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What I find particularly interesting is the wide appeal of Naruto to adult anime and manga fans, considering the main characters are all children when the story begins.  These boys and girls, not even out of academy when the reader is introduced to Naruto’s world, I feel interests such a large community because the concept of being a ninja is one of the many dream occupations we have as children.  It’s the same affection we had for growing up to be a pirate, robot or superhero.

Naruto begins its story when children are actually fulfilling the dream of becoming ninjas, in a world where they are current, required and have magic abilities to fall back on, no doubt something all of us incorporated into games when we were little.  Even as an adult, the notion of having the physical and mental strengths of a ninja, especially Kishimoto’s version of one, tickles my imagination and I wish Naruto had been around when I was a child, as I know it would have heavily impacted playground games.

Kishimoto balances the use of adults in his manga quite well, making the children still have limits, despite their occupation, which is simply just good storytelling and character development on his behalf.  Even with his use of adults, especially dangerous and elite ones like Kakashi and Ibiki, the story is still about children and more importantly, Naruto, which Kishimoto doesn’t forget.

I don’t usually watch or read shows involving such a young cast, actually the only show I can seriously think of that I loved and had a young character is Outlaw Star, for Jim Hawking.  I was so surprised upon first watching Naruto that these children were interesting, unique and for all of their grownup sensibilities, they still behaved like kids and in a way that was neither forced or annoying.

Naruto gets a bad rap, I think, especially after what the English dubs did to him.  He’s a perfect example of this fascinating child character who is aware of the evil and hate in the world, has felt pain and understands his own mortality, yet can still cry over not getting lunch.  The world in which these characters live is dangerous and to be going to a school that teaches you to become a ninja, they must be more adult than the average twelve-year-old, but I adore how Kishimoto can still relate their innocence to kids the characters’ age, reading the manga as well as adults, who remember what it was like to be that age.