The Back Seat
Post Author: Spirit
In Naruto we have plenty of awesome characters to study, interpret, and enjoy. Out of these many characters, some take the spot light more than others, and are often glorified by the Naruverse, and the Narutards alike. But what about all those characters who take the minor roles? Are there efforts less important, are their tragedies less devastating? It seems that any character not in direct contact with Naruto or Sasuke falls off the face of the Earth. Only when they come in contact with these two “Spot-lighters” do they see a change from the normal pace of life.
I, however, enjoy dissecting the minor characters in Naruto; reading their emotions, and perhaps hidden intentions, because if Kishi is the Godly Author we have all deemed him to be, he too takes this minor characters into account.
The first Back-seater that I find quite interesting is Konohamaru. The grandson of the Third-Hokage and Naruto’s first friend in the series, Konohamaru showed promise at the beginning of the series. Now however, all he does is make a 4 second cameo every 40 chapters, but why? Why would Kishi stick him in here? Just because he feels the manga needs different characters to pop in every once and a while? Maybe, but I believe Konohamaru’s purpose in the series is to guide Naruto into the strong willed Hokage he hopes to be. Every time we see him talk to Naruto, he bashes him about being too weak, or not trying hard enough, or that he’ll never match up to Sasuke. All this is doing is subconsciously motivating Naruto to try harder, get stronger, and be more determined. When Konohamaru is talking to other people, like Lady Tsunade, all he does is boast their opinions of Naruto, always claiming he will be the next Hokage. Through the combination of pushing Naruto, and amping other people’s opinions on Naruto, I’d say Konohamaru’s small role plays a big part in shaping our young hero.
Next is Kurenai. Yes, she is one of the elite jonin of the Hidden Leaf Village, but lets face it, she doesn’t receive much screen time. Probably the least active team leader, Kurenai might seem like a character of little importance, but without her, Naruto would lose much of its emotion. She contributes to one of the only successful relationships in the Naruverse. This showed the more human/emotional side to the shinobi, something we rarely see in Naruto. After Asuma’s death, we find that Kurenai is pregnant. This is one of the first visualizations we observe of the metaphor of “passing the torch” that Konoha is all about.
Finally I’d like to bring up Jugo. Yes, he is in Team Hawk, but I think it is safe to say that he is the most shadowed character in the group; usually keeping to himself. But what does he contribute? Well Jugo displays the balance of emotion in the force that is Team Hawk, most specifically Sasuke. Both Karin and Suigetsu have displayed a malevolent demeanor, and not exactly the purest intentions for their actions, but Jugo merely wants to be at peace. He wishes to cure his sadistic murdering ways, and how does he go about this? By teaming up with the only man that can calm him down; Sasuke. All the obvious actions that Kishi reveals to us are of how Sasuke is turning for the worse, but if one takes time to see all the subliminals, like Sasuke’s harmonizing of Jugo, they might get a glimpse of the author’s true intentions.
These shadowed characters in the Naruverse are like cogs to the giant clock-work of Naruto; the Spirit behind the scenes that keep things running smoothly.
3rd
i have mixed feelings about this blog… anyways, i have never seen you around… how come i never became author overnight >=[
No Chaoschu, your third. Lol.
This blog is pretty good. But Author-material. Idk. Some of the stuff you said are ture though. Idk, I have mixed thoughts.
yeah i mean idk what to say bro
well done spirit! good first blog
interesting theories spirit but I only have one quarrel with you. I can respect this post as a good one and one that has potential to be great but … WHY THE HELL ARE YOU AN AUTHOR BEFORE ME! I BEEN HERE LONGER AND WROTE MORE! MAN THIS IS UNFAIR. gj btw.
well I actually like this blog screw everyone….. and Chaos, Spirit became an author cause he/she is kickass , and have you ever thought about maybe upping your kickass level j/p but not really seriously you are kickass Chaos and as for you Spirit keep on keeping on
i liked it
gj
i mean wouldve been better if you wrote about more characters but it was good
Congrats Spirit.!
i have to seco nd that sk but gj spirit
yeah congrats
thAt WAs too cloSE….11th..T_T….LikE It SpIriT!!!MORe aND MOre Pics,da besT anD eAsy to UndErsTaND!!…
Spirit nice post. You bring up great points about the minor characters in nARUTO and how they have such important roles in the manga. I wonder if Sasuke really is walking the right path by going to mad men for power. As you pointed out Sasuke influence on Jugo shows his better side and makes you think Sasuke will choose the right path and make the correct decisions in the future. Willl he change his colors.
As for Konohomeru u hit it on the nail. he pushes Naruto harder to become stronger. I think Konohomeru will become a more important character in the series. Nice post
^_^ I vote that your nickname becomes “Minor Character Appreceation Man (Or woman)”… That sounded a lot better in my head.
Great to have you on the team!
yeah i agree alot of our minor character are taken for granted but I don’t think Juugo and Konohamaru are minor characters in a sense because to me they are important in their own way. The Akatsuki seems to know a lot about Juugo and he seems really power for what i seem in the manga against the Eight Tails, I mean he is getting his ass kicked but he isn’t giving up and are supplying some strong attacks! Then I think Konohamaru is important because he seems to be the only Sarutobi left that we have seen! I think he has parents but they haven’t been showed so thats why I’m saying he is the only Sarutobi left! Kurenai is also improtant because her child will be the first born of the next generation and she is known to be one of the top genjutsu shinobi in the village! So they all are very important!
nice visualization there Spirit.. well said “That These Cogs Make Up A Great Machine” connected Together They Contribute To The Welfare Of Naruverse.. All Of Them Exist With A Purpose Like No Character Would Be Known Without a Purpose unlike Civilians Whom We Dont know.. Characters Who meet up With our Hero Adds Up To The Foundation Of the Story.. So… Glad To Share This With us..!
Make Sum more!
GreatBlog.!
good job there! I think my post is going to be about paedophillic-homosexual relationships in naruto e.g haku and zabuza, gai and lee, oroch and kabuto &bones guy and all his other admirers. plus naruto, j-sama and iruka
Congrats spirit on a great post altough ive never spoken or heard of you before, or seen you pop up anywhere. Its true, i most agree with the Jugo point, but keep it up man see you around dometime soon. GH out
Great job Spirit. Awesome blog there.
i totally agree wit u, we should see more of Jugo and Konahmaru.
Welcome to the team man.
I really enjoyed reading this blog. I think you definitely expressed something that takes a dedicated reader to notice. There are a lot of characters who aren’t always in the spotlight, but contribute so much importance to the series. Just as you said, all three of these represents something unique about Naruto:
Konohomaru – hope/motivation
Kurenai – Love/the next generation
Juugo – balance/harmony
Awesome job man! Can’t wait for your next one!
-ssj
I think that in the future Konohamaru plays a bigger role, when he grow up.
He´s the grandson of 3th and can use multiple sexy jutsus.
So much potential;-)
great blog looking forward to the others
WELCOME SPIRIT. Sorry to come so late.
Any good writer must developed interesting secondary characters.
But Konohamaru only value is as the first that admired Naruto; … in Shippunden there is nothing mature about their relation.
Juugo is interesting (impulse VS good heart); but he is just a different version of Naruto VS Kyubi.
There are other secondary characters that I find far more interesting, more originals, and I will love to see more of them: NEJI, KAKASHI, Rock Lee. Also a bit more of Hinata, Shino, Choji, Karin…
hey spirit nice blog i like it!! and becoming an author in like 1 hour!!! how did that happen? but i have mixed feelings about the blog 2 like some other ppl, kurinia is having a baby, you cant have that much spotlight for someone that is pregnant, her having sex with asuma is enough spotlight, thats just my opinion, but anyways good blog!! CONGRATS
alrighty ladies and gents, lets show some respect to a Spirit. This isnt the section nor the time to voice your opinions about anything else BESIDES the blog. That is what the Shout box is for. Spirit is part of the Shannaro family, so i would appriciate it if everyone would show him the warm welcome he deserves.
moving on to the blog……….
great job on the post. very well written and articulated. i love how you shine the light on characters that dont get that much screen time (very thoughtful). Hopefully the next blog wont be so controversial (kukukukukukukukuku). just kidding (hopefully).
I wanna see Konahamaru getting super strong and make some good moves in the future, it would awesome if he becomes a skilled ninja.
jugo and kuranei kik ass
but shes pregnant
jugo needs more spotlight
he ownz with his curse mark transformation
Its a popular effect in all literature. Alot of interpersonal time is done off scene so only the contributive interactions take up the reader’s/viewer’s time.
Conrats Spirit,this is a great first blog.
It seems that some guys are jealous.
interesting theories spirit but I only have one quarrel with you. I can respect this post as a good one and one that has potential to be great but … WHY THE HELL ARE YOU AN AUTHOR BEFORE ME! I BEEN HERE LONGER AND WROTE MORE! MAN THIS IS UNFAIR. gj btw.
well I actually like this blog screw everyone….. and Chaos, Spirit became an author cause he/she is kickass , and have you ever thought about maybe upping your kickass level j/p but not really seriously you are kickass Chaos and as for you Spirit keep on keeping on
I think that in the future Konohamaru plays a bigger role, when he grow up.
He´s the grandson of 3th and can use multiple sexy jutsus.
So much potentia
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