Viral ‘Naruto’ Debate Questions the Strength of the Series’ Heroines

Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto is a widely popular action manga and anime series across a wide variety of demographics because it presented a series full of tons of appealing characters. Each fan has their own favorite, and a lot of this was helped by the fact that, outside of the main character’s immense inner strength, the ninjas seemed to be impressive in their own ways regardless of age or gender.

But one Naruto fan has gone viral for sparking a larger conversation about the strength and usage of the series’ female characters; stating that much of their potential has been squashed by the end.

As first questioned by @blackgirlsanime on Twitter, the post reads, “The creator [totally] failed the women of this show and I will stick to that belief til the end of time. Giving them all that power just to make them house wives, I’m annoyed.” While one might instantly decide to agree or disagree with this statement, there is quite a bit of evidence to support this.

Characters such as Hinata, Temari, Kurenai, Ino, just to name a few, each were presented with their own strong shinobi techniques that made them standout from their peers. But developments throughout the series pushed them all to the background, and eventually there were no real outlets to show their strength in a way that effected the world around them.

But on the other side of the argument, there are characters like Kurotsuchi, Tsunade, Anko, Terumi that remain in their seats of power or advance as the series continues. There’s also the most complicated example of Sakura. Sakura indeed still gets to show off her strength as a ninja and medical expert while being a mother to Sarada. But this was after the main series essentially put her on the back burner (and sometimes even worse) for Naruto and Sasuke.

There are quite a few arguments for or against this particular notion, but the strength of the Naruto fan community is that they can have an open and fun debate about heavier subjects such as representation.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows 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 features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.

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