My first experience with Naruto was before the show was available in the nifty, uncut box sets, DVDs borrowed by my sister from a friend who managed to get them somehow, in a condition that included poor translations in the subtitles. At the time, I was the only one with a DVD player, so my sister convinced me that I needed to watch this ninja anime with her. I did. I loved it.
Several years later and more merchandise than I ever thought possible, I am still thanking my sister for introducing me to Naruto. What I enjoy the most about the show is the exceptionally large and diverse cast of characters. I adore main characters like Kakashi, Naruto, Gaara, I even love Sakura, but I also am addicted to the charm of minor characters, especially Kotetsu and Izumo.
The introduction of this duo was at the beginning of the chunin exams, way back in episode twenty-one! They are portrayed with a sense of awe and power, which is appropriate since Team Seven are still quite literally, children, and even a low-level chunin should still be considered dangerous. As the show continues however, and characters grow older, the air of threat that they held, especially Kotetsu, is slowly stripped away to reveal two men who have many different layers.
Even though Izumo and Kotetsu are very obviously minor roles in the massive universe of these ninja warriors and used more often than not for comic relief, they are still portrayed as strong, fierce, lazy, hopeful, and curious, giving them a sense of humanity just like the main hero, Naruto. Their personalities are not wrapped up and condensed to a single sentence that would describe how they would act in a given situation, for example, is afraid of thunder, where afterwards that phrase would incorporate how that character acted when on screen forevermore.
I don’t expect entire story arcs to depend on them, but when they are in a scene, it’s refreshing and pleasant and I always leave knowing a bit more about them. I’m always a happy fan when every minor ninja is given a moment to shine in battle, such as Kotetsu and Izumo’s fight alongside Asuma and Shikamaru. Kishimoto doesn’t forget about these sorts of characters once he creates them, even with those like Iruka, who’s importance gradually waned as Naruto grew older and more independent of him and the academy, still showing up in Naruto: Shippuden.
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