I Wish I Saw More Either Anti Naruto Or Critical Looks At How Naruto Embodies The Violence Of Konoha.

I wish I saw more either anti Naruto or critical looks at how Naruto embodies the violence of Konoha.

Even among "pro Sasuke" people, they are either in SNS or don't talk about Naruto very generally.

Naruto aggressively, and obsessively, pursues Sasuke throughout the entire manga and this is somehow viewed as romantic.

But Naruto is, in actuality, a villain! And I wish people really understood this and talked about him in this light.

There was a long ass post about Itachi that I reblogged yesterdag that finally has a bit in the end about Naruto who cant even articulate his goals in regards to Sasuke when he meets Itachi.

I actually don't consider Sasuke's emotional revelations in the end of the manga canon because we never see how Sasuke thinks about anything until the end. Sasuke is PURE metaphor, you have to really pay attention to him to see what his deal is, but all of a sudden we see that he was actually inspired by Naruto/liked him this whole time in these shitty flashbacks?

Bullshit. 🤬

I think these were added to give weight to Naruto's obsession; it can now be justified because Sasuke actually liked Naruto this whole time! And the reasons for their fight also give weight to this (Naruto is my only friend, etc etc).

Main characters are supposed to get what they want; that's kinda how it works. But the themes of Naruto, and Naruto himself (who embodies those themes), just mean violence when he wins.

I saw somewhere that Kishimoto intended for Naruto and Sasuke to always reconcile, but the state and the revolutionary can't reconcile. You either defeat the state or die at the hands of it. And in Sasuke's case, you get assimilated (and subsequently brainwashed). And many radicals also assimilate, typically into the academy, or through class ascension.

The ending is just really terrible, and Naruto is so thoroughly unlikable that I find it odd more people don't do deep dives into his dysfunctional and obsessive pursuit of Sasuke.

And although Sakura gets *a lot* of grief for chasing after Sasuke, no one ever complains about how Naruto straight up told Jiriya that he wanted to be recognized by Sasuke and that is what drove him to get stronger.

(When you code Naruto's obsession with Sasuke as romantic, then it becomes easier to accept this aggression. Especially when Sasuke rarely rejects him outright, which isnt the case for Sakura. But Naruto's interest in Sasuke is selfish, and actually has very little to do with Sasuke himself. Just like Sakura).

It feels VERY refreshing to see anyone talk about how violent Naruto is throughout the manga toward Sasuke. And in OG Naruto, the violence is more poignant/obvious because they're on the same team.

The main reason I think Sasuke almost never rejects Naruto outright is because it would have been a different story; for the current narrative to work, Sasuke has to on some level accept/acknowledge Naruto. I think it actually would have embodied some of the themes better if Sasuke HAD rejected him (ie chose not to fight him at VoTE - either one/didnt call him his friend to the Sage/etc).

I dont want to muse too much about it because the manga is done, we are trapped with Boruto and that show has DEFINITELY destroyed Sasuke (and every other theme from Naruto honestly).

All I am asking is to see more analysis about Naruto that depicts him as his is; a selfish, obsessive person who pursued Sasuke in his quest to be acknowledged by him.

(I might have to embark on this quest alone, but going forward, if I see any good, non-shipping related content to this, I will reblog).