For All Of Naruto's Faults, Its Central Rivalry Still Hasn't Been Topped A Decade Later
The essential rivalry at the core of Naruto still hasn't been topped after all this time. Naruto and Sasuke have become one of the most identifiable duos in animation history, and it's for very good reason. With their distinct but overlapping storylines and deeply opposed personalities, the pair have been the foundational cornerstone of Naruto since the very beginning, bringing fans the world over to the series.
Naruto and Sasuke's competing worldviews have always been essential to the series; by Naruto's conclusion, Sasuke had definitively become a villain. Although a rivalry where one character becomes a villain is certainly nothing new, the way Naruto executes this particular idea is what makes the duo so enduring, and it's much deeper than most fans think. Naruto's handling of the rivalry at its heart is a singular effort, and it's something that hasn't been topped since—and I don't think it will any time soon.
Naruto And Sasuke Are One Of Shonen's Most Memorable Rivalries
The Pair Have Become Iconic For A Reason
The shōnen rivalry is a classic dynamic for countless reasons. On one hand, it gives the protagonist someone against whom their progress can be actively measured; on the other, it provides a moral contrast that can give meat to the ideals or themes that the protagonist of a given series represents. In every sense, the rivalry is a well-defined pathway for exploring how two characters might be peers, but wind up in dramatically different positions.
Perhaps the biggest punch of the shōnen rivalry comes from the moment when rivals overcome their differences. That's when, for one reason or another, the protagonist's morals are shown to be literally stronger than their opponent's, reinforcing the narrative's themes more broadly. Goku and Vegeta set this standard long ago, and shōnen series have striven to emulate it ever since.
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As for Naruto and Sasuke, they work in a way that might be compared to Gon and Killua (although the latter obviously aren't exactly rivals). Naruto embodies the optimism, well-defined goals, and idealism of Gon; meanwhile, Sasuke embodies the killer instincts, raw power, and rebellious streak of Killua. Where they differ is Naruto's emphasis on the psychological importance of the individual backstories. Naruto and Sasuke are both orphans living in Konoha, but in vastly different circumstances.
I'll be the first to admit that this emotionally engaging dynamic is incredibly enjoyable to watch, even if I think that other series (like Black Clover's Asta and Yuno) might have rivalries that can bring more out of the narrative. The simple bedrock of Naruto and Sasuke's shared ostracism and similar hardships has created an easy-to-follow and emotionally resonant shōnen rivalry that's ensured the duo's pop-cultural legacy for years to come. However, what makes them so great goes deeper.
Naruto And Sasuke's Rivalry Is Deeper Than You Think
Naruto Still Has One Of Shonen's Most Compelling And Thematically Fitting Rivalries
At Naruto's core is a focus on dualism—more particularly, how two things that might seem like opposites at first actually depend on each other. A side effect of this is that the dualisms of Naruto's world (love/violence, shinobi/civilian, soldier/outlaw, etc.) can be far more ambiguous when it comes to how they're actually interpreted. For example, genjutsu is both an illusion and not an illusion at once: it manifests in one's own mind, but it's caused by an outside force; the vulnerability it presents as an illusion offers the opportunity to cause real damage.
This ambiguity, fittingly, is both intentional and unintentional on Kishimoto's end. It's clear that Kishimoto himself has sympathies for Konoha's political and moral ideals, and it's no coincidence these are the same ideals of his protagonist. At the same time, Kishimoto's storytelling provides countless characters, like Sasuke, whose entire existence is predicated on the way those ideals can cause real world damage, massacre clans, and ruin families. By the end of Naruto, whether a character supports the Kage system or not, the world they inhabit is barren and deeply scarred by the conflict all the same.
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Naruto and Sasuke inhabit the same world, but because they witness it from such a different perspective, they both bring an incredible play of similarity and difference. While Naruto's only hope for understanding within Konoha was to gain the respect of the people by becoming Hokage—a goal reinforced by a sense of moral obligation to the shinobi life instilled by the likes of Jiraiya—Sasuke fell into a different sphere of influence through which he would interpret the massacre of his own clan. Both watched events in the shinobi world unfold from similar perspectives but through very different filters. When they become embroiled in those events is precisely when Naruto's rivalry becomes most fascinating.
Few Shonen Rivalries Are As Detailed As Naruto's, And It's Not Even Close
Naruto And Sasuke Bring An Unprecedented Level Of Detail And Complexity Out Of Their World
Naruto and Sasuke always shared a certain level of understanding, but both had deep psychological, social, and practical reasons for adhering to their own outlooks, too. One can fault Naruto's worldbuilding and overall storytelling, but somehow, Kishimoto channels it all perfectly through Naruto and Sasuke. Where other shōnen rivalries might seem to merely react to the world they're within, Naruto and Sasuke feel deeply implicated in every relationship and event. They take an active role in forming Naruto's world.
Their rivalry also provides a means to view Naruto's world through several different perspectives. Many rivalries are tailored specifically to the perspective of the protagonist, and Naruto admittedly falls into this trap in the end. However, as much as Sasuke represents the perspective of a wronged Uchiha, he also represents a more general outsider to the shinobi world who has simply fallen prey to its institutions and politics. It's as easy to sympathize with Sasuke as with Naruto when one looks back in hindsight.
Because of their ability to perfuse the deep ambiguity throughout Naruto's narrative, Naruto and Sasuke resound with a depth that makes other rivalries pale in comparison. Many might point to things like Naruto's infamous reincarnation twist to show how the rivalry is canned or forced; others might say that their dynamic is overly simplistic and reductive; still more people might take personal issue with either Naruto or Sasuke as characters. But when it comes to their dynamic and what they bring to Naruto's narrative, Naruto and Sasuke operate at a level that today's shōnen are still figuring out.
- Latest Film
- Boruto: Naruto the Movie
- First TV Show
- Naruto
- Latest TV Show
- Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
- First Episode Air Date
- October 3, 2002
- Cast
- Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei
