In a lot of ways, Sasuke makes perfect sense as the protagonist for a series like Naruto (regardless of the title of the series) given his skills and personality. Naruto seems less like a standard protagonist at times, though, given that he’s goofy, always the last to understand anything, and generally less capable than any of his teammates— at least early on in the series.
While the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke is absolutely the most important in the series, there are plenty of reasons why Sasuke would have been a better choice for the main character of the series. But Naruto also has plenty of reasons for why he is rightfully the protagonist.
10 Sasuke: He Is A Chosen One
A major trope of stories featuring young protagonists is the idea of the “chosen one,” a prodigy or magic figure who is going to be able to save the day. Sasuke appears to be exactly that character in Naruto.
He’s regularly referred to as a ninja genius, comes from a strong ninja clan, and he seems to be able to handle most situations that are thrown at him early on in the series. It seems clear that a strong character might be the natural choice for a main character.
9 Naruto: He Is Also A Chosen One
Sasuke comes from a famous ninja clan, and they are well-known to be some of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. But Naruto’s lineage is nothing to sneeze at either.
He’s the son of the Fourth Hokage, widely considered to be the most powerful ninja in Konoha history. His mother, Kushina, is a member of the Uzumaki clan, well-known for their vitality. It seems fated that Naruto would grow up to be a great ninja as well and that he would become the new host of the Nine-Tails.
8 Sasuke: He’s Constantly Getting Beaten
Despite the fact that the series tells viewers how strong and smart Sasuke is, that he’s head and shoulders above his classmates, he’s actually generally unsuccessful in battle at first. He only successfully wins one battle before leaving with the Sound Four, with Naruto being only his second defeat.
Watching a character struggle to become stronger is part of the fun of shonen anime, and seeing Sasuke realize that even he, a ninja genius, has to work hard would be a fun subversion of expectations.
7 Naruto: He Exceeds Everyone’s Expectations
Everyone is pretty free in showing their contempt for Naruto, often directly to his face. But the joy of watching the series is seeing these people who dismissed him realize there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Naruto gains allies and friends one at a time throughout the series, by systematically fighting his way through situations no one believes he’ll be able to come out successful in. The constant surprise, and then respect, of his fellow ninja makes it incredibly easy to cheer for him as a hero.
6 Sasuke: He’s Tempted By The Darkness
A squeaky clean protagonist that never has to make difficult choices isn’t always the most fun to watch. Sasuke is so determined to become as strong as possible as quickly as possible that he actually does give into the darkness and makes choices that put his friends in danger.
Seeing Sasuke struggle with these decisions with him as a protagonist would be an interesting way to explore the difficulty of deciding whether to get revenge or give up on it to remain with his comrades.
5 Naruto: He’s A Goofball
Where Sasuke is often brooding and stoic, not talking very much— and, when he does talk, doing so in monotone— Naruto is the exact opposite. He’s loud, and he says exactly what’s on his mind at all times, often to his detriment (and it's impossible not to make memes about him).
He’s got a relentlessly positive attitude, even in the face of seemingly hopeless situations. It’s easy to cheer on a protagonist who believes so completely in the good of people, even Sasuke after he tries to kill him.
4 Sasuke: He’s Not A Prodigy
Sasuke is regularly considered to be a genius, as already mentioned. But despite the fact that everything seems to come fairly effortlessly to him, as the series continues, it’s clear that Sasuke works really hard to do as well as he does as a ninja.
He feels inadequate from living in Itachi’s shadow, and he spends pretty much all of his free time trying to become stronger. Watching him continuously fail is a good thing to see in a protagonist, especially as he works up to eventually succeeding.
3 Naruto: He’s An Orphan
A lot like the “chosen one” trope, it’s pretty normal to see main characters who are orphans in coming of age style stories, maybe best exemplified in Harry Potter and most Disney movies (particularly Aladdin). Naruto is also an orphan, but despite the fact that he grows up without a family, he’s not a miserable person. He is confident and kind and holds on tightly to his relationships because he doesn’t have a biological family.
2 Sasuke: He Has A Tragic Backstory
Sasuke’s backstory is fairly wild considering this is a series meant for children. His raison d’être is that his brother Itachi murdered his entire family, and now Sasuke wants to become strong enough to successfully kill him for vengeance.
This gives him a more solid reason for wanting to become stronger than Naruto’s, since he has a specific target of his rage and hate, as opposed to wanting to just generally be acknowledged as a ninja.
1 Naruto: He Is Shunned By The Village
Part of what makes it so easy to root for Naruto is the fact that he has almost no one rooting for him except himself. All of the adults in the village know Naruto has the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside him, which makes them shun him. This, in turn, teaches their children— his classmates— to shun him as well.
The fact that Naruto continues to believe in his own future despite the fact that no one else does makes him an easy character to want to see succeed.