Writing female characters isn’t Masashi Kishimoto’s best suit. Be it Ino or Tenten, the mangaka did a major disservice to the kunoichis. Not only that, but his misrepresentation of Sakura had fans hating the character for decades.
While it can be attributed to a case of bad writing, there’s more to it. The sequel isn’t exempt from this culture of wasted and misrepresented characters. This has most fans foaming at the mouth, especially regarding an iconic character.
Several fans deemed this Naruto character as underutilized, especially in the sequel. Not only that, Kishimoto botched most of his side characters from the original series. The side characters truly deserve their limelight and proper representation.
Boruto did a major disservice to this Naruto character
Apart from botched animation and lackluster art style, Boruto is criticized for its treatment of old characters. While the series underlines new generations and power systems, it reduces most of the original characters to a joke.
From Shino to Temari, several characters from the original anime lack depth in most ways. Compared to Sakura, the sequel did a major disservice to most characters in the series. Not only that, it is heavily criticized for its problematic trope.
Compared to the original series, the sequel is often praised for its treatment of side characters. Despite its criticism, it excels in its move to carve its own identity amidst the comparisons.
And while the sequel may not be as glorious as the original series, it seeks to outdo itself. By introducing overpowered villains along with old characters, it attempts to keep nostalgia. In its move to do so, however, the series faltered big time.
An X user chose Anko Mitarashi as their pick for one of the wasted characters in the sequel and fans couldn’t agree more.
Who’s your favorite Wasted Character in Naruto?
I’ll go first.
Her. pic.twitter.com/NrtjykiE9U
— KF (@KFTragic) March 20, 2023
I thought she’d be a big sister figure to sasuke
— Reman (@guraburu_020) March 20, 2023
It is a bit of a waste that she’s not in more of the story considering she’s the former pupil of one of the first real Big Bad’s. Like the biggest thing she did in canon is get captured and is then used to strengthen the bad guys and then bring back Orochimaru despite being-
— Sean Paul (@SeanPaulNagisa) March 20, 2023
I love Anko so much dude. She was my first anime crush 😭 I’ll never forgive the creator for forgetting aboot her.
— 🦂 🦂Captain Hazel “Hank” Murphy 🦑🦀🐝2% (@MasturShake) March 20, 2023
Facts tho look at how they massacred her😭😭 pic.twitter.com/0j07Z4FpK3
— Blackhan (@Blackhanthegoat) March 21, 2023
This, however, isn’t the first time Kishimoto wasted and underutilized his side characters. The mangaka has a history of doing so since the beginning of time.
Masashi Kishimoto and the saga of wasted characters
Masashi Kishimoto gave us some of the iconic and badass characters, including villains in his series. His original series peaked in popularity, but mostly because of its well-written characters. The series had some of the most spine-chilling moments.
Not only that, it redefined evil through its sinister villains and antagonists. What’s truly disappointing is that the mangaka let go of the side characters. Apart from unexplored lore, most characters and their backstories remained uncharted.
Naruto had some of the most interesting side characters. Barring Anko and her problematic representation, the mangaka gave Mei Terumi and Kimimaro the short end of the stick.
To add to that, Shino and Tenten are reintroduced only to be reduced for humor. Despite the series’ richness, the mangaka underutilized characters along with the lore.
Be it clans or kekkei-genkai, Boruto needs to explore some of these theories in the future. In all honesty, it would be a delight for all the Naruto fans.
Boruto and Naruto are available for streaming on Crunchyroll. Both manga are available for reading on Viz Media.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
