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One of the major themes of the Naruto series seems to be the importance of Duty, and the idea that one is obligated to defend the people and ideas that one holds precious, even to the death, is a point that weighs heavily on each chapter. One can find evidence of this importance in Naruto himself; his growth as a character is directly linked to his willingness to acknowledge and accept his duty. Also, the most powerful figure in the village, the Hokage, is the character with the strongest sense of duty.
The things that the characters in Naruto express Duty towards can fall into two categories. As previously stated these categories are "ideas" (a Nindo, or 'way of the ninja') and "people" (precious people). Gai Sensei makes this distinction clear to Lee when discussing the proper times to sacrifice himself by using the Lotus and opening his gates. The relative importance of these two different types of duties varies from character to character, and situation to situation. For a character like Sasuke, for instance, the duty to his Nindo would usually take precedent over his duty to a precious person. The opposite holds true for Sakura.
do you agree with these statements? can you site evidence?
what do you think the primary theme of naruto is?
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there are many fake themes
such as 'hard work gets you everywhere'
this is seen in the character of Rock Lee, he spent all that time working hard to achieve what he set out to do but in the end he was still beaten, and by a genius (Gaara) then put in hospital for his efforts.
infact the only genius he beat (Sasuke) learnt everything that Lee knew about taijutsu in way less time then Lee.
so i wouldnt follow that theme as it seems to be very flawed
the only real theme in Naruto i've noticed is the 'precious person/people' idea,
this is more primary then a nin's 'nindo' and when they are protected precious people they are capable of alot more
although this is also semi flawed as Lee once again loses when protecting Sakura, but its evident when Haku jumps in the way of Kakashi's attack to protect Zabuza and Naruto fighting Gaara to save Sakura
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Hard Work is a good theme, I mean Sasuke had to learn the ninjutsu he stole...
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yes, but i would say that the idea of protecting a precious person is ties in with ones duty to those around you. it doens't neccisarily follow that because someone is doing the right thing that they will always win.
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protecting 'precious person/people' is a sometimes theme. i remember once rock lee couldn't protect his nindo. http://www.gotwoot.net/forum/html/emoticons/mad.gif but Naruto owned gaara when he protected sakura.
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The "path of hard work" is inarguably a central theme in the manga. Consider the conclusion of the Naruto/Neiji fight -- "Bunshin was my worst technique." Ultimately, the hard work ideal falls into the nindo ideal that different characters pursue. What you need to understand is that it's not the specific ideal that they follow that's important, it's the strength of conviction that's important. It's a central theme that allows the author to illustrate actual accomplishment.
For example, it was quite necessary for Rock Lee to be beaten so badly by Gaara. Not because of power levels or a lack of effort, but for the writing. Lee gains his power by overcoming adversity -- without an impossible challenge, a handicap that makes him unable to accomplish his goals, he's not Rock Lee; he'd just be another paper-thin character that we don't give a damn about. Originally, it was lack of talent that held him back. He just couldn't compete without proper jutsus. Through his sheer force of will, he put forth the necessary effort to do the impossible -- to be a top-class ninja with only Taijutsu. Not only was Gaara necessary to further the plot, but Rock Lee would have "capped out" if he had won that fight. His hard work wouldn't take him any further because he had accomplished his goals.
However.
However, through his incapacitation, Rock Lee's got a new lease on life. He's got another mountain to climb, and he will once again do the impossible. Lee will not only recover from his handicap -- he will become stronger than he had ever been before.
And it's all just because he believed.
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</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Insomniac @ Dec 12 2003, 08:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> there are many fake themes
such as 'hard work gets you everywhere'
this is seen in the character of Rock Lee, he spent all that time working hard to achieve what he set out to do but in the end he was still beaten, and by a genius (Gaara) then put in hospital for his efforts.
infact the only genius he beat (Sasuke) learnt everything that Lee knew about taijutsu in way less time then Lee.
so i wouldnt follow that theme as it seems to be very flawed
the only real theme in Naruto i've noticed is the 'precious person/people' idea,
this is more primary then a nin's 'nindo' and when they are protected precious people they are capable of alot more
although this is also semi flawed as Lee once again loses when protecting Sakura, but its evident when Haku jumps in the way of Kakashi's attack to protect Zabuza and Naruto fighting Gaara to save Sakura </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
maybe rock lee is just a loser.lol i`m j/p but naruto always protects the person thats precious to him and always wins. so thats a good theme. but i think hard work can get u everywhere is a good theme to because naruto isn`t a gnius at all, and he really has to work to learn new attacks **i`m nt gunna mention them cause that would be spoiling it fer others** anyway i think both are good themes. so meh! http://www.gotwoot.net/forum/html/em.../mf_jumpon.gif
