I loved how he was an underdog, but slowly rose to the top. During part I I also loved how Lee and Hinata also had the same situation, and on thwir own and through Naruto's inspiration they wanted to better themselves. Sadly both got pretty dropped part II and even worse they seemed to have hardly improved since part I.
Then all the sudden Naruto is a prophecy child, Hokage Son (though it doesn't automatically mean greatness like Asuma), and from an old and famous clan.
Kishi kinda diced the Underdog theme when he rose Naruto above it, and pretty much kept Lee and Hinata from becoming notably strong.
Anyways, like you I enjoy looking st symbolism and philosophy. My other favorite is looking at the evil of some characters.
For example, Kakuzu was once Takigakure's version of Kakashi...but due to cruel treatment after a failure, he lost faith in humanity...money holding the only truth to him.
Kisame lived in a world of lies and betrayal. Wanting to find a world without lies (genjutsu world) he joined and followed Madara.