The Big Three is a title given to three manga/anime that are featured in and dominated the Japanese manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. These three series operated as gateways into the genre and were known for their global reach on anime and manga fans.
While there were said to be a Big Three for just about every era of manga, the term didn't come into being until the early 2000s where it was used to classify the three series One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach. It's not known which series is truly the best but there are many points for each. This list will be looking specifically at Naruto.
10 FANS LITERALLY GROW UP WITH THE CHARACTERS
Naruto does something that really almost no other well-known shonen did before it. In its earliest arcs, Naruto introduces almost all of its main characters. These characters are the characters that fans will be going through the series alongside, and due to the nature of the series beginning with childhood and ending with adulthood, growing with as well.
This is something that no other very popular shonen has done to the effect of Naruto. In fact, this act of watching the cast growing actually evokes a bit of a sitcom feel and is one of the main draws of the series.
9 IT HAS GREAT TEACHINGS
Like many shonen series, Naruto's audience is of course first and foremost young children. This impressionable audience, like many young audiences, needs a story with a bit of substance to help stimulate their young minds. Enter Naruto: A story that begins with a young child much like the readers out there that some can relate to.
This makes this story the perfect vessel to teach life lessons and more to the readers, and Naruto is chock full of those. From never giving up to always being there for your true friends, there are a lot of great lessons in the series.
8 NARUTO IS HEARTFELT
Naruto is easily one of the most heartfelt manga and anime out there, at least in reach of the popularity it has. This has a lot to do with the beginnings of the series's main character and his dark and depressing beginnings. Naruto begins the series alone with no friends but his adoptive father. He believes he will be the best and will not give up until he reaches his goal.
Naruto's journey leads him to make tons of friends after this dark beginning and believe that there will be tears along the way of this adventure. The rest of the characters and their great stories have a hand in this as well.
7 NARUTO IS INSPIRING
As stated before, Naruto starts off with a very depressing beginning for the title character. However, this isolation and abuse from just about the whole world around him doesn't stop him from chasing the biggest dream in all of the ninja world. That dream, of course, is to become the next Hokage and become a ninja legend.
Guess what. Naruto achieves that goal even after his beginnings and with the hurdle of people constantly looking down on him. Naruto is one of the most inspiring series out there due to this story and more that are featured in this great series.
6 TONS OF CHARACTERS TO INVEST IN
Remember the part about being able to actually read along and grow up alongside the great cast of characters in this great shonen series? Well, that has a huge hand in this series being one of the best manga and anime series out there. Naruto gives viewers and readers alike a huge cast of characters to look through and invest time into.
This cast of characters is so vast that there is literally a character for just about anyone to find interest in, whether said character shows up early or later on in the series. Best of all, most characters get good attention and are well developed until the very end.
5 THE WORLD IS UNIQUE
The world of Naruto is largely unlike any other series that can be compared to it. First of all, Naruto takes place in a very odd and fictional point in time where things have a very old and slightly primitive look to them yet there is technology such as radios and televisions seen throughout the series making for a cool visual contrast.
Along with this is a world of ninjas where nations are split up into different elements the ninjas can control. Things like the Sound Village, Hidden Leaf Village, and Sand Village as well as the family lineages in this world are so cool and unique it's hard not to love them.
4 THE FIGHTS ARE CREATIVE
Being a world of ninjas that have mastered the arts of various ninjutsu it would be hard to make the fights boring. Thankfully this isn't messed up at all, as Naruto has some of the most enjoyable and creative fights in the medium due to its great concepts used within the series and some awesome choreography that brings these concepts together and has them work in tandem with some sick martial-arts-inspired battles.
This is found as early as the Chunin Exams arc. Basically, if anyone doesn't enjoy the fights by then, they aren't going to care for the rest of the battles beyond it.
3 IT CAN BE RELATABLE FOR SOME
As said earlier, Naruto is one of the most inspirational shonen series out there, but for some, it pulls on a few more strings than it would for others. Naruto is a series about dealing with and overcoming personal trauma that was thrown upon oneself beyond their control.
There are sadly many people out there that are dealing with this burden much like Naruto and it's great that this series is one for them to look to and perhaps find inspiration to keep moving.
2 THE ARTWORK
Naruto's mangaka Masashi Kishimoto is one of the most talented manga artists out there and he also boasts some of the most unique art in the manga world. It's easy to spot his patented style no matter where you're looking. Naruto is, of course, no slouch when it comes to this.
This is especially evident with the manga, where Kishimoto's artwork truly pops and comes to life due to his unique coloring and style that perfectly fits the series.
1 THE OVERALL PLOT
No one will tell you that Naruto has the most complex nor the best plot in all of manga, but that's what makes it so great. While the plot is very basic and makes some missteps that doesn't matter when it's enjoyable as all hell.
This plot has sucked in plenty of manga and anime fans everywhere. The mysteries and questions that arise keep them moving and the potential conclusions are enough to make anyone want to read more and more.