This Naruto Arc Has Some The Anime’s Best Storytelling
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The legendary shonen anime series Naruto has plenty of terrific story arcs in it, and many fans agree that post-time skip, the Pain story arc is the anime’s best. That is certainly the best story arc of Naruto Shippuden with great fights and resonant themes, but there’s another arc that can rival it. Pound for pound, the Land of Waves story arc is one of Naruto‘s best, even if it feels like ancient history to some fans.
In the original Naruto anime run, the chunin exam had the best fights and a stunning variety of jutsu, but fans might also call it a glorified tournament arc and little more. By contrast, the Land of Waves story has a little of everything that makes the Naruto anime so wonderful, and it’s all in a sleek, easily digestible package that easily sells this anime to new fans who are curious to see what Masashi Kishimoto’s masterwork is really all about.
By necessity, a lengthy shonen anime like any of the “big three” will keep adding more layers to the narrative, expand the worldbuilding, introduce more characters, and deepen the combat system a great deal. By the time fans reach story arcs like the Pain arc, the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, and the Wano arc, the narrative will have a lot of moving parts to reward fans for sticking around for so long in the story. That is a rich reward for longtime fans who want to see lots of cool characters duking it out in the Fourth Great Shinobi War, but it’s also tough for casual fans to keep up with, and the story may end up wasting some characters or leave some plot threads dangling, among other issues. The writing in such arcs is quite dense, and only the industry’s best can keep all those balls in the air. Meanwhile, earlier arcs like the Land of Waves keep things simple, and that is why they shine.
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