Bad Touch Yakushi
Kage in the Making 👑
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(Heres tonights thread, let's hope idiots dont get it closed again)
I love Naruto. The show, the manga and the character, personally as much as we like to moan about him, he's almost definitely the best choice as a protagonist, he's simple-minded yet deep, tortured yet optimistic and we've seen just about every emotion possible from him as events and sub-plots unravel around him. Personally whilst i'm not a huge fan of Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki is a perfect example of what a shonen hero should be. What Kakashi said is right, you want to help him and you want to believe in him because of how pure-hearted and passionate he is. Sometimes the most simple thing can be the most important and Naruto WILL save the ninja world.
That said, sometimes you can look at side characters and imagine what the manga would be like focusing on them. I'm not saying these choices are better (Kishi knows what he is doing and knows his Shonen hero 101) Here at my top 5 suggestions of alternative heroes the manga could've gone with.
5.) Itachi & Sasuke Uchiha
Thanks for Drakengard for this one. Considering Kishimoto's fixation on the Uchiha Clan, this manga would bring our villain/side character creating clan to the front stage.
"I think it would be nice if Itachi was the main character and Danzo the main villain... with Danzo being seen in a good light by Konoha while Itachi knows his true colors. After the massacre and his plan, we wouldn't get much screen time of Sasuke, cutting him off as he promises to get revenge on his brother until their next encounter. Itachi himself can die sometime within the middle of the manga and the main character can switch to Sasuke. And yes main characters have died in manga before in such a fashion..."
Having a political/action suspense anime is actually very interesting, especially as there's a LOT to be expanded upon in the story of the Uchiha genocide. We never knew the exact specifics; Itachi in the third shinobi war, how exactly Itachi grew into a neutral child to be used by Konoha, Itachis personal relationship with his parents, Itachi's lover etc etc. Also the idea of the younger brother taking over the role of the seemingly perfect brother...has been done many times and can work very well
Of course the reason this is so low in my list is because whilst Sasuke and Itachi have such big fanbases- I personally feel this is only because of their presence as side characters, a character like Itachi would have half the fanbase he currently does if he was the main character imho. It'd be interesting to see but also very limiting as not many side stories can be made and focusing on the genocide sections off quite a bit of the Naruto world. Still, gotta admit- would make interesting anime.
4.) Entire Narutoverse.
A surreal one here. Think Durarara or City of God, having a narrative that doesn't rely on characters but actually revolves around a town or a world. The story of Naruto Uzumaki is just as significant as that of Omoi's, Zabuza's or Tobirama's.
When the characters storylines overlap they overlap and multiple stories can be happening at once and affect different people in different ways. To me this would've been an unconventional method of storytelling but it DOES work and it's fun to experiment with perception, especially how Kishimoto likes his themes of peacekeeping and unity between nations. They just come into the actual story a bit too late in my personal opinion.
3.) The Akatsuki
A stereotypical shonen anime from the perspective of the villains. With Deidara, Itachi and Sasori as the main leads (they don't die in this version of the story obviously) already has a god-like leader, a traitor in their midsts, a clear goal, several missions and a great cast of interesting characters ranging from psychopathic nutjobs to cold, silent killers to people who see their own truth in the world. I think nearly everybody can agree the Akatsuki would've been great.
2.) Rock Lee
A character so liked by fans and so obviously a good central character that he literally DID get his own spin-off show and even a video game. The video game tells the story of Naruto Shippuden but through Rock Lee's vivid and quirky imagination (where Rock Lee has a mecha, defeats Orochimaru single-handedly and has Konoha saved from the Pain Invasion by a magical genie who brings everyone back to life) Though Naruto SD is obviously a comedy anime, one similar to Naruto Shippuden just with a perhaps more iconic, handicapped and fun main character. As long as his character isn't twisted this could've just as easily worked.
1.) Taka
My personal favourite. I honestly believe Taka would be able to carry the story just as well as Naruto, if just with a different dynamic. Suigetsu and Sasuke as the main characters. Sasuke wants to kill Itachi, Jugo wants to conquer his curse mark, Karin wants to... get laid (she can be given a cool goal later) and Suigetsu wants to collect all the 7 Swords along with them all joining the Akatsuki...That's 5 plots going on already. Sasuke over their travels rekindles that feeling of trust and comradeship he abandoned with Konoha and begins to regain his humanity his brother took away from him.
Just some alternatives. Do you like any of them? Any to suggest of your own? Feel free.
I love Naruto. The show, the manga and the character, personally as much as we like to moan about him, he's almost definitely the best choice as a protagonist, he's simple-minded yet deep, tortured yet optimistic and we've seen just about every emotion possible from him as events and sub-plots unravel around him. Personally whilst i'm not a huge fan of Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki is a perfect example of what a shonen hero should be. What Kakashi said is right, you want to help him and you want to believe in him because of how pure-hearted and passionate he is. Sometimes the most simple thing can be the most important and Naruto WILL save the ninja world.
That said, sometimes you can look at side characters and imagine what the manga would be like focusing on them. I'm not saying these choices are better (Kishi knows what he is doing and knows his Shonen hero 101) Here at my top 5 suggestions of alternative heroes the manga could've gone with.
5.) Itachi & Sasuke Uchiha
You must be registered for see images
Thanks for Drakengard for this one. Considering Kishimoto's fixation on the Uchiha Clan, this manga would bring our villain/side character creating clan to the front stage.
"I think it would be nice if Itachi was the main character and Danzo the main villain... with Danzo being seen in a good light by Konoha while Itachi knows his true colors. After the massacre and his plan, we wouldn't get much screen time of Sasuke, cutting him off as he promises to get revenge on his brother until their next encounter. Itachi himself can die sometime within the middle of the manga and the main character can switch to Sasuke. And yes main characters have died in manga before in such a fashion..."
You must be registered for see images
Having a political/action suspense anime is actually very interesting, especially as there's a LOT to be expanded upon in the story of the Uchiha genocide. We never knew the exact specifics; Itachi in the third shinobi war, how exactly Itachi grew into a neutral child to be used by Konoha, Itachis personal relationship with his parents, Itachi's lover etc etc. Also the idea of the younger brother taking over the role of the seemingly perfect brother...has been done many times and can work very well
(L from Death Note, Kamina from TTGL)
Of course the reason this is so low in my list is because whilst Sasuke and Itachi have such big fanbases- I personally feel this is only because of their presence as side characters, a character like Itachi would have half the fanbase he currently does if he was the main character imho. It'd be interesting to see but also very limiting as not many side stories can be made and focusing on the genocide sections off quite a bit of the Naruto world. Still, gotta admit- would make interesting anime.
4.) Entire Narutoverse.
You must be registered for see images
A surreal one here. Think Durarara or City of God, having a narrative that doesn't rely on characters but actually revolves around a town or a world. The story of Naruto Uzumaki is just as significant as that of Omoi's, Zabuza's or Tobirama's.
You must be registered for see images
When the characters storylines overlap they overlap and multiple stories can be happening at once and affect different people in different ways. To me this would've been an unconventional method of storytelling but it DOES work and it's fun to experiment with perception, especially how Kishimoto likes his themes of peacekeeping and unity between nations. They just come into the actual story a bit too late in my personal opinion.
3.) The Akatsuki
You must be registered for see images
A stereotypical shonen anime from the perspective of the villains. With Deidara, Itachi and Sasori as the main leads (they don't die in this version of the story obviously) already has a god-like leader, a traitor in their midsts, a clear goal, several missions and a great cast of interesting characters ranging from psychopathic nutjobs to cold, silent killers to people who see their own truth in the world. I think nearly everybody can agree the Akatsuki would've been great.
2.) Rock Lee
You must be registered for see images
A character so liked by fans and so obviously a good central character that he literally DID get his own spin-off show and even a video game. The video game tells the story of Naruto Shippuden but through Rock Lee's vivid and quirky imagination (where Rock Lee has a mecha, defeats Orochimaru single-handedly and has Konoha saved from the Pain Invasion by a magical genie who brings everyone back to life) Though Naruto SD is obviously a comedy anime, one similar to Naruto Shippuden just with a perhaps more iconic, handicapped and fun main character. As long as his character isn't twisted this could've just as easily worked.
1.) Taka
You must be registered for see images
My personal favourite. I honestly believe Taka would be able to carry the story just as well as Naruto, if just with a different dynamic. Suigetsu and Sasuke as the main characters. Sasuke wants to kill Itachi, Jugo wants to conquer his curse mark, Karin wants to... get laid (she can be given a cool goal later) and Suigetsu wants to collect all the 7 Swords along with them all joining the Akatsuki...That's 5 plots going on already. Sasuke over their travels rekindles that feeling of trust and comradeship he abandoned with Konoha and begins to regain his humanity his brother took away from him.
Just some alternatives. Do you like any of them? Any to suggest of your own? Feel free.
