I'm glad that there's still some KZfaqrs who actually get Naruto's story.

This is probably the most important Naruto video anyone’s made.

That point about Iruka at the end is making want to cry. This is once again not just one of the best videos on Naruto but one of the best videos on KZfaq

7:26 , "lee tried so hard and still failed." So you could say, then, that while he tried so hard and got so far but, in the end, it doesn't even matter?

People often conflate "Perseverance" with "Hard Work" especially when it comes to Naruto. "Perseverance" is Naruto leaving the Chunin Exam's written test blank and yet still refusing to give up until he sees the 10th question. "Hard Work" would be him desperately trying his best to cheat off of the other candidates and inevitably getting caught 5 times and failing the exam. He couldn't just apply this hard work in studying for the test earlier either because the questions were way out of the scope of what regular Genin were supposed to know. "Hard Work" would not have worked here, even Lee passed the exam because of Ten-Ten showing him the answers. Obviously not saying hard work is bad but it's definitely not as major a theme of the story as most fans seem to believe, and that makes sense with the setting of the ninja world. You can't really train in the middle of a ninja battle with muh hard work but you can still pull off a win just by hanging on and waiting for an opening to attack ala Naruto's final Rasengan against Pain.

Somehow, Naruto is one of the most underrated characters in his own story.

I think Naruto's initial problem was lack of discipline. Having become an orphan at a young age, he really had no one to instill such discipline in him. No one took him seriously since he couldn't fill his father's shoes with natural talent (even though it could be argued he did. After all, he learned to create large number of shadow clones just by reading a sacred scroll). To get the attention he craved, he became a goofball and a delinquent. He was considered an idiot because of his naïve positivity and inability to focus on studies combined with his innocent optimism about the people around him. People were also suspicious of him because of his seal and the beast inside of him.

This hits different. I always had a high appreciation for Naruto even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the series itself. This video showed me why and I appreciate you for that.

One thing people often forget is that zetus stated that he looked to do the infinite tsukinome plan with the reincarnation countless of times but they all failed Until madada and hashirama came. This means that being a reincarnation of indra and ashura aren't born as special beings to such an extent they don't have to work for.

You can't just change my entire understanding of this story while also calling into question my botched interpretation of not only Naruto, but everything else I've ever consumed before and after. All over the course of a twenty-two minute video. You did it anyway though. Damn

For some reason Ive been watching Naruto deep dives and yeah I agree “Hardwork > Natural Talent” is literally the smallest theme being tackled. Naruto is a series about understanding one another.

Damn, this brought tears to my eyes. Rereading Naruto with these ideas in mind will be a good time.

Neji was wrong since the moment Hinata decided to fight back, he said people can't change because it's their destiny while Hinata was changing right before his eyes.

It's ironic that Lee lost his fight and sustained near permanent damage because he internalized his beliefs of hard work and talent only for a lot of naruto fans to do the same thing and damage their understanding of naruto as a series.

This is a new way for me to see lee. Also the same words from Guy, he originally tells lee to believe himself and even at the point he was crippled he says it agree, in resolve. I am glad I can see that now.

now THIS is Naruto content

Thank you for talking about this. I don’t know why, but the Naruto fandom has gotten so toxic about this talent vs hardwork thing.

Another character that kind of parallels Neji in regards to his nihilistic view of fate(which is even called attention to when Neji dies) is Obito. Both Neji and Obito blame the circumstances of the ninja world for their bitterness towards it. They both believe the world cannot change and that everyone is fated to succumb to its despair and darkness. They blame the world for why they cannot change. However it’s the resolve to endure and never give up hope that allows people to overcome their fate which Naruto shows both of them.

Phenomenal stuff, please keep that up, it's a crime that you don't have a bigger audience. I wish you all the best at this difficult time.

I enjoy these kinds of videos because they force me to look back at things with a different lense compared to how I first read the manga. So many details were lost over the years as the apparent final battles of the series dragged on that I had completely forgotten most of the examples that Craftsdwarf had brought up, only remembering the bare minimum of certain scenes since it had been so long since I had first watched or read Naruto. An incredible video that made me realized that I had limited myself to one theme or angle to the story instead of looking at it from all directions. In other words, I blinded myself to what was written on the pages before me. What an incredible video to completely flip my Perspective on Naruto as a series as a whole. Incredible work, Craftsdwarf!

Thanks for the video, Craftsdwarf. Your take on the series, as well as Mathwiz's, is the most profound. I like the series, because of both of you.

What’s more impressive about this another amazing video is the fact that some people still aren’t willing to treat those stories with more nuance, more of an understanding of the whole picture, in a sense, refusing to grow past that point of conflict and misunderstanding… This to me is one of the symptoms that show why the general discourse on manga seems to never evolve past youtube/overly passionate people whereas it’s pretty clear that most casual fans of the series who grew to see less of the material while it matured would be able to take as much from it if they gave it an honest look, free from the 2012-13 hate train… While the consensus is potentially shifting a little more every time Craftsdwarf uploads, the potential for a more educated reread was and always will be there. If you are not willing to understand Naruto as a comic for some of it’s narrative choices, I could not encourage you more to give it another shot as you’ve certainly grown, just like your overall perception. (Obviously this isn’t targeted to anyone who outright despises the series but i wouldn’t hope they got here)

Excellent video, I’ve been waiting for someone to make a video debunking these misguided ideas about Naruto for ages 👍

You’re actually a goat omg

A lot of criticism of Naruto is basically reduced to memes and the the cliffnotes version of the story, people semi-remember. Hard work vs natural talent was the theme of 1 fight, and in that fight, talent wins.

Wow great essay again craftsdwarf, loved it!

Craftsdwarf just had a Naruto flashback and grabbed a pen.

Another banger!

Once again you put what I have in my mind eloquently, fantastic video

Glad I found this video because you are one of the only ones that gets it, Craftsdwarf. Amazing analysis.

If you want, If you put in an effort, If you train, if you give it your all, If you concentrate yourself... NOTHING grants that you get what you want - Craque Daniel (Falha de Cobertura). Effort, Friendship Victory? You put in a effort because you are able to do so, You have friends because you are worth to begin with, You win because the conditions were just right... The Shounen Jump motto os a lie - Kumagawa Misogi (Medaka Box) "Don't get me wrong, I love passionate battles. But, if you attribute the outcome of the match to passion, you might as well be saying that the loser just didn't want it enough." - Tachikawa Kei (World Trigger) Até mais ver mr, Poneis

this vid is so fire great analysis

Wow ..subbed and liked..this video is beyond

Just wow. This was a great video. One of the things I love about Naruto are the characters. They all Have been through something or feel the need to prove themselves or have a goal to achieve. I really love the themes and messages of the anime. I related to Rock Lee the most. I had somewhat of a similar story. Lee I found to be so inspiring that his story helped me in real life. Along with many other great characters not just from Naruto. Thank you for making this amazing video.

Great video!

This feels like a direct response to that video that Plague of Gripes made years ago. Lmao, I going to be real, I used to listen to that video often just because I preferred a One Piece and was looking at anything to undermine naruto fans. I do understand the larger themes of naruto tho. Good work!

Fantastic as always

cool take on Naruto! thanks for spreading some better light on this series that's been misunderstood.

I gotta say! wow! I am ashamed that in my arrogance and ignorance I failed to pay attention and dismissed so much. While I have a few gripes, this was needed. Thank You for making this!

Goated video

The best Naruto Anituber at it again

This video really brings the series to a full circle 👏 👏 👏

I can't believe ppl think the main theme is hard work over natural talent when as said in the video hard work leads to the discovery of talent. No character is actually ordinary. Even as useless as everyone says saukra is even if she through hard work had a natural talent for medical ninjustus. Lee had natural talent for high speed taijustu. To be a ninja everyone needed both

Awesome.

Very good video. Most people who get mad about reincarnation only look at it from a western perspective when Naruto is a Japanese series that heavily references Buddhism. Reincarnation in Buddhism is never about repeating your past lives but continuously trying to redeem yourself and not to repeat the same mistakes in next life. Most of these Naruto criticisms are baseless and often misinformed. This is often the case with Bleach and to some extent, One Piece. I'm glad that Bleach is having a renaissance after the new anime announcement.

great video

Frick, I've finally been convinced. Thank you, Craftsdwarf! Also, your voice is hecka cute.

Naruto might just be the biggest example of westerners projecting their beliefs onto an eastern work. Considering it's a series about understanding one another that's really sad.

So good! nice to see you back w/more Naruto vids they're enthralling lol.

2:00 that music has me wanting to watch Kenichi all over again.

A refreshing perspective

Finally someone puts a positive on Neji's death. Too many people say its dumb, but I love how he grew out of his hate just like his father to protect the ones he loves.

Another great video. You've really made an outstanding series on Naruto.

The thing about the Kyubi disrupting Naruto's chakra flow is fanon. The secondary seal that Orochimaru put on top of the first one disrupted his chakra flow but he got that fixed in less than a month.

Lmao wow I just peeped that 2 of the most beloved characters are the reason why alot of people criticize the series 😭😭, great video bro the "omg neji was right" and "naruto went against its hard work" theme is something that HAS to get debunked

What amazing Chanel!!

Nice👍

Also gotta leave people trying to assert Naruto and(Shippuden) aren’t the same work. The manga is called Naruto. Shippuden was used in the title of the latter part of the story for marketing I guess? I always hated it. The anime simply titled “Naruto” isn’t a complete work and neither is “Naruto-Shippuden”

This is the first time I've seen neji's death in a more positive light as opposed to he died so naruhina can happen which makes no sense since they still needed an entire movie after that when they could have easily built it in the pain arc. Now thou I can see it as neji following in his dad's footsteps and making his own decision in spite of the curse placed on him, even if that is what was wanted from him. In the end it didn't matter.

Masterpiece

Damn this really did attack my world view. You've improved a lot as an analysist since those Fairy Tail videos.

I really really loved Lee's conclusion. He was the person who think he can achieve anything just by putting efforts but after getting his arm and leg crush and the fear of might not being a Ninja again. He cries and cries asking Guy sensei what he do now? How can he overcome this ordeal .... and than He accepts the surgery cuz Luck is a skill too

You clearly love this series and have given this a tremendous amount of thought and care. I respect that. I do find myself agreeing with you on many things. That being said, I think it is possible for a fan (I consider myself such) to see and accept the "flaws" in a work of art that I love. Of course, it's art, so on some level whether a creative choice is truly a flaw or not is ultimately subjective. Some viewers will like a choice while others will hate it, even though its the same choice. I may as well just come out and say it: Rock Lee is my favorite character in the entire series, despite it being a series full of fantastic characters. Ironically Gaara is probably my second favorite. Naruto teaches Gaara (who the world saw as a monster, rather than a human being) that its not too late for him to change his life. His entire village and his own family hates him? So what? Naruto was the same way, but (with the encouragement of Iruka) he set out to become Hokage. So, Gaara, against all odds, decides to set out on his own journey to become Kazekage and is successful, surpassing Naruto, the hero that defeated him, inspiring Naruto further to one day be Gaara's equal and join him at the top. Maybe, just maybe, a little of Lee's "hard work" ideals rubbed off on Gaara the same way they inspired Naruto. Anyway, back to Lee, yes, he did lose. In fact, it wasn't just against Gaara. Lee loses so often that it is a part of his character, he is perpetually struggling, failing, always one step away from greatness. You see that back when he is training as a kid, he always gets to 99 push ups, but can't complete the final one before he collapses in fatigue. Doing 99 push ups in a row is a tremendous feat, but Lee's way of life (just like his mentor Guy) is to set high goals and push himself beyond his limits. If he can't complete 100 push ups, then he must do 100 squats, or whatever self imposed punishment he comes up with, turning his "failure" into an opportunity to train and get stronger. When we first meet Lee, he is already a Genin, which is damn impressive considering he graduated from the academy without any ninjutsu or genjustsu abilities whatsoever. Presumably he performed so well in the physical aspects of the exam that his final grade was high enough to pass in spite of getting zero points in the "magical" components like the clone jutsu. He always found his OWN way in life, his own way to fight, to become strong, and to be "a splendid ninja," ultimately mastering techniques (as a child) that filled Kakashi with awe just to witness, remarking "this isn't just effort alone: this boy really is a genius." Yet he loses. Sure, he easily defeats Naruto and Sasuke in their sparing match, but he loses to the sound ninja Genin in the forest, even after using the primary lotus in an attempt to defeat one of them, they use ninjutsu to turn the ground softer, negating his efforts. We see in flashbacks how Lee has challenged Neji to sparring matches countless times, but Neji has completely overwhelmed him every time. On one occasion Lee apologizes to Guy about "messing up on their last mission." And of course, Lee loses to Gaara, in spite of unlocking Gate 5/8 (the Gate of Pain), utilizing speed blinding enough that Gaara can't see him, raw power so great that he can shatter Gaara's sand armor with his bare hands and send his body flying across the room. Lee still loses, once again, his opponent was able to soften the blow of his finishing move, to survive, and strike after he lowered his guard. I don't ignore these facts. I think they're of great importance to the story and to Lee's character. Lee is an inspiration to me personally, not in spite of losing, but BECAUSE he loses. He teaches us that it is ok to lose. Losing doesn't make you a "loser." Ask anybody, and they'll tell you Lee is awesome, a badass, one of the most likable characters in manga. He's not a loser. He's a splendid ninja. Why? Why isn't Lee a loser or a failure? Because when Lee falls down, he always gets back up again. That's why he gained the respect and recognition of the other characters in the show, not out of pity, but because of his determination, his willpower, his ambition to never give up, even when it would be easier to do so. He keeps going because it is his way, his code, to give 100% to whatever he is doing, to fight till the end, even if it seems futile. In sticking to his code, he completes one of his own self-imposed challenges. He vows not to give up and so, when he fulfills his promise, he wins. If I could criticize the series for one thing, it would be how Lee was never truly given the chance to complete a character arc in Shippuden. Sure, perhaps he did in filler arcs, but I am referring to the manga canon storyline now. Obviously, Lee is not the main character, so it would be absurd to expect the author to make the whole story revolve around him. That's not what disappointed me. I was disappointed that Lee didn't get to grow the way Gaara did or Shikamaru for that matter. Shikamaru doesn't have a huge role in most of Shippuden, but he still had his chance to shine, to have his own character arc, to avenge his master and take on new responsibilities vowing to one day be a mentor as cool as Asuma was to the next generation. That's all I wanted for Lee, just to see him come into his own, to mature and find his place in the world. To feel that he had indeed become a splendid ninja as he once set out to do. Its a shame that his development just kind of stalled and never seemed to go anywhere imo. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the matter tho.

I don't really see how it is reductive to point out the central meaning of a long-form work. Especially when what mainly distinguishes it (as you pointed out) is that its length allows it to explore more topics, which is a great opportunity for it to build on a central point (The TV series GoT and BB are good examples). I do think that the issue with this thinking is the assumption that no ideas expressed in a work are done so in isolation, but I don't think that's much of the case in Naruto since people do recognize that it takes advantage of something specific that goes as far back as Chapter 1.

Naruto fans gaslighting about the bad writing and making excuses is always funny to me

I love this video. For too long people have clung to these ridiculous notions to justify that Naruto somehow failed its premise. It's fine if you don't like the direction Naruto went in, but don't try to convince the rest of us that you guys were right.

Thank you! Finally some fucking gets it!

Wow. I never understood the reincarnation part for years no matter how hard I tried, but I get it now! Ashura keeps failing, but he never gives up. He is literally and figuratively the soul of Naruto.

How does one overcome fate? Seems like thats the biggest issue with naruto

I always wondered why Kishimoto had Guy be the one to fight Madara and open the 8 gates instead of Lee. I feel that if that had been Lee's moment a lot of people would like him more

movie battles 2 jedi academy mod, and i like this vid good job

I stopped watching when you said Kakashi was childish for learning wisdom from Obito.

Two consecutive craftsdwarf Naruto videos?! It's like he's trying to make me coom.

shit this video was great

I appreciate the Kenichi ost

This. This is the Naruto video the community needs. Those who need to watch it probably won’t though :/

Its still sad to see how Rock Lee ended up not accomplishing anything, he wasnt really present in Shippuuden. Hard work does not beat the writing apperently

HITMAN REBORN

Please do a video analysing Sakura's character and the importance of her relationship with Sasuke in the broader narrative

Sasuke wasn’t super talented, he just always had potential, his brother Itachi had the talent. If we look at them age by age, Sasuke has to do so much just to reach even a fraction of the sheer natural ability Itachi had at a similar age. Even by the time of Shippuden Sasuke is 16 years old and is still isn’t able to surpass a 13-year old Itachi until he attains the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, a power that for all intensive purposes should be downright impossible to achieve.

I know Naruto is not about hardwork beats talent but Lee losing is seen as a challenge to those ideals of hardwork beats talent but since Naruto is also portrayed as a loser without talent taking 3 years to accomplish what most of his classmates accomplished. Is the analogy perfect? No but to a child they can make sense.

Gotta love Iruka-sensei Or else you haven't seen the show.

Very good video and i understand your view but i still hav one Problem. I think the hole reincarnation is the point i just can not stand. That his father is Minato i think do not matter, because just because his parents are strong does not mean he is strong because he never meet them. But he is reborn from some of the strongest people in historie and for me that show that he never did something 100% out of his own mind. He was just the last step of the fight between the brothers and he always had the potential to become stronge. He always had a way to go. He never was just: "Waht can i do now? I have nowhere to grow now." Maybe i misunderstand the story but i do not know as a kid i could relate to him but now i could never relate to him.

On the Buddhist stuff, Unfortunately the decision to have black zetsu vaguely tempt Indra does undercut the Buddhist messaging. Although the text does not explicitly say BZ persuaded Indra into attacking Ashura, the text does imply it with the lines “I tempted Indra, who had lost the fight for ninja creed succession.” And “You’re part of the ninja history I helped create.” This can lead ppl to believe BZ caused the cycle of reincarnation. However, the story does nail one aspect of Buddhism, perfectly: Karma in regards to Naruto. You are absolutely right. If karma were this absolute thing, then Karma would force Naruto to deal a deathblow to Sasuke, but Naruto saves him. Sasuke says he will kill himself, but Naruto tells him. Don’t you dare. Unlike the Uchiha/senju war, Kaguya did not guide Hashirama to kill Madara. He did that on his own volition. Being Hashirama’s reincarnation. Naruto inherits the karma of killing Sasuke, but he rejects that karma by saving him. I read a comment said that the cycle of reincarnation ended with BZ because BZ “artificially extended the war” therefore he essentially caused it, therefore it ended with him. That’s a fair point about the Indra/ Ashura stuff, but he can;t say the same thing about Naruto and Hashirama.

first of all, a fantastic video. second of all, I am very much so enjoying this trend of yours recently of trying to do positive coverage of stories. rather then finding the faults in them, you try to find the good things, which evidently exist in all media. however, one thing I must say as a negative of Naruto, is that it was not well executed. the sad reality is that despite having really good messages, fantastic characters, and a wonderfully fascinating world, Naruto failed at delivering them properly and doing them justice. when one person fails to see the point of a story, you can say that it wasn't for them. perhaps they weren't the target audience, perhaps they missed something. when an entire generation comes out of it with the feeling of betrayal and disappointment, you know there is a problem in the story. Naruto wasn't able to properly convey it's points and messages across, and it eventually led to you needing to make such a video. seeing so many people changing their mind and the way they looked at the story from this video is heart warming, yet at the same time saddening, because they wouldn't have reached this conclusion if it wasn't for you, and that is on the story, not on them.

Overshadowed lee Rip destiny ninja kid

i think i hate naruto now

this is so Based

lol. Neji did due to bad writing. There was no purpose or significance. It's crazy how delusional fans try to rationalize that.

I really liked this video and it did make me see some things differently with regards to specific characters like Neji and Rock Lee, and hell, even Naruto as a character but it didn't really convince me at all about the flub that is the entire thing, from the perspective of "this is a shounen and things like power scaling and systems are part of the package" precisely because of how the series end. For the characters, I think the subtext in Naruto was handled decently well and appreciate a lot of it, but the text itself is just so poor IMO. (note that this rant is mostly about power-level stuff) I can summarize it right from 16:36 to 16:54, I just simply disagree. It's not his own power, it was bestowed upon him. Nothing in the series really speaks to "well he used his power right!", like, unlike whom exactly? No one else in the series is bestowed as much power and is shown to not make the best of it. Anyone that "uses their power wrong", had a weaker power than the 9 tails anyway. The closest person that also gets randomly bestowed power for no reason is Sasuke, and they end up being exactly as powerful as the other for all intents and purposes. Next to that, it's Madara who had the Rinnegan, but my boy DID the work for it, was it a hundred years? Don't even know but he absolutely wasn't bestowed that power, he earned it, even when also being a reincarnation. Naruto was never the underdog. He might have seemed like one, but it was all smoke and mirrors caused by a lack of information. Son of the fourth Hokage and of a strong lineage from Kushina's side, (we know it's bullshit that he didn't inherit any talent from them as the SoSP says, that was literally just lip service, look how fast he learns the Rasengan, a month, as opposed to Minato's 3 years who WAS talented "unlike Naruto", and later Boruto took 3 days and improved it ACCIDENTALLY, what did talent skip a generation? lol. show me he is untalented don't tell me he is but then have him outperform the most talented people in history who ALSO worked hard as hell) 9 tails inside, taught by the very best legendary teachers, and literally the reincarnation of ninja J-man. How many times was his life saved by help from Kurama's chakra? Say that "hard work overcoming talent" is not the main point of Naruto and I'll agree, but it's definitely a topic that's touched on a lot, especially on early Naruto, and absolutely all of that was ruined by what happens by the end. If Naruto had had, idk, the 6 tails rather than the 9 tails I'd eat this shit up just like I did when I was in 8th grade, but as it stands nah. You can't just gift someone the most potential and then have them be the best and say "well but he worked really hard!" when there's no evidence he would have become just as powerful as he did without that gift. And this is unrelated to the main point but there are just so many more things with this series man, the retconning of Kakashi and Hiraya's relationship to Naruto before they met just unnecessarily made the story even more incestuous than it already was and damaged early Naruto by making their interactions just plain odd on rewatches. Like bruh.

I dunno man, none of this changes the fact that they made a horrible job at consistency in storytelling. They hyped the wievers with this, child progidy who is extremely dangerous in battle, and then they did nothing to showcase his promised potential. The child progidy appearantly cant deflect some fkn wood. I would be totally fine with his death if they didnt hype him so much in og naruto, or if he actually died doing some awesome shit no other shinobi could achieve, giving up his life in process. with the former scnerio we would at least have no expectations. with the latter, we would get the climax of his potential arc. Naruto is a good show but like every show ever it has its flaws. Nejis lazy death was one of them

This is a great video with alot of words and BGM. Naruto story is still sort of bad, your reaching a lot in this man. I respect the point of view and effort though 👍🏿

TFW Kishimoto killed off our best stoic boi to create the nightmare of Boruto.

One thing that irks me in this video is the Might Gai's sacrifice comparison to Naruto inheriting the Sage of 6 Paths power. Without Gai or any of the support like Sakura/Gaara still there, both Naruto and Sasuke would have easily died when they were in a coma. Might Gai's sacrifice was already stated to be there as the foundation for the new generation. Naruto saving Gai is a reward to Gai for his sacrifice and hardwork to be able to see the new generation or an asspull. Not to mention, Gai almost singlehandedly crippled Madara on his own where as both Naruto and Sasuke were needed to match Madara.

You can just say you disagree with Plague of Gripes, you don't need to strip me naked in the corner of this Wendy's.

Great video, though I will disagree on one major element. Pretty much up until the bring back Sasuke arc, the series kept trying to present Naruto as an untalented underdog, who then pulls out wins based on birthright power. He pulls off an extreme shadow clone jutsu after practicing a few hours due to his massive chakra pool. He survives against Haku due to Kurama. He’s able to train under Jiraya and pull off crazy summoning Jutsu due to Kurama and crazy chakra. And so on. Heck, many of the important adult figures in Naruto’s life took notice of him because of Kurama, including Iruka. The early parts of the series keep saying that Naruto is bottom of the barrel in terms of talent, yet he always came out on top due to Kurama, his crazy chakra pool, and learning techniques incredibly fast. Plus, he’s the son of the Fourth Hokage, which was obvious from the very start, meaning he did have lineage backing him, only none of the younger characters knew (I dropped the series shortly after the time-skip, so I don’t know who knew and who didn’t). You could be 100% right about what the series was going for thematically, but the takes you mock are completely supported by the series. From the very start, Naruto had special unique powers that were critical in setting up relationships and winning fights. And the series kept pretending that he was a low talent underdog that made it to where he was through hard work, all while he displays incredible gifts and very fast learning capability. It’s not just two fights, it’s the series up to the rescue Sasuke arc that beat that in.

You know I mostly agree. I still hate the reincarnation plot line.

While I agree on the front of Rock Lee and Neji, I hard disagree on Naruto being a reincarnation. Every other aspect of Naruto's life didn't predispose him to greatness. Kurama was as much a curse as he was a blessing, his father being the Hokage didn't serve any good to Naruto, his inheritance of large chakra pools from his mother was, while fortunate, not something that automatically put him above his peers, his closeness to Jiraiya did nothing for him on its own, but his status as a reincarnation of a famous hero giving him a powerup strong enough to kill a god with little training needed to use it stands out among Naruto's other powerups. It is the only powerup Naruto gets that isn't a double edged sword, Kurama gives access to massive amounts of Chakra but is hard to control and makes it hard for him to use his own chakra, Shadow Clones let him overwhelm opponents with pure numbers but is incredibly Chakra inefficient if used incorrectly, the Rasengan is incredibly powerful but cannot be done on his own, the Rasenshuriken is even stronger but rips him apart if used as a melee weapon and can't be thrown without Sage Mode, Sage mode is the only other power up that breaks this pattern, but it took a ton of training to master. While it is true that Naruto only got Six Paths mode because Hagoromo believed him to be worthy because of his past effort and thus that could be considered to be how he earned it and Naruto still had not achieved the dream his past lives had failed at, and indeed that is correct, I find it to ultimately be rather uncomfortable that his past lives only became relevant in his success when he couldn't succeed on his own. Naruto, the one who was always suffered from his status as "the chosen one", in the end prevailed not from his own hard work to succeed, not from his own caution and restraint from pushing himself too far, and not from his mastery of the few gifts he had, but because of a circumstance of his existence that he had no meaningful interaction with prior to obtaining the powerup.

If you really wanted to make a point the best example would actually be Sakura, not gods Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura is the most normal as normal can be that achieved powerful things and became one of the best leaf ninja.

All fine and good but Neji's death was still bs. (Again Kishi admitted to only doing it to push Naruto and Hinata together for some reason, its not like they didn't like each other already).