I made a post similar to this in a VS section thread.
Here's how Kakashi was portrayed within the text of the manga. In order words, this is what Kishimoto had to say about him:
- A prodigious talent very rarely seen throughout history. Graduated the academy at the age of 5, promoted to genin at 6, to chunin at 8 or 9, and to jōnin at 13 years old. Joined the ANBU black ops around that time and became a captain later on.
- The son of Konoha's White Fang, whose skills and fame overshadowed that of the Sannin.
- Created Chidori and mastered the raiton by the time he became a jōnin, which was @ 13 years of age.
- Noted to be a genius and worthy of the Hokage title by Jiraiya and Tsunade, two of the legendary Sannin who are both kage level shinobi themselves
- Gained respect and recognition from the likes of Minato and Itachi, both prodigous talents and kage level shinobi
- Garnered fame as the "Copy Ninja" and "Kakashi of the Sharingan"; noted to have copied over 1,000 techniques
However, up until the War Arc, we never really received what we all expected from Kakashi. Despite the tremendous amount of hype he received, he always seemed to be overshadowed by other characters throughout Part 2. The guy was supposed to be the strongest jōnin in Konoha, one that could pose a valid threat through sheer skill alone to nearly any shinobi regardless of who they were. Even throughout the War Arc, Kishimoto really dissapointed me with the constant spamming of Kamui. There I was thinking that Kakashi could finally prove his worth and status through the use of new abilities like other cool/versatile raiton/doton/suiton techniqes, more genjutsu feats, more speed feats, and more variety to his already impressive arsenal. In the end, all that was shown was one boring, overused, and overwanked technique that Kakashi himself wouldn't even use on another shinobi.
Not to mention that Kishi had the likes of Kakuzu (who I think Kakashi should beat under regular circumstances) pressure and overwhelm him, making the readers question his portrayal. It also didn't help that he had Guy showcase the 6th Gate (and later the 7th Gate), which was above any feat Kakashi showed at the time, considering the duo are supposed to be on par with each other.
Mind you, I still think Kakashi is a pretty strong character as he is now. However, being Minato's diciple, he wasn't able to come close to matching and surpassing him. He wasn't able to prove to every reader why he should be among the very best (other than the stupid Kamui/DMS büllshït that didn't make any sense). To be honest with you, I think Kishimoto really floundered and shit the bed with such a vital character. He's done this with other characters as well, but I'd argue Kakashi is one of the top 5 most important characters in Naruto, which makes it even worse.
Here's how Kakashi was portrayed within the text of the manga. In order words, this is what Kishimoto had to say about him:
- A prodigious talent very rarely seen throughout history. Graduated the academy at the age of 5, promoted to genin at 6, to chunin at 8 or 9, and to jōnin at 13 years old. Joined the ANBU black ops around that time and became a captain later on.
- The son of Konoha's White Fang, whose skills and fame overshadowed that of the Sannin.
- Created Chidori and mastered the raiton by the time he became a jōnin, which was @ 13 years of age.
- Noted to be a genius and worthy of the Hokage title by Jiraiya and Tsunade, two of the legendary Sannin who are both kage level shinobi themselves
- Gained respect and recognition from the likes of Minato and Itachi, both prodigous talents and kage level shinobi
- Garnered fame as the "Copy Ninja" and "Kakashi of the Sharingan"; noted to have copied over 1,000 techniques
However, up until the War Arc, we never really received what we all expected from Kakashi. Despite the tremendous amount of hype he received, he always seemed to be overshadowed by other characters throughout Part 2. The guy was supposed to be the strongest jōnin in Konoha, one that could pose a valid threat through sheer skill alone to nearly any shinobi regardless of who they were. Even throughout the War Arc, Kishimoto really dissapointed me with the constant spamming of Kamui. There I was thinking that Kakashi could finally prove his worth and status through the use of new abilities like other cool/versatile raiton/doton/suiton techniqes, more genjutsu feats, more speed feats, and more variety to his already impressive arsenal. In the end, all that was shown was one boring, overused, and overwanked technique that Kakashi himself wouldn't even use on another shinobi.
Not to mention that Kishi had the likes of Kakuzu (who I think Kakashi should beat under regular circumstances) pressure and overwhelm him, making the readers question his portrayal. It also didn't help that he had Guy showcase the 6th Gate (and later the 7th Gate), which was above any feat Kakashi showed at the time, considering the duo are supposed to be on par with each other.
Mind you, I still think Kakashi is a pretty strong character as he is now. However, being Minato's diciple, he wasn't able to come close to matching and surpassing him. He wasn't able to prove to every reader why he should be among the very best (other than the stupid Kamui/DMS büllshït that didn't make any sense). To be honest with you, I think Kishimoto really floundered and shit the bed with such a vital character. He's done this with other characters as well, but I'd argue Kakashi is one of the top 5 most important characters in Naruto, which makes it even worse.
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