Appearance vs. Reality

[Twiddle]

...how things are different than what they look like. For example Naruto seems like a little boy with an unrealistic dream; although, after like fifty episodes in, it is really obvious that this tiny, weak, and peculiar looking boy actually has a good chance achieve his dream. In addition, it appears as though Sasuke fears nothing and will stop at nothing to murder his brother; however, when confronted by Orochimaru it didn't seem as though this scared and fragile child could ever grow up to destroy his brother especially when Naruto had fought bravely just before him...

Comments...Opinions...

(I usually am not this critical but I've kind of had it between the polls and the threads about polls )

[ComeComeParadise]

Good observation, its good to see that kids still study Language Arts in high school.

[rEkKaShInObI]

what...?

[r3n]

it didnt seem like naruto could accomplish his dream because we didnt know fully about kyubi, had you been told "naruto has an nigh on invicible and almighty demon living inside him that can give him almost unlimited power" i suspect most ppl might have thought otherwise about narutos dream.

as for sasuke, oro used a technique on him that made him full of fear, and also unlike naruto sasuke weighs up the situation before diving in. had he known oro wasnt going to kill him he might well have done something

[Twiddle]

...yes that's correct...that is what happened...but the whole point is why do you think the creator of Naruto made it so that Naruto seemed like he was week...Why was it significant that Sasuke was paralyzed with fear...In other words what is the creator trying to teach us...

[Vagabond]

.....Don't judge a book by it's cover

Well kinda.

[Kn1ves]

Stop it, Im on vacation! Let me relax!

[Assassin]

i wouldn't say he was trying to teach us anyhitng as much as sort of portray his own ideals and his own thoughts about the characters


(does that make any sense?)

[Twiddle]

The characters are nothing more than instruments to express his ideals and thoughts...so whatever the characters are thinking if analyzed correctly could be assessed as the opinion of the creator...I personally think that this theme is present because the creator wants us to question things...Appearnace vs. Reality...Is it real?...Is it Fake? Which one is important? Of course there is the obvious one that takes less thought to observe that VagabondLBD pointed out, which is not to hold first impressions as givens.

[Kagari]

I agree 100%. If the creator made everything as it seemed, there would be no suprises, no draw to the story, and the overall anime/manga would no doubt be much less successful and kick-ass as it is now.

I personally love the fact that we're never quite sure what will happen next with certain characters....who has techniques hidden up their sleves, or most importantly who has learned/evolved from their previous encounters to become stronger.....Making us question all this is a surefire way to keep us hooked for the next episode/chapter...I know i'm caught.

[r3n]

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Twiddle @ Jan 26 2004, 11:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ...yes that&#39;s correct...that is what happened...but the whole point is why do you think the creator of Naruto made it so that Naruto seemed like he was week...Why was it significant that Sasuke was paralyzed with fear...In other words what is the creator trying to teach us... </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
so far the main point of the series has been that hard work and determination pays off over natural talent, in the long run. in my opinion atleast

[Hayate]

if that was the idea, Kishimoto-san ha already failed miserably. Sasuke&#39;s natural ability is just WAY too high. everyone else works for their strength and to understand stuff.

Sasuke can learn stuff quick and easy and is really smart. it took Lee AGES to learn all his Taijutsu, yet Sasuke learned the exact same stuff and more in one month...

its safe to say, that is not the artists agenda

[Shinji Ikari]

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (r3n &#064; Jan 27 2004, 09:07 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Twiddle &#064; Jan 26 2004, 11:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> ...yes that&#39;s correct...that is what happened...but the whole point is why do you think the creator of Naruto made it so that Naruto seemed like he was week...Why was it significant that Sasuke was paralyzed with fear...In other words what is the creator trying to teach us... </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
so far the main point of the series has been that hard work and determination pays off over natural talent, in the long run. in my opinion atleast </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
I don&#39;t think that is his thougths at all. I think the meaning of this anime as it has been so far is to get to know one self better. First of all, learn to question what one self is doing, why you are doing it, and if that way really is the way to go or if it&#39;s just been inprited in your head snice childhood.

Edit: About the whole fighting spirit, hard work over natural talent and all that... What i think it&#39;s supossed to mean is that not only talented people can make a living, working hard and keeping ones head high moving forward could bring any normal person forward. When writing this, it brings me to think about the famous Hideo Kojimas upbringing and how his life had been before becoming one of the most famous game maker in the whole world. (If anyone wants to know his story of life, just give me a shout )

When i&#39;ve said this, you most probably think i&#39;m just thinking about Neji, or you yourselfs are only thinking about Neji... But to me, it has been the task of every kid in Naruto.

Naruto as exampel nr 1: All his life, ha has been put down by others, saying that his path is a joke and that he can&#39;t make it at all. This has forced him to really look at himself, why he has been doing it, and why he can&#39;t give up his dream.

2. Sasuke: Well we all know that he lives a quiet and calm life except for the timees when he is in battle. Everything comes easy to him and he takes no bother of others because he thinks they are inferior, and he only want to fight the strong opponents. First, he had a change of thinking right here when Kakai-sensei proved to him that it isn&#39;t solo gaming which takes one as far as far can be. Second, it&#39;s this about him being an &quot;avenger&quot; as he so coldy calls it. He is starting to realize that there are other things in life except wanting his brother dead. Naruto is showing him the path of a true Ninja He is still a blockhead and wants revenge, but i do think his way of view will change dramatically along the way.

Gaara. I won&#39;t say anything about this guy since that would be a little spoiler...

Neji: well we all saw the fight, that should be enough to understand in which direction i&#39;m pointing my finger.

Want more? No, i think i&#39;ve made that point clear...

There are several moral issues that i think creator-sama aka Kishimoto Masashi wants to bring up. I can mention every moral aspect i&#39;ve thought of. but that would take all day.

Whether this has anything to do with appearance and reality as is, i don&#39;t know. But i do know that moral values doesn&#39;t only exist in animes. Animes are here to teach us right from wrong, and that is what i believe.

[MadMachine]

I think that the creator is trying to tell kids that perseverance and hard work will allow you to overcome any hardship in life. I say this because if you notice most of the powerful main characters have lost family or dont have one such as Naruto, Sauske, Neji, and Garra. So I think the creator is trying to mix real situations into his anime.

[ghostedge]

It also allows him to show how the characters grow through the series.