Anime Fans Are Defending Naruto's Parenting Skills

To say there are some bad anime fathers out there is an understatement. While few of those dads [...]

By Megan Peters

To say there are some bad anime fathers out there is an understatement. While few of those dads are as hated as Shou Tucker, guys like Son Goku get made fun of for their parenting skills all the time. Naruto Uzumaki was added to that group not long ago, but fans of the hero are already pushing back.

After all, Naruto is really trying his best with what he's got.

Over on Twitter, anime fans set off to defend Naruto's parenting abilities after writer Andrea Ramirez got the conversation rolling. The journalist posted an article breaking down how good of a father the ninja is, and fans were inclined to agree with her assessment.

The defense goes a little something like this:

The Naruto who fans got to know years ago is not the same one fans meet in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. The hero is no longer a up-and-coming ninja eager to prove themselves to the world. No, Naruto has become the 7th Hokage by the time Boruto gets going, and he dedicates himself fully to the dream he has held his whole life. It's just that Naruto takes it to the extreme.

The hero does what anybody would when they are given one hell of a promotion: he works his butt off. Eager to please, Naruto goes overboard with his Hokage title just like he did during his Genin days. He wants to prove he was the right choice for Hokage, and the former shonen star has to navigate the realities of reaching his long-desired dream.

As for Boruto, the kid has trouble seeing where Naruto is coming from. He doesn't know about his father's past, and Boruto feels understandably jealous. Naruto has extended his once-insular family to include the whole village, and Boruto is not keen on sharing his dad. Those feelings manifest themselves in Boruto's attention-seeking behaviors, but it's just a matter of time before the boy finds a way to level with Naruto.

Unsurprisingly, fans of Naruto have been bouncing off the piece since it was posted. You can find some of the best fan-reactions to the argument above, and if you still think Naruto is a bad dad afterwards, then you will want to familiarize yourself with Enji Todoroki ASAP.

For those unfamiliar with Boruto's predecessor Naruto, it has quite a storied history. Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, the series ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows Naruto, a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.

How do you think Naruto's parenting is doing? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

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