All three members of the shonen "big three" feature some of the most exciting, emotionally resonant, and creatively vibrant story arcs the anime medium has to offer. More recent anime arcs such as Infinity Castle in Demon Slayer and Shibuya Incident in Jujutsu Kaisen both hit hard, but they've got nothing on what the Naruto anime did in its heyday. In fact, even the famed One Piece can't beat Naruto when the latter is firing on all cylinders.
The Land of Waves Arc is Stronger Than Fans Might Remember
Naruto's First Talk Jutsu Was Arguably His Best
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It's not common for an anime's first full-blown story arc to rank among its best. An early arc such as Naruto's Land of Waves Arc has limited worldbuilding, a small cast of characters, and a simple combat system to get things started. Early arcs are just meant to warm up the audience and set the stage for later greatness, but Naruto did much more with this arc. The first mini-arc was the setup, and the Land of Waves Arc was the first major payoff. The famed Chunin Exam Arc was the true standout, but no one should overlook the Land of Waves Arc.
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Pound for pound, the Land of Waves Arc was an astonishing creative achievement, including many key elements of the Naruto anime. Naruto's and Sasuke's rivalry felt palpable and surpassed the Sanji/Zoro rivalry found in One Piece, since Naruto had so much to prove as a knucklehead dreaming of being Hokage. Naruto's underdog status felt so resonant as he pushed himself to get stronger during his first real mission. What is more, the "talk jutsu" that redeemed Zabuza into an antihero can still make anime fans cry today, since that speech was less about changing the world and more about changing one man's heart.
The Chunin Exam Arc Set a Bar That No Other Tournament Arc Has Cleared
Naruto Became a Big Three Anime With the Chunin Exam Arc
It's common for shonen anime to have a tournament and/or exam arc, with examples ranging from My Hero Academia's UA Sports Festival Arc to Hunter x Hunter's first hunter exam as the anime launched. Those other tournament and exam arcs have their moments, but none can compete with what Naruto's Chunin Exam Arc did. It's tempting to say the anime peaked early with this phase of the story, with the Chunin Exam Arc introducing so many new characters and jutsu types.
The sheer hype of getting so much more of everything can't be matched even in One Piece, especially not with standouts like Rock Lee, Gaara, and Neji Hyuga thrown into the mix. Aside from taking part in excellent battles, these genin generously expanded on Naruto's core themes in ways that Naruto Uzumaki himself couldn't do alone, such as hard work vs talent or the power of friendship and even love. Characters like Rock Lee, Sakura, and Hinata learned a rigorous lesson about self-belief, even if it often hurt. As a bonus, the Chunin Exam Arc had an extra layer to build the tension as Orochimaru the sinister Sannin made his move.
The Sasuke Retrieval Mission Arc Ended On a Bittersweet and Open Note
Defeat Never Felt So Motivating in Shonen Anime
After the Chunin Exam Arc, Naruto treated fans to the excellent Operation Konoha Crush and Search For Tsunade Arcs, but the Sasuke Retrieval Mission Arc was even stronger. This was the climax of the original Naruto anime series, maximizing the personal stakes without having to expand the scale of the worldbuilding or lore. Bigger is often better, as anime like One Piece shows, but the finest stories will be more intimate than that.
The Sasuke Retrieval Arc didn't need to focus the stakes on the islands of the Grand Line or the Void Century's secrets to be so powerful. It all boiled down to one fracturing friendship, a sharply personal battle that helps make Naruto such a legendary anime. On such an intimate level, the storytelling hits so much harder, reinforced with the best battles of this era in the anime. The heroes all powered up and scored major victories, but notably, Naruto's failure to defeat Sasuke meant the most. Naruto did lose, but that just made it more inspiring to see him hang onto hope regardless. It's easy to feel good after winning, but it takes a special kind of ninja hero to keep believing and smiling after a painful personal loss like that.
The Pain Arc is the Peak of Naruto Shippuden
The Six Paths of Pain Asks All the Tough Questions
Naruto Shippuden has some remarkable story arcs to its name, such as the fated showdown of Sasuke vs Itachi, to say nothing of the tense rescue of Gaara the Kazekage. Two particular arcs in Shippuden shine the brightest as arcs that can compete with or even surpass what One Piece does, starting with the Pain Arc. If Naruto fans picked just one arc to define the Shippuden era, it would be the Pain Arc. This phase of the story does have outstanding battles as Naruto and Jiraiya each fought the Six Paths of Pain, but that's just the start.
Naruto: 6 Anime Moments That Were Better in the Manga
There are many iconic moments depicted in both the anime and manga of Naruto. However, there are some that shined more in the manga.
The real meat of the matter is the ethical ambiguity of what both Naruto and Pain are doing. They are dark counterparts as former students of Jiraiya's, each interpreting Jiraiya's dream of world peace in different ways. Naruto and Pain are different expressions of the same hope for the world, and it's not always easy to tell who is right. That's why Naruto was at a loss for words when Pain pressed Naruto to explain why his vision of world peace was the superior one. Even after Pain's downfall and Nagato's redemption, anime fans are still pondering these questions about the cycle of hatred and violence.
The Five Kage Summit Arc Explored the World's Political Landscape
The Meeting of Kage Wasn't Just to Show Off New Jutsu
It's true that the worldbuilding in Naruto isn't quite as deep or extensive as what One Piece has to offer, but it can be even more compelling when portrayed the right way. At times, it feels as though One Piece's sheer scale works against it, since it's exhausting to keep tabs on so many characters, locations, and events that add up to make Luffy's world. Other anime like Demon Slayer and Dandadan are far more limited in their worldbuilding, while Naruto Shippuden is the happy medium. No arc makes this more evident than the delightful -- and brutal -- Five Kage Summit Arc.
More isn't always better with worldbuilding, since anime viewers need room in their heads for character arcs and the like, so it's ideal if the worldbuilding doesn't take up too much space. That's what makes the Five Kage Summit Arc such a great piece of worldbuilding as the Naruto world came to life through its leaders and their political tensions. Even after the downfall of villains like Orochimaru and Pain, the world remained a fractured and uneasy place, not to mention a dishonest one. Rounding out this arc was some stellar action with Kage-level jutsu, Zetsu's arrival, and a renewal of Naruto's and Sasuke's increasingly unfriendly rivalry.
