seiya and Fist of the North Star as trademark Manly Action shows. But in 1999, Masashi Kishimoto would bring a newcomer to take Goku's throne as anime's most awesome action hero. And fandom on both sides of the Pacific Ocean would never be the same.

THIS ANIME IS ALL ABOUT NINJAS!

One of the driving forces of any shonen series is the driving force of FOO. FOO, while its actual name varies from series to series, serves the same purpose of being the force that all the characters derive their awesome techniques and power.

Naruto's FOO is ninja magic and it can do just about anything. You can zwee-fight at absurd speeds, you can summon giant frogs, and you can spit fire. You can even turn yourself into a shapely young blonde... if you're into that sort of thing.

Ninja magic aside, the world of Naruto is very much a Shonen Fantasy Land, in that enjoys many conveniences of the modern world and yet has no cars or phones.

MEET OUR HEROES! THEY LOOK KINDA COOL!

First, meet our hero Naruto! Tough brute ninja who has dedicated his life to eradicating the world of hippies!

Our Hero starts off as the biggest dork in the Ninja Village. Brash, crude, and not so bright, Naruto has the default Shonen Destiny of wanting to be the most awesome ninja around. He's well on his way, as it is quickly established that he possesses more FOO than anyone around.

This is due to Naruto being the vassal of a Nine-Tailed Kitsune that nearly destroyed the village years ago. So while Naruto's FOO is developing, he can also tap into demonic mojo to fuel his awesomeness.

The initial premise to Naruto's shtick seems to be the classic brash urchin with a heart of gold, akin to the original Goku back when Dragonball first started. The speed that Naruto's awesomeness is established, as well as his inability to tell Fighting Spirit from Just Stupid, puts him more on par with your D.J. Croft or other fan fiction self-insertion.

 

Meet Sasuke Uchiha. He's the dark and serious one our Heroic Trio.

He's the best ninja student to come from his respective village. He also bears a grim and tragic past, being the lone surviving member of his ninja clan, and has pledged his life to becoming strong enough to slay the one responsible for the death of his clan: His own brother Itachi.

Sasuke's distant, aloof, grim... and he was so much more interesting back when he was Hiei (from Yu Yu Hakusho). He fills the Jon Ellison role of the team as Consolation Hero: the awesome and powerful protagonist who's not as awesome as Naruto.

Sasuke also fills the much needed Bishie Factor for the series, a factor needed for the long-term survival of any series fandom, especially stateside. In fact he and his brother both seem to possess the ninjitsu ability to be Totally Hawt.

 

Meet Sakura Haruno. She's The Girl of the team and...

umm... lesse here...

OH! She serves as the 3rd Piece of a Love Triangle. Naruto likes her, but Sakura thinks he's a putz (which he is), while she has the hots for darkly cute Sasuke... who's too focused on being Dark and Edgy for Sakura's foolishness.

Sakura also serves as the Hermione of the group, in that she easily has more control and focus over her FOO. Like her Hogwart counterpart, she starts off initially as the more competent of the Heroic Trio, but is quickly eclipsed by her male cohorts.

This is a result of how quickly Kishimoto established that, while Sakura has more controlled FOO, Naruto and Sasuke possess more raw amounts of it. It's a common shonen anime trope that quickly establishes the proverbial pecking order of characters of a series. Such is the case in a story influenced so heavily by popularity polls.

In any case, Mishimoto and his ninja boy can rest assured that they're presently on top of the Shonen Action game. Hopefully they'll survive the experience, as already Naruto's starting to gather the clout that has doomed other series before. The power levels are rising, and the anime is rapidly starting to catch up to its manga source material. One has to wonder whether he'll have to resort to padding like Saint Seiya's Asgard arc to flesh things out. Tune in next time when I explore some of Naruto's opening story arc and its supporting cast.

Hmm, Ninjas vs Vikings. Now there's an idea...

 

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