Naruto first premiered in 1999 as part of the Shonen Jump lineup. Throughout its 15 years of storytelling, Naruto hit a number of highs that made it one of anime’s most popular battle-shonen. Naruto has enchanted fans from across the globe and has created one of the strongest fandoms in all of anime culture.
But even with all of its acclaim and success, Naruto is not immune to the whims of controversy. Over the course of 700 chapters, Naruto has had its fair share of moments that disappointed fans. These aspects of the story may be few and far between, but fans can’t help but feel they detract from the overall series.
10 Naruto Took Way Too Long To Give Up On Sakura
From nearly the start of this series, Naruto had a singular obsession when it came to romantics. Naruto was desperately in love with Sakura and would pine after her for years in spite of her own feelings towards their teammate, Sasuke. This was easily one of the most frustrating aspects of the anime for fans, as they saw Naruto’s love as being unfounded.
Fans couldn’t figure out why Naruto was so enamored with Sakura, despite constantly feeling as if she were disrespecting or taking Naruto for granted. Fans were disappointed that even after the character went through a time skip, he still seemed so interested in an unrequited crush.
9 Sakura Versus Ino Was Such A Letdown
Sakura and Ino was a battle in the Chunin Exams that no fan particularly cared about going in. At this point in the series, Sakura was already starting to lower on viewers’ interests and not much about Ino seemed to prove better.
Despite possessing some interesting fight choreography, the battle is constantly bogged down with melodramatic flashbacks that do almost nothing to encourage viewers to feel compelled by the actions on screen. This fight would be just another on the list of times Naruto disappointed fans with its lackluster roster of female characters.
8 Kaguya Came Out Of Nowhere
For years in the build-up to the Great Ninja War that would end this series, the anime was doing everything it could to establish the conflict focused around Obito and Madara Uchiha. These two figures created an imposing threat that not only gave the main characters a run for their money but held a profound emotional impact for fan-favorites like Kakashi and Hashirama as well.
The climax to Naruto could’ve been great, but many fans believe that the sudden and kneejerk decision to pivot to an unheard-of villain out of nowhere cost everything the story was previously building toward.
7 Sasuke & Sakura Should’ve Never Married
By the start of the final arcs of Naruto, Sakura seemed well on her way to becoming a mature, fully realized character that fans could finally become interested in. She had defied her crush on Sasuke and even resolved to kill him herself at one point. Yet when Sasuke decided at the last minute to atone for his sins, fans were greeted with the jarring reveal that Sakura had not only forgiven Sasuke but married and had a child with him.
For many fans, this defeated so much of the character development Sakura had recently gone through and reverted her back to the annoying state they thought her to be in all those years ago.
6 Naruto Talk-No-Jutsu’d A War Criminal
Talk-no-Jutsu refers to one of the most iconic tropes in all of Naruto. No matter who the villain and what they did, it could be assumed that at the end of a climactic arc, Naruto would talk it out with his foe and settle their differences with an inspiring speech.
While this often led to beautiful moments that fans love, such as the redemption of Gaara, it eventually started to become a bit too expected. Furthermore, fans had a hard time grappling with the fact that Naruto could call someone like Obito a friend after he nearly destroyed the entire world.
5 Sakura’s Fake Confession Frustrated Everyone
When asking a fan what their least favorite moment in Naruto was, a vast majority would answer that it was the scene in which Sakura claimed to be in love with Naruto. Occurring at the start of the Great Ninja War, this was a manipulative attempt on Sakura’s part to dissuade Naruto from chasing after Sasuke.
While good in her intentions, fans couldn’t help but be frustrated with the blatant lie aimed to exploit Naruto’s love for her. It’s a moment that disappointed fans everywhere because it showed that Sakura and Naruto were on two different wavelengths at this point in their character arcs.
4 Sasuke Somehow Survived Deidara’s Self-Explosion
Sasuke versus Deidara was a fight that no fan really expected at any point throughout the story. These two don’t have any personal history or any reason to clash other than just crossing each other’s pass by chance. It was a fight spurred on by a pretty grudge on Deidara’s behalf, and yet still somehow ended up being relatively entertaining.
Fans were only disappointed by the end when Deidara pulled off his most explosive move, killing himself in the process to take down Sasuke. The reveal that Sasuke simply hid inside of his summoning snake and managed to live felt undeserved to many viewers.
3 Naruto Consistently Neglected Its Side Characters
When considering that the Chunin Exam Arc remains a fan favorite to this day, it makes sense why one of the most disappointing aspects of this series is how easily it forgets its secondary cast. The Chunin Exams introduced an incredible amount of side characters all with unique jutsu and fighting styles that could provide excellent foils to the main cast.
Yet more often than not, fans would describe these characters as underutilized or even outright forgotten. While characters like Shikamaru earned their time in the spotlight, ones like Shino only got their due in dedicated filler arcs.
2 The Power Creep Got Intense
Fans often felt that Naruto was at its peak during the early arcs of its first part, long before Naruto Shippuden. To fans, this was a series about gritty combat between ninjas in hand-to-hand battle with the occasional energy attack in the form of jutsu. But that ratio of hand-to-hand fighting and jutsu slowly started to tip in the latter’s favor.
By the end of the series, Naruto and Sasuke were piloting chakra mechs in samurai armor and throwing meteors at each other. For fans of that gritty aesthetic in early Naruto, the power creep was more than disappointing.
1 Naruto & Sasuke Were Suddenly Chosen Ones
Throughout most of Naruto, many considered the titular character to be a self-made hero. These fans looked at Naruto and loved how he overcame his difficult childhood with dedication and hard work. These fans felt more and more disappointed as the story went on and it became clear just how much of a “chosen one” Naruto was.
The epitome of that was in the Great Ninja War when it was revealed to Naruto and Sasuke that they were the reincarnations of two great ninjas destined to fight each other through all of time.