FEATURE: How Naruto Taught Me That it’s Okay to Not Be Okay

 

If I ask someone what their favorite anime is, Naruto always finds a way to pop up in the conversation. There’s no surprise there since the series is an entryway for many into the world of anime, and that’s doubly true for children who grew up during the days of Toonami. It came with bloody battles, sentimental scenes and, of course, bonds between characters.

 

But when I think of Naruto I remember something different. I remember being a little girl who was just like our small, frizzy-headed protagonist: lonely.

 

 

Don’t get me wrong. My parents raised me with lots of love, with that affection forever affecting me in the shape of how I deserve to be loved as an adult. But as a five-year-old who was considered odd because she didn’t speak up due to her “weird” voice, it creates a whole new feeling of isolation — especially when every other kid had friends.

 

The first thing people may think about when they imagine the iconic blonde-haired protagonist might be Ninjutsu, the teams that make the series so intriguing or even the many villains that populate the story. For me, I think about the sad silhouette of a young boy sitting alone on a single wooden swing, looking on in sadness at the other children playing together — especially when accompanied by my favorite song of the anime, “Sadness and Sorrow.”

 

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While there are many hype theme songs in the series from “Silhouette” to even classics like “GO!!,” the tune that played each time something emotional would occur, “Sadness and Sorrow,” is both my comfort song and the one that makes me remember how many times Naruto supported me throughout the years. From my childhood, my teenage years and even my new adult years, Naruto has helped me grow.

 

When I was in kindergarten and even when I reached elementary school I would always be the onlooker. Never one to join a group because of feeling out of place, I would often watch the other children laugh and play while sitting alone. And on a fateful day when Toonami used to air new episodes of Naruto, I laid my eyes on the first scene — Naruto sitting on that swing.

 

 

I remember that memory so vividly because it was the first time I felt like someone was like me. A fictional character, yes, but nonetheless it made me feel understood. It made me feel seen. I didn’t even know what Naruto was about. I simply stared at the screen and watched the entire episode, watching him be shunned by the village people and being called annoying. Despite the fact that he was often made fun of, he always managed to force himself to smile through the rough times. Because my first image of Naruto was him being sad, it hit doubly hard when I saw him trying so hard to fit in and garner attention from others.

 

It didn’t take me long to get hooked on the series, watch all of the reruns and become a fan. Despite the fact that I didn’t initially watch because of the plot, I came to understand what the series was about as well as understand each character’s internal struggle.

 

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The thing that will always amaze me about the series is how it makes you feel for the characters that are supposed to be “evil” — almost every villain falls into a gray zone. Not everyone is a fan of Naruto’s “Talk no Jutsu”, but it always delighted me to see problems that usually weren’t addressed in shonen series being properly discussed.

 

No matter how Naruto may have felt about an enemy, whether he be the person who killed his dear teacher or the tailed beast who killed his parents and attempted to kill him right after, he always managed to talk to them before seeing if fighting was truly the only option. It may seem odd that a literal assassin might think twice before killing someone, but Naruto taught me that it’s worth it to always try and talk it out before giving up or even getting into a meaningless fight.

 

Not everything would work out, though.

 

 

Just because you can talk to someone doesn’t mean that person will understand you. Throughout Naruto, the impasses that Naruto and Sakura faced with Sasuke was one problem that friendship couldn’t immediately fix. Sasuke’s internal fight between hatred for the massacre of his clan and his friendship with Team 7 ultimately led him down a path of hatred, and the fact that he couldn’t stop him was a hard blow to Naruto. Even so, I vividly remember him smiling and trying to stay positive when he promised to bring him back no matter what the cost or what that meant for him in the long run.

 

He honestly pushed himself too hard, but even Naruto’s forced smiles helped me through some things as I left elementary school and went on to online school, finding my solace in exploring who I truly was as a person. With no one in my ear to tell me how silly Naruto was and with Naruto Shippuden out to show me a new teenage Naruto, I was set to experience more ups and downs and grow with him.

 

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Naruto may be a shonen battle series that has many fights and sometimes odd decisions that we still may not be able to understand, but that’s okay. Not everyone will think that deeply about the series, and that’s okay as well. But for me, Naruto is both my comfort series as well as my favorite anime character of all time because of all the valuable lessons he taught me.

Both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are dear to my heart. One taught me valuable lessons when I was a little girl and the other when I became a teenager. It’s okay to be yourself, like what you want and sometimes you’ll have to force yourself to smile through some tough things in order to keep yourself from crying. But at the same time, Naruto showed me that it is okay to not be okay. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to grieve over your loved ones. Sometimes, you’re not going to be able to be on the same page with someone or befriend everybody, but it’ll be okay. 

 

As long as you keep on going, you’ll be okay — and most of all, you can do it!

 

 

Watch Naruto on Crunchyroll now!