Naruto is a name that almost developed into a household name; if you haven’t heard of it, then you are most likely living under a rock-- no, an asteroid. Naruto’s greatest achievement, however, isn’t in concern to the series itself; it’s how it managed to attract heaps of fans to the anime verse.
With that being said, one can’t have a proper discussion about Naruto without bringing up the man in question. He is the series’ main character and one of anime’s biggest names. He led one of the anime’s shiniest series, thus some would argue that by extent, he is a solid nominee for being Shonen’s best boy-- and they are not entirely incorrect. But once the subjective factors are removed from the equation, it would be hard to say.
10 Best: Reliable
To carry the entire series, be the pivot of the cast and leave a lasting impression on the fans, the main character has to be reliable in some sort. The good thing is, despite his weakness and recklessness, Naruto was -to some extent- a reliable character from day one.
And this reliability only continued to blossom alongside his personality. By the time the series hit its endgame, Naruto was relied upon by the entire Shinobi World.
9 Fell Short: Rasengan!
Rasengan was a technique originally developed by Minato. The technique was passed to Jiraiya then later on to its third and rightful successor, Naruto. Rasengan is a great technique that is very practical during combat; it's easily executed, but the damage it inflicts is nothing to brush at.
That said though, just because you have a great versatile technique, it shouldn't stop you from learning another one. From the day Naruto mastered Rasengan, he used it -and its derivatives- in every boss fight to come.
8 Best: Pseudo-Underdog
The underdog protagonist trope is a widely used trope in the anime platform. It's one of the tropes that the fans never seem to get enough of no matter how many times they see it.
It could be said that Naruto was an underdog in his early days, but that did not continue for long. The offspring of two acclaimed geniuses couldn't possibly be that untalented; after all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
7 Fell Short: Dense
There have been many instances of dense Shonen protagonists, but those who could hold a candle to Naruto when it comes to density could be counted on one hand.
You know someone is hopeless when the character who holds them as a love interest both confesses to and protects them with their life on the line, and they still continue to remain oblivious of it.
6 Best: Crossed The Romance Obstacle
After almost 15 years, 700 manga chapters, and more than 700 anime episodes; Naruto finally shed away his density and took action with Hinata.
Yes, it was a long journey, but the results were satisfying for the fandom nonetheless. And to reward the fans for their patience, Naruto: The Last Movie was entirely dedicated to the romance of Naruto and Hinata, big props to Kishimoto.
5 Fell Short: Hacks
The average Shonen protagonist -in most cases- starts off with an overpowered ability that gives them a sharp edge over his counterparts. The effects of these overpowered abilities might not seem obvious at the start, but as the plot progresses, they only get more and more relevant.
In regards to overpowered default abilities, Naruto is straight-up Hacks. And as if that's not enough, he continues to accumulate even more overpowered abilities as the series progresses (sage mode, Kyuubi chakra mode, six paths mode...etc)
4 Best: Backstory
Naruto's backstory is one of the most heart-wrenching of the series. He lost both his parents the day he was born, and to make matters even worse; he lived his childhood treated as a monster by everyone in the village. He resorted to silly pranks to get whatever little recognition he could get.
This deep backstory allowed the fans to resonate with Naruto beyond the surface level fairly early in the series.
3 Fell Short: Talk No Jutsu
Shonen protagonists trying to take down bad guys by trading words and not punches is nothing new to the genre. But the thing is, nine times out of ten these endeavors end up as futile efforts.
But these statistics do not apply to Naruto. It's frankly unknown whether the resolve of the victims of talk no Jutsu was weak or Naruto was just that good.
2 Best: Character Development
The character development of Naruto is by far one of the most satisfying to be featured in the genre. He started out from the very bottom, both strength and personality-wise, and steadily grew into the complex man he is today. Development is certainly one of Naruto's strong points.
1 Fell Short: Betrayed The Fans' Expectations
With all that said, the biggest downside of Naruto is how he contradicted the very message he was supposed to stand for: regardless of talent, everyone can find success if they work hard enough. It's an inspiring message, to say the least, but it was brutally stepped on and thrown out of the window when Naruto started acquiring one hack after another. This attracted harsh criticism from the community; and for good reasons.