Suppose before the war arc there's another time skip where a lot of stuff happens, lots of politics take place, and Naruto grows to around the age of 20. For me, I would have easier accepted his ascent to savior of the world if he was at least a young adult, him still being a teenager, and having obtained such ridiculous power over the course of less than 2 years is a bit ridiculous. It should have taken him at least a few years to learn to control the Kyuubi's chakra, I just don't like the concept of children surpassing even the most experienced legendary ninjas in just a few years. Give them a few years to prepare for the war arc, then make the war arc darker and more brutal, with an adult cast of characters who act more maturely, and make Naruto and Sasuke's relationship a more like Madara and Hashirama's which I think was handled brilliantly.
I realize it's shonen but Dragon Ball Z got away with making the main characters adults and look how successful that was. Kids and teens look up to adults and don't mind them being the heroes in their favorite shows, it also adds to the series longevity because even in adulthood you can still relate to the main characters and their maturity. Naruto's character didn't change much from the pain arc forward, he already had his mind set on his ideology and already basically had his whole coming of age story out of the way, he was no longer an angsty kid he just had his priorities and pursued them without crying like a baby all the time at every death like One Piece characters. Mind as well age him to an adult.
I realize it's shonen but Dragon Ball Z got away with making the main characters adults and look how successful that was. Kids and teens look up to adults and don't mind them being the heroes in their favorite shows, it also adds to the series longevity because even in adulthood you can still relate to the main characters and their maturity. Naruto's character didn't change much from the pain arc forward, he already had his mind set on his ideology and already basically had his whole coming of age story out of the way, he was no longer an angsty kid he just had his priorities and pursued them without crying like a baby all the time at every death like One Piece characters. Mind as well age him to an adult.
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