Quote Originally Posted by Kraco
Speaking of Akatsuki I can't help but wonder why all the most powerful people in the Naruto universe are evil. Right now Jiraiya is the only good badass (if even that lecher can be called good, but at least he just wanders around harassing women, not killing people).
I think Itachi was poignant about this point: when someone becomes the best, they become arrogant and isolated from others. This can have strong effects, as in the case of Orochimaru, Itachi, Gaara, Sasuke, or even Zabuza. But only because they wanted to know if the power that isolated them from others was worth it. Gaara only got satisfaction from killing. Itachi specifically said he wanted to measure his strength when he killed the Uchiha. There's certainly a tragic theme there.

Another common theme in the series is that hard work can overcome genius. That is to say, if the bad guys don't look really tough, the fight won't be exciting. It's a shounen anime.

Not that I'm complaining. The plot is interesting enough to carry the cliche.