OMG why don’t your posts have more notes. Ooh I like this. This post brought some interesting points and this particular bit intrigued my mind because so many people in Naruto fandom protested on the same thing.

Anyway i can’t think of one character likely to go ‘wait even if we’re not able to stop wars. at the very least we should stop sending children’. kind of a problem.

I ponder about this point for a moment and reluctantly reach the conclusion that, honestly it’s impossible as per plot rule of entertainment media. Because, and I think some people forget this especially people who rewatched it as adults including me, Naruto is fictional shounen manga. A show for children, a fantasy world so kids can kick some ass and solve important stuff. With that reason, shounen and many shows that focused on teenagers, they almost always have this trope.

I spoke about it a little before in this post. In media like Naruto, adults are not intended to get their shits done. Instead, adults created things for MCs to do, gave them pointers and lessons, occasionally become tireless cheerleader to MCs and power benchmark for villains, while having unwavering and frankly unhealthy faith for the youngsters MCs to success what they failed to do.

That’s why logically they can’t demolish ‘child soldier’ and forbade kids to fight and get any actions as conclusion in Naruto, Shounen and any on-going young media. Because the wonder of fiction world will be destroyed. Children as the demographic intended audience will be like “eh, in the end everything is like our boring real world when we are not allowed to do anything”. Naruto story is created so children must be the one who end war, to solve the long lasting problem that the ‘adults’ can’t solve. To give children audience that project themselves in Naruto the elation of accomplishing something that adults unable to do. To receive praise, to be acknowledged as important, to eventually become the mature pillar of the world and fix its flaws. 

(At least before money hungry companies force writers to write sequel with MCs  children as protagonists and our MCs that we adore and watch over in original series being nerfed and demoted to “useless adults”. Ah, Boruto, Cursed Child, TLOK, and Yashahime my beloathed)

So you have there, Naruto shounen franchise with kids and then teenagers as protagonists, with flashy superpowers and society that allow them to use it without much restriction. Adults are supposed to be an enabler and not a boomer on this aspect, plus in Naruto somehow age is used as power wanking. When Kakashi is said becoming Chuunin at 6 or Itachi is said becoming ANBU captain at 13, the intended audiences’ reaction is “wow they’re truly powerful” and not “what the heck they’re practically babies”. Characters that drive the story are expected to be young, even younger means more plus points on power stats. 

Now the tricky thing is, the Big Bad that the young MCs have to face? WAR. Unlike other Shounen medias with their pure evil villains and/or mindless monster, Naruto problem hits too close to our real world problem. Shippuden very much emphasis this, how war brings suffering, how cycle of hatred always happen. Then the pinnacle of conflict is Villains (Obito and Madara) waged War, tried to stop continuous fight and conflict by completely erase the reality, rob everyone’s awareness, and bring them to dreamland while conflict will never happen, death and birth are nonexistent, everyone will get what their want without doing anything.

That’s obviously bad because it’s like giving all humans hallucination drugs and everyone just lay on their beds sleeping. Of freaking course it will not work, will make human society collapsed and destroyed in any world, fiction or not, because it will place humanity in stagnant, unmoving state. Conflict will not happen, development will not be occurred, sadness will not be created, love will not be blossomed, hard work and determination will be pointless, death and birth will be nonexistent.

Story will not be created. Dead end. 

To stop that terrible thing and see that their world is worth saving is the young MCs’ job.

(I can’t believe that there are people in Naruto community who think Obito and Madara’s method was legit situation, but I am also just a normal woman in somewhat peaceful society so perhaps those people already experienced things that make them have nihilism mindset of the world. Or Obito’s speech is just that good, I as Obito fan certainly love it too, very thrilling, although I obviously disagree hard with him)

So, the ‘child soldier’ thing is the irrefutable twist that differentiate fiction from reality, that build Naruto world as a fantasy world intended for kids to explore and enjoy. And, eventually, children will be able to stop war, because this is their story. The question is, how? To answer that, we explore the MCs’ journey, what they learn, lose, and gain to reach their points.

The teenage protag, Naruto, tried to solve the war by persuading people to work together. Story expanded on how he chose this method, people he met, things he experienced and learned.

Sasuke, the teenage deuteragonist, tried to solve the war by appointing himself as Supreme Leader and subjugate everyone under his control, his rule, and bear their collective hatred and fear. Story expanded on how he chose this method, people he met, things he experienced and learned.

Their ideologies clashed, became the climax of this story, ended with their union because Naruto beats Sasuke into submission…

… according to some pro-Sasuke rants that I unluckily found. 

In truth Naruto ‘beats’ Sasuke by doing the thing that he always does in whole 500 chapters. He persuades Sasuke to work together with him. Being laid out like that, Naruto’s way may sound very naive, childish and illogical, right? Especially compared to Sasuke’s. 

But Naruto is indeed that fictional shounen world.

It’s so bizarre for me on my current rewatch to the point that I thought Kishimoto is a wacky writer who wrote Seinen problem with Shounen solution (and did intense meta dive on Naruto lore). Like solving Olympic problem with continuous subtraction. Is it logical? Will it work in real life? Who knows! But Naruto is essentially fiction, fantasy world, with limited timeline, so it doesn’t have to be too logical. In reality, sadly, Sasuke’s way is more effective because Power is a very potent tool to instill obedience (this is also why it’s understandable for me that there are many pro-Sasuke in Naruto fandom). Someone like Naruto who can change people heart by mere words and determination are very, very seldom exist, close to none. 

Why Kishimoto wrote a story like that? Surely he can just write Murderous Power Hungry Villain as Big Bad that will be beaten by Protagonist, shounen style? Why Obito and Madara (Kaguya doesn’t count, what the heck is that alien bits) as Big Bad, plus some Akatsukis, anguished about the problems and flaws of their world as much as the protagonist, if not more? Sasuke is obviously not intended to win with his method (because Sasuke’s method is borderline dictatorship and of course it will not happen in any hopeful child media), so why he laid out Sasuke’s story carefully and sympathetically?

Now I am totally just guessing here, but using Naruto, I think Kishimoto tried to solve the problem in his own way, instill optimistic “anti-war” lesson to the kids that will grow up and become the new ‘adults’ of the world, then eventually produce new generations to teach and guide. To obtain peace not by subjugating others, but by understanding each other and work together.

One kid asks the world, “ we have to understand each other, we have to work together” to fix the world’s problem like Naruto is something that will only work on fiction story.

But many kids ask the world, “we have to understand each other, we have to work together”, and they grow up, become the pillars and motors of society, use that ideologies in practice, teach it to the new generation…

….I might be too optimistic here, but that… might work. Might make the world eventually devoid of war, world that is built by people who are willing to understand each other and work together to repel the constant danger of triggering war.

It’s damn great if that can work.

I think, in a way, that’s Kishimoto’s purpose on writing Naruto.