THESE ARE SO FUCKING COOL!!!!!

Aydin you GOTTA post the full version it's SO GOOD

....I'm not the person to make that by the way because I hate Sasuke sooooooo much so so so much I want to punch him in the face every time he's on the page oughhhhh I hate him SO MUCH

I guess what I'm really looking for is that bombshell article or video essay or tiktok series or whatever that gives its full-throated endorsement that yes, Naruto was special and beautiful and unique and important, and despite its issues, we should revel in the parts of it that were wonderful

I'm admittedly way less involved in the anime community than I was when DBZ was getting its reevaluation, so maybe this is further along than I realize. I see kids at the mall unironically wearing Naruto T-shirts. I see that it's still one of the top-streamed anime on plenty of sites

The pass where you can uncritically bask in the parts that are beautiful without someone feeling the need to caveat with "until it gets bad later" or something. And you might think that's unfair but that's EXACTLY how people used to talk about DBZ! like the Buu saga was some untouchable monstrosity

And yeah, I think Naruto deserves this treatment. I think there are parts of the series that have received this re-evaluation and can be brought up with that classical reverence that DBZ gets- Rock Lee vs. Gaara, Sasuke vs. Naruto, etc. But I don't think Naruto gets the same.... "pass" that DBZ does

(Maybe this was spurred by DB Evolution 2009 making people realize how good the original was? Or maybe DB Kai, which removed filler and reanimated scenes for a new audience? Or maybe DBZ Abridged which eventually mostly stopped making jokes and just retold the story of DBZ in a condensed format)

Its characters can be joyously memified and drawn on murals and cosplayed at conventions and we can all say ah yes, the enduring classic Dragon Ball Z, what reverence we show to the old masters-- without bringing up the real issues the series has with pacing, dropping characters, powerscaling, etc

And of course I don't need to tell you this, you already know. Because it's 2025, and we've all generally agreed that yes, Dragon Ball Z is flawed, but in a beautiful way, and despite its lows it reaches some of the highest highs the shounen action genre has to offer. Its a certified Classic™️

And like!!!! I don't disagree with those criticisms!!!! But DBZ also has some amazing characters, iconic designs, satisfying long term storytelling, tense pacing, INCREDIBLY charismatic and dominating villains, some of THE most memorable moments in anime history, and fucking Goku!!!

I feel like people forget that up until the 2010s Dragon Ball Z was like--- NOT considered a good show by most critics and anime fans at large. It was constantly criticized for dogshit pacing, poor animation, boring fights, ugly designs, "getting bad" after the Frieza arc, etc

Hashtag not all of Naruto but I've been rereading chunks of the manga and man parts of are just downright amazing. Impactful storytelling and strong themes supported by expressive and dynamic character art and incredibly evocative backgrounds. I took for granted as a kid how real Konoha feels

THE SMEAR FRAME IS SO GOOD

As is your god given RIGHT!!!!

THIS WAS ME WITH THE STUDS WHEN I GOT MY LOBES PIERCED I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT I WAS DOING WRONG!!!