Rham's Naruto Thoughts

[Rhamnousia]

So, for those of you have never read the manga or watched the anime, the world of Naruto is divided into Sengoku Jidai-inspired nation-states that exist in a state of regular conflict with one another. We are shown very little of what life in the world at large is like, but each nation is headed by a Daimyo, which implies at least some sort of feudal hierarchy. Despite their bellicose relations, these countries do not maintain any sort of traditional standing armies; instead, they each host what is known as a "Hidden Village" where ninja live and train in near-total isolation from the outside world - in essence, a self-sustaining military caste. The five most powerful hidden villages are lead by Kages - a position which seems to traditionally go to the most powerful and influential ninja in the village - who are explicitly stated to have as much authority as the Daimyo of their respective nation. The shinobi of the Hidden Villages are the primary military arm of the various states and I believe it's stated that the Daimyos are ill-equipped to engage in diplomacy with each other because they can simply order their armies of magical special forces operatives to clean up their problems. There's an enormous - though probably intentional - narrative dissonance between pre-adolescent characters' desire to become shinobi and the reality of what being one entails. In the hands of a different creator, Naruto would be a dark, dark franchise: every major war in the series has been fought using child soldiers, who the leaders of the various nations are perfectly willing to send to their certain deaths against older, stronger opponents. Mind you, this isn't a criticism - I wish the series leaned more heavily one the extreme moral ambiguity and Game of Thrones-like geopolitics. All of the villages, even the "heroic" Konohagakure, maintain Anbu (an abbreviation for "Special Assassination and Tactical Squad") and one recurring secondary character is both the head of the "Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force" and a procotor for the children's exams.

The other thing that I think is notable about the universe, something else that I would love to inject into a roleplaying game, is how well "balanced" it is. Again, for those of you who have never seen the show, there are three basic classes of shinobi skills: ninjutsu (ninja magic, often elemental-based), taijutsu (mundane martial arts), and genjutsu (illusion magic). There's no "rock-paper-scissors" system of what beats what and while most of the protagonists are essentially "multiclass" characters, Rock Lee - a "pure fighter build" character - regularly kicks the crap out of more formidable magic-users.

[LoA]

So, for those of you have never read the manga or watched the anime, the world of Naruto is divided into Sengoku Jidai-inspired nation-states that exist in a state of regular conflict with one another. We are shown very little of what life in the world at large is like, but each nation is headed by a Daimyo, which implies at least some sort of feudal hierarchy. Despite their bellicose relations, these countries do not maintain any sort of traditional standing armies; instead, they each host what is known as a "Hidden Village" where ninja live and train in near-total isolation from the outside world - in essence, a self-sustaining military caste. The five most powerful hidden villages are lead by Kages - a position which seems to traditionally go to the most powerful and influential ninja in the village - who are explicitly stated to have as much authority as the Daimyo of their respective nation. The shinobi of the Hidden Villages are the primary military arm of the various states and I believe it's stated that the Daimyos are ill-equipped to engage in diplomacy with each other because they can simply order their armies of magical special forces operatives to clean up their problems. There's an enormous - though probably intentional - narrative dissonance between pre-adolescent characters' desire to become shinobi and the reality of what being one entails. In the hands of a different creator, Naruto would be a dark, dark franchise: every major war in the series has been fought using child soldiers, who the leaders of the various nations are perfectly willing to send to their certain deaths against older, stronger opponents. Mind you, this isn't a criticism - I wish the series leaned more heavily one the extreme moral ambiguity and Game of Thrones-like geopolitics. All of the villages, even the "heroic" Konohagakure, maintain Anbu (an abbreviation for "Special Assassination and Tactical Squad") and one recurring secondary character is both the head of the "Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force" and a procotor for the children's exams.

Everything you just said is completely true and makes perfect sense. I fully admit that I've jumped on and off the Naruto bandwagon a number of times, and I always felt like the series handled it's darker themes just fine. I actually appreciate that it's creepily subtle about the fact that it's outright using children as military proxy. Sure it doesn't hit you right away, but the more you think about it, the more horrifying it becomes. And it only becomes worse the more the series reveals itself.

But you're not wrong in that it really could have been a very dark takedown of Shojin Manga in general, and it would have been awesome. I'm just saying there was more wrong with that series than just the tone.

[Llum]

If you want dark gritty child soldiers, read Animorphs. No joke.

[LoA]

If you want dark gritty child soldiers, read Animorphs. No joke.

Man I forgot about Animorphs...

[Rhamnousia]

It's less that I want the series to revolve around gritty, pitch-black child soldier violence in the vein of Animorphs so much as I want the characters to demonstrate a little more self-awareness about them being part of a secret warrior caste. Even in fights with adult ninjas, it rarely seems like they're "going for blood," so to speak - though that might also be an issue of animation. One would think that if your greatest ambition in life is to become a ninja warlord, you would at least entertain the possibility that you will probably have to kill people along the way. The whole concept of "strength" as the characters express it - and again, this isn't an issue totally unique to Naruto - seems like it's totally disconnected from, like, practical ability as a commando.