I began watching Naruto in December 2022. It took 2-3 months to finish it.

I didn’t watch anything else during this period—No podcasts, no films, no series, no YouTube. It was all Naruto, and I had zero FOMO about missing out on other entertainment/educational sources.

Was it worth it? Totally.

But…

Why do I love Naruto?What makes the anime so appreciative?What made me write this issue?

ALERT: Before I start being a fanboy, I want to warn you there might be spoilers (Not BIG, but spoilers nonetheless.)

I’ll try my best to keep the write-up as spoiler free as possible.Don’t worry, I will give you a heads-up when there is a major spoiler incoming.

Here we go 👇🏻

Mind-Boggling Writing!

If you give me a ticket to travel anywhere, I’d probably fly to Japan to meet Masashi Kishimoto and his team—to understand their writing process and how they wrote Naruto.

I’ll tell you why.

First, the world the makers created and the rules they’ve bound by.

The advantage of fiction is you can go wild with your imagination, but limitations within that fictional world are what makes the story compelling.Masashi and his team did a great job establishing such rules, creating exceptions (in some cases jugaad), and most importantly, following those rules throughout the 720 episodes they produced.

The characters, The differentiation, wow!

When you create around 50 characters (all in the same profession), it is crazy hard to make viewers remember and differentiate between characters. This is again where the writers were extraordinary in creating clans (think of them as communities) with a defined set of abilities for each clan.Also, the noticeable difference in skillsets: Hokage, Sanin, Jonin, Chunin, and Genin are different Ninja ranks. When you watch the show, you can clearly observe the margin by which one rank is above the other + the transition of Ninja from one level to another.It’s impeccable how ridiculously easy the writers made it look.

Detailing and Backstories

To write many differentiable characters is hard, I said?Do you know what’s even harder?Writing backstories for all characters with fine details that clarify their behaviors and motivations.I loved how each character’s backstory and evolution since they were a kid unravels as the story moves forward. All these backstories are placed to perfection.

They got the WHYs right

- Why is a certain action necessary?- Why does this Jutsu work (or doesn’t work?)- Why is a nation friends with one and rivals with another?The writers had a logic for everything.

Explaining complex concepts

If showing what’s good as beautiful is one skill in writing, breaking down what’s complex into simple is another.The animation team played a huge role here—but again, I can’t stop myself from praising writers for not only providing logical reasons for literally everything but also breaking it down in a simple, entertaining way.

I know, I know, the writer in me got carried away.Now, Let me obsess over what I loved as an audience:

The BGM!!!

I got disappointed when the Naruto BGM was not used in Shippuden.

Why would you do that????

Shippuden’s BGM was sexy, but the high I experience while listening to Naruto’s BGM is 🔥

(I had to stop writing this issue, go to YouTube, listen to the BGM, and return—That’s how much I love it!!)

Relatable Characters

One reason why Naruto lives rent-free in our hearts is we all relate to one or more characters on a personal level—it can be the kickass part or the dark side.

My favorite characters and why I relate to them:

Naruto

I am my people’s person, and I never give up on them for silly reasons. People matter to me the most, and I don’t mind crossing my boundaries to provide what my close circle needs.Maybe that’s why I have really long-term relationships (some even for 20+ years.)Naruto is the same.

Gaara

The pain of Gaara is probably 100x times mine, but I feel deeply connected to his loneliness.You end up becoming the person you never wanted to be when you’re lonely, but then again, to gain strength and build your life the way you aspire is beyond words: Something that Gaara did. And I relate to.

Kakashi

I just need a teacher like Kakashi in my life. Is it too much to ask? 🥺Might be because of who I am, I like folks who are calm and balanced, and there is no better character than Kakashi Hatake to don the ‘Calm and Balanced’ description.

There are many moreeeeee. But the issue is getting too long. 👀

Maybe we can have a long conversation about this when we meet. ✨

And Finally, My favourite parts!!!

This is where it gets spoiler heavy.If you want to skip spoilers, please move to the next section.

1. Naturo’s Shadow Clone Jutsu in the first episode

2. Hinata and Naruto’s love story

3. Chunin Exams

4. Naruto defeating Kiba and Negi

5. Sasuke and Naruto’s Bond

6. Itachi’s Journey

7. Naruto using Nine Tail’s power against Gara

8. Naruto and Sasuke losing their hands in the final battle

9. Naruto meeting his parents

10. Minato’s *flash* scenes

11. Naruto convincing Raikage to join the battlefield

12. Everyone’s respect for Kakashi, and his popularity for his work

13. Kakashi’s backstory + Copy scenes

14. Naruto learning Rasengan and all other new Jutsu

15. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura summoning toad, snake, and slug together in the war

16. Naruto’s street smartness in battles

17. Evolution of Hinata, Sakura, Negi, Gaara, Choji, nine tails, and Lee

18. Shikamaru and Tamari’s love story

19. Sasuke defeating all existing ninjas in the auditorium all alone

20. Naruto gaining control over nine tails and learning Sage Mode

Of all scenes, if I have to choose one, I’d say this one is iconic for me for reasons I can’t put into words 👇🏻

And that’s a wrappp!

I plan to write issues like these, where I share what I love about my favourite characters, movies, shows, etc. I’ll stick to the popular ones for now.

I’m still figuring out what all interests I should include in Vikra’s Café.

So your feedback helps:

See ya next Sunday!Love,Vikra.