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Masashi Kishimoto is infamous for unfairly sidelining characters with immense potential, leading to an endless list of characters with disappointing arcs. Even the extra stories, or shinden, cover the lives of characters like Itachi and Shikamaru, who have had substantial screen time in the canon storyline. There are manyNarutocharacters who would benefit significantly from some attention from the mangaka.
Of all the characters who were introduced in the originalNaruto, only a few were relevant besides the central trio and Shikamaru. While all the teams suffered badly, Team Kurenai received the shortest end of the stick as not a single member from that team was relevant.
While Hinata was reduced to her role of the love interest and Shino remained a side character, Kiba had some great moments and potential. His character arc deserved a better conclusion.
Here’s another addition to the list of characters who were sidelined inNaruto
Kiba Inuzuka was a member of Team 8 along with Hinata and Shino. In the original series, he had interesting fights with his contemporaries and those way ahead of his league. He performed extremely well in all those fights. His fighting style was dependent on Akamaru, his nin-dog.
Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto’s Mishandling of One of the Most Broken Kekkei Genkai Is a War Crime
He could do everything from tracking an opponent, as a result of his heightened senses, to keeping them at a distance with hand-to-hand combat. Theonly reason he lost against Naruto during the Chunin Examswas due to his overconfidence and Naruto’s plot armor. During Sasuke Retrieval mission, he was up against Sakon and Ukon, the sibling duo of extremely strong Sound Shinobi.
Yet, Kiba managed to stall them long enough. He was even willing to die to save Akamaru in that fight, which was heroic, to say the least. It was admirable that he would go to such an extent for Akamaru. Plus, he cared deeply about his peers as he asked Hinata to be cautious of Gaara and Neji during the duels in the Chunin Exams.
Masashi Kishimoto could easily give Kiba a better send-off
Masashi Kishimotodidn’t let Kiba shine in any way. His role was reduced to comic relief, but the worst part about his character arc was the gag that his dream was made out to be. It was pretty clear that Kiba wouldn’t become the Hokage, as this Reddit post points out.
Even though there were no chances of Kiba’s dream becoming a reality, there were many different ways to resolve that plotline. An exploration of whether Kiba felt incompetent or weak would have been a good addition. Another way in which Kiba could have been sent off honorably was by showing how he came to terms with the fact that his dream will never be fulfilled.
Even though his character development throughoutNarutowas negative, his conclusion inShippudencould have easily improved the final interactions fans had with the character. This is not just true for Kiba, but many characters should have had a better conclusion inNaruto. A shinden based on him could easily resolve al these issues.
Narutois available to stream on Netflix.
Laveena Joshi
Anime Writer
Articles Published :926
Laveena is an anime content writer at FandomWire. Having written more than 800 articles, she’s an expert in mainstream shonen series, ranging from the bizarre world of JoJo’s to the expansive worldbuilding of One Piece.With her formal education in Journalism and Mass Communication, she explores entertainment journalism through the lens of anime and manga, from mainstream and classic titles to niche and obscure ones.
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