5 Naruto Characters Who Deserve Their Popularity, and 5 Who Don’t

Naruto's character roster spans far and wide, and it's hard to think of any who are particularly bad. Such is the nature of Naruto's character writing, which, for all its faults, is iron-clad, foolproof, and generally very thoughtful. Not all of Naruto's cast are so flawless, though.

While Naruto's creator Kishimoto has shown his capability at writing truly compelling characters, he's also not immune to misses. Some of Naruto's biggest characters completely miss the point of their own series, while others are massively underrated and only coming to be appreciated thanks to the effects of time. Fans constantly argue over just how much any given character contributes to Naruto's plot—the following characters have either been gaining in popularity or always been a mainstay of the series, whether they deserve their popularity or not.

10 Kakashi Deserves It

Team 7's Mentor Earns All His Hype

When Team 7 is first put together, Kakashi is aloof and unbothered. His cool demeanor is an anchor of the series as he slowly draws out the full potential of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Although some of his moves are shortsighted—see, for example, teaching Sasuke his signature move, Chidori—Kakashi stands strong as one of Naruto's best teachers and leaders.

As the series develops, his role only becomes more cemented. The ANBU backstory gives a great deal of depth and dimension to his character, and in iconic fights like his showdown with Obito, it becomes clear why he's such a revered ninja. Even during his stint at Hokage, his able and self-aware performance is sufficient to rank him among Naruto's most effective Hokage, despite his short tenure.

9 Sarutobi Doesn't

The First Hokage Naruto Fans See Sets A Bad Example (And It Just Gets Worse)

The first Hokage who Naruto fans really get to see is notable for utterly failing Naruto himself. Sarutobi is incredibly ineffective at protecting and uplifting Naruto despite the circumstances of his youth, which becomes all the worse later on as the story behind Naruto's ostracization becomes clearer. Sarutobi's emphasis on tradition also doesn't do Konoha any favors, given that he has the privilege of reigning during a time of relative stability.

When the plot develops further and Sarutobi's relationship with Danzo comes into focus, Sarutobi's passivity becomes a major problem for his character, painting him as utterly uncaring in the face of Konoha's atrocities. Some Naruto fans remember Sarutobi fondly because of his presence during the early part of the series, as well as his role in training the legendary Sannin (of which Naruto's mentor Jiraiya and the following Hokage Tsunade were members). Nonetheless, it's undeniable that Sarutobi doesn't set a good model for Hokage, and he doesn't deserve the fondness he often gets.

8 Konan Deserves It

Konan Is One Of Naruto's Most Interesting Shinobi

Early on after her introduction, Konan somewhat faded into Naruto's background. Recently, though, she's been enjoying a much-deserved resurgence in interest with Naruto's fans. Konan, obviously, shares the tragic background of Nagato and Yahiko, the two other founding members of Akatsuki who were taken in and trained by Jiraiya after Konoha's military operations left them orphaned in rubble. Konan is a special case, though, for several reasons.

Firstly, while Nagato's relenting to Naruto's Talk no Jutsu is something fans have argued about for years, Konan takes upon herself the noble mission of seeing through Nagato and Naruto's conversation about hope and progress. Returning to Amegakure, her fight with Obito builds on the Pain assault's displays of her abilities, proving that her unique paper jutsu is one of the coolest and most beautiful kinds of jutsu in all of Naruto. If one considers how Konan also pokes a hole in dominant narratives about Konoha's benevolence, it becomes clear that she deserves every second in the limelight.

7 Jiraiya Doesn't

Jiraiya's Impact Is Minimal, Even If His Legacy Is Substantial

Jiraiya, on the other hand, can be taken or left. Some fans are turned off by his perverted demeanor, but the fact he doesn't deserve the surrounding hype has nothing to do with that. The simple fact is that Jiraiya, although written empathetically, is fairly ineffectual. He takes Naruto on foundational journeys and teaches him important skills, and that's great. However, his obsession with the shinobi ideals and blind devotion to Konoha leaves him constantly abandoning people—whether it's Tsunade or the Amegakure orphans.

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Not to be misunderstood, Jiraiya's death scene is certainly one of Naruto's best and most moving moments. The series does a more-than-capable job of making fans fall in love with Jiraiya, and that's kind of the problem at hand, actually. Jiraiya lacks the depth and real character development to live up to the legacy built for him, leaving fans actually in love with the dream of Jiraiya.

6 Rock Lee Deserves It

Naruto's Most Inspiring Character Is The True Underdog

Rock Lee is an incredible exploration of how unfair Naruto's power system really is. In a world where some degree of capacity with jutsu is the norm, Rock Lee effectively manifests as a super intriguing (and possibly unintentional) representation of disability. At any rate, in a series that almost crowds itself with underdogs in the form of Naruto and Sasuke, Rock Lee inspiringly shows what it means to actually be an underdog.

Rock Lee's kind demeanor, bubbly personality, and steel will have led fans to absolutely adore him. He represents the kind of growth and inspiring development that Naruto always intended to highlight, and while he does get sidelined later in the series, he still has some convincingly awesome moments in Naruto: Shippuden. Blessed with the honor of one of Naruto's best fights thanks to his showdown with Gaara, Rock Lee always comes back right to the end, when he puts up a convincing defense against Madara, showing what Naruto's story of willpower and determination is all about.

5 Neji Doesn't

Whiny And Cruel, Neji Fails To Grow Into His Potential

Neji, on the other hand, never fully grows into his position within Naruto. By the time he apparently starts to develop as a character, Naruto had already been on the way to forgetting most of Konoha's supporting cast. Because of that, he's constantly overshadowed by his haughty demeanor and, especially, his cruel treatment of Rock Lee.

Fans often bemoan Kishimoto's use of Neji's death to bring Naruto and Hinata together, and there is a worthy complaint there. While Naruto: Shippuden does show convincing glimmers of Neji's potential as a character, it was never sufficiently realized to give the death scene its full impact. On the contrary, the fact that Neji can just be thrown away to make a certain ship come true speaks to how unimportant his character had actually become at that point in the series.

4 Deidara Deserves It

No Ninja Better Exemplifies Naruto's Opposite

Deidara is a wonderful character whose flamboyant love for the art of explosions has cemented him in fans' minds for years. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Deidara, and the reason he deserves the hype, is that he simply stands in total opposition to the shinobi order. Akatsuki became a catch-all group for the shinobi world's outcasts, and Deidara exemplifies that. He cares little for shinobi ideals or contrived concepts like the Will of Fire—he just exists for the thing he loves, and that happens to be explosions. In Naruto's world, there is seemingly no greater sin than that.

3 Obito Doesn't

Sudden And Contrived Changes Dilute Naruto's Antagonists

Another of Akatsuki's most memorable members, Obito, doesn't live up to his reputation. His role in Naruto's plot is carefully engineered for the longest time, but the payoff is limited. While his backstory with Kakashi and Rin is compelling, it doesn't sufficiently explain why he acts out in the way that he does.

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Making matters worse, his personal sense of grief doesn't stand with the same amount of involved, world-changing importance as, say, Yahiko's noble idealism in founding Akatsuki, Nagato's keen sense of pain developed in direct response to the shinobi world, or Madara's political stance against oppression formed through many decades of experience. It's not that his grief is invalid, it just feels, from a distance, to be an extreme shift in comparison to other characters' motivations. Obito is an unconvincing major antagonist, and he doesn't deserve the recognition he's earned.

2 Sasuke Deserves It

The Last Of The Uchiha Has An Incredible Character Arc

Sasuke, simply put, is one of the best and most definitive shōnen characters in recent history. He effectively redefined the stakes of rivalries by virtue of the fact that his rivalry with Naruto carries implications that affect the entire ninja world. He's also an incredible combatant, with Sasuke's fights being some of Naruto's best moments.

Some fans feel as though Sasuke's development is contrived, while others feel frustrated with his utter inability to communicate. Sasuke's characterization isn't perfect, but the question is whether he deserves his popularity. By virtue of his sheer impact on the way anime rivalries work in the context of their setting, Sasuke's compelling—if at times melodramatic—characterization is one of the reasons Naruto is so irresistible.

1 Minato Doesn't

Naruto's Father Is Actually Uninspiring In Hindsight

If Sasuke is one anchor of Naruto's identity as a character, Minato later becomes one too. The difference is that Minato doesn't necessarily deserve the level of popularity he gets. It can easily be argued that Minato being Hokage undermines Naruto's underdog themes, but there's one other big reason that Minato doesn't necessarily deserve his popularity.

To put it simply, as Hokage, he didn't really do a lot. An entire legend is built around Minato, and admittedly, his and Kushina's sacrifice to save Konoha is only paralleled in emotional impact by their timeless bond with their son. In terms of what the series canonically exposes, Minato's impact as Hokage doesn't seem to extend very far beyond that, and although he's painted as a wonderful Hokage with a tragically short life, his actions don't live up to that reputation. Unfortunately, that seems to be a common story for Naruto, where there are as many myths as realities defining its extensive cast.