Who is the REAL Antagonist?

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

Hi, I'm new here, but I had a few thoughts..

After browsing through the forums I’ve noticed a definite dispute of who is the REAL antagonist in the end.
--Some believe it to be Madara. The argument being he is the strongest.
--Some believe it to be Obito, because although he is a pawn of Madara, he is in control of the war right now.
--Others believe Orochimaru is the protagonist because he posed the first major threat on the village.
--And others belive it is Saskue because the fight between him and Naruto has been being built up for so long.
--And still others believe it should have ended with the death of Pein.

Personally, I think it is Saskue.
The rivalry between Naruto and Saskue has been the most consistent theme in the Manga, and it has been there since the beginning.
I am going to reject that Madara, Orochimaru, or Obito are the main antagonist because they all serve as foils to the Naruto Saskue rivalry.

Naruto is characterized by his ability to bring out the good in people.
Saskue has always been driven by hate.
These two opposing ideals are what make them the antagonist and protagonist. And like all great comics the hero and the villain started as friends. (see. Superman & Lex Luthor)
I like this theme because it is consistent throughout the Manga where other themes are not.

I’m interested in what everyone has to say in the comments below.

 

[gas83091]

obviously madara since most the evil in the series originates from him

 

[Ciao]

--Others believe Orochimaru is the protagonist because he posed the first major threat on the village..

da fuq?

 

[Kages]

Welcome and Madara

 

[November]

ramen guy

 

[shanee]

its gonna be oro. he started as the villain and he is gonna end as the villain. welcome to base.

 

[Shadow Ninja]

I believe it is obito because he helped massacre the uchiha and caused the ninetails attack that killed narutos parents Therefor linking naruto and sasuke from the start

 

[Lightbringer]

Madara....he pretty much was the direct and indirect cause for most of the series worst misfortunes

 

[rollin]

at the moment madara and obito
but im hoping that when sasuke finds out the information he wants, he would want to find peace through power and represent the older son because at the moment he just wants revenge

 

[Raiin]

Madara, Kabuto, and Orichimaru.

 

[King Of Sharingan]

Well first, Welcome to the Base. Now I want your Balls please. or Show Me Your Genitals.

and second, there can't be just one

 

[celarian]

elder son

he starts it all.

 

[SonictheHedgehog]

Madara, Obito, Sasuke...these Uchiha pretty much taking over popularity as antagonists...too bad Oro's probably owning them behind the scenes...don't even know about Kabuto right now, but he might end up owning Oro...but who cares?..We all know Zetsu owns this b*tch.

 

[Shadow Ninja]

If obito had not attacked the village with kurama then the massacre of the uchiha would not have been ordered because there would have been no reason for the uchiha to plan a coup because they wouldnt have been distrusted for the ninetails attack and suspected of controlling it. Then naruto also would still have his parents and would not be the jinchuuriki and that would collapse the entire story so this is why obito is the main antagonist looking from the current events.

 

[Wockeezz4Life]

Madara he planned everthing sort of

 

[Miyata]

WTF??? -Others believe Orochimaru is the protagonist because he posed the first major threat on the village..

You must be registered for see images

 

[Jonordo]

madara

 

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

--Others believe Orochimaru is the protagonist because he posed the first major threat on the village..

A few people have taken something I said out of context, so allow me to clarify: In the manga, Orochimaru is the first villian who is introduced as a major threat. Yes, Madara came before him, but we didn't know that until much later (also, Kurama doesn't count because we know in the current storyline he is definitely not an antagonist)

Many people said the antagonist would be Madara/Obito because they've been pulling the strings the whole time. While this is impressive, I argue that in the end it will be about Naruto and Saskue.
Take The Dark Knight for example. The Joker is an antagonist, and the movie reaches climax with his capture, but it ends with the death of Harvey Dent/Two Face. The relationship between Naruto and Batman is very similar. The Joker and Obito share like-views of how the world works (or rather, doesn't work) Just like Batman, Naruto has never killed. Saskue and Harvey both switch sides.

Naruto cannot lose to Obito/Madara or the story will kinda suck (and probably have some sort of Inception-esque ending where everyone thinks they won, but its just the moon eye crap) just the same way that The Dark Knight would have sucked if the Joker had won. There would be too many loose ends left untied (that is a mark of a crumby writer) such as "What would happen to Harvy Dent?"
so the question "what about Saskue?" cannot be ignored or swept aside.
It was the paradox that Harvey created by becoming a bad guy that made the dark knight so great. The good guys didn't have the option to do the "righteous" thing. And in the end there can be no rules about being a hero. The Joker was right: no rules.
In the END, it's Saskue.
It has the most emotional impact if the Naruto Saskue conflict is saved for last.

Let me make one more clarification...
IF you're judging who the antagonist is based on WHO is the greatest threat to the village, then Madara.
But, since the story is about Naruto and not the village, since Naruto is the Protagonist and the Antagonist is defined as the person/thing opposing the Protagonist, then it is Saskue. Naruto wants the village to survive/Saskue wants it destroyed. Naruto believes in Hope/Saskue is blinded by hate. Naruto wants Saskue to come back/SASKUE doesnt want Saskue to come back.
Madara is static, Saskue is dynamic. This makes him more interesting and relateable.

Now, that is just how I see it and I'd like to influence your opinions, but I understand everyone is entitled to think whatever they want. Ultimately, we can only wait. But I'd put big money that I'm right on this one. And if I'm not, oh well.

THANK YOU all for welcoming me in to the Forum. I'm exited to hear your thoughts on Naruto. I've grown up with the Manga so, of course, it has a lot of value to me. And to all the Trolls, if you're gonna troll at least have a good argument.

 

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

If obito had not attacked the village with kurama then the massacre of the uchiha would not have been ordered because there would have been no reason for the uchiha to plan a coup because they wouldnt have been distrusted for the ninetails attack and suspected of controlling it. Then naruto also would still have his parents and would not be the jinchuuriki and that would collapse the entire story so this is why obito is the main antagonist looking from the current events.

Good Point! However, in Literature I try to look at things as 'the story of what DID happen' not 'the story of what COULD have happened. The 9 tails attack on the village is in the past. This story is about Naruto, not why he is the Naruto he is. Although, that is an interesting debate. Start a thread on it!

 

[Fantastic Mr Fox]

ramen guy

lol, precicely.