Something really sad about Naruto's lack of understanding about love is that if you think about it, Naruto would really have no concept of what romantic love is since he grew up with nobody. No parents. No friends. He associates love with ramen because that's what always made him feel good and the only person who treated him like a human being was the guy who sold him ramen.
white america’s worst nightmare They were never friends. They along with Kiba were just part of the same label of slackers as Naruto. The fillers suggest that there was potential for friendship, but then again, those are fillers.
well shikamaru was there for him and stood up back in his kid days. it was revealed too sasuke always had a connection too back in his kid days too but never expressed it
That's so sad but the ramen part made it sort of funny as well. Now that I smirked at this comment it's even more sad because it's so right, I never really thought about it.
Also, side note, i feel like people dont give Naruto enough credit for how genuine its emotions feel. I still cry like a baby every time i watch the episode of Shipuden where Gaara is barely clinging to life and the thing he thinks about is how grateful he is for Naruto's friendship.
wesley patterson exactly!!!! I just watched the rock lee fight and there’s this one part of the flashback that goes something like “I don’t know how long I can take this anymore. I feel like no matter how hard I train I am and always will be a loser” and that shit hit me like the meteor that madara hit the shinobi alliance with
Christopher Rivera it took me two seasons to start liking bakugo. Not only did he tell midoriya to kill himself, basically because he’s different and still had goals, when they were fighting in that first season, bakugo was not concerned for dekus safety and could have either killed him or hurt him really bad, which he did.
Especially when Lee looks down upon himself and Guy builds his spirit in a flashback during Lee vs Gaara. And Jiraiya's death. Sadness and sorrow hits hard.
I'm surprised you didn't mention Sasuke at all especially when talking about Naruto's anxiety and depression. Sasuke is often just as insecure as Naruto. They both bring out each other's insecurities, they are quick to point them out as well but they also inspire one another and give each other confidence at times. Kishi acknowledges that I believe through Kakashi and Jiraiya's conversation about the two.
I wouldn’t call Sasuke insecure, but he definitely has some kind of anxiety. Unlike Naruto, who is more extroverted in his approach (though he has his introverted moments), Sasuke is almost entirely introverted, and he only really cracks during the Five Kage Summit Arc, where his discovery of Itachi’s actual motives causes him to act rashly rather than calculated in battle for the first time ever, and the only time he actually kills people. I also wouldn’t say Sasuke and Naruto bring out each other’s insecurities so much as they call each other out for them, and while Naruto seeing Sasuke stoop so low inspires him, Sasuke isn’t really inspired by Naruto (not including times he was jealous of him) until the very end.
@@Gemnist98 Sasuke is insecure though. It's been noted a few times. He had both a superiority and inferiority complex. He was constantly worried about Naruto surpassing him and when he saw Naruto beat a enemy he couldn't he freaked out majorly and challenged Naruto to a fight to prove he was superior and was even madder at the conclusion of the match. That's the reason he sought out Orichimaru. The end of the series brings it all to a climax.
That's a nice take. I think the video was focusing on protags though. And also I'd say that the forefront of Sasuke's emotional struggle is more of a PTSD kind of thing. But yeah he could've been mentioned
@@Gemnist98 Sasuke is so unsecured he admitted to Naruto he hated him for making him feel like Itachi, inadequate and a loser, basically since he felt Naruto was always walking in front of him no matter what he did 🤷🏻♀️
Naruto is completely about how he deals with depression from being emotionally abused by his entire village except a handful of people. Like I mean hell does anybody remember when he straight-up started hyperventilating and fell down due to stress?
"except a handful of People" Well there is no one who didnt treat him like a disease. Shikamaru and Choji? No. There was a guy who threw a mask to Naruto but shikamaru and Choji only watched Naruto they didnt even do anything. Shikamaru even himself said that he doesnt want to become friend with Naruto. Iruka even hated him at first.
@@elifbozkurt2026 i mean to be fair, shikamaru was arguably the one who least disliked him. he just didn't like the hustle of naruto's energetic nature and of course the troubles that being friends with the outcast would bring. it plays into his character flaw really well, I'd say.
I've been racking my mind trying to figure out what Deku's character flaw is, and I think i've finally done it. He’s seriously too much of a good guy. More specifically, he's crazy. He constantly crosses the line between heroic self-sacrifice and suicidal tendencies. He’s so focused on saving everyone else that his arms are on the brink of permanent paralysis at 15yrs old. He fails to realize the emotional impact his hospitalizations have on his mother, caring only about being All-Might's successor. There’s an interesting scene where he saves Toga, the villain, and she says something that the show hasn’t gotten the opportunity to explore yet: “Will you save anyone? Where do you draw the line? What’s the boundary?” I think the series is going to start to explore that Deku's "purity" is actually his greatest weakness. It reminds me of the scene where All-Might is in the hospital, and Gran-Torino has to talk him out of wanting to save Shigaraki. The dude would fucking disintegrate All-Might, but All-Might can only think about trying to "show him the light." I think this spills over to love too. Uraraka shows that she loves Deku, but I think Deku is only flustered because she's a girl. He does the same thing with Hatsume Mei. In fact, the scene where Uraraka is floating and fawning over Deku, Deku is outside with an intense look of focus on his face as he trains. I think he's so focused on his hero's journey that he's gonna blatantly reject her, and probably even come off as insensitive. Well, maybe not insensitive. He's pretty smooth, low-key.
@@michaeldorsey9231 Not perfect, but his obsession with being a hero is so intense that it can lead him to become irrational and radicalized. Being a goody-two-shoes isn't always the best course of action, similarly to how Iida realized his strict adherence to protocol wasn't always the best course of action.
@@ascvb3 That does sound like it could be a good character flaw, if written with nuance. That said, I don't think Horokoshi has that level of nuance in this story.
ascvb3 Even other characters call him out on being self-sacrificial all the time whenever things get out of hand for him and he wants to use all his power for one specific attack against an opponent. That’s what he did with Todoroki at the Festival. That’s always been a character flaw with him since the beginning when he tried to save Bakugo. While he is improving there’s still ways to go. What he needs to learn now is how to not jump to conclusions of making the ultimate sacrificial attack and find other solutions. Killing yourself to defeat your enemy is not smart or heroic, it’s just stupid, because if you wanna be the next Symbol of Peace, who’s gonna protect everyone if you’re gone? All that progress would’ve been for nothing.
I don’t think Deku’s gonna blatantly reject Ochaco’s feelings like you say, he cares about her and respects her as one of his closest friends in Class 1-A, he’d never do something like insensitively reject her and make her feel bad. For now though I just don’t think girls are exactly on his mind when it comes to training harder. Later on who knows, maybe there’s gonna be an arc he’ll go through where he learns about relationships, not just romantic ones, but relationships in general with the people around him including average citizens. His bond with them’s gonna affect his influence as a hero. I mean he’s doing this because he wants to inspire people like All Might right? Well I hope we see him put that to the test. He needs to learn how different people are and not everybody will react the same way.
When it comes to MHA, I actually find the trait of anxiety to have a nuanced portrayal in the form of Bakugou himself. From the beginning the kid was literally a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. He at first had the logical reaction to being put on a pedestal with high expectations, overconfidence and a superiority complex. He developed an unhealthy philosophy that crumbled as soon as the heroes vs. villains training arc began. He saw others his age that were better than him (which he at the time had never seen/didn’t believe existed), lost a battle to somebody he had believed to be inferior to him for so long, and completely freaked out. If all Might hadn’t stepped in, he likely would have had a full on anxiety attack. After the hideout raid arc, it was amplified. It affected his ability to complete the license exam, he completely broke down fighting with Deku, and even referenced his own flaws very explicitly to someone he barely knew which was unheard of before. Honestly, it’s been there from the beginning. When he thought Deku was looking down on him, it reminded me of the awful feeling in the back of my head that everyone is judging me and if I screw up anyone trying to help just sees me as pathetic. He sees the unhealthy end of compliments “wow you are amazing, wouldn’t it be awful if you screwed up”. Even from the first scene when they were kids. He’s always lashed out at people as a result of being raised that way (which should get more attention) and as a product of his own insecurity. A subconscious reason he hated Deku was that a part of him could relate to Izuku. I really like the parallel between them in regard to anxiety, because at the beginning of the series Deku showed his feelings of anxiety pretty vividly and bakugou simply internalized the feelings and only showed violence externally. In season three, Deku shows progress in overcoming it because he communicated it but bakugou showed progress in the fact that he brought it up at all. However, he also did it in the only way he had ever expressed it before, violence. Bakugou and Deku also have another interesting parallel with deku’s lack of self preservation and bakugou’s self destructive tendencies. So ya, there’s my two cents about that narrative element. Geez that was long...he’s not a protagonist but he is in my opinion an interesting example that’s at least relatable to my specific experience.
This is correct. I suffer from crippling anxiety and panic disorder but meeting me most people would never guess since I tend to mask and over compensate a lot. Most see me as confident and out going but really I'm insecure and worry so much about being the person I believe others want me to be that after a day of fronting i feel physically sick. bakugou I an relate to because I get what it's like to always feel like you have to live up to other expectations while feeling insecure on the inside.
The Icon lol I definitely don’t want to be like Bakugou in the slightest bit- I’m just an analyst. If you feel the need to comment, please give me some more insight into your views on the character~
@The Icon I understand your point here and actually agree with parts of it. However, he is a high schooler and tbh what high school guy isn’t annoying in any way at all- thanks for actually responding btw. He was a spoiled brat in his slightly younger years, but that’s what eventually became a huge contributing factor to his more recent breakdown. Glimpses of it were shown before but not as explicitly as it is now. His “outbursts” were shown mainly as comic relief for a while but some of them were shown from other perspectives with a different tone. He was an arrogant prick used for comic relief, but his actions had tangible consequences that effected the plot and characters which is why I think he is a good character that expands on the traditional shounen rival archetype as well as the story’s themes.
Naruto definitely had some form of anxiety/depression in his early youth. The scenes of him sadly looking on at the other kids with their parents speak volumes. You can have a positive outward demeanor and still have these issues.
he had a compensation issue..he lied to himself to smile...he yelled out his dream louder cause inside he wanted to cry...Naruto isn't Naruto until iruka showed him a reason to fight for others ..he then cherishes his bonds...its all thanks to iruka...that's why i respect kishi...iruka is the real hero...Naruto sees him as his hero...if his talk no jutsu worked on him it will work on anyone that wants to hear it...Naruto wanted a family..but that doesn't sell mangas...neither does wanting a reason to live or fight for or cherishing bonds...so kishi decided to make his dream supposedly to be hokage when really its just a disguise to sound appealing...he doesn't want to be president of Konoha..he wants acceptance and bonds...clever trick..by being hokage he will protect those things but the series paints his lies of screaming to be hokage as truth..when inside its not his real goal...
@@davstard well think about it hiruzen literally says this in episode 1 ….naruto is very insecure in his open moments...he literally tells hinata he isn't confident and he feels like a failure...im not saying this to be given thumbs up or to be agreed with although I thank those who did like you did..im stating a truth....this show is more sennin then shonnen ….to sell copies you need a kid level dream thats tangible and not cliché to market as a catchphrase and what we can expect from him one day to look forward too as young readers...but in reality does he really just want to be hokage?..naruto literally barley ever actually does missions in the manga..he would rather chase after his most unexpected bond with someone like him in sasuke that he doesnt want to lose...he clearly doesnt like tests or paper work...so why would he want to be behind a desk all day or do info quest type missions literally two things he hated doing....its not about what you may want its about what you need and what in the end is his actual true goal is obtained because he gained peoples trust and acceptance thus hes hokage and he doesnt want to let them down so he does his job and accepts something not ideal....notice how naruto reacts when everyone loves him at first after he comes back from his talk with nagato..they praise him and he just stands there confused and a little annoyed with them putting him up on a pedestal even though he wanted to be hokage supposedly and put on that stage praised for what he thinks is not celebratory reasons....but his true nature came out he just wasn't to be treated normally not heroically...same thing in the boruto series he likes to calm people who overreact to him down cause he doesnt want to be seen as a hero celebrity just who he is...normal...iruka believed in him so he wants to prove him right so he must become hokage
Edgar Gordillo i agree with every comment in this comment section naruto is very outgoing but that does not mean everything. Imagine being born without parents and growing up with the nine tail fox within you being called a freak 24/7!? no way i would be so much worse than naruto pretty much killing myself.
your right the only other girl that showed interest on him is Toga and that's only because her fetish is people being heavily injured and bleeding. Also I don't count Hatsume because she doesn't really shows interest on Izuku all her interaction with him shown she doesn't know the meaning of personal space.
Afro TheAbsolute I mean, I dig her, but I still think that that was internalized within Uraraka (as seen by her reaction in her first scene - totally adorable BTW).
I agree with the comment about Bakugo being a better depiction of anxiety, but to me, Deku suits my depression more than my anxiety. (look forward to a lot of self-projection) Deku seems to have no regard for his own life, and that's something I feel, it's that he has no value outside of helping others, and that hasn't been challenged as far as I can tell. The only reason he values himself more now, isn't because he values his own life, but because he recognizes himself as able to help others, and that's not healthy, I his entire identity is that of a hero, and I don't think he has any worth to himself without that. I genuinely think that if allmight hadn't stepped in, Deku would've been dead, or attempted suicide very soon after the "I don't think you can be a hero" scene, I mean the heros weren't far off with the "are you trying to die kid?" when he goes to Bakugo. And the underlying reliance on his usefulness as a hero for his will to live has not left, and it hinders him, he can't step back, because he doesn't see putting himself in danger as a true problem. He fundamentally doesn't seem all that scared of dying. When he seems convinced he's about to die at the hands of muscular his internal monologue (in the dub) is "I'm sorry mom, I tried my best" that's what you say in a suicide note, not what a young person with a healthy fear of death would say. And from what I can tell most people except maybe Inko, and definitely Aizawa, are complicit. I highly doubt this is particularly intentional, it doesn't seem like this external self-worth is going to get challenged, outside of, you can't help people if you're dead. But Deku is also dealing with the society he grew up in, in which dying trying to save someone is the best way to die. In my imagination-land, where this is the main driver of the plot, Aizawa, being the least focused on public perception person in the whole cast, serves as a mentor for moving that burden of why exist from others to Deku himself. Deku won't be health until he values his life, and I don't think Allmight, or anyone else in the cast can teach him that in the true way he needs to learn it.
Reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite manga. "When you stop living for yourself you can't help but live for others." As someone with depression and intense self-loathing at times, I can see why this applies to deku. His whole life he must've felt that hate for himself because he was quirkless and the violent bullying certainly wouldn't have helped either. He's self sacrificing because he still hasn't fully realized his own self worth. And that shouldn't be undermined, but instead worked upon.
@@howtomeetwomen- Life will always have its hardships, I can't say I haven't dealt with my share but..so long as there's one light... So long as you think there will even be one moment of happiness, whether it be a day or a minute there's a reason to continue on. So please remember, you're stronger than you think you are.
Next to Gon, Naruto is the shonen protagonist with the most growth. Prove me wrong. Even though I love all these shows I'm about to mention I still gotta be honest: Compare episode 1 Luffy to current episode Luffy and they're almost the exact same character maybe a few changes here and there. Compare Episode 1 Goku to Current Goku and it's also pretty much the exact same character. Compare Episode 1 Ichigo to Current episode Ichigo almost the exact same except he got slightly more serious. Now compare episode 1 Naruto to Hokage Naruto or hell even Shippuden Naruto. The growth and maturity is so much more noticeable without sacrificing his personality.
yep..he had room to grow the way gon and yusuke did.......luffy goku ichigo didn't...they literally just fight to help their friends..and its boring...
@@devwheeler6289 if you think about it getting handed power from hagoromo is established thing from the beginning. And hagoromo handing power was just symbolic. I mean we all know that person with all biju chakras will recieve six paths power, and that a person with both uchiha and senju genes can unlock rinnegan upon their death. Obito transplanted him a bit of every other bijuus including half of kurama. Kabuto (who had most knowledge about 1st hokage) used hashirama cells to heal sasuke in brink of death. These six paths powers werent out of nowhere. any more questions?
you should explore black clover, where as deku is always sad, the main character of Black clover is always happy but his frustrations with his life still show and are never forgotten about. Being a poor commoner person born in a world of high elitism and where magic is everything he has none, he still aims to be the wizzard king, but not for his own selfish ambitions but to support his family of poor orphans and the village he lived in. ASTA AND DEKU are somewhat the two personality traits of Naruto split in half if you get what im saying
Asta is one of the best shonen protagonist lately just of because of how simply his character he’s just a simply guy who wants equality which is his entire character because it was his entire life he was poor, no family and had no magic so it makes sense why he such a good guy he was look down at his whole life that’s why the author made him short , he doesn’t want people to died because to him being born with magic is a blessing to him and he’s humble to everyone because to him there better than him but yet he’s not insecure but thankful truly asta is a kind protagonist and I feel like he deserves more attention about just how good of a guy he is
I actually like the fact that Deku's insecurities are somewhat small compared to someone like Naruto. I guess as someone who goes through some of the struggles Deku does, his story just hits home for me.
Also Deku’s insecurities seem a lot smaller in comparison to Naruto’s because they both led very different lives despite them both being underdog outcasts.
Yes! I am completely and utterly a Naruto's fan. Like really, really such a fucking fan. But mha hits closer to me, sometimes too close to comfort. Naruto is pretty abstract in someway, since I never experienced such unsettling events. But mha's situations, well, I've been through a lot that sounds pretty much the same. That's why I love it so much as well. Both had a great impact in me.
I agree. People always compare these characters but don't ever try find out why they so different. I actually like the differences in the characters. It gives more orginally to the "underdog" trope. I feel Asta as a character also has orginally that people always don't seem to see.
facts i dont think naruto was ever insecure unlike deku who acted like a total bitch for the first season, naruto always knew he was badass he was just depressed, but he didnt think of himself as lesser like deku did
@@deeppatel7496 dude what do u expect ,the world they live in r really different,MHA is basically our world so the things that can get us depressed r relatively much lower
@@deeppatel7496 Not really. The series itself said that a lot of that was just a front that Naruto would put up. In part 2 especially, you would have Naruto internally berating himself saying how weak he was, that's pure insecurity.
One thing that Deku and Naruto do have in common is their desire to reach out to others, even if it’s someone they’re fighting against. I mean there’s Naruto with his talk no jutsu, and then there’s Deku when he tries to reach out to Todoroki and tells him that his fire quirk is a part of HIM, he’s not an extension of his father.
Fearch 93 It does make sense because his dad’s physical and psychological abuse against his family is what drove her to throw boiling water on Todoroki’s face, he even said to his father “ You made her do that”
Fearch 93 you saying this goes to show that you clearly don’t understand the character. As the person above me stated, Endeavour’s constant abuse and rage was the whole reason his mom acted the way she did. She’d been abused to the point where she’d lost her shit enough to scar her own son in order to make him less like Endeavour. Todoroki’s mom is batshit crazy, and Endeavour made her that way, and Todoroki knows that.
didn't Naruto once say he barley feels hinata's prescience around..while some see this as a negative hes saying about her I think it says more about Naruto...hes grown up watching his back with everyone despising him so when he says he doesn't feel her prescience like she isn't even there I think its a good thing..shes the only person he feel comfortable enough around to not have his guard up or feels will do harm to him so it makes sense he doesn't feel a bad vibe from her...its just hes too stupid to say this...he probably enjoys being around her for this fact..its just different and he doesn't understand it...that's adorable and I always found it to be the real meaning of that ..
Asmosis Jones It was always nice that Hinata was the first person to show true care in Naruto and his feelings, it’s too bad that he didn’t know though, and he stayed lonely during that time.
Fearch 93 I think you’re reading way too much into the nitpicky details, she saw his father in him because of the fire part of him, not because he looked like him, or if I remember correctly she saw his eyes and they reminded him of Endeavor’s eyes? The flashbacks didn’t show enough of the trauma Endeavor was putting the family through, so I mean even though she snapped and it’s understandable as to why she snapped, there could’ve at least been more scenes of her transitioning into that state. Maybe the manga shows some of that a bit more. One thing I will give you is that his mom helped condition him to believe that his fire was bad, and that he couldn’t be a hero because he had bad inside of him. So while Endeavor is a terrible father, his mom’s also to blame for his personal struggles as well. I guess Todoroki thought since his dad sent her away to a mental hospital, she’s already been through so much that he doesn’t wanna make her feel bad even more.
looking back I cant stand the gary stu that is kid teen gohan..smdh..what a bad character...goku worked so hard for his little increased power meanwhile gohan just skips steps with half the work..smdh...and goku had a personality..gohan just is a bland kid...
@@razkable He couldn't attain power that could overpower everyone else, or power that could be applied on the battlefield, without others helping him grow and being a man
the exchange that Hinata and Naruto had before Nejis fight was for the romance relationship that kishimoto wanted to build since in his interviews he said he always wanted Hinata to go with Naruto. I liked this part of the manga cuz Hinata helped Naruto who was in despair like he was in the war against Obito. yea it builds relationship. And on the video itself Naruto is my favorite character for his depth. How low he was and how high he becomes. How he values bonds instead of discarding them. Also I like that from the beginning of the manga Naruto said he wanted to earn the respect of the people in konoha instead of just seeking revenge against them for treating him like an outcast in his childhood. I found it something courageous to do. Another thing I find interesting is that people think that Naruto is a go lucky guy who is always happy and loves everyone where in the series it's shown that he has a wide variety of negative feelings that most of the people have such as jealousy, hatred, envy ,anxiety and despair. Many people don't like him because of his lack of progress in the beginning of shippuden, of his talk no jutsu, him trying to save Sasuke but I think these things makes Naruto as he shows how he deals with different struggles in life.
Yeah ive told people that before. If Naruto DIDNT do the things he did, he wouldnt be Naruto. Narutos a person who values bonds and keeps his word. If he didnt go after sasuke, despite how close he viewed him and despite making that promise to sakura then that wouldnt be Naruto.
@TheWhiteFang284 there are many underdogs with cursed powers and stuff,but naruto is unique enough that i dont feel like there are ones that are closer to him my anime count as of right now is 230 (my favs are nagiasu,perfect blue,paranoia agent,evangelion,shinsekai yori,haibane renmei etc...)naruto is still my favourite
@@PsychoMario nagiasu is a series that many people have mixed feelings on,but personally i think it just oozes out of pure character and how it incorporate characters and even some troupes(like timeskips,minor worldbuilding details) to discuss actual themes is fucking genius its so much "naruto" for me
@@PsychoMario hmm i liked magi,uchyuu yori thooi basho,akira,aoi bungaku,berserk(manga),clannad,code geass,darker than black,death note,devilman crybaby,erased,fate zero,fmab,golden time,golden kamuy,grimgar,hxh,kimi ni todoke,madoka magica,mushishi,monster,oregairu,angels egg,pshyco pass,steins gate,haruhi,tsuki ga kirei well thats about it for my 7.5 and high tier shows except the ones i mentioned earlier
Ippo is kinda close to what you're looking for, though I don't think it explores it in the way you'd prefer. and idk I think Ashita no Joe has this thread too, albeit not a central theme by any means. Joe sort of has fake confidence in himself, and guards himself from getting attached to anything cause he knows it would eat at him if he loses that. He acts tough and cool but still extremely vulnerable. Still probably not what you're looking for haha
@@SuperBallani The problem with Ippo I feel is the fact that he just wants to become the world champion really bad, similar to how in Naruto Rock Lee just wants to become a great ninja really bad. Neither of the NEED to do what they are doing, they just have a strong drive to do it. When it come to series like Naruto or MHA, the character NEED to become the heroes that they are destined to be or the world will crumble below them. If Naruto was not ready for Madara, then everybody would have died. In MHA if Deku is not ready for All for One and the League of Villains then many innocent people will die and society will collapse.
@@RegalPixelKing ippo doesn't even care about becoming the world champion until very late stages of the manga, he just wants to be "strong" because he feels inferior, thats why even on fights where he is the defending champion he always feels like the underdog or the challenger
Regal Pixel King Ippo doesn't even want to be the world champion.. he just wants to be strong. And I don't know if I'm reading too hard into this but boxing saved Ippo. He had no real friends before and he was constantly bullied. He had no distinct goals for the future other than taking over the family business. Boxing gave him confidence. It gave him lifelong friends. The confidence he needed to have a positive outlook on life. A lot has changed and I'm not completely caught up in the manga but I've been spoiled and I'm interested in how his goals are handled. But really, boxing is his life. And strength is his goal. Until he feels he has strength he won't stop
To me, Deku seems to be more about impostor syndrome than anxiety. He's strong enough and smart enough to be where he is but he's so used to being inferior that he feels like he's not supposed to be there.
Also I'll never not be annoyed by the fact that Gohan didn't take over as protag of DBZ. Toriyama considered it briefly but opted to keep bringing Goku back and keep shelving Gohan. The idea of Gohan as a reluctant protector of earth always fascinated me, him trying to balance the normalcy he wants and the responsibility he needs to accept (almost like Spiderman), and him being simultaneously a campy/nerdy character at heart while being able to get serious and kick ass like he did at the end of the Cell arc, etc., I just really love Gohan and it sucks how any potential he could've had as the MC of DBZ was snuffed out.
It was mainly the preferences of fans wanting to keep a character they've had for so long. I doubt most fans even considered how much of a better story DBZ would've been if they let Gohan be the next MC. People just didn't want to change.
That's understandable. Change is hard to overcome and accept. Like for example, when Demon Slayer took number 1 in manga sales, a lot of people were pissed. Demon Slayer is not one of my all times favorites but I can respect the show and I can understand why people love it.
@@Mufflin Lets be honest, the story direction with Gohan was getting bothced anyways. All we got was some boring slice of life episodes where he got a girlfriend was trying to be a superhero. Great Saiyanman stuff was pretty cool, but boring at the same time.
@@jantheking7028 Well, I for one definitely that great sayiman was a garbage hero and would've preferred to see gohans Highschool life unfold WHILE trying to fight buu.
16:27 I'm sorry, but you're very wrong here about deku's status. The concept of the "popular kids" isn't really a thing in UA because of how focused everyone is on their goals but deku is definitely one of, if not, the most popular kid in his class. This was very bluntly stated by aizawa in s3 when he mentioned how much deku and kacchan inspire the rest of the class.
@@bluhmer1990 I wouldn't say that. It seemed as if the other characters seemed buddy buddy with each other. Also technically wouldn't that mean Ochako and Tenya also had two friends. Also I think he meant during his junior middle years
You keep bringing up Neji's reading of Hinata as something he could've done to Naruto but I don't think it makes sense. Neji has known Hinata for most of his life, he's seen her failures and shyness for years so he knows how to get to her. They are cousins after all. Neji has no information on Naruto besides what he heard about during the Exams.
I love MHA and Naruto both, but Naruto has gone through A LOT MORE than Deku has. Even from the young age, Naruto dealt with a lot more bullying a lot more consistently than Deku did before getting into UA. Maybe if MHA goes on long enough for Deku to go through real tremendous loss and get lost, and it to not last for only like 2 chapters, then maybe it could work. But I dont think theres a lot of room in the current narrative with the exception on one person.
I wouldn't say Naruto went through more bullying but I'll say he through more abused. Deku went through with more bullying with his classmates then Naruto but the doesn't outweigh the fact that Naruto was basically outcasted by almost his whole country.
Mathwiz, once again, you turned out an incredible Naruto theme video. Thank you so much! I admit, sometimes I am really simplistic when I watch these shows. My number one goal is entertainment so I can ignore as much BS as I can take at the time. But watching videos like these helps remind me why some of my favorite anime are my favorite anime. AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND EFFORT!
Good analysis, made me realize that despite the love/hate relationship I have for the series, the one thing that remained constant was/is my attachment towards Naruto as a character. It also made me realize why I always felt the same way about Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender. I recently revisited that series and I just couldn't put my finger on why I felt attached towards Aang's struggles and progression as a character. But now I know since he practically went through the same character progression as Naruto did. He had the same episodic depressions, almost the same burdens placed upon him and even the way they acted as adults is kind of the same. I remember when Naruto said to Minato how everyone expects too much of him and he just can't take it, it heavily reminded me of Aang's struggles of not wanting to be the Avatar since it's such a huge responsibility. It's kind of a stretch but even the way the Fire Nation constantly went after Aang because he's the Avatar kind of reminds me of the way the Akatsuki always went after Naruto because he was a Jinchuuriki. Heck, even the way their children reacted to their roles as the respective savior of their worlds is quite similar in their respective spin-off series lmao
That's how it goes. Success breeds jealousy and it has always been that way. I love Naruto and it's my favourite series even after watching tons of other stuff from the same "genre" and outside.
Every shonen after Dragon Ball should be called generic then because it is using the same thropes that made Dragon Ball popular. Naruto's anime has horrible pacing , dragged out fights,. talking in the middle of fights and explaining powers , recaps, flashbacks that repeat themself just to fill the ep and lots of fillers, after i watched other shonen i realised how bad Naruto anime was, don't get me wrong it had great moments but to recommend it to first time anime watcher ? There are shonen that have better story and are shorter like Death Note, FMA Brotherhood,Law of Ueki,Noragami,Hunter x Hunter........
@@markodarkman1061 Bro you are focused on the similarities and not the differences. Plus with Naruto I just recommend you skip the fillers. You can look up what episodes have fillers or not and plus DBZ is the king of dragging out stuff in its plot but we still love it.
@@markodarkman1061 Yeah, every shounen is generic now but I think Naruto and DBZ established most of the shounen tropes. These new shows like My Hero Academia seem way too similar to the tropes estabished in the past.
Deku may be my favorite shonen mc, but a part of me wanted him to completely rage at Bakugo at one point, but I'm fine with what his character arc is going.
Deku is one of my favorite characters in all of anime because I can relate to him so much in so many ways. I’ve heard some people mention that they don’t like how he still is overly emotional and still lacks in confidence but I personally really enjoy that it’s taking him a lot of time to build it up. As someone who was bullied for a large majority of his childhood, I know what it’s like to feel worthless and to feel like you’re nothing. And I think that’s how Deku feels. He spent his entire life before the series seeing everyone around him be biologically superior to him in every way and he couldn’t do a thing about it. He was constantly put down, and felt like he was nothing compared to his peers. And so can relate to that feeling so much, and I can say from personal experience it IS NOT EASY to come back from feeling so low for so long. You mention how Deku cries a lot in different emotional situations and while that can seem annoying to someone who doesn’t have reactions like that, it’s incredibly relatable to those who do. I tear up easily myself because of how emotionally battered and beaten I was. When you go through life for so long feeling so low, it’s hard to move beyond that low feeling. That’s why I believe he cries even in happy moments like when he succeeds and gets praise or his friends are there for him. It’s because he spent so much of his life believing he was nothing that I believe in his mind, he feels he doesn’t deserve that joy. He might feel that he’s not allowed to be happy. I felt that way for a while when I first entered high school and made my first real friends for the first time in many years. Self confidence IS NOT something that comes back or grows easily, especially after long bouts of hardship and emotional weight/abuse. For me personally it’s been almost 6 years since I’ve been seriously bullied and I still have massive self esteem and confidence issues, it’s not something that comes back right away and that’s why I like Deku so much, it takes time for him to grow and change. It might be harder to tell for people who don’t have the same experiences, but as someone who relates so much to this guy, I can tell that the Deku at the end of season 3 is a VERY different person from who he was at the beginning of the show. And I don’t think he’s gonna stop changing for the better any time soon Plus I certain the idea behind Deku isn’t anxiety. Deku doesn’t suffer for symptoms of anxiety if anything Bakugo suffers more from anxiety, Deku suffers instead from massive self esteem and confidence issues
I love this analysis a lot. It echoes a lot of my personal feelings on Naruto and Deku specifically. It also is probably why as a character i just prefer Naruto and can't really motivate myself to be invested with Deku's character. I understand that for a lot of people, these are minor hangups that they can easily overlook. However, for whatever reason I still have trouble getting myself interested in these other protagonists. I haven't watched a lot of shonen, so perhaps my problem is that I dont have a large enough well of information to use when watching but I dont know. Great video as always. Looking forward to the nest one.
Fearch 93 how is Deku pandering Deku also isn’t a snowflake he’s over emotional but that has a reason behind it Deku also has a flaw his lack of self worth and sacrificial tendencies (at the start he’s also where bad he’d destroy himself without a thought just to help someone and for a part of the series was completely ignoring how his mother would feel about him destroying his body saying Deku is a self insert is also untrue a real self insert has almost no personality or flaws and is basically a super talented badass Deku isn’t that he has to try to get things, fails and loses, and isn’t loved by everyone
Fearch 93 he’s more emotional because unlike other Shounen protagonists he doesn’t hold his emotions in (Naruto), or doesn’t have a tragic backstory and is younger than most of them (Luffy, Goku), why’d you assume an otaku has a lack of self worth you can have poor social skills and still hold yourself in high regard eg Bakugo who has shitty social skills but thinks he’s awesome Sacrificial tendencies are bad when it’s excessive like his he permanently disfigured his fingers in a tournament against Todoroki to help him get over his shit, he runs headlong into danger without a thought and was ready to die to save Kota (people also scold him for his shit eg Recovery Girl, Aizawa tells him if he breaks himself how’s he gonna help anyone and people even know him as ‘the crazy boy’, what villain besides Stain treats him as special most of them don’t give a damn and would kill him without a thought Spinner holds him in high regard due to Stain and Toga wasn’t to kill him because she’s a psycho who loves blood and saw Isuzu in a very fucked up state and got wet for him She breaks down because her son just had his dreams cut down in an instant and would go on to live an unfulfilled life in which he has to settle, being a hero isn’t like being the president that’s not an accurate description since only some people can be presidents it’s a lot more like Deku wants to be a soldier but is missing a leg that’s what it’s like, of course she worries what series are you watching dude he breaks his bones and blows himself up of course she’d worry you mean to tell me that your kid without super durability doing that shit wouldn’t leave you worried, he got his wish due to luck and hard work (and because of how he got his Quirk and his circumstances his arm is fucked up badly (deformed fingers, scars, a large burn mark)), nobody has dropped their kid because most people aren’t monsters being quirkless is like lacking a feature that makes you inferior in physical stuff a quirkless person (with equal training to a quirked opponent) stands little of a chance of beating said opponent can you imagine quirkless Deku bearing Tokoyami or Bakugo Deku isn’t just an otaku you have some pretty generalised views on them, he isn’t the strongest that’s Todoroki and Bakugo was stronger than him for most of the series, he isn’t the most popular he’s just inspiring, based on all that I guess you hate Spider-Man as well since he’s very similar to Deku only difference is Spider-Man isn’t a hero nerd
Fearch 93 that isn’t what I said I said Naruto holds his emotions in Deku doesn’t, wtf are you talking about Bakugo isn’t adhd last I checked adhd would make school difficult and Bakugo is smarter than majority of the class in academics and combat (Bakugo’s relationship with everyone is bs I agree there) You very much can move broke limbs and we see he reaches a point where he can’t move them, they also have stakes look at his right arm, his fight with Todoroki has him resort to hitting with his okay arm but broken fingers and head butting and ends with a scared hand and disfigured fingers, Muscular ended up scaring his arm more and Deku is forced to wear a compressor sleeve from then on and even changed his fighting style due to said injury, Eraserhead didn’t die but suffered a lot of damage to his eye sockets (he still has a scar and is noted to be unable to keep his eyes open as long as before) if you’re going to complain please complain about every stabbed character in fiction who lives for hours later still fighting without too much issue, if Tomura went for the kill it’d end bad for him since All Might will crack down on him way harder he gains nothing from killing Deku or any student besides making All Might feel bad No most protagonists are orphans to get our sympathy, yes she’s worried when he jumps on mines or breaks his limbs but I’m sure he told her that stuff could be healed and she wasn’t neglecting him when she sees UA failed to protect her son she decides to pull him out of it and plans to send him to another school but All Might begs for Izuku Idk what series you’re watching sure his quirk is strongest but in the anime he only has 8% which lets him match Bakugo at most (Todoroki would still beat them), he isn’t the most popular people don’t flick to him he has his own friends it’s just people admire his willpower and heroism, what special treatment there are characters better than him and others who don’t like him or are indifferent to him and how does the power system bend to his will if you mean OFA that was at the beginning and before that point we didn’t know much about quirks and it didn’t break the story
@@beastvicious8672 I disagree that Deku is a character that panders to snowflakes. However i don't think you are entirely wrong that he does to some extent pander to the SJW crowd. I think this comes from what was mentioned in the video. Deku's flaw is that he is too good. He is too nice. He shows no actual anger or aggression to others but he does show desperation. I think the lack of aggressive tendencies is what you refer to as pandering. I don't completely disagree on the Otaku thing because in the way you use it it implies that he is completely obsessed with something. In this case being the ultimate hero. Which at the start, was a completely unrealistic goal and because he now is able to has created deep seated character flaws within him. I disagree he is an insert however, though again I can see how he can kinda resemble one from a certain angle. A self insert isn't necessarily bad however in this case I presume he resembles a Gary Stu. That I have to disagree vehemently with. I am interested to see if the Manga has explored that character flaw of his, or if it is just glossed over or perhaps praised. As of now I wait for the anime to update so I can see for myself. Naruto is a character. I don't necessarily think hes terribly well written but at least written better than 90% of other characters with the same premise. In that regard he is well above average. Naruto is however, a more complex character due to both how he was written and the world he is in. I think this is what you meant when you said Naruto is a well written character. In some regards, I'd say Deku is better written than Naruto though only just in some areas. Am i correct in my interpretation?
A great example of a shonen anime more subtlety covering depression is the final arc of Digimon Tamers. It's also worth mentioning that it was largely written by Chiaki J. Konaka of Serial Experiments Lain fame.
it pains me to know kids today growing up wont actually look back at Naruto or look up his past so they just see him as a strong heroic type hero always beloved and a bad father basically goku aka comedic and good ...that's so funny to me and is a perfect example for why you should never continue a story period but especially with a main characters son when it was meant to end....now people will literally miss the whole point of the manga and character of Naruto and the fanbase he built up and they will be boruto fans cause hes a kid im a kid hes new im new to this show...smdh...its so lame...it was never his sons story...dragonball was never gohans story...bleach was never about ichigos son which is why the backlash occurred to the end of that manga...we don't want sequels so companies can pump out eps for money...the reason I read Naruto was for his journey to end one day...same for dragonball...I don't want their sons journey..god damn it...that's so stupid...neither series ever planned to be about their kids at any point...as a fan i don't care about their sons at all
As someone who has had a similar childhood to Deku, I relate my depression far more to Deku than to any other shonen character. If Deku was a real person, then I am sure he would have had suicidal thoughts after All Might tells him he can't be a hero. Deku really has no self worth other than being a hero. His entire worth, at this point, is tied to him being All Might's successor. So, I feel like it's very understandable that he is so incredibly insecure all the time. Yes, he has grown a lot since the beginning in terms of controlling his power to some extent but he definitely feels that if the power was transferred to someone more gifted like Todoroki, then they would have been much better at it by now than where is at. This insecurity is going to be further explored in season 4 so I am really excited about it.
I’m a little bit salty that you didn’t mention how Deku, after his fight with Bakugo, responded to Bakugo as an equal. Bakugo states that he was going to be better than Deku, and Deku states that he was going to be better than that.
A shonen battle series that deals thematically with anxiety? Well, that sounds like Rokudenashi Blues, the best selling delinquent manga that also ran in Jump. The entire manga deals with anxiety, social pressure, and insecurity with all of the characters having problems related to those 3 ideas that lead to them becoming delinquents and getting into fights. The main character, Maeda Taison when he gets anxious, or pressured he begins to stutter, hr gets angry, he lashes out, and even gets into fights, in the first chapter he accidentally punched a teacher because he was getting anxious around a girl while also being stressed out by the teacher. Despite being a delinquent and acting like a tough guy, he easily gets emotional so much so that Tv dramas get him to cry. The manga sounds like your type of thing so this is my way to tip my hat to it and gush about the manga.
I don't really think izuku being a crybaby is an issue. Even if he is just quick to cry. I don't really see how that would cause problems for him. Crying is actually a relatively healthy thing to do because it brings cartharsis.
@@nicolinodagarganta-violino3163 Hmmm.. I don't think he is annoying or boring, Jotaro is a emotionally repressed person, but we still see cracks of him being emotional in stardust crusaders, he gets even better in later parts.
@@sebastianswan7975 No, that's not how you make an emotionally repressed character. He just feels robotic and overall uninteresting because he lacks emotions and relatable moments.
I feel like the conpetitive, trying to be the best story so common to shounen battle series is naturally suited to dealing with characters with deep insecurities. In real life, high achievers usually struggle a lot with never feeling good enough because their standards for themselves are so high.
Tsuna from katekyo Hitman reborn is also a pretty intressting and well written insecure protagonist, because the character tsuna is full of flaws,but he still manage to overcome many obstacel with the personality of His,he thought is completle useless and manage to convince people to follow him and lend him their strength, despite the fact that the same people didn,t recognize him at all,disrespect him or even tried to kill him in the past, furthermore he discoverd during his jurney way more about himself,more than he ever would have Imagine.
@@esophagoose I don't think it did. He is far more confident with those around him than ever before. It was a small step but that's how it goes in life sometimes.
@@dabeluokigbo959 don,t think so, because the point of character development is not to cm the character from the core, but instead die him in some points,for example at the end of Naruto, Naruto was still this optimistic boy,who is pretty much chilled, despite the deep shit that happen in his life and its the same case with tsuna he is still no good tsuna,who dosent because its a important part of his character and make him special,but he still manage to gain a lot of friends, manage to gain the respect of characters who didn,t acknowledge him at all or even tried to kill him.The fact that He refuses to become the Vongola Decimo also makes senss, because he pretty much was already the Vongola Decimo and everyone saw him as that,but he wasn,t mature enough to admit that, furthermore.the series was to my knowledge cancelled like bleach and Akira amana probably wasn,t Finish with tsunas character,that probably why she choose to "end" the Manga at this Point,so she can continue to writte the story at any time,also the fact that tsuna is the boss in the future showes that he will become the Vongola Decimo at some Point, because they made it very clear in the future Arc, that future and present tsuna are still the same from the mimdset,but future tsuna was much more mature was shows that Akira amano planned for tsuna to become at some Point of the story the Vongola Decimo,but she first want him to grow more as a character.
Deku does not feel popular despite being the most popular kid at UA. I mean he is totally, the top kids like him, everyone in the class does. The girls do. The dudes do. He is admired and loved by everyone but he does not like himself enough to see it.
1:31 The point of Netero’s sacrifice wasn’t “humanity is evil” It is “humanity is capable of malice, but with our strong wills, we will always overcome” It’s not so much as damnation as it is celebration, no matter how dark it may be
Naruto has never had a family , never had any friends , he was hated by the whole village After that when he finally got friends , one of them tries to kill the other (sasuke and Sakura) He got a person who is like a father to him and that person dies So it’s pretty normal for him to cry !!
I can't really say much for Deku, since I really haven't watched MHA, but Naruto? Bruh. Literally his entire village hated him and mistreated him for a demon fox sealed within him and no actual parental guidance, how do expect him to be confident when my boy can hardly pick himself up
17:16 Is there like no one who can pronounce Urameshi right on the English side of the Anime community ? It's not Yourameshi ! it's Urameshi, goddammit. The U is pronounced the same way as in Usopp, put some respect on my dude's name.
I've read/watched most battle shonen series and based on this video I don't think what you're looking for exists. The fact that Luffy and Goku are some of the most liked characters in anime and manga should probably tell you why that is the case.
I really think when you boil it down it’s really how deep rooted they are in their ideas like want to be pirate king will keep saying that and backing it up and want to be the universes stronger fight okay will keep backing that up also they both help others push themselves to change or become better luffys like whole crew learned from him they can have dreams and characters Goku met and fought they mostly changed respecting Goku and even gaining better lives then him to a point I feel personally that’s why they are liked
DEKU IS A GOOD BOY BECAUSE HE'S A HERO!!!!!!!! THAT'S HOW HEROES SHOULD BE!!!!!!!! Also, it's called being friends with your classmates regardless of gender, not a "harem". How is it a harem!?!? There's only one character who shows any romantic interest in him!!! ONE!!! Unless you're counting the psychopathic murderer who wants to kill him and drink his blood...
The protagonist you're looking for sounds a lot like John from UNrdinary a webtoon as he is extremely hypocritical of himself and the actions of others as the tragedy of his past keeps him from moving forward and his emotions are always bottled up and burst forth in fits of anger, sorrow and lashes out at others who want to help him. His father even wrote a book for him to have the rolemodel his father could never become. He is a tragic character trapped in a sociey that wants to keep him down and its available on webtoons for free and yes it is an action series with plenty of interesting concepts and fighting READ IT PLZZZZ.................... Spoiler: It starts out similar to HunterXHunter and I know you understand what I mean.
@@EZMotion101 That's the contradiction because he can only be himslef when he knows that no one else knows who he is. he feels like he needs to hide his true self from society and from the one he cares for most.
I am so glad to see that someone else agrees that a character with flaws that are too clean and nice can make for a not as compelling character as they could've been with more darker (and I'd dare say, more realistic flaws). I think you summed it up best at 12:22. Deku doesn't do things that affect his kindness in a negative way or have things that affect his mental health to cause that like Naruto does. He's a good boy, but he's too much of a goody two shoes in my opinion to be as relatable as someone like Naruto could be. You don't see many people in reality that have flaws like Deku's, but there's tons of people that've done things like push others away or struggle with anxiety from their failures like Naruto, hence why I find Naruto more compelling and relatable of a protagonist in that way. (Note: I'm not saying Deku is a bad character at all, but I feel he's not as compelling as someone that makes more realistic mistakes and has more realistic issues that people of the audience would on the whole be more likely to struggle with in their daily lives, rather than being the "Too pure for this world" kind of character.)
As soon as you said that deku doesn't lash out or push people away I started laughing my ass off considering what's on deck for the show and more specifically what comes after the war arc.
i think, deku's insecurities and flaws are more realistic... I know, it sounds weird. but hear me out. he has been belittled and bullied throughout his childhood. making him feel like the his existence wasn't that important, that people didn't exactly care about him. That's why when all might recognised him, he cried so much. xuz all might was the person he looked up to the most. and having him recognize deku was the best thing that could happen to him. now, deku being the insecure and bullied kid he was, latched onto all might. he did everything in his power to live up to all might's expectations, to fill his shoes. even if it meant breaking his body beyond repair. it was almost a sick admiration where deku forgot that he himself was just a kid and had time to slowly improve. All might was the first to acknowledge him, and he would rather die than disappoint his hero. and that reckless, self harming way of protecting others comes from this insecurity and admiration. the reason i say it's more realistic, because that is exactly how I would act. being emotionally bullied and belittled from a young age, bein told that it would've been better had i not existed, all those things have developed a deep rooted insecurity in me. which causes me to latch onto people who acknwldge me or are kind to me. i want to please them as much as possible, not bothering bout what it might do to me emotionally or physically. because i want them to keep on acknwldging me, to keep on being proudof me. i might be reading too much into this, but i could just understand the psychology behind deku better. while naruto drained my tear ducts, MHA stuck deep cords in my heart
I think naruto is also very realistic when it comes to his insecurities and flaws. Not how he got those insecurities and flaws, but how he reacted to them. Naruto was just a kid who wanted to be accepted. And did anything he could to be recognized, even if it was for something bad.
I agree with both you buy it's a shame that people see Deku as a boring character. I really find him interesting and relatable the more I rewatch the show.
He isnt boring. But compared to the other anime protags and even bakugo, he is a bit plain. I mean, almost all heors in the other animes are loud, assured and just eye catching. Deku on the other hand is soft spoken, a bit insecure and soft( cinnamon roll) That's why some ppl may find him a bit boring. Cuz he isnt what we have seen sofar. But i really do like deku. And bakugo too. I can understand their emotional standpoints really well
Yes, i agree . And i also love naruto too. He had honestly motivated me to not give up when i was going theu the hardest rime in my life. He couldve been better. But that's the author's fault
@@labinatasfia624 I honestly like Deku a tad bit more than Naruto because of his realism and how aware he is about the world but to aware to know sever things about the world. Maybe one thing why I like Deku more than him because I relate with his personality more. Naruto I find relatable but his orgin story is a bit to drastic for me to relate to. Also one thing I don't like about Naruto is the dumb protagonist trope. I've never liked it. Not even as a kid. Not even Goku, Luffy hell even Asta who I've really like so have never made me like that trope.
in the confrontation w naruto and hinata, the words "i was feeling depressed but now im better" are replaced with "I used to not like you that much but youre actually kinda cool" at least for the sub i was watching
I really liked this study from you it really is a close relatable feeling and it's what characters need to feel more human, especially the mc of a long running series. But I do wonder how you'll feel if you guys get to reading BNHA on the NenCast cause I feel like Deku's characterization as far as subtle bouts of confidence and more hidden faces are shown through the art and kinda passed over in the anime. He has flaws, yes, I think he's kinda the beckon of a "good boy" but I think his subtle flaws are there if you look for them, especially when you think about Bakugou's view of Deku in the first couple chapters after you read their later fight, Deku being sycophantic over heroes basically being "childish" and not really working towards that goal; like he had never worked or tried to work around the system of not having a quirk if he would've applied for the exam he would've died and I don't think Bakugou is necessarily in the wrong for thinking Deku was mocking his ambitions when Deku wasn't doing anything for his goals unlike Bakugou who obviously did work hard and studied to be in the top of their entrance exams. There's also the scene during the dorm episode when Tsuyu confronts the group who went to go save Bakugou everyone apologized and comforted Tsuyu but not Deku (and in the episode they made him kinda tear up in the manga he didn't), and I think this coupled with a lot of the confidence he and determination during the "Provisional License" Arc (which some panels were really cut of Deku being bold) really stack to even later arcs of him growing into what he deems is needed to be a hero. I think the crushing weight of being alone along having people he looked up to, to measure up to makes him a lot different from Naruto despite them both having "rivals" but how those people played parts in their life is a whole lot different and Deku being grateful kinda makes him more special to me, especially when Naruto gets literally EVERY. SINGLE. ADVANTAGE. IN. THE. NINJA. UNIVERSE. later on in the series. I'll stop myself a bit here. I just think the core of these things are in the detail and no manga spoilers from me but I do think these get even better explored later on. Also Deku having a harem? And Deku crushing on Uraraka? I mean all that's pretty one sided, I kinda find it a bit refreshing bit that Deku isn't on mutual ground with her like a bad comedy but he's not as inept as Luffy and Goku with romantic feelings though it's always more on the side of (wow a girls talked to me or complimenting a girl) it's hardly harped on for more then a scene and just kinda cute? Guess I don't think of it as deeply just find it much different.
Well deku have 7 quirks he also have all might as his sensei and he also got one for all, the only advantage that naruto have was the nine tails and the nine tails wants to take his soul.
Dude, if you want pretty much the greatest depiction of depression and anxiety in an anime protagonist, watch March Comes In Like A Lion. It may not be shonen but it’s writing is top tier. It’s one of my most favorite anime series of all time and it’s so easy to get so invested in the characters. DEFINITELY check it out because I think you’d really dig it.
...I know. That feeling of utter stupidity when someone comments to put a suggestion for an anime before they've finished watching the video which actually mentions the anime you were suggesting...I’m feeling that strongly right now. If I were to give another suggestion to an anime I hope you haven’t watched so as to not make my suggestion redundant, I would suggest Blood Blockade Battlefront/Kekkai Sensen Season 1 and 2. It features an insecure protagonist (who you may or may not like depending on how you like your insecure protagonists) who has something called the All Seeing Eye Of the Gods. It’s basically all of Superman’s ocular powers (except Heat Vision) and all the Doujutsu of Naruto and dozens more combined. Basically, he can see through anything. But that’s just it. It only allows him supernatural sight but no Susanoo’s or ridiculously OP combat abilities at all. He has all the physicality of your average normal teenage boy. It’s a very, very funny anime, it’s produced by Studio Bones so the animation is top tier, the OPs and EDs are both super amazing and addictive? and the author of the manga the anime is based on is the same author of freaking _Trigun_. Those are all the hooks I got to sell this show. It’s teally good and hopefully it might scratch your itch for insecure anime protagonists. The MC has a very, very personal and understandable backstory for his insecurity and while the first season does adapt arcs from the manga, the overarching plot and 2 of the major characters for Season 1 are anime only and it is absolutely amazing. Alright, time to stop sucking Kekkai Sensen’s dick now.
Hmm, I think both of them served their purposes really well to be honest. The plot focused Season 1 helped establish the world of Salem’s Lot and we had more of a focus on Leonardo and his relationship with White and Black. So I think Season 1 hit the emotional beats better. But after being introduced to the world of Kekkai Sensen with Season 1, the episodic nature of Season 2 meshed well because it allows the audience to experience the other members’ of Libra in their day in the spotlight. An episodic nature is good when you have a large cast of characters that you can develop with. But not so good with a central main protagonist who you need the audience to root and care for. So I think both seasons’ formats helped achieve their goals spectacularly. I’m really hoping for a Season 3 soon.
You do realize that Saiyans get really cocky and aggressive when they first get a new transformation. His character never changes just his saiyan DNA becomes more apparent when he fights a serious battle.
Would it be a fair assumption to say that the reason Shadow Clone Jutsu is Naruto's ace is because he was lonely and wanted to make friends? I mean, out of all the techniques he could've learned, he picked the one where he multiplies himself. I mean yeah Kishi did hint that Clone Jutsu was Naruto's worst jutsu, but I still find it intriguing that of all the abilities he could pick for the main protag, it's the ability to clone himself. Sure he has Rasengan, but that still required guess what, clones, lmao
noname144able Minor spoiler, but Sasuke actually highlights this during their last fight in the manga. The idea that Naruto spamming his shadow clones are a subconscious means to comfort himself in his loneliness and fear is interesting. I think it’d be a more valid assumption if we got a few scenes of Naruto randomly creating shadow clones and talking with them or getting into random hijinks with them during his downtime, but we never get scenes like that outside of a couple filler episodes. Another fascinating facet of Naruto’s character that didn’t get enough attention.
@@noahlarose7371 yeah, I feel that it was a missed opportunity within the manga that the fillers actually expanded upon. I remember there being fillers where Naruto would randomly create clones just so he wouldn't feel depressed and lonely. Despite the bad rep that Naruto fillers get, I feel that this is where the fillers shine, whenever they focus on a character's aspect that wasn't really explored that much in the manga. Seeing Naruto use his clones as a means to comfort himself was tragic to watch and I didn't care if it was canon or not at that point. Just wish the actual manga could have explored this idea more...
I discussed this with others as well. I think Kishimoto intentionally gives certain characters certain abilities for certain thematic reasons. The best example would be Amaterasu and Flame Control which seems to be a physical manifestation of Sasuke and Itachi's ideals and roles in the series.
@@YonkoJay yeah, I think the abilities he gave the main characters were made to fit the roles they were playing. Shikamaru for example is a strategist that likes things in order and doesn't like to face things head on. So it makes sense that his ability would be to control people in order to put things in their place by using their shadows, in order for his plans to work. I always thought the reason Naruto's best technique was Shadow Clone Jutsu was because he was very lonely, so it makes sense that he'd want to multiply himself, just so he could keep his dark thoughts at bay, just wish Kishi explored this idea more though. And I gues another problem is he made way too many characters so it almost seemed like he was pulling all these abilities out of nowhere just because they looked cool later on xD
noname144able True, I’m pretty sure the shadow clone Naruto theory is confirmed. Naruto actually plays with his clones when he’s at home by himself according to the anime.
The my hero academia was anti-naruto Oh yeah NARUTO is always be my no.1 ANIME I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW YEAH YOU THE ONE WHO IS READING THIS NOW IF YOU KNOW ALREADY ITS OK☺️🙂
If you've got the time and haven't read it already, try Blue Exorcist! Rin is a good example of an insecure shonen protagonist imo. He struggles to accept who he is and his powers etc etc. I'd be interested to see what you think of that series and its characters......... Spoiler below His romance doesn't work out, either. So far, at least.
Oh yes Mathwiz out with an new shonen related video cool Edit: 8:47 I don't think the "Not Shonen Jump" tag was needed because shonen jump is just like any other shonen magazine just more popular I guess and I don't think that's were "Shonen" definitions start to break down 8:54 I wouldn't call Ichigo confident since I remember him having more emotional breakdowns than Deku but I might be misremembering since I like Ichigo more than Izuku but yeah I guess it's kinda uncommon 9:46 Oh yeah I forgot about that 17:16 Kinda sad that you didn't mention Mob 17:33 I know you didn't connect to Ichigo but since he's my 2nd favorite protagonist ever Luffy exists after all I gotta say I feel like Ichigo's inner conflict while not presented the same as Naruto's sorta works in a similar way though I did connect to Ichigo more to be fair I haven't revisited Naruto in a while so I wouldn't say no shonen that you've read has even attempted that sort of thing
The "not shonen jump" tag was mainly to clarify that I wasn't just referring to shonen jump titles in that instance. I did some bouncing around between referring to Jump titles exclusively and referring to more general shonen action titles. I need to be more careful about how I word things. I also got lazy about putting all that text on screen, cause honestly I probably could've included things like Akame ga Kill, Mob Psycho, etc. I'll try to do better in the future.
@@MathWizHQ Yeah I interpreted that list something like "Shonen manga from magazines other than Shonen Jump are not really shonen" because of the "Okay this is were the "shonen" definition starts breaking down" line being put in the same sentence that might be me just being stupid but thanks for the clarification nonetheless
@@weeb2606 Filler that takes up half the anime, inconsistent art and animation, plot points that go no where or are flat out bad, terrible character development, etc.
Chickpeas filler have nothing to do with the main story, the animation is inconsistent because it’s weekly and it’s running episodes for almost 20 years same for all the long running weekly anime, can you give examples about this plot points, and it’s true that naruto got underdeveloped characters but those characters are not important to the plot same for dragon ball were goku and vegeta is the only characters you care and mha were there are many underdeveloped class 1-a characters, and many more anime, and naruto also have well developed characters such as naruto, sasuke, might guy, gaara, kakashi, shikamaru, kurama, itachi, obito, madara, nagato, etc.
This really helps me out a lot with one the characters from comic. I know very little about what certain people with anxiety go through, but I really feel for them, especially after helping a close friend of mind try to overcome her insecurities, I can't completely change her, but she's really making progress.
Insecure protagonists to me are the most relatable, I'm quite an insecure person so a protagonist that also is insecure is way more inspiring than confident ones. It's why I do actually like Deku over Luffy or Goku for instance.
im pretty sure naruto was about nationalism and effect of it creating hatred for other who arent apart of your village. and wars creating extremist aka the akatsuki
@@beastvicious8672 Doesn't mean it can't be a problem. The whole idea of "culture not dying out or its great importance" creates the negativity of that mindset on its own. The very thought challenges kindness at times, as one nation might believe themselves to be superior and that may hurt others. Sure there's nothing wrong with patriotism but Nationalist can be extreme. Naruto challenged that idea and gave the hope that if we all come to understand each other we can eventually find peace. We're all humans, one's nationality or culture shouldn't matter.
This was a good video, I would be totally down with an anxious shonen protagonist like you proposed. Soul Eater has insecure characters, but not like the kind you asked for (mostly Maka not feeling worthy for having Soul as a partner). There also might be some superhero comic out there to fit what you want, but none than I can think of which do exactly what you want (Daredevil, Animalman, and Miracleman pop into my head, but again not what your looking for). Perhaps serialized storytelling like this isn't the best for fully fleshing out a conflict like this. Writing that story is a good idea though.
Ngl, these were the bits of Naruto that were absolutely the best. When Naruto faced someone or something that made him seriously question himself and what he was doing, it was so compelling and made me want to see where he ended up and how he faced these problems. However I was sometimes disappointed with how it would turn out. Good example: The Pain Arc. I loved it but I don't quite understand what exactly swayed Pain to Naruto's argument at the end, he just seems to go "hey you seem alright, I'll just 180" without anything that Naruto put forward really seeming to change his mind. I think I might have liked it more if Pain didn't go completely 180 but still came around to at least giving Naruto's way a chance and resurrecting the people of the Leaf as he did. Perhaps the fact that Naruto has the power to destroy him at that moment but chooses not to might influence his decision a bit more i.e: show him the person he could have been, someone who protected his people but sought a solution and not raw vengeance. Perhaps this is actually more what was going on in Pain's head but it just wasn't presented well idk. There were also a lot of ways in which this could have been done better, but I think for me this was the best aspect of Naruto as a series.
See I don't know why people say this, because to me it's just not true. The entire pain fight is about two hours long and in the time Naruto talked to him twice now that doesn't seem like much but usually takes about one conversation for Naruto to sway his enemies but not once did they sway Naruto, until pain showed up. He was the only character that made Naruto question if his path of world peace is the correct one and that was in the first conversation when pain was winning. But the second was when Naruto won, and not only did he win, but he took all the hatred (aka the nine tails) and took it out of him or more technically put it back in is body. Then remember pains whole gimmick was that everyone hates, everyone has hatred in there hearts, and everyone acts on it. So when he saw that someone literally beat the embodiment of hatred that everyone knows kurama as, and then defeat him, of course he had no other choice but to listen to what Naruto said. Then with that it changed him. So too me it kinda makes sense. in my opinion
@@redninja3056 I can totally see that. I guess, for me at least, it just wasn't made clear that THAT was what made Pain turn. There are a number of possible things that could've done it but it wasn't clear to me what convinced him, thus my thought about maybe it just could've been presented better. Regarding the timing of it, on initial viewing I loved the whole story arc, quibbles aside, but the more time went on the more I just kept thinking to myself "Man it can take years for people to change their opinion" and especially considering how long he'd been on this path and how invested he was, an argument can be made that its unreasonable that he'd switch so quickly, however then, as you pointed out, Naruto's action may give him serious reasons to actually listen to him. Imma say to each their own on this one. This is probs my favourite arc in Naruto, all I'd say is it maybe could've been improved to the point that Pain's thought process during his turn might be more obvious so that we can see a bit more clearly how he comes to his decision.
As a female who watches/reads a lot of Shonen, I want to take a moment and validate how great this video is but particularly the part where you examine the shonen protagonists and their romantic relationships. I know you said this is a minor gripe but it's really not. Maybe it's more apparent to girls but there is so much emotional inconsistency between the way shonen protagonists emote when interacting with romantic interests versus just about anyone else. We see well-developed feelings when talking about friendships (shonen power of friendship cliche), parents (usually dead cliche), and even the antagonist but then the author trots the love interest in to serve her narrative purpose and kicks her out just as quickly. It may motivate the hero in the immediate but he usually remains static in the area for the duration of the story.
That's because of the way Japanese people understand romantic interaction. Japan is very sexist and has a clear division between men and women, making it so that many men never truly interact with a woman and do not understand how romantic development works. Most shounens just make the woman fall in love with the main character for no reason and the main character never really cares about it until the end of the series, because the man used to think that romance would make the man look weak (which is very dumb and sexist)
naruto was depressed but never put himself below others and took his failures head on and deku jut cried a little and detroit smashed again and again. I hope dekus character develops and becomes cold af like other characters in MHA in the future
Something really sad about Naruto's lack of understanding about love is that if you think about it, Naruto would really have no concept of what romantic love is since he grew up with nobody. No parents. No friends. He associates love with ramen because that's what always made him feel good and the only person who treated him like a human being was the guy who sold him ramen.
NARUTO X TEUCHI FTW!!!!!!!
@white america's worst nightmare It was stated that they were just buddies to play with here and there. They didn't really bond until later.
white america’s worst nightmare They were never friends. They along with Kiba were just part of the same label of slackers as Naruto. The fillers suggest that there was potential for friendship, but then again, those are fillers.
well shikamaru was there for him and stood up back in his kid days. it was revealed too sasuke always had a connection too back in his kid days too but never expressed it
That's so sad but the ramen part made it sort of funny as well. Now that I smirked at this comment it's even more sad because it's so right, I never really thought about it.
Also, side note, i feel like people dont give Naruto enough credit for how genuine its emotions feel. I still cry like a baby every time i watch the episode of Shipuden where Gaara is barely clinging to life and the thing he thinks about is how grateful he is for Naruto's friendship.
wesley patterson exactly!!!! I just watched the rock lee fight and there’s this one part of the flashback that goes something like “I don’t know how long I can take this anymore. I feel like no matter how hard I train I am and always will be a loser” and that shit hit me like the meteor that madara hit the shinobi alliance with
Christopher Rivera it took me two seasons to start liking bakugo. Not only did he tell midoriya to kill himself, basically because he’s different and still had goals, when they were fighting in that first season, bakugo was not concerned for dekus safety and could have either killed him or hurt him really bad, which he did.
Especially when Lee looks down upon himself and Guy builds his spirit in a flashback during Lee vs Gaara.
And Jiraiya's death.
Sadness and sorrow hits hard.
wesley patterson I always cry to the very first episode of Naruto
I just saw the sequence where Naruto talks to his mom and we were both drowning in our tears. Shit gets real
I'm surprised you didn't mention Sasuke at all especially when talking about Naruto's anxiety and depression. Sasuke is often just as insecure as Naruto. They both bring out each other's insecurities, they are quick to point them out as well but they also inspire one another and give each other confidence at times. Kishi acknowledges that I believe through Kakashi and Jiraiya's conversation about the two.
I wouldn’t call Sasuke insecure, but he definitely has some kind of anxiety. Unlike Naruto, who is more extroverted in his approach (though he has his introverted moments), Sasuke is almost entirely introverted, and he only really cracks during the Five Kage Summit Arc, where his discovery of Itachi’s actual motives causes him to act rashly rather than calculated in battle for the first time ever, and the only time he actually kills people. I also wouldn’t say Sasuke and Naruto bring out each other’s insecurities so much as they call each other out for them, and while Naruto seeing Sasuke stoop so low inspires him, Sasuke isn’t really inspired by Naruto (not including times he was jealous of him) until the very end.
@@Gemnist98 Sasuke is insecure though. It's been noted a few times. He had both a superiority and inferiority complex. He was constantly worried about Naruto surpassing him and when he saw Naruto beat a enemy he couldn't he freaked out majorly and challenged Naruto to a fight to prove he was superior and was even madder at the conclusion of the match. That's the reason he sought out Orichimaru. The end of the series brings it all to a climax.
@@diamantemrobinson When you're right you're right, well said
That's a nice take. I think the video was focusing on protags though. And also I'd say that the forefront of Sasuke's emotional struggle is more of a PTSD kind of thing. But yeah he could've been mentioned
@@Gemnist98 Sasuke is so unsecured he admitted to Naruto he hated him for making him feel like Itachi, inadequate and a loser, basically since he felt Naruto was always walking in front of him no matter what he did 🤷🏻♀️
Deku obviously has a quirk. Unlimited, high pressure tears.
tears of depression
Hahaha this comment has age like a Fine WINE XD hahaha
Unlimited Tears
He's crying out weakness. Take all the time you need Deku!
And he never had one for all
Naruto is completely about how he deals with depression from being emotionally abused by his entire village except a handful of people. Like I mean hell does anybody remember when he straight-up started hyperventilating and fell down due to stress?
"except a handful of People"
Well there is no one who didnt treat him like a disease. Shikamaru and Choji? No. There was a guy who threw a mask to Naruto but shikamaru and Choji only watched Naruto they didnt even do anything. Shikamaru even himself said that he doesnt want to become friend with Naruto. Iruka even hated him at first.
@@elifbozkurt2026 i mean to be fair, shikamaru was arguably the one who least disliked him. he just didn't like the hustle of naruto's energetic nature and of course the troubles that being friends with the outcast would bring. it plays into his character flaw really well, I'd say.
I've been racking my mind trying to figure out what Deku's character flaw is, and I think i've finally done it. He’s seriously too much of a good guy. More specifically, he's crazy.
He constantly crosses the line between heroic self-sacrifice and suicidal tendencies. He’s so focused on saving everyone else that his arms are on the brink of permanent paralysis at 15yrs old. He fails to realize the emotional impact his hospitalizations have on his mother, caring only about being All-Might's successor.
There’s an interesting scene where he saves Toga, the villain, and she says something that the show hasn’t gotten the opportunity to explore yet:
“Will you save anyone? Where do you draw the line? What’s the boundary?”
I think the series is going to start to explore that Deku's "purity" is actually his greatest weakness. It reminds me of the scene where All-Might is in the hospital, and Gran-Torino has to talk him out of wanting to save Shigaraki. The dude would fucking disintegrate All-Might, but All-Might can only think about trying to "show him the light."
I think this spills over to love too. Uraraka shows that she loves Deku, but I think Deku is only flustered because she's a girl. He does the same thing with Hatsume Mei. In fact, the scene where Uraraka is floating and fawning over Deku, Deku is outside with an intense look of focus on his face as he trains. I think he's so focused on his hero's journey that he's gonna blatantly reject her, and probably even come off as insensitive.
Well, maybe not insensitive. He's pretty smooth, low-key.
So his character flaw is that he's perfect. Dear lord, he really is a Gary Stu.
@@michaeldorsey9231 Not perfect, but his obsession with being a hero is so intense that it can lead him to become irrational and radicalized. Being a goody-two-shoes isn't always the best course of action, similarly to how Iida realized his strict adherence to protocol wasn't always the best course of action.
@@ascvb3 That does sound like it could be a good character flaw, if written with nuance.
That said, I don't think Horokoshi has that level of nuance in this story.
ascvb3 Even other characters call him out on being self-sacrificial all the time whenever things get out of hand for him and he wants to use all his power for one specific attack against an opponent. That’s what he did with Todoroki at the Festival. That’s always been a character flaw with him since the beginning when he tried to save Bakugo. While he is improving there’s still ways to go. What he needs to learn now is how to not jump to conclusions of making the ultimate sacrificial attack and find other solutions. Killing yourself to defeat your enemy is not smart or heroic, it’s just stupid, because if you wanna be the next Symbol of Peace, who’s gonna protect everyone if you’re gone? All that progress would’ve been for nothing.
I don’t think Deku’s gonna blatantly reject Ochaco’s feelings like you say, he cares about her and respects her as one of his closest friends in Class 1-A, he’d never do something like insensitively reject her and make her feel bad. For now though I just don’t think girls are exactly on his mind when it comes to training harder. Later on who knows, maybe there’s gonna be an arc he’ll go through where he learns about relationships, not just romantic ones, but relationships in general with the people around him including average citizens. His bond with them’s gonna affect his influence as a hero. I mean he’s doing this because he wants to inspire people like All Might right? Well I hope we see him put that to the test. He needs to learn how different people are and not everybody will react the same way.
When it comes to MHA, I actually find the trait of anxiety to have a nuanced portrayal in the form of Bakugou himself. From the beginning the kid was literally a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. He at first had the logical reaction to being put on a pedestal with high expectations, overconfidence and a superiority complex. He developed an unhealthy philosophy that crumbled as soon as the heroes vs. villains training arc began. He saw others his age that were better than him (which he at the time had never seen/didn’t believe existed), lost a battle to somebody he had believed to be inferior to him for so long, and completely freaked out. If all Might hadn’t stepped in, he likely would have had a full on anxiety attack.
After the hideout raid arc, it was amplified. It affected his ability to complete the license exam, he completely broke down fighting with Deku, and even referenced his own flaws very explicitly to someone he barely knew which was unheard of before. Honestly, it’s been there from the beginning. When he thought Deku was looking down on him, it reminded me of the awful feeling in the back of my head that everyone is judging me and if I screw up anyone trying to help just sees me as pathetic. He sees the unhealthy end of compliments “wow you are amazing, wouldn’t it be awful if you screwed up”.
Even from the first scene when they were kids. He’s always lashed out at people as a result of being raised that way (which should get more attention) and as a product of his own insecurity. A subconscious reason he hated Deku was that a part of him could relate to Izuku. I really like the parallel between them in regard to anxiety, because at the beginning of the series Deku showed his feelings of anxiety pretty vividly and bakugou simply internalized the feelings and only showed violence externally. In season three, Deku shows progress in overcoming it because he communicated it but bakugou showed progress in the fact that he brought it up at all. However, he also did it in the only way he had ever expressed it before, violence. Bakugou and Deku also have another interesting parallel with deku’s lack of self preservation and bakugou’s self destructive tendencies.
So ya, there’s my two cents about that narrative element. Geez that was long...he’s not a protagonist but he is in my opinion an interesting example that’s at least relatable to my specific experience.
This is correct. I suffer from crippling anxiety and panic disorder but meeting me most people would never guess since I tend to mask and over compensate a lot.
Most see me as confident and out going but really I'm insecure and worry so much about being the person I believe others want me to be that after a day of fronting i feel physically sick. bakugou I an relate to because I get what it's like to always feel like you have to live up to other expectations while feeling insecure on the inside.
The Icon lol I definitely don’t want to be like Bakugou in the slightest bit- I’m just an analyst. If you feel the need to comment, please give me some more insight into your views on the character~
Sad Boy Agree 100%
@The Icon I understand your point here and actually agree with parts of it. However, he is a high schooler and tbh what high school guy isn’t annoying in any way at all- thanks for actually responding btw. He was a spoiled brat in his slightly younger years, but that’s what eventually became a huge contributing factor to his more recent breakdown. Glimpses of it were shown before but not as explicitly as it is now. His “outbursts” were shown mainly as comic relief for a while but some of them were shown from other perspectives with a different tone. He was an arrogant prick used for comic relief, but his actions had tangible consequences that effected the plot and characters which is why I think he is a good character that expands on the traditional shounen rival archetype as well as the story’s themes.
Emphasis on “bomb waiting to explode”
Naruto definitely had some form of anxiety/depression in his early youth. The scenes of him sadly looking on at the other kids with their parents speak volumes. You can have a positive outward demeanor and still have these issues.
he had a compensation issue..he lied to himself to smile...he yelled out his dream louder cause inside he wanted to cry...Naruto isn't Naruto until iruka showed him a reason to fight for others ..he then cherishes his bonds...its all thanks to iruka...that's why i respect kishi...iruka is the real hero...Naruto sees him as his hero...if his talk no jutsu worked on him it will work on anyone that wants to hear it...Naruto wanted a family..but that doesn't sell mangas...neither does wanting a reason to live or fight for or cherishing bonds...so kishi decided to make his dream supposedly to be hokage when really its just a disguise to sound appealing...he doesn't want to be president of Konoha..he wants acceptance and bonds...clever trick..by being hokage he will protect those things but the series paints his lies of screaming to be hokage as truth..when inside its not his real goal...
Asmosis Jones i agreee
@@davstard well think about it hiruzen literally says this in episode 1 ….naruto is very insecure in his open moments...he literally tells hinata he isn't confident and he feels like a failure...im not saying this to be given thumbs up or to be agreed with although I thank those who did like you did..im stating a truth....this show is more sennin then shonnen ….to sell copies you need a kid level dream thats tangible and not cliché to market as a catchphrase and what we can expect from him one day to look forward too as young readers...but in reality does he really just want to be hokage?..naruto literally barley ever actually does missions in the manga..he would rather chase after his most unexpected bond with someone like him in sasuke that he doesnt want to lose...he clearly doesnt like tests or paper work...so why would he want to be behind a desk all day or do info quest type missions literally two things he hated doing....its not about what you may want its about what you need and what in the end is his actual true goal is obtained because he gained peoples trust and acceptance thus hes hokage and he doesnt want to let them down so he does his job and accepts something not ideal....notice how naruto reacts when everyone loves him at first after he comes back from his talk with nagato..they praise him and he just stands there confused and a little annoyed with them putting him up on a pedestal even though he wanted to be hokage supposedly and put on that stage praised for what he thinks is not celebratory reasons....but his true nature came out he just wasn't to be treated normally not heroically...same thing in the boruto series he likes to calm people who overreact to him down cause he doesnt want to be seen as a hero celebrity just who he is...normal...iruka believed in him so he wants to prove him right so he must become hokage
Edgar Gordillo i agree with every comment in this comment section naruto is very outgoing but that does not mean everything. Imagine being born without parents and growing up with the nine tail fox within you being called a freak 24/7!? no way i would be so much worse than naruto pretty much killing myself.
Definitely, all the class clowns cry at home. That’s Naruto, a prankster at school and at home he is lonely and depressed
“…the low-key harem [Deku's] building”
I'm pretty sure that harem only exists in Uraraka's mind
Wat
your right the only other girl that showed interest on him is Toga and that's only because her fetish is people being heavily injured and bleeding. Also I don't count Hatsume because she doesn't really shows interest on Izuku all her interaction with him shown she doesn't know the meaning of personal space.
@@miltonfigueroa3111 Exactly
In the movie it looked like daves daughter was feeling him
Afro TheAbsolute I mean, I dig her, but I still think that that was internalized within Uraraka (as seen by her reaction in her first scene - totally adorable BTW).
This actually helped me with a video that I’m working on. Thank you.
Proper shoutouts will be given.
T
I agree with the comment about Bakugo being a better depiction of anxiety, but to me, Deku suits my depression more than my anxiety. (look forward to a lot of self-projection) Deku seems to have no regard for his own life, and that's something I feel, it's that he has no value outside of helping others, and that hasn't been challenged as far as I can tell. The only reason he values himself more now, isn't because he values his own life, but because he recognizes himself as able to help others, and that's not healthy, I his entire identity is that of a hero, and I don't think he has any worth to himself without that. I genuinely think that if allmight hadn't stepped in, Deku would've been dead, or attempted suicide very soon after the "I don't think you can be a hero" scene, I mean the heros weren't far off with the "are you trying to die kid?" when he goes to Bakugo.
And the underlying reliance on his usefulness as a hero for his will to live has not left, and it hinders him, he can't step back, because he doesn't see putting himself in danger as a true problem. He fundamentally doesn't seem all that scared of dying. When he seems convinced he's about to die at the hands of muscular his internal monologue (in the dub) is "I'm sorry mom, I tried my best" that's what you say in a suicide note, not what a young person with a healthy fear of death would say.
And from what I can tell most people except maybe Inko, and definitely Aizawa, are complicit. I highly doubt this is particularly intentional, it doesn't seem like this external self-worth is going to get challenged, outside of, you can't help people if you're dead. But Deku is also dealing with the society he grew up in, in which dying trying to save someone is the best way to die.
In my imagination-land, where this is the main driver of the plot, Aizawa, being the least focused on public perception person in the whole cast, serves as a mentor for moving that burden of why exist from others to Deku himself. Deku won't be health until he values his life, and I don't think Allmight, or anyone else in the cast can teach him that in the true way he needs to learn it.
Shirou is alot like Deku! If you haven't watched Fate then you should
Welp, found a perfect description of my crippling identity issues in the TH-cam comments section under the video on insecurity in anime. Time to die.
@@howtomeetwomen- Just Do It - Nike.... Jk jk
Reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite manga.
"When you stop living for yourself you can't help but live for others."
As someone with depression and intense self-loathing at times, I can see why this applies to deku. His whole life he must've felt that hate for himself because he was quirkless and the violent bullying certainly wouldn't have helped either.
He's self sacrificing because he still hasn't fully realized his own self worth. And that shouldn't be undermined, but instead worked upon.
@@howtomeetwomen- Life will always have its hardships, I can't say I haven't dealt with my share but..so long as there's one light... So long as you think there will even be one moment of happiness, whether it be a day or a minute there's a reason to continue on.
So please remember, you're stronger than you think you are.
Naruto is loneliness and acceptance. Which spoke to me because when I was a kid I was totally ignored
Excelsior but yeah it’s not simple insecurity with him.
Next to Gon, Naruto is the shonen protagonist with the most growth. Prove me wrong. Even though I love all these shows I'm about to mention I still gotta be honest: Compare episode 1 Luffy to current episode Luffy and they're almost the exact same character maybe a few changes here and there. Compare Episode 1 Goku to Current Goku and it's also pretty much the exact same character. Compare Episode 1 Ichigo to Current episode Ichigo almost the exact same except he got slightly more serious. Now compare episode 1 Naruto to Hokage Naruto or hell even Shippuden Naruto. The growth and maturity is so much more noticeable without sacrificing his personality.
yep..he had room to grow the way gon and yusuke did.......luffy goku ichigo didn't...they literally just fight to help their friends..and its boring...
Skeith becoming the Child of prophecy and basically getting handed power by hagoromo is not growth. It’s called ass pulls and destiny
@@devwheeler6289 that has nothing to do with his character progression tho
Dev Wheeler the fact that you couldn’t say anything about his character is proof the OP is correct
@@devwheeler6289 if you think about it getting handed power from hagoromo is established thing from the beginning. And hagoromo handing power was just symbolic. I mean we all know that person with all biju chakras will recieve six paths power, and that a person with both uchiha and senju genes can unlock rinnegan upon their death.
Obito transplanted him a bit of every other bijuus including half of kurama. Kabuto (who had most knowledge about 1st hokage) used hashirama cells to heal sasuke in brink of death. These six paths powers werent out of nowhere. any more questions?
you should explore black clover, where as deku is always sad, the main character of Black clover is always happy but his frustrations with his life still show and are never forgotten about. Being a poor commoner person born in a world of high elitism and where magic is everything he has none, he still aims to be the wizzard king, but not for his own selfish ambitions but to support his family of poor orphans and the village he lived in.
ASTA AND DEKU are somewhat the two personality traits of Naruto split in half if you get what im saying
Just like almost every underdog anime. Haikyuu is probably a better example of what black clover is.
Noelle I think Haikyuu has become one of the most well-known sports anime ever made.
Asta is one of the best shonen protagonist lately just of because of how simply his character he’s just a simply guy who wants equality which is his entire character because it was his entire life he was poor, no family and had no magic so it makes sense why he such a good guy he was look down at his whole life that’s why the author made him short , he doesn’t want people to died because to him being born with magic is a blessing to him and he’s humble to everyone because to him there better than him but yet he’s not insecure but thankful truly asta is a kind protagonist and I feel like he deserves more attention about just how good of a guy he is
I actually like the fact that Deku's insecurities are somewhat small compared to someone like Naruto. I guess as someone who goes through some of the struggles Deku does, his story just hits home for me.
Also Deku’s insecurities seem a lot smaller in comparison to Naruto’s because they both led very different lives despite them both being underdog outcasts.
@@theluigifan1 and both of them live in very different world
Yes! I am completely and utterly a Naruto's fan. Like really, really such a fucking fan. But mha hits closer to me, sometimes too close to comfort. Naruto is pretty abstract in someway, since I never experienced such unsettling events. But mha's situations, well, I've been through a lot that sounds pretty much the same. That's why I love it so much as well. Both had a great impact in me.
I agree. People always compare these characters but don't ever try find out why they so different. I actually like the differences in the characters. It gives more orginally to the "underdog" trope. I feel Asta as a character also has orginally that people always don't seem to see.
Naruto was more depressed than insecure.
facts i dont think naruto was ever insecure unlike deku who acted like a total bitch for the first season, naruto always knew he was badass he was just depressed, but he didnt think of himself as lesser like deku did
@@deeppatel7496 Is there a difference? Naruto put himself down alot when he was in his feelings, but he was never a bitch
@@deeppatel7496 dude what do u expect ,the world they live in r really different,MHA is basically our world so the things that can get us depressed r relatively much lower
@@deeppatel7496 Not really. The series itself said that a lot of that was just a front that Naruto would put up. In part 2 especially, you would have Naruto internally berating himself saying how weak he was, that's pure insecurity.
Naruto said he was cocky to hide his insecurity
One thing that Deku and Naruto do have in common is their desire to reach out to others, even if it’s someone they’re fighting against. I mean there’s Naruto with his talk no jutsu, and then there’s Deku when he tries to reach out to Todoroki and tells him that his fire quirk is a part of HIM, he’s not an extension of his father.
Fearch 93 It does make sense because his dad’s physical and psychological abuse against his family is what drove her to throw boiling water on Todoroki’s face, he even said to his father “ You made her do that”
Fearch 93 you saying this goes to show that you clearly don’t understand the character. As the person above me stated, Endeavour’s constant abuse and rage was the whole reason his mom acted the way she did. She’d been abused to the point where she’d lost her shit enough to scar her own son in order to make him less like Endeavour. Todoroki’s mom is batshit crazy, and Endeavour made her that way, and Todoroki knows that.
didn't Naruto once say he barley feels hinata's prescience around..while some see this as a negative hes saying about her I think it says more about Naruto...hes grown up watching his back with everyone despising him so when he says he doesn't feel her prescience like she isn't even there I think its a good thing..shes the only person he feel comfortable enough around to not have his guard up or feels will do harm to him so it makes sense he doesn't feel a bad vibe from her...its just hes too stupid to say this...he probably enjoys being around her for this fact..its just different and he doesn't understand it...that's adorable and I always found it to be the real meaning of that ..
Asmosis Jones It was always nice that Hinata was the first person to show true care in Naruto and his feelings, it’s too bad that he didn’t know though, and he stayed lonely during that time.
Fearch 93 I think you’re reading way too much into the nitpicky details, she saw his father in him because of the fire part of him, not because he looked like him, or if I remember correctly she saw his eyes and they reminded him of Endeavor’s eyes? The flashbacks didn’t show enough of the trauma Endeavor was putting the family through, so I mean even though she snapped and it’s understandable as to why she snapped, there could’ve at least been more scenes of her transitioning into that state. Maybe the manga shows some of that a bit more. One thing I will give you is that his mom helped condition him to believe that his fire was bad, and that he couldn’t be a hero because he had bad inside of him. So while Endeavor is a terrible father, his mom’s also to blame for his personal struggles as well. I guess Todoroki thought since his dad sent her away to a mental hospital, she’s already been through so much that he doesn’t wanna make her feel bad even more.
A video accurately dissecting Gohan Deku and Naruto
I appreciate this ALOT
Much respect fam✊🏿✊🏿
looking back I cant stand the gary stu that is kid teen gohan..smdh..what a bad character...goku worked so hard for his little increased power meanwhile gohan just skips steps with half the work..smdh...and goku had a personality..gohan just is a bland kid...
@@razkable lol no
@@razkable
He couldn't attain power that could overpower everyone else, or power that could be applied on the battlefield, without others helping him grow and being a man
Asmosis Jones have you seen naruto he gets given god like powers for free so shut up
@Blesson Franklin doesn’t make it better
Naruto will always be my favorite character in anime
Joshua Sampilo fr same!
We grew up with him he will always be number 1
Same
Yeah me to
I don't think that Naruto is the best character in Naruto to be honest
the exchange that Hinata and Naruto had before Nejis fight was for the romance relationship that kishimoto wanted to build since in his interviews he said he always wanted Hinata to go with Naruto. I liked this part of the manga cuz Hinata helped Naruto who was in despair like he was in the war against Obito. yea it builds relationship.
And on the video itself Naruto is my favorite character for his depth. How low he was and how high he becomes. How he values bonds instead of discarding them. Also I like that from the beginning of the manga Naruto said he wanted to earn the respect of the people in konoha instead of just seeking revenge against them for treating him like an outcast in his childhood. I found it something courageous to do.
Another thing I find interesting is that people think that Naruto is a go lucky guy who is always happy and loves everyone where in the series it's shown that he has a wide variety of negative feelings that most of the people have such as jealousy, hatred, envy ,anxiety and despair.
Many people don't like him because of his lack of progress in the beginning of shippuden, of his talk no jutsu, him trying to save Sasuke but I think these things makes Naruto as he shows how he deals with different struggles in life.
Yeah ive told people that before. If Naruto DIDNT do the things he did, he wouldnt be Naruto. Narutos a person who values bonds and keeps his word. If he didnt go after sasuke, despite how close he viewed him and despite making that promise to sakura then that wouldnt be Naruto.
exactly, there is a reason why I've seen all mainstream shonen including least 40 obsecure shonen and still naruto is my favourite character
@TheWhiteFang284 there are many underdogs with cursed powers and stuff,but naruto is unique enough that i dont feel like there are ones that are closer to him
my anime count as of right now is 230 (my favs are nagiasu,perfect blue,paranoia agent,evangelion,shinsekai yori,haibane renmei etc...)naruto is still my favourite
@@PsychoMario nagiasu is a series that many people have mixed feelings on,but personally i think it just oozes out of pure character
and how it incorporate characters and even some troupes(like timeskips,minor worldbuilding details) to discuss actual themes is fucking genius
its so much "naruto" for me
@@PsychoMario hmm i liked magi,uchyuu yori thooi basho,akira,aoi bungaku,berserk(manga),clannad,code geass,darker than black,death note,devilman crybaby,erased,fate zero,fmab,golden time,golden kamuy,grimgar,hxh,kimi ni todoke,madoka magica,mushishi,monster,oregairu,angels egg,pshyco pass,steins gate,haruhi,tsuki ga kirei
well thats about it for my 7.5 and high tier shows except the ones i mentioned earlier
Ippo is kinda close to what you're looking for, though I don't think it explores it in the way you'd prefer. and idk I think Ashita no Joe has this thread too, albeit not a central theme by any means. Joe sort of has fake confidence in himself, and guards himself from getting attached to anything cause he knows it would eat at him if he loses that. He acts tough and cool but still extremely vulnerable. Still probably not what you're looking for haha
actually Ippo (from Hajime no ippo in case he wonder) is a great suggestion, i agree with you.
@@SuperBallani The problem with Ippo I feel is the fact that he just wants to become the world champion really bad, similar to how in Naruto Rock Lee just wants to become a great ninja really bad. Neither of the NEED to do what they are doing, they just have a strong drive to do it. When it come to series like Naruto or MHA, the character NEED to become the heroes that they are destined to be or the world will crumble below them. If Naruto was not ready for Madara, then everybody would have died. In MHA if Deku is not ready for All for One and the League of Villains then many innocent people will die and society will collapse.
@@RegalPixelKing ippo doesn't even care about becoming the world champion until very late stages of the manga, he just wants to be "strong" because he feels inferior, thats why even on fights where he is the defending champion he always feels like the underdog or the challenger
Regal Pixel King Ippo doesn't even want to be the world champion.. he just wants to be strong. And I don't know if I'm reading too hard into this but boxing saved Ippo. He had no real friends before and he was constantly bullied. He had no distinct goals for the future other than taking over the family business. Boxing gave him confidence. It gave him lifelong friends. The confidence he needed to have a positive outlook on life. A lot has changed and I'm not completely caught up in the manga but I've been spoiled and I'm interested in how his goals are handled. But really, boxing is his life. And strength is his goal. Until he feels he has strength he won't stop
Hey I was going to recommend Hajime no Ippo too!
To me, Deku seems to be more about impostor syndrome than anxiety. He's strong enough and smart enough to be where he is but he's so used to being inferior that he feels like he's not supposed to be there.
That's honestly how depict the character. I feel like he is working hard not just to be a hero, but to honor the people that helped him get there.
Also I'll never not be annoyed by the fact that Gohan didn't take over as protag of DBZ. Toriyama considered it briefly but opted to keep bringing Goku back and keep shelving Gohan. The idea of Gohan as a reluctant protector of earth always fascinated me, him trying to balance the normalcy he wants and the responsibility he needs to accept (almost like Spiderman), and him being simultaneously a campy/nerdy character at heart while being able to get serious and kick ass like he did at the end of the Cell arc, etc., I just really love Gohan and it sucks how any potential he could've had as the MC of DBZ was snuffed out.
It was mainly the preferences of fans wanting to keep a character they've had for so long. I doubt most fans even considered how much of a better story DBZ would've been if they let Gohan be the next MC. People just didn't want to change.
That's understandable. Change is hard to overcome and accept. Like for example, when Demon Slayer took number 1 in manga sales, a lot of people were pissed. Demon Slayer is not one of my all times favorites but I can respect the show and I can understand why people love it.
@@Mufflin Lets be honest, the story direction with Gohan was getting bothced anyways. All we got was some boring slice of life episodes where he got a girlfriend was trying to be a superhero. Great Saiyanman stuff was pretty cool, but boring at the same time.
@@jantheking7028 Well, I for one definitely that great sayiman was a garbage hero and would've preferred to see gohans Highschool life unfold WHILE trying to fight buu.
16:27 I'm sorry, but you're very wrong here about deku's status. The concept of the "popular kids" isn't really a thing in UA because of how focused everyone is on their goals but deku is definitely one of, if not, the most popular kid in his class. This was very bluntly stated by aizawa in s3 when he mentioned how much deku and kacchan inspire the rest of the class.
Mr. Fufu Cudlypoops Well in that speech, Aizawa also explicitly states “they’re not the most popular...” In the English Dub anyway...
Yeah Deku becomes one of the most popular practically the first day.
@@bluhmer1990 How. He only gained two friends.
@@jajagaming3602 That's more than everybody else had and it inly took a few more days before everyone but Bakugo was his friend.
@@bluhmer1990 I wouldn't say that. It seemed as if the other characters seemed buddy buddy with each other. Also technically wouldn't that mean Ochako and Tenya also had two friends.
Also I think he meant during his junior middle years
You keep bringing up Neji's reading of Hinata as something he could've done to Naruto but I don't think it makes sense. Neji has known Hinata for most of his life, he's seen her failures and shyness for years so he knows how to get to her. They are cousins after all. Neji has no information on Naruto besides what he heard about during the Exams.
I love MHA and Naruto both, but Naruto has gone through A LOT MORE than Deku has. Even from the young age, Naruto dealt with a lot more bullying a lot more consistently than Deku did before getting into UA. Maybe if MHA goes on long enough for Deku to go through real tremendous loss and get lost, and it to not last for only like 2 chapters, then maybe it could work. But I dont think theres a lot of room in the current narrative with the exception on one person.
It doesn’t matter if Naruto dealt with more adversity than Deku. Everyone deals with trama differently
@@EuniceAsante245 That's fair and I'm more of a Naruto fan.
I wouldn't say Naruto went through more bullying but I'll say he through more abused. Deku went through with more bullying with his classmates then Naruto but the doesn't outweigh the fact that Naruto was basically outcasted by almost his whole country.
No one asked
@@jamonrandomstuff4294 ?
Mathwiz, once again, you turned out an incredible Naruto theme video. Thank you so much! I admit, sometimes I am really simplistic when I watch these shows. My number one goal is entertainment so I can ignore as much BS as I can take at the time. But watching videos like these helps remind me why some of my favorite anime are my favorite anime. AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND EFFORT!
Good analysis, made me realize that despite the love/hate relationship I have for the series, the one thing that remained constant was/is my attachment towards Naruto as a character.
It also made me realize why I always felt the same way about Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender. I recently revisited that series and I just couldn't put my finger on why I felt attached towards Aang's struggles and progression as a character.
But now I know since he practically went through the same character progression as Naruto did. He had the same episodic depressions, almost the same burdens placed upon him and even the way they acted as adults is kind of the same.
I remember when Naruto said to Minato how everyone expects too much of him and he just can't take it, it heavily reminded me of Aang's struggles of not wanting to be the Avatar since it's such a huge responsibility.
It's kind of a stretch but even the way the Fire Nation constantly went after Aang because he's the Avatar kind of reminds me of the way the Akatsuki always went after Naruto because he was a Jinchuuriki.
Heck, even the way their children reacted to their roles as the respective savior of their worlds is quite similar in their respective spin-off series lmao
Wow, I am gonna cry now. I love both of them, they both are so special for me. And I never realised the things you said before, you are so right.
How come the more popular a show gets the more "Too mainstream so it's bad", did everyone purchase a ticket to the bandwagon or what?
That's how it goes. Success breeds jealousy and it has always been that way. I love Naruto and it's my favourite series even after watching tons of other stuff from the same "genre" and outside.
That's how it is with new anime. Once it gets popular, people it to the shows before it and claim it's "another generic shonen".
Every shonen after Dragon Ball should be called generic then because it is using the same thropes that made Dragon Ball popular. Naruto's anime has horrible pacing , dragged out fights,. talking in the middle of fights and explaining powers , recaps, flashbacks that repeat themself just to fill the ep and lots of fillers, after i watched other shonen i realised how bad Naruto anime was, don't get me wrong it had great moments but to recommend it to first time anime watcher ? There are shonen that have better story and are shorter like Death Note, FMA Brotherhood,Law of Ueki,Noragami,Hunter x Hunter........
@@markodarkman1061 Bro you are focused on the similarities and not the differences. Plus with Naruto I just recommend you skip the fillers. You can look up what episodes have fillers or not and plus DBZ is the king of dragging out stuff in its plot but we still love it.
@@markodarkman1061 Yeah, every shounen is generic now but I think Naruto and DBZ established most of the shounen tropes. These new shows like My Hero Academia seem way too similar to the tropes estabished in the past.
Naruto anxiety can also be shown in how he didn’t want to sigh his autograph
Where?
@@that_dam_baka After Pain, watch his Waterfall of Truth episodes.
Every Mathwiz video ever - "yadda yadda yadda Naruto is the only show there has ever been"
Deku may be my favorite shonen mc, but a part of me wanted him to completely rage at Bakugo at one point, but I'm fine with what his character arc is going.
Spoiler!!!
He got six quirks
He rages at Muscular and Overhaul and Monoma. But i think he respects Kacchan too much
Same- I think we're all just waiting until he finally snaps and just murders Bakugo 😂 lol
Deku is one of my favorite characters in all of anime because I can relate to him so much in so many ways. I’ve heard some people mention that they don’t like how he still is overly emotional and still lacks in confidence but I personally really enjoy that it’s taking him a lot of time to build it up.
As someone who was bullied for a large majority of his childhood, I know what it’s like to feel worthless and to feel like you’re nothing. And I think that’s how Deku feels. He spent his entire life before the series seeing everyone around him be biologically superior to him in every way and he couldn’t do a thing about it. He was constantly put down, and felt like he was nothing compared to his peers. And so can relate to that feeling so much, and I can say from personal experience it IS NOT EASY to come back from feeling so low for so long.
You mention how Deku cries a lot in different emotional situations and while that can seem annoying to someone who doesn’t have reactions like that, it’s incredibly relatable to those who do. I tear up easily myself because of how emotionally battered and beaten I was. When you go through life for so long feeling so low, it’s hard to move beyond that low feeling. That’s why I believe he cries even in happy moments like when he succeeds and gets praise or his friends are there for him. It’s because he spent so much of his life believing he was nothing that I believe in his mind, he feels he doesn’t deserve that joy. He might feel that he’s not allowed to be happy. I felt that way for a while when I first entered high school and made my first real friends for the first time in many years.
Self confidence IS NOT something that comes back or grows easily, especially after long bouts of hardship and emotional weight/abuse. For me personally it’s been almost 6 years since I’ve been seriously bullied and I still have massive self esteem and confidence issues, it’s not something that comes back right away and that’s why I like Deku so much, it takes time for him to grow and change.
It might be harder to tell for people who don’t have the same experiences, but as someone who relates so much to this guy, I can tell that the Deku at the end of season 3 is a VERY different person from who he was at the beginning of the show. And I don’t think he’s gonna stop changing for the better any time soon
Plus I certain the idea behind Deku isn’t anxiety. Deku doesn’t suffer for symptoms of anxiety if anything Bakugo suffers more from anxiety, Deku suffers instead from massive self esteem and confidence issues
Which is why he said it's not what he was looking for.
Great video lots of good things I've been thinking but not being able to put into words
I love this analysis a lot. It echoes a lot of my personal feelings on Naruto and Deku specifically. It also is probably why as a character i just prefer Naruto and can't really motivate myself to be invested with Deku's character. I understand that for a lot of people, these are minor hangups that they can easily overlook. However, for whatever reason I still have trouble getting myself interested in these other protagonists. I haven't watched a lot of shonen, so perhaps my problem is that I dont have a large enough well of information to use when watching but I dont know.
Great video as always. Looking forward to the nest one.
Fearch 93 how is Deku pandering Deku also isn’t a snowflake he’s over emotional but that has a reason behind it Deku also has a flaw his lack of self worth and sacrificial tendencies (at the start he’s also where bad he’d destroy himself without a thought just to help someone and for a part of the series was completely ignoring how his mother would feel about him destroying his body saying Deku is a self insert is also untrue a real self insert has almost no personality or flaws and is basically a super talented badass Deku isn’t that he has to try to get things, fails and loses, and isn’t loved by everyone
@@beastvicious8672 deku is actually a good character that definitely has a lot of potential to be explored
Fearch 93 he’s more emotional because unlike other Shounen protagonists he doesn’t hold his emotions in (Naruto), or doesn’t have a tragic backstory and is younger than most of them (Luffy, Goku), why’d you assume an otaku has a lack of self worth you can have poor social skills and still hold yourself in high regard eg Bakugo who has shitty social skills but thinks he’s awesome
Sacrificial tendencies are bad when it’s excessive like his he permanently disfigured his fingers in a tournament against Todoroki to help him get over his shit, he runs headlong into danger without a thought and was ready to die to save Kota (people also scold him for his shit eg Recovery Girl, Aizawa tells him if he breaks himself how’s he gonna help anyone and people even know him as ‘the crazy boy’, what villain besides Stain treats him as special most of them don’t give a damn and would kill him without a thought Spinner holds him in high regard due to Stain and Toga wasn’t to kill him because she’s a psycho who loves blood and saw Isuzu in a very fucked up state and got wet for him
She breaks down because her son just had his dreams cut down in an instant and would go on to live an unfulfilled life in which he has to settle, being a hero isn’t like being the president that’s not an accurate description since only some people can be presidents it’s a lot more like Deku wants to be a soldier but is missing a leg that’s what it’s like, of course she worries what series are you watching dude he breaks his bones and blows himself up of course she’d worry you mean to tell me that your kid without super durability doing that shit wouldn’t leave you worried, he got his wish due to luck and hard work (and because of how he got his Quirk and his circumstances his arm is fucked up badly (deformed fingers, scars, a large burn mark)), nobody has dropped their kid because most people aren’t monsters being quirkless is like lacking a feature that makes you inferior in physical stuff a quirkless person (with equal training to a quirked opponent) stands little of a chance of beating said opponent can you imagine quirkless Deku bearing Tokoyami or Bakugo
Deku isn’t just an otaku you have some pretty generalised views on them, he isn’t the strongest that’s Todoroki and Bakugo was stronger than him for most of the series, he isn’t the most popular he’s just inspiring, based on all that I guess you hate Spider-Man as well since he’s very similar to Deku only difference is Spider-Man isn’t a hero nerd
Fearch 93 that isn’t what I said I said Naruto holds his emotions in Deku doesn’t, wtf are you talking about Bakugo isn’t adhd last I checked adhd would make school difficult and Bakugo is smarter than majority of the class in academics and combat (Bakugo’s relationship with everyone is bs I agree there)
You very much can move broke limbs and we see he reaches a point where he can’t move them, they also have stakes look at his right arm, his fight with Todoroki has him resort to hitting with his okay arm but broken fingers and head butting and ends with a scared hand and disfigured fingers, Muscular ended up scaring his arm more and Deku is forced to wear a compressor sleeve from then on and even changed his fighting style due to said injury, Eraserhead didn’t die but suffered a lot of damage to his eye sockets (he still has a scar and is noted to be unable to keep his eyes open as long as before) if you’re going to complain please complain about every stabbed character in fiction who lives for hours later still fighting without too much issue, if Tomura went for the kill it’d end bad for him since All Might will crack down on him way harder he gains nothing from killing Deku or any student besides making All Might feel bad
No most protagonists are orphans to get our sympathy, yes she’s worried when he jumps on mines or breaks his limbs but I’m sure he told her that stuff could be healed and she wasn’t neglecting him when she sees UA failed to protect her son she decides to pull him out of it and plans to send him to another school but All Might begs for Izuku
Idk what series you’re watching sure his quirk is strongest but in the anime he only has 8% which lets him match Bakugo at most (Todoroki would still beat them), he isn’t the most popular people don’t flick to him he has his own friends it’s just people admire his willpower and heroism, what special treatment there are characters better than him and others who don’t like him or are indifferent to him and how does the power system bend to his will if you mean OFA that was at the beginning and before that point we didn’t know much about quirks and it didn’t break the story
@@beastvicious8672 I disagree that Deku is a character that panders to snowflakes. However i don't think you are entirely wrong that he does to some extent pander to the SJW crowd.
I think this comes from what was mentioned in the video. Deku's flaw is that he is too good. He is too nice. He shows no actual anger or aggression to others but he does show desperation. I think the lack of aggressive tendencies is what you refer to as pandering.
I don't completely disagree on the Otaku thing because in the way you use it it implies that he is completely obsessed with something.
In this case being the ultimate hero. Which at the start, was a completely unrealistic goal and because he now is able to has created deep seated character flaws within him.
I disagree he is an insert however, though again I can see how he can kinda resemble one from a certain angle. A self insert isn't necessarily bad however in this case I presume he resembles a Gary Stu. That I have to disagree vehemently with.
I am interested to see if the Manga has explored that character flaw of his, or if it is just glossed over or perhaps praised. As of now I wait for the anime to update so I can see for myself.
Naruto is a character. I don't necessarily think hes terribly well written but at least written better than 90% of other characters with the same premise. In that regard he is well above average.
Naruto is however, a more complex character due to both how he was written and the world he is in. I think this is what you meant when you said Naruto is a well written character.
In some regards, I'd say Deku is better written than Naruto though only just in some areas.
Am i correct in my interpretation?
A great example of a shonen anime more subtlety covering depression is the final arc of Digimon Tamers.
It's also worth mentioning that it was largely written by Chiaki J. Konaka of Serial Experiments Lain fame.
Really bro Naruto is perfect for this
it pains me to know kids today growing up wont actually look back at Naruto or look up his past so they just see him as a strong heroic type hero always beloved and a bad father basically goku aka comedic and good ...that's so funny to me and is a perfect example for why you should never continue a story period but especially with a main characters son when it was meant to end....now people will literally miss the whole point of the manga and character of Naruto and the fanbase he built up and they will be boruto fans cause hes a kid im a kid hes new im new to this show...smdh...its so lame...it was never his sons story...dragonball was never gohans story...bleach was never about ichigos son which is why the backlash occurred to the end of that manga...we don't want sequels so companies can pump out eps for money...the reason I read Naruto was for his journey to end one day...same for dragonball...I don't want their sons journey..god damn it...that's so stupid...neither series ever planned to be about their kids at any point...as a fan i don't care about their sons at all
Excuse me? I’m 11 and I’VE FINISHED NARUTO.
@@razkable what about JoJo?
@@razkable it pains me how much of a naruto fanboy you are
Good to have you back! Hope you get out of your funk and keep it up!
As someone who has had a similar childhood to Deku, I relate my depression far more to Deku than to any other shonen character. If Deku was a real person, then I am sure he would have had suicidal thoughts after All Might tells him he can't be a hero. Deku really has no self worth other than being a hero. His entire worth, at this point, is tied to him being All Might's successor. So, I feel like it's very understandable that he is so incredibly insecure all the time. Yes, he has grown a lot since the beginning in terms of controlling his power to some extent but he definitely feels that if the power was transferred to someone more gifted like Todoroki, then they would have been much better at it by now than where is at. This insecurity is going to be further explored in season 4 so I am really excited about it.
Even all might regrets putting that much pressure in him at the deku vigilant arc
I’m a little bit salty that you didn’t mention how Deku, after his fight with Bakugo, responded to Bakugo as an equal. Bakugo states that he was going to be better than Deku, and Deku states that he was going to be better than that.
Yeah, and bakugou becomes a real friend for him, jump in the front of a letal attack to save him
A shonen battle series that deals thematically with anxiety? Well, that sounds like Rokudenashi Blues, the best selling delinquent manga that also ran in Jump. The entire manga deals with anxiety, social pressure, and insecurity with all of the characters having problems related to those 3 ideas that lead to them becoming delinquents and getting into fights. The main character, Maeda Taison when he gets anxious, or pressured he begins to stutter, hr gets angry, he lashes out, and even gets into fights, in the first chapter he accidentally punched a teacher because he was getting anxious around a girl while also being stressed out by the teacher. Despite being a delinquent and acting like a tough guy, he easily gets emotional so much so that Tv dramas get him to cry. The manga sounds like your type of thing so this is my way to tip my hat to it and gush about the manga.
I will remember this
I don't really think izuku being a crybaby is an issue. Even if he is just quick to cry. I don't really see how that would cause problems for him. Crying is actually a relatively healthy thing to do because it brings cartharsis.
I honesty think it makes Deku more human by showing his character flaws. His insurcurites, self worth, and honestly depression.
protagonists like Jotaro are boring and annoying. they're not cool at all. I need characters that show their emotions
@@nicolinodagarganta-violino3163 I like Jotaro as a character but I do agree that emotional characters hit different.
@@nicolinodagarganta-violino3163 Hmmm.. I don't think he is annoying or boring, Jotaro is a emotionally repressed person, but we still see cracks of him being emotional in stardust crusaders, he gets even better in later parts.
@@sebastianswan7975 No, that's not how you make an emotionally repressed character. He just feels robotic and overall uninteresting because he lacks emotions and relatable moments.
Wow. A video with shipping in it that doesn’t have a comment section solely about shipping. I may just have found true happiness.
I feel like the conpetitive, trying to be the best story so common to shounen battle series is naturally suited to dealing with characters with deep insecurities. In real life, high achievers usually struggle a lot with never feeling good enough because their standards for themselves are so high.
Tsuna from katekyo Hitman reborn is also a pretty intressting and well written insecure protagonist, because the character tsuna is full of flaws,but he still manage to overcome many obstacel with the personality of His,he thought is completle useless and manage to convince people to follow him and lend him their strength, despite the fact that the same people didn,t recognize him at all,disrespect him or even tried to kill him in the past, furthermore he discoverd during his jurney way more about himself,more than he ever would have Imagine.
Chi I itachi I stopped after the second arc in the anime but the last chapter worsened his character
I don't think Reborn handles his character very well because it doesn't actually focus on it. Due in part to starting out as a comedy
Also the last chapter takes a dump on all character progression
@@esophagoose I don't think it did. He is far more confident with those around him than ever before. It was a small step but that's how it goes in life sometimes.
@@dabeluokigbo959 don,t think so, because the point of character development is not to cm the character from the core, but instead die him in some points,for example at the end of Naruto, Naruto was still this optimistic boy,who is pretty much chilled, despite the deep shit that happen in his life and its the same case with tsuna he is still no good tsuna,who dosent because its a important part of his character and make him special,but he still manage to gain a lot of friends, manage to gain the respect of characters who didn,t acknowledge him at all or even tried to kill him.The fact that He refuses to become the Vongola Decimo also makes senss, because he pretty much was already the Vongola Decimo and everyone saw him as that,but he wasn,t mature enough to admit that, furthermore.the series was to my knowledge cancelled like bleach and Akira amana probably wasn,t Finish with tsunas character,that probably why she choose to "end" the Manga at this Point,so she can continue to writte the story at any time,also the fact that tsuna is the boss in the future showes that he will become the Vongola Decimo at some Point, because they made it very clear in the future Arc, that future and present tsuna are still the same from the mimdset,but future tsuna was much more mature was shows that Akira amano planned for tsuna to become at some Point of the story the Vongola Decimo,but she first want him to grow more as a character.
Deku does not feel popular despite being the most popular kid at UA. I mean he is totally, the top kids like him, everyone in the class does. The girls do. The dudes do. He is admired and loved by everyone but he does not like himself enough to see it.
He is a bitch
1:31
The point of Netero’s sacrifice wasn’t “humanity is evil”
It is “humanity is capable of malice, but with our strong wills, we will always overcome”
It’s not so much as damnation as it is celebration, no matter how dark it may be
Naruto has never had a family , never had any friends , he was hated by the whole village
After that when he finally got friends , one of them tries to kill the other (sasuke and Sakura)
He got a person who is like a father to him and that person dies
So it’s pretty normal for him to cry !!
Naruto was SUICIDAL from a very young age uo until the chunnin exams so yeah
No he wasn't what nonsense
@@dannysdungareedanceoff8481 naruto was very much suicidal and still kinda is
I haven't found anything about suicide but, he did beat up his clones when he was little to release his pent up frustration as a kid.
That was Sasuke, several times said he would kill himself for fear
WRITE YOUR OWN... it’d be fantastic !
Sean Mosher omg yes
Naruto isnt perfect but as far as Shonen protagonists go, he is the best in my book!
I can't really say much for Deku, since I really haven't watched MHA, but Naruto? Bruh. Literally his entire village hated him and mistreated him for a demon fox sealed within him and no actual parental guidance, how do expect him to be confident when my boy can hardly pick himself up
You should definitely watch Hitman Reborn and make a sequel to this video!
Tsuna is a good boi
Hitman Reborn was suggested to me a while back. It's not exactly a priority, but it's higher on my backlog than a bunch of other stuff.
Hitman reborn first arc is horrible
Mathwiz last chapter come please shits on stubs character progression
I hated Hitman Reborn but idk
17:16 Is there like no one who can pronounce Urameshi right on the English side of the Anime community ? It's not Yourameshi ! it's Urameshi, goddammit.
The U is pronounced the same way as in Usopp, put some respect on my dude's name.
The english dub could be partially to blame for that.
Love your opinion on Gohan's wasted character writing potential
You earned a subscriber, I really enjoy the way you compared those protagonists, you seem to have a good understanding about it.
I've read/watched most battle shonen series and based on this video I don't think what you're looking for exists. The fact that Luffy and Goku are some of the most liked characters in anime and manga should probably tell you why that is the case.
Agreed, there is something about their portrayal which makes them original in their respective stories.
there are people who absolutely hate luffy
@@lunarhinata8889 I know. I'm one of them.
@@JalekokRespawn may i ask why?i think luffy is a good character
I really think when you boil it down it’s really how deep rooted they are in their ideas like want to be pirate king will keep saying that and backing it up and want to be the universes stronger fight okay will keep backing that up also they both help others push themselves to change or become better luffys like whole crew learned from him they can have dreams and characters Goku met and fought they mostly changed respecting Goku and even gaining better lives then him to a point I feel personally that’s why they are liked
DEKU IS A GOOD BOY BECAUSE HE'S A HERO!!!!!!!! THAT'S HOW HEROES SHOULD BE!!!!!!!!
Also, it's called being friends with your classmates regardless of gender, not a "harem". How is it a harem!?!? There's only one character who shows any romantic interest in him!!! ONE!!! Unless you're counting the psychopathic murderer who wants to kill him and drink his blood...
The protagonist you're looking for sounds a lot like John from UNrdinary a webtoon as he is extremely hypocritical of himself and the actions of others as the tragedy of his past keeps him from moving forward and his emotions are always bottled up and burst forth in fits of anger, sorrow and lashes out at others who want to help him. His father even wrote a book for him to have the rolemodel his father could never become. He is a tragic character trapped in a sociey that wants to keep him down and its available on webtoons for free and yes it is an action series with plenty of interesting concepts and fighting READ IT PLZZZZ....................
Spoiler: It starts out similar to HunterXHunter and I know you understand what I mean.
Totaldestroyer He’s not like that no more now he’s an over confident badass.Only difference is he disguises himself while doing it
@@EZMotion101 That's the contradiction because he can only be himslef when he knows that no one else knows who he is. he feels like he needs to hide his true self from society and from the one he cares for most.
No it's not
Basically your asking for is basically a shonen version of Spider-man.
Now I'd love to see an updated top 10 anime characters vid
I am so glad to see that someone else agrees that a character with flaws that are too clean and nice can make for a not as compelling character as they could've been with more darker (and I'd dare say, more realistic flaws). I think you summed it up best at 12:22. Deku doesn't do things that affect his kindness in a negative way or have things that affect his mental health to cause that like Naruto does. He's a good boy, but he's too much of a goody two shoes in my opinion to be as relatable as someone like Naruto could be. You don't see many people in reality that have flaws like Deku's, but there's tons of people that've done things like push others away or struggle with anxiety from their failures like Naruto, hence why I find Naruto more compelling and relatable of a protagonist in that way.
(Note: I'm not saying Deku is a bad character at all, but I feel he's not as compelling as someone that makes more realistic mistakes and has more realistic issues that people of the audience would on the whole be more likely to struggle with in their daily lives, rather than being the "Too pure for this world" kind of character.)
As soon as you said that deku doesn't lash out or push people away I started laughing my ass off considering what's on deck for the show and more specifically what comes after the war arc.
Thank you for putting into words how much I love Naruto Uzumaki.
"Lowkey harem hes building" that's great
i think, deku's insecurities and flaws are more realistic... I know, it sounds weird. but hear me out. he has been belittled and bullied throughout his childhood. making him feel like the his existence wasn't that important, that people didn't exactly care about him. That's why when all might recognised him, he cried so much. xuz all might was the person he looked up to the most. and having him recognize deku was the best thing that could happen to him.
now, deku being the insecure and bullied kid he was, latched onto all might. he did everything in his power to live up to all might's expectations, to fill his shoes. even if it meant breaking his body beyond repair. it was almost a sick admiration where deku forgot that he himself was just a kid and had time to slowly improve. All might was the first to acknowledge him, and he would rather die than disappoint his hero. and that reckless, self harming way of protecting others comes from this insecurity and admiration.
the reason i say it's more realistic, because that is exactly how I would act. being emotionally bullied and belittled from a young age, bein told that it would've been better had i not existed, all those things have developed a deep rooted insecurity in me. which causes me to latch onto people who acknwldge me or are kind to me. i want to please them as much as possible, not bothering bout what it might do to me emotionally or physically. because i want them to keep on acknwldging me, to keep on being proudof me.
i might be reading too much into this, but i could just understand the psychology behind deku better. while naruto drained my tear ducts, MHA stuck deep cords in my heart
I think naruto is also very realistic when it comes to his insecurities and flaws. Not how he got those insecurities and flaws, but how he reacted to them. Naruto was just a kid who wanted to be accepted. And did anything he could to be recognized, even if it was for something bad.
I agree with both you buy it's a shame that people see Deku as a boring character. I really find him interesting and relatable the more I rewatch the show.
He isnt boring. But compared to the other anime protags and even bakugo, he is a bit plain. I mean, almost all heors in the other animes are loud, assured and just eye catching. Deku on the other hand is soft spoken, a bit insecure and soft( cinnamon roll)
That's why some ppl may find him a bit boring. Cuz he isnt what we have seen sofar. But i really do like deku. And bakugo too. I can understand their emotional standpoints really well
Yes, i agree . And i also love naruto too. He had honestly motivated me to not give up when i was going theu the hardest rime in my life. He couldve been better. But that's the author's fault
@@labinatasfia624 I honestly like Deku a tad bit more than Naruto because of his realism and how aware he is about the world but to aware to know sever things about the world. Maybe one thing why I like Deku more than him because I relate with his personality more. Naruto I find relatable but his orgin story is a bit to drastic for me to relate to. Also one thing I don't like about Naruto is the dumb protagonist trope. I've never liked it. Not even as a kid. Not even Goku, Luffy hell even Asta who I've really like so have never made me like that trope.
in the confrontation w naruto and hinata, the words "i was feeling depressed but now im better" are replaced with "I used to not like you that much but youre actually kinda cool" at least for the sub i was watching
I really liked this study from you it really is a close relatable feeling and it's what characters need to feel more human, especially the mc of a long running series. But I do wonder how you'll feel if you guys get to reading BNHA on the NenCast cause I feel like Deku's characterization as far as subtle bouts of confidence and more hidden faces are shown through the art and kinda passed over in the anime. He has flaws, yes, I think he's kinda the beckon of a "good boy" but I think his subtle flaws are there if you look for them, especially when you think about Bakugou's view of Deku in the first couple chapters after you read their later fight, Deku being sycophantic over heroes basically being "childish" and not really working towards that goal; like he had never worked or tried to work around the system of not having a quirk if he would've applied for the exam he would've died and I don't think Bakugou is necessarily in the wrong for thinking Deku was mocking his ambitions when Deku wasn't doing anything for his goals unlike Bakugou who obviously did work hard and studied to be in the top of their entrance exams.
There's also the scene during the dorm episode when Tsuyu confronts the group who went to go save Bakugou everyone apologized and comforted Tsuyu but not Deku (and in the episode they made him kinda tear up in the manga he didn't), and I think this coupled with a lot of the confidence he and determination during the "Provisional License" Arc (which some panels were really cut of Deku being bold) really stack to even later arcs of him growing into what he deems is needed to be a hero. I think the crushing weight of being alone along having people he looked up to, to measure up to makes him a lot different from Naruto despite them both having "rivals" but how those people played parts in their life is a whole lot different and Deku being grateful kinda makes him more special to me, especially when Naruto gets literally EVERY. SINGLE. ADVANTAGE. IN. THE. NINJA. UNIVERSE. later on in the series.
I'll stop myself a bit here. I just think the core of these things are in the detail and no manga spoilers from me but I do think these get even better explored later on.
Also Deku having a harem? And Deku crushing on Uraraka? I mean all that's pretty one sided, I kinda find it a bit refreshing bit that Deku isn't on mutual ground with her like a bad comedy but he's not as inept as Luffy and Goku with romantic feelings though it's always more on the side of (wow a girls talked to me or complimenting a girl) it's hardly harped on for more then a scene and just kinda cute? Guess I don't think of it as deeply just find it much different.
Well deku have 7 quirks he also have all might as his sensei and he also got one for all, the only advantage that naruto have was the nine tails and the nine tails wants to take his soul.
Dude, if you want pretty much the greatest depiction of depression and anxiety in an anime protagonist, watch March Comes In Like A Lion. It may not be shonen but it’s writing is top tier. It’s one of my most favorite anime series of all time and it’s so easy to get so invested in the characters. DEFINITELY check it out because I think you’d really dig it.
I mentioned that show in this video lol
...I know. That feeling of utter stupidity when someone comments to put a suggestion for an anime before they've finished watching the video which actually mentions the anime you were suggesting...I’m feeling that strongly right now.
If I were to give another suggestion to an anime I hope you haven’t watched so as to not make my suggestion redundant, I would suggest Blood Blockade Battlefront/Kekkai Sensen Season 1 and 2. It features an insecure protagonist (who you may or may not like depending on how you like your insecure protagonists) who has something called the All Seeing Eye Of the Gods. It’s basically all of Superman’s ocular powers (except Heat Vision) and all the Doujutsu of Naruto and dozens more combined. Basically, he can see through anything. But that’s just it. It only allows him supernatural sight but no Susanoo’s or ridiculously OP combat abilities at all. He has all the physicality of your average normal teenage boy. It’s a very, very funny anime, it’s produced by Studio Bones so the animation is top tier, the OPs and EDs are both super amazing and addictive? and the author of the manga the anime is based on is the same author of freaking _Trigun_. Those are all the hooks I got to sell this show. It’s teally good and hopefully it might scratch your itch for insecure anime protagonists. The MC has a very, very personal and understandable backstory for his insecurity and while the first season does adapt arcs from the manga, the overarching plot and 2 of the major characters for Season 1 are anime only and it is absolutely amazing. Alright, time to stop sucking Kekkai Sensen’s dick now.
Kekkai Sensen is good. I personally preferred the episodic nature of season 2 over the more plot-focused season 1.
Hmm, I think both of them served their purposes really well to be honest. The plot focused Season 1 helped establish the world of Salem’s Lot and we had more of a focus on Leonardo and his relationship with White and Black. So I think Season 1 hit the emotional beats better. But after being introduced to the world of Kekkai Sensen with Season 1, the episodic nature of Season 2 meshed well because it allows the audience to experience the other members’ of Libra in their day in the spotlight. An episodic nature is good when you have a large cast of characters that you can develop with. But not so good with a central main protagonist who you need the audience to root and care for. So I think both seasons’ formats helped achieve their goals spectacularly. I’m really hoping for a Season 3 soon.
Video couldn’t have come out at a better time for me.
Major thanks~
You do realize that Saiyans get really cocky and aggressive when they first get a new transformation. His character never changes just his saiyan DNA becomes more apparent when he fights a serious battle.
So his character still changes, it's just done due to genetics.
His character did indeed change. When Gohan went Super Saiyan 1, we never saw him act like that.
Great vid I really enjoyed the topic more then I thought and all your info you put in this was great. Thx for the hard work u did.
Deku kinda reminds me of kid Obito, especially with the crying and all
Kid Obito is like naruto
This is one of the better studies of Gohan’s character on this platform!
I really did feel for Naruto back then. Very compelling tragedy when it wants to be.
Love when u post vids ur commentary is always super analytical and makes me notice things i otherwise wouldn’t have
I'm surprised you didn't bring up Shigeo from Mob Psycho...
Hey, thanks for the video! Your video...was charming. Gonna recommend it to others too!
Would it be a fair assumption to say that the reason Shadow Clone Jutsu is Naruto's ace is because he was lonely and wanted to make friends?
I mean, out of all the techniques he could've learned, he picked the one where he multiplies himself. I mean yeah Kishi did hint that Clone Jutsu was Naruto's worst jutsu, but I still find it intriguing that of all the abilities he could pick for the main protag, it's the ability to clone himself.
Sure he has Rasengan, but that still required guess what, clones, lmao
noname144able Minor spoiler, but Sasuke actually highlights this during their last fight in the manga. The idea that Naruto spamming his shadow clones are a subconscious means to comfort himself in his loneliness and fear is interesting. I think it’d be a more valid assumption if we got a few scenes of Naruto randomly creating shadow clones and talking with them or getting into random hijinks with them during his downtime, but we never get scenes like that outside of a couple filler episodes. Another fascinating facet of Naruto’s character that didn’t get enough attention.
@@noahlarose7371 yeah, I feel that it was a missed opportunity within the manga that the fillers actually expanded upon.
I remember there being fillers where Naruto would randomly create clones just so he wouldn't feel depressed and lonely.
Despite the bad rep that Naruto fillers get, I feel that this is where the fillers shine, whenever they focus on a character's aspect that wasn't really explored that much in the manga.
Seeing Naruto use his clones as a means to comfort himself was tragic to watch and I didn't care if it was canon or not at that point. Just wish the actual manga could have explored this idea more...
I discussed this with others as well. I think Kishimoto intentionally gives certain characters certain abilities for certain thematic reasons. The best example would be Amaterasu and Flame Control which seems to be a physical manifestation of Sasuke and Itachi's ideals and roles in the series.
@@YonkoJay yeah, I think the abilities he gave the main characters were made to fit the roles they were playing.
Shikamaru for example is a strategist that likes things in order and doesn't like to face things head on. So it makes sense that his ability would be to control people in order to put things in their place by using their shadows, in order for his plans to work.
I always thought the reason Naruto's best technique was Shadow Clone Jutsu was because he was very lonely, so it makes sense that he'd want to multiply himself, just so he could keep his dark thoughts at bay, just wish Kishi explored this idea more though.
And I gues another problem is he made way too many characters so it almost seemed like he was pulling all these abilities out of nowhere just because they looked cool later on xD
noname144able True, I’m pretty sure the shadow clone Naruto theory is confirmed. Naruto actually plays with his clones when he’s at home by himself according to the anime.
This was a good video about story. Thanks for this!
The my hero academia was anti-naruto
Oh yeah NARUTO is always be my no.1 ANIME
I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW YEAH YOU THE ONE WHO IS READING THIS NOW IF YOU KNOW ALREADY ITS OK☺️🙂
If you've got the time and haven't read it already, try Blue Exorcist! Rin is a good example of an insecure shonen protagonist imo. He struggles to accept who he is and his powers etc etc. I'd be interested to see what you think of that series and its characters.........
Spoiler below
His romance doesn't work out, either. So far, at least.
I'm happy jump force allows me to have deku Naruto and jotaro on the team # never thought i would want that
Cash ordeals Is Jotaro in JF now?
@@YonkoJay 😉👌 guess so
Oh yes Mathwiz out with an new shonen related video cool
Edit:
8:47 I don't think the "Not Shonen Jump" tag was needed because shonen jump is just like any other shonen magazine just more popular I guess and I don't think that's were "Shonen" definitions start to break down
8:54 I wouldn't call Ichigo confident since I remember him having more emotional breakdowns than Deku but I might be misremembering since I like Ichigo more than Izuku but yeah I guess it's kinda uncommon
9:46 Oh yeah I forgot about that
17:16 Kinda sad that you didn't mention Mob
17:33 I know you didn't connect to Ichigo but since he's my 2nd favorite protagonist ever Luffy exists after all I gotta say I feel like Ichigo's inner conflict while not presented the same as Naruto's sorta works in a similar way though I did connect to Ichigo more to be fair I haven't revisited Naruto in a while so I wouldn't say no shonen that you've read has even attempted that sort of thing
The "not shonen jump" tag was mainly to clarify that I wasn't just referring to shonen jump titles in that instance. I did some bouncing around between referring to Jump titles exclusively and referring to more general shonen action titles. I need to be more careful about how I word things.
I also got lazy about putting all that text on screen, cause honestly I probably could've included things like Akame ga Kill, Mob Psycho, etc. I'll try to do better in the future.
@@MathWizHQ Yeah I interpreted that list something like "Shonen manga from magazines other than Shonen Jump are not really shonen" because of the "Okay this is were the "shonen" definition starts breaking down" line being put in the same sentence that might be me just being stupid but thanks for the clarification nonetheless
And people say naruto is trash 🤦🏾♂️
They mad because naruto is more popular than their favorite anime.
Lol but it is
Chickpeas tell me why?
@@weeb2606 Filler that takes up half the anime, inconsistent art and animation, plot points that go no where or are flat out bad, terrible character development, etc.
Chickpeas filler have nothing to do with the main story, the animation is inconsistent because it’s weekly and it’s running episodes for almost 20 years same for all the long running weekly anime, can you give examples about this plot points, and it’s true that naruto got underdeveloped characters but those characters are not important to the plot same for dragon ball were goku and vegeta is the only characters you care and mha were there are many underdeveloped class 1-a characters, and many more anime, and naruto also have well developed characters such as naruto, sasuke, might guy, gaara, kakashi, shikamaru, kurama, itachi, obito, madara, nagato, etc.
This really helps me out a lot with one the characters from comic.
I know very little about what certain people with anxiety go through, but I really feel for them, especially after helping a close friend of mind try to overcome her insecurities, I can't completely change her, but she's really making progress.
Naruto truly hits all the high notes
Insecure protagonists to me are the most relatable, I'm quite an insecure person so a protagonist that also is insecure is way more inspiring than confident ones. It's why I do actually like Deku over Luffy or Goku for instance.
Deku's anxiety continues to be explored in the manga, though not in a way you might expect.
Finally I been waiting on your next video for a while
im pretty sure naruto was about nationalism and effect of it creating hatred for other who arent apart of your village. and wars creating extremist aka the akatsuki
@@beastvicious8672 Doesn't mean it can't be a problem. The whole idea of "culture not dying out or its great importance" creates the negativity of that mindset on its own.
The very thought challenges kindness at times, as one nation might believe themselves to be superior and that may hurt others. Sure there's nothing wrong with patriotism but Nationalist can be extreme.
Naruto challenged that idea and gave the hope that if we all come to understand each other we can eventually find peace. We're all humans, one's nationality or culture shouldn't matter.
@@slothful2039 yup, exactly!!!
This was a good video, I would be totally down with an anxious shonen protagonist like you proposed. Soul Eater has insecure characters, but not like the kind you asked for (mostly Maka not feeling worthy for having Soul as a partner). There also might be some superhero comic out there to fit what you want, but none than I can think of which do exactly what you want (Daredevil, Animalman, and Miracleman pop into my head, but again not what your looking for). Perhaps serialized storytelling like this isn't the best for fully fleshing out a conflict like this. Writing that story is a good idea though.
Ngl, these were the bits of Naruto that were absolutely the best. When Naruto faced someone or something that made him seriously question himself and what he was doing, it was so compelling and made me want to see where he ended up and how he faced these problems. However I was sometimes disappointed with how it would turn out. Good example: The Pain Arc. I loved it but I don't quite understand what exactly swayed Pain to Naruto's argument at the end, he just seems to go "hey you seem alright, I'll just 180" without anything that Naruto put forward really seeming to change his mind.
I think I might have liked it more if Pain didn't go completely 180 but still came around to at least giving Naruto's way a chance and resurrecting the people of the Leaf as he did. Perhaps the fact that Naruto has the power to destroy him at that moment but chooses not to might influence his decision a bit more i.e: show him the person he could have been, someone who protected his people but sought a solution and not raw vengeance. Perhaps this is actually more what was going on in Pain's head but it just wasn't presented well idk. There were also a lot of ways in which this could have been done better, but I think for me this was the best aspect of Naruto as a series.
See I don't know why people say this, because to me it's just not true. The entire pain fight is about two hours long and in the time Naruto talked to him twice now that doesn't seem like much but usually takes about one conversation for Naruto to sway his enemies but not once did they sway Naruto, until pain showed up. He was the only character that made Naruto question if his path of world peace is the correct one and that was in the first conversation when pain was winning. But the second was when Naruto won, and not only did he win, but he took all the hatred (aka the nine tails) and took it out of him or more technically put it back in is body. Then remember pains whole gimmick was that everyone hates, everyone has hatred in there hearts, and everyone acts on it. So when he saw that someone literally beat the embodiment of hatred that everyone knows kurama as, and then defeat him, of course he had no other choice but to listen to what Naruto said. Then with that it changed him. So too me it kinda makes sense. in my opinion
@@redninja3056 I can totally see that. I guess, for me at least, it just wasn't made clear that THAT was what made Pain turn. There are a number of possible things that could've done it but it wasn't clear to me what convinced him, thus my thought about maybe it just could've been presented better.
Regarding the timing of it, on initial viewing I loved the whole story arc, quibbles aside, but the more time went on the more I just kept thinking to myself "Man it can take years for people to change their opinion" and especially considering how long he'd been on this path and how invested he was, an argument can be made that its unreasonable that he'd switch so quickly, however then, as you pointed out, Naruto's action may give him serious reasons to actually listen to him.
Imma say to each their own on this one. This is probs my favourite arc in Naruto, all I'd say is it maybe could've been improved to the point that Pain's thought process during his turn might be more obvious so that we can see a bit more clearly how he comes to his decision.
@@thomasdevenish865 that's totally fine I just wanted to say why it makes more sense then people give it credit for.
You should check gintama and saint Seiya .Have you Heard of a series called ruroni kenshin yet ?
Finally where have you been?
"Anxiety sucks and I can't escape it."
Mathwiz oh shit… yea I can sympathize
Mathwiz perhaps your looking for Sho Fukamachi, in Guyver the Bio Booster Armor?
Insecure Shonen Protagonist = Sho Fukamachi
Mha succeeds in having their characters have huge ass eyes.
As a female who watches/reads a lot of Shonen, I want to take a moment and validate how great this video is but particularly the part where you examine the shonen protagonists and their romantic relationships. I know you said this is a minor gripe but it's really not. Maybe it's more apparent to girls but there is so much emotional inconsistency between the way shonen protagonists emote when interacting with romantic interests versus just about anyone else. We see well-developed feelings when talking about friendships (shonen power of friendship cliche), parents (usually dead cliche), and even the antagonist but then the author trots the love interest in to serve her narrative purpose and kicks her out just as quickly. It may motivate the hero in the immediate but he usually remains static in the area for the duration of the story.
That's because of the way Japanese people understand romantic interaction. Japan is very sexist and has a clear division between men and women, making it so that many men never truly interact with a woman and do not understand how romantic development works. Most shounens just make the woman fall in love with the main character for no reason and the main character never really cares about it until the end of the series, because the man used to think that romance would make the man look weak (which is very dumb and sexist)
naruto: im gonna be hokage!
Deku: *breaks his arms and legs* "I'm gonna be the number one her-- "*passes out from pain*
naruto was depressed but never put himself below others and took his failures head on and deku jut cried a little and detroit smashed again and again. I hope dekus character develops and becomes cold af like other characters in MHA in the future