I remember watching Naruto a while back and remember dropping it for some reason, so I never really got to Shippuden. Of course, I’ll admit that I’m hypocritical for judging an anime that I never finished. With that being said, I don’t really get why Naruto fans exaggerate the series so much. In my eyes, it wasn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t good either. There were many questionable writing decisions that didn’t sit right with me. In my opinion, Naruto is a good starter anime, but the more anime you watch, the more you realize how flawed Naruto actually was. That being said, what do you all think of Naruto?
Agreed that Naruto, even if you skip all filler, is excessively bloated. It stopped being about telling a story and instead about being a cash cow pretty early on. And, the further it goes, the more it just becomes a fractal of the same story and themes overlaid on whatever new character is introduced.
Never heard of Armored Trooper Votoms but Mushishi is great.