Top 10 Biggest Naruto Controversies

Sure, nobody stays dead in “Naruto.” But this one feels especially like a cop out to many fans. Orochimaru is a major big bad for much of the franchise. And then, in order to get answers from the previous Hokage, Sasuke decides the only way to do so is to revive Orochimaru so he can revive them. Great idea Sasuke! Resurrecting the guy who wanted more than anything to possess your body and whom you only killed the first time via ambush - what could go wrong?! It turns out okay, but Sasuke couldn’t have known it would. The fact that Orochimaru is just accepted now is also quite divisive. Sure, let’s invite the ninja world equivalent to Josef Mengele to a parent-teacher conference!

The Hyuga clan possesses an eye-based kekkei genkai called the Byakugan. To prevent anyone from stealing them, cursed seals are placed upon branch family members to seal their effects after death. And, fair enough - there’s a lot of eye theft in “Naruto.” But, the seal can also be used to torture branch family members. While the torture of family and children is bad enough, the appearance of the seal, particularly Neji’s, caused the most controversy. In the manga, the seal is shaped like the manji symbol, which has roots in Hindusim and Buddhism. Unfortunately, an inverted version was used by the Nazis, and is still associated with hatred and racism. This led to the seal being censored to be just an “X” in the anime.

Growing up without a family was rough for Naruto. Unfortunately, in “Boruto,” the guy who never had parents as a kid seems to be denying his kids their father much of the time. Sure, being Hokage is a demanding job, but for most of his children’s lives, the Ninja World has been at peace. And yet, Naruto is seemingly unable to attend both his kids’ birthdays because of paperwork? Meetings? The man can literally clone himself and retains what his clones experience! Not spending time with his family in person is just neglect, plain and simple. And seeing the hero turn into a less than stellar husband and father has soured some fans on the character. Or at least, the “Boruto” series.

Speaking of neglect, “Naruto” in general tends to leave some of its characters by the wayside. Although this is bound to happen to a few characters, given how large the cast is, some once prominent characters are just dropped for large sections of the story. Choji, Ino, and Kiba lose their sparks as time goes on. Even Rock Lee, a fan favorite in the original “Naruto,” gets practically nothing to do from “Shippuden” forward. And the simple act of mentioning Shino or Tenten is more attention than the franchise gives them most of the time. It’s a strange and upsetting state of affairs when Naruto’s peers get less character development than villains and dead characters, is all we’re saying…

This is “Naruto”’s “nuking the fridge” moment. Sasuke has plot armor for days, but this moment really takes the cake. In his battle against Deidara, Sasuke runs out of chakra as Deidara prepares a massive 10-kilometer-wide explosive sacrifice. It’s revealed that, “at the last moment,” Sasuke summoned his giant snake, Manda. Then he took control of it using his Sharingan, hid in its mouth, and unsummoned it - all using chakra he does not have, mind you - when Deidara was at point blank range! While plenty of video essays have tried to convince us this makes sense, most fans have written this moment off as Sasuke’s most undeserving win.

After a pointed conversation with Naruto, more on that soon, Pain decides to atone for his attack on Konoha. He does so by bringing every person he and his Six Paths killed during their devastating invasion. It’s not entirely out of nowhere - it’s established that one of Pain’s Paths can resurrect the others. Even so, plenty of fans feel like bringing all the characters who died back robs the previous events of their stakes. Sure, they still have to rebuild the village, but the deaths hit less hard when revisiting the arc. Granted, the Pain Arc is still regarded as one of the best arcs in not only “Naruto” but anime in general, but it might have been loved even more if the consequences stuck.

Naruto’s greatest technique isn’t Rasengan or even Shadow Clones. Rather it’s his borderline supernatural ability to empathize with his enemies, tell them why they’re wrong, and then somehow change their whole outlooks. This dates all the way back to Zabuza and Gaara in early “Naruto.” However, by later “Shippuden,” fans started to become less forgiving after Naruto convinced genocidal, probably irredeemable foes like Obito with Talk no Jutsu. He even talked Pain into abandoning his long-held goals and bringing the Leaf Village back to life! [xref2] Whether you think Naruto’s empathy and charisma are earned, or a cheap way of defeating villains, Talk no Jutsu remains a divisive subject.

For most of “Naruto: Shippuden,” Madara Uchiha is built up as the end-all be-all antagonist. He’s charismatic, interesting, and incredibly overpowered. And then…he gets betrayed by his supposed servant Black Zetsu. That alone is a controversial moment. However, the revelation that the goopy underling was actually trying to resurrect the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was greeted with a collective, “...WHO?!” by the fanbase. Switching up the final boss at the absolute last second is…certainly a choice, and one that has proven rather unpopular with most fans. Madara deserved better, and so did we!

Sakura is a rather divisive character in general. And yet, this moment was the final straw for many fans. Rightly concerned with Naruto’s unhealthy obsession with Sasuke (and we’ll get to that), Sakura assumes that it’s because of a promise he made to her to bring Sasuke back. To dissuade Naruto from his pursuit of Sasuke, Sakura tells him that she no longer loves Sasuke, and that she loves him. Despite his long standing feelings for her, for once, Naruto does not “believe it.” And neither did the fans. Many view this as an unforgivably self-centered, shortsighted, and manipulative act by Sakura. Even Sakura’s defenders can acknowledge that this is, at best, misguided.

Sasuke may be popular, but many fans have a hard time watching Naruto defend him. Whether it’s taking a beating to protect him or begging the Raikage not to pursue Sasuke for (apparently) killing his brother, it’s just not a good look, considering Sasuke’s actions. Sasuke is an internationally wanted criminal whose crimes include, among other things, trying to kill a woman who loves him not once, but twice! And he marries one of them! Naruto attempts to save nearly everyone he fights, yet his repeated overtures to redeem or protect Sasuke begin to grate on some after a while. Never giving up on someone can be admirable in some circumstances, but not everyone wants or deserves to be saved.



Is there a “Naruto” moment or storyline that had fans as upset as Naruto’s stomach while, ugh, impersonating Sasuke? Share your least favorites in the comments!