As a kid watching the Sasuke Retrieval Arc I don’t think I was in as much suspense of a show ever. Like I thought all of them were going to die.
2 years ago
| 755
Pain Arc. High stakes, meaningful character death, great villain, awesome character power-up, mc character development, good fights, moves the plot forward, nice pacing, world building, and it ends with Naruto receiving the admiration of the entire village like he always wanted. The anime version of that scene might be my favorite scene in all of Naruto, where Iruka is looking at Naruto and thinking back on everything that's happened and how each major event slowly won the people over towards Naruto culminating in this moment where you now fully believe that he can be Hokage and the people would want him to be Hokage.
2 years ago | 210
The Sasuke Retrieval Arc had me convinced that everyone in Naruto's immediate friend group would have plot development throughout the entire series. The series would've been 10 times better for it if it wasn't just the Sasuke and Naruto show. The series just felt like it had so much depth to reach at that point and it made me feel like the world was a lot bigger than it ended up being. I never got that feeling back, so the Retrieval Arc gets my vote.
2 years ago | 92
Chunin exams has so much depth. I could talk for hours about all the layers of character motivations in that arc. Actually, Swag should talk for hours about that.
2 years ago | 33
I think the Pain arc hits hard. You feel the hatred from both sides. A friend who wants to end violence through ultimate power, a victim of the twisted world. The person who could’ve taken a dark path but had the friends and support around him to never give up and dream of peace facing the challenge of not giving into the evil within when faced with the man who took away his father figure. Two very similar people who just took different directions
2 years ago | 21
I loved the Hidan and Kakazu stuff (whatever that arc was called). It was the first time for a bit that all the fights felt on the edge of a knife and the opponents just keep overcoming the heroes but not in dumb ways. Asumas part was also very good for the story as it is something Naruto lacks as a series
2 years ago | 31
Massive fan of the 5 Kage Summit. So much heat crammed into those chapters.
2 years ago | 117
Pain arc overall. The way that Pain as a character was used to explore themes like systemic violence, imperialism, vengeance, and morality was very interesting. People talk abt how Naruto changed Pain, but forget just how much Pain changed Naruto. He’s the actual reason Naruto was able to actual find the resolve the save the shinobi world.
2 years ago | 13
First for the first time of my life Pain arc for the win I legitimately felt dread watching it for the first time, beloved characters dying one after another.. anime arcs rarely make me emotional, but this arc... Don't lemme start on how invested it got me, I never wasted time I binged this entire arc in one sitting.
2 years ago (edited) | 17
Chunin Exams hands down. Introduced so many new characters and cool concepts and it had plenty of good fights
2 years ago | 11
The retrieval arc was, is, and always will be my favorite naruto arc. All my favorite characters, all my favorite fights and my favorite point in the naruto story
2 years ago | 169
When i first saw naruto it was through the anime and Pain was my favorite because of the animation and music and voice acting but then i read the manga. twice. And now i’d say the retrieval arc is handily my favorite. I think the anime does the retrieval arc kind of a disservice with how much it drags on, but the manga it’s succinct and packs so much of what makes Naruto great into such little reading The way it expands on the crew and shows just how far Naruto has fallen during the final fight, combined with how much it sets up for the timeskip, all by like chapter 200 is actually incredible. Other manga by chapter 200 are still figuring themselves out/ sorta waning in their focus but Naruto has possibly it’s most important arc right there and just builds upon it. I would say that Pain arc is still my favorite anime arc though whereas the retrieval is my favorite in the manga and favorite overall
2 years ago | 11
5 Kage summit is easily my favorite. Seeing Sasuke just go insane and not give af anymore was just awesome
2 years ago | 5
It's really evolved over time for me but the Retrieval Arc has possibly my favorite use of the then established Naruto Canon. The near death of Shikamaru's squad is tense and real feeling, at a level that I don't think was ever quite recaptured. Plus Naruto vs Saskue in the Valley pt.1 is nearly satisfying enough to be a series conclusion. Props to the anime adaptation as well for making that fight feels weighted and fluid at all points, something not formally recaptured until Pain.
2 years ago (edited) | 8
My absolute favorite arc is Jiraiya The Gallant. Jiraiya isn’t even my favorite character, but his story of failure who didn’t have the guts to never give up is the most endearing story in the entire franchise to me. It’s also one of the only times I actually prefer the anime rendition over the manga, as the added in scenes to make the Rain Village more eerie, and better flesh out Jiraiya’s character. Besides that, the War Arc is my second favorite
2 years ago | 6
Honestly I know the war arc isn’t the best but I genuinely enjoy it the most. Naruto and Sasuke getting their SO6P buffs is genuinely the most excited I’ve ever been during the entire series
2 years ago | 5
War Arc, where it brought so many characters from the past and we saw all the villages working together as well as our protagonists getting even stronger.
2 years ago | 4
Man. Watching Sasuke Retrieval Arc back when it was airing weekly for the first time in the 2000s was Peak. Favorite arc in all of Naruto to me
2 years ago | 3
Swagkage
Favorite Naruto arc?
2 years ago | [YT] | 1,577