If you wanna be the very best like no one ever was, you need a rival. Rivalries are the bread and butter of a good battle shonen. Whether it be Yami and Kaiba, Goku and Vegeta, and Asta and Yuno, rivalries produce some of the best battles and character development in anime. Naruto is no stranger to Rivalries and, in fact, has some of the best rival characters in Shonen.
Naruto's dream to become the Hokage attracts a ton of potential rivals. Sadly, for these young shinobi, not all rivalries are created equal and some don't make any sense whatsoever. Grab your Kunai and fighting spirit and let's find out the best and worst rivalries Naruto has to offer.
10 Best: Hashirama Senju vs. Madara Uchiha
There is nothing more classic than an age old rivalry between friends turned enemies. Hashirama and Madara's rivalry is very important in the context of the series as a whole. Their rivalry started a cycle of epic clashes between ninjas and their ideals.
The spectacle of seeing two powerful ninjas fight and throw down is compelling. The episode depicting their final battle together is a fan favorite and has plenty of interesting animation scenes. The classic depiction of their rivalry, while basic, is very memorable.
9 Worst: Naruto Uzimaki vs Kiba Akumaru
A lot of characters in Naruto don't really have much room to grow and evolve, Kiba is an excellent example of this. Naruto wanted to prove to his classmates and the people of the village that he is worthy of being a great ninja and Kiba represented the opposition of his dream. Kiba was a sort of bully character to Naruto and when they finally squared off in the chunin exam, it was amazing.
Unfortunately, their rivalry never went anywhere truly interesting in the narrative even though Kiba thinks they are rivals. In fact, after the Sasuke retrieval arc Kiba dropped off in relevance in the series and any sort of rivalry they could have had died.
8 Best: Rock Lee vs Gaara
The moment where Rock Lee dropped his weighted gear was a large crash and awe of the audience, was by far one of the most memorable scenes of the Naruto anime. Even though it is short lived, the rivalry between Rock Lee and Gaara was thematically resonant.
A ninja with no jujitsu skills fighting a naturally talented ninja was inspiring. Rock Lee's ninja way was to be the best through hard work and when his dream was crushed by Gaara cemented their fight and rivalry as legendary.
7 Worst: Sakura vs Ino
Out of all the possible motivations for a rivalry in shonen battle anime, two immature girls fighting over boys and being popular is so weird. The crux of the rivalry between Sakura and Ino is that they were once friends, but through some ninja drama they drifted apart and became rivals. While their initial fight against each other was underwhelming to say the least, it still had the potential to grow into something special.
Unfortunately, their rivalry never really bloomed into anything interesting and is seen from the anime community as lost potential. It didn't help that Sakura and Ino were both forgotten in the swaying motion of the better characters of the story.
6 Best: Kakashi vs Might Guy
"Who wants to have an intense 'man to man' battle?", if Might Guy was here in real life all suffering would immediately cease. definitely one of the more comical rivalries on this list, Might Guy and Kakashi are amazing rivals.
The camaraderie and trust these two have is entertaining and Might Guy's insistence on having these manly fights with him is adorable. Whenever the show is given breathing room to give us another bout between these soul brothers, it's a total treat. If only Rock Lee and Naruto had an awesome rivalry like this.
5 Worst: Sasuke vs Rock Lee
Rock Lee's fight against Sasuke before the Chunin exams could have been the start of a great rivalry in Naruto. The conflict between hard work and talent was present and when Sasuke learned one of Rock Lee's moves, it showed development in their rivalry.
The problem with this is that after Gaara injures Rock Lee their rivalry never really evolves even though Rock Lee thinks they are still rivals. Definitely a missed opportunity.
4 Best: Naruto vs Neji
The development between Neji and Naruto throughout the series is one of the most impressive feats in the show. When Neji defeated Hinata and severely injured her, Naruto stepped up and declared his rivalry with Neji. This started a debate of fate versus hard work between the two characters.
Through their fight they learned to respect one another and become truly great rivals. When Neji sacrificed himself to save Naruto, it was touching moment that inspired Naruto to face the tough challenges ahead of him. Like a good rival Neji and Naruto pushed each other to great heights.
3 Worst: Konohamaru vs Naruto
Usually little brother characters are quite annoying to the viewer, but Konohamaru defied expectations and become a great character. Sadly, his rivalry with Naruto was played for laughs and was quite one sided. It was entertaining to see Konohamaru and his pals learn special jutsu, but as far as the serious conflict of their rivalry, it was barren.
There was no challenge or thematic conflict between the two characters that would make them worthy rivals. The worst part of their rivalry is that Naruto never had a serious battle between the two of them.
2 Best: Naruto vs Sasuke
The final climactic battle of the entire series where Sasuke and Naruto duke is an iconic scene in anime. While this might be predictable, Naruto and Sasuke is a classic rivalry that forms the identity of the show. Sasuke and Naruto both have dark pasts full of misery and pain and both found different ways to reach their goals. Sasuke searched for revenge so he could change the world, and Naruto wanted to show the world he was worthy of being loved.
Their final clash where they fought for who would be Hokage is visceral and shows their deep history and friendship. Both cut from different clothes, friends and rivals to the end.
1 Worst: Shikamaru vs Temari
One of the highlights of the Chunin exam is the fight between Shikamaru and Temari. Two strategists fighting against each other and Shikamaru finally showing his true colors was an excellent scene. There definitely was a rivalry in the making, but then they had to fall in love. The core element of a rivalry is constantly pushing each other and improving each others skills.
The rest of their development together was blushing and nervous dialogue. The show did make it clear they were rivals, but they never really fought or trained in a way that would convince the viewer otherwise. They should have shown their rivalry, rather than told. A good couple, not good rivals.