I find Naruto fascinating cause the series always tries to keep the perspective that they are all expendable soldiers. It could have been light fluff like One Piece with pirates but rather Naruto chooses to show a darker and grittier side to things.

Considering it's a series targeted towards 12-15 year olds I find this to be rather refreshing (I'm one of those people who doesn't believe children are incapable of understanding certain truths about the world. Children are only stupid cause people treat them like they are stupid. End Rant)

I do feel the anime really drags things out (once again, this is why I prefer manga. It's faster to digest and I feel the overall pacing flows better) but compared to other series of the action genre I am constantly surprised how much thought was actually put into the world and story. I feel the characters are easy to identify with cause so many of them have such great level of detail to their personalities and though most people may never go through their traumas, their problems are not so far fetched that the audiance can lose the ability to identify with them.

We have all felt like outcasts (Naruto), alot of people understand personal lost (Kakashi) and the isolation it creates (Sasuke). I'm certain everyone has felt trapped by the roles they play (Neji) and some of us try so hard and never seem to go anywhere (Lee) and many of us have felt overlooked(Hinata). These are just a few ways the cast is shown to be vulnerable human beings.

Even the villains come off as less evil and though their methods are wrong, I can't blame them for the path they chose. Orochimaru tries to obtain immortality, not really for power or to rule the world but so he can have all the time to learn everything. Itachi's motive is still unclear, he says he wished to test his capabilities but going over the episodes again I feel he has another motive instead. Zabuza himslef is reformed and makes peace with himself before dying and Gaara is more of a victim than evil. Even Sasuke's struggle of choosing a happy life over his revenge is rather dramatic.

The battles vary, but I love the sheer variety and creativity in them. Yeah they have a few DBZ style mass destruction and charge up my chakra/chi but these battles are actually few and far between.

I think what makes Naruto a good series and better than most 200+ action animes is the fact that it touches on more mature themes of sacrifice, friendship, betrayal, how history repeats, and overcoming adversity. It's held together by a rather clever and tightly written narrative. Unlike most action animes this series has a greater emphasis on the supporting cast and the world is slowly beginning to unfold before the viewers.