Masashi Kishimoto is a hack writer.

[Kitsune Hunter]

I wouldn't call Kishimoto a hack, I mean as everyone said already, Naruto has been going on for a long time so of course it's going to be stale, but I think the main problem is that Kishi didn't take time to think about how strong he should have made Madara and how it would all end.

He should have taken a page from Togashi, as much as I hate it when he constantly goes on hiatus, it gives him time to think and plan out what to do next, which is probably why he took so many during the Chimera Ant arc in Hunter X Hunter in order come up with the best way to end the arc

Spoiler: HxH spoilers

Meruem, the Chimera Ant King who is the most powerful character in the series, is killed off by poison from a nuclear bomb by Chairmen Netero, the strongest Hunter in the world who fails to kill him with his own power. This was probably the best way to end it especially with the deep undertones of human nature and how people usually deal with an insect infestation, with poison, and to those who may have been pissed off about it, how the King spends his final moments more than made up for it

I thought the author for HxH was sick?

God only knows, some say it's because of sickness, others say that he's playing Dragon Quest, but given that a new Dragon Quest has come out recently, I'd say it's the latter

 

[game-lover]

Sooo... we had this little discussion about a month ago, about wheter or not Naruto was hated, and I answered that the reason I (and I suspect a lot of other people) dislike the series, is because it's become increasingly poorly written.

Well, guess what? Kishimoto just came out during the Shonen Jump held Jump Festa event, and admited that he had no f***ing clue how the main character is supposed to be able to defeat the main villain. He's out of ideas...

What. A. Piece. Of. Crap.

He's written himself into a corner, made his beloved Uchiha God Mode Sue too powerful, and now he's realised what every other person on the planet has: the main character can't win. This is worse than Aizen in Bleach, and will probably share that series retarded pre-timeskip conclusion as well...

Why did I ever even like this series?

What was wrong with the Aizen battle?! I mean, if it was rather quick and maybe anticlimactic, then sure. I get that. My brother agrees. I do a little too.

But I'd hardly call the conclusion so lame. Kubo had a plan for how Ichigo would win. A super awesome power-up that would have a big price. A very big price. Said price just happen to kick in at an inopportune time. And the rest? Well, that last factor should be somewhat expected too, I think. It's not like there couldn't have been a lead up.

 

[NiPah]

So at some fan event in Japan a fan asks how the main character could ever kill the evil bad guy.
And the author laughing replies he has no idea?
Color me surprised that the author didn't reveal how he plans to finish the manga.
Does this make him a hack writer? No, just means he's not an idiot who spoils the ending because a fan wants a mathematical formula for how character A can possible beat character B.
Yes the manga will have an ending (when sales numbers start to go down), and I'm guessing the author knows exactly how too, so yeah...

 

[Scars Unseen]

Well, in defence, any series that goes on for this long is bond to suck. You can't really hold that against it, can you?

Is there any long running manga/anime that has a satisfying ending?

...

Exactly!

It's possible to have a long running manga not suck. Berserk has been running since 1990 and is still awesome. The difference? Despite having run for 9 years longer, Berserk only has 37 volumes in comparison to Naruto's 67. Seems like taking your time can potentially turn out better results...

 

[deathbydeath]

I doubt he's a hack for that particular reason. That's just what happens when you have a massively long overhyped serial like Naruto. If you ask me, Kishimoto should just read Worm [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/] and copy the ending there, with appropriate adjustments.

Admittedly I haven't been paying attention to Naruto for years now and I think it's been terrible since the Chunin Exams arc, but that's my two cents so ... go read Worm or something.

 

[deathbydeath]

It's possible to have a long running manga not suck. Berserk has been running since 1990 and is still awesome. The difference? Despite having run for 9 years longer, Berserk only has 37 volumes in comparison to Naruto's 67. Seems like taking your time can potentially turn out better results...

Actually Berserk's had a noticeable dip in quality since Conviction. Bear in mind it hasn't crossed the 'shit threshold' yet, but it still isn't what it once was.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Well, in defence, any series that goes on for this long is bond to suck. You can't really hold that against it, can you?

Is there any long running manga/anime that has a satisfying ending?

...

Exactly!

It's possible to have a long running manga not suck. Berserk has been running since 1990 and is still awesome. The difference? Despite having run for 9 years longer, Berserk only has 37 volumes in comparison to Naruto's 67. Seems like taking your time can potentially turn out better results...

Oh man, did you just open a can of worms!

I love Berserk, it's one of the best things I've ever read, displaying some of the best comicbook art I've ever seen, but after volume 22 that series started to slide down the slope. And when the Berserk armour got introduced it took a serious hit. And apart from that, other things have crept into the story that the series used to be above, like harem shenanigans and filler.

It lost its edge, which isn't surprising seeing as it's been running for 24 years -- No one can stay on the ball for that long. Miura has likely made the story too big and epic for its own good. The bigger it gets the more time it needs to allow all those setpieces to breath and develop adequately. But now all the "epic" seems to be snowballing out of control.

Miura is also getting old and probably tired of working on this fucking thing for so long.

This is a series I see either ending poorly or not at all.

 

[LegendaryVKickr]

What I find more problematic with Naruto at the moment is that it has been non-stop war for...how many chapters now? I had the same problem with the Arrancar fights in Bleach. Basically, the story has been...uhm...let's see. Ah! Since chapter 515. So 145 friggin' chapters now since the war began. That's just under 1/4 of the entire manga! I don't like constant fighting and the drama of the characters that inevitably goes with it.

SERIOUSLY!? Every now and then I hit up the manga online to read and catch up, and you're telling me the war is that damn long? I last read a Naruto manga a year and a half ago and the war was just about to start. That's ridiculous...No story arc needs to be that freaking long.

I mean, I like Naruto, but it's really unreasonable to expect me to fully devote myself to anything for so long. I prefer shorter mangas like FMA or Death Note. At least those don't drag on for ages past their expiration date.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Sooo... we had this little discussion about a month ago, about wheter or not Naruto was hated, and I answered that the reason I (and I suspect a lot of other people) dislike the series, is because it's become increasingly poorly written.

Well, guess what? Kishimoto just came out during the Shonen Jump held Jump Festa event, and admited that he had no f***ing clue how the main character is supposed to be able to defeat the main villain. He's out of ideas...

What. A. Piece. Of. Crap.

He's written himself into a corner, made his beloved Uchiha God Mode Sue too powerful, and now he's realised what every other person on the planet has: the main character can't win. This is worse than Aizen in Bleach, and will probably share that series retarded pre-timeskip conclusion as well...

Why did I ever even like this series?

That...actually explains a lot. I've been following Naruto since the beginning, and when the War started, I was super excited. Finally we could get to see other characters doing things and not just Naruto shouting at his enemies that his feelings are right and theirs are wrong.
Yeah...that lasted for about thirty minutes into the war, and then boom! Naruto shows up and...starts shouting at the first boss about how his feelings are wrong and Naruto's not going to lose and blah blah blah...we've heard it before. And surprise, surprise, Naruto's plan of attack works on Tobi.
But then Madara showed up. And I rolled my eyes so hard I pulled a muscle. Great, I thought. We've hit that level now. Characters that are so powerful they are no longer fun to watch and their attacks no longer mean anything, like DBZ. "Oh, you can destroy a mountain? I can destroy two mountains." What does it matter anymore at that point? When your character can survive an attack that should have turned him into a greasy smear on the ground, the trees, and the very air (when all nine Tailed Beasts attacked Madara at once) and all you come away with is a small scratch on your forehead, you are no longer interesting. You're not even a character. You are just a plot device.
Sadly, Naruto himself has hit this point as well. He had, for lack of a better term, leveled up so much that there's nothing left. He has nothing left to push himself with or grow because of. Look me in the eye and tell me that, if Naruto went full out, Sasuke would stand even the smallest chance.

So yeah, I feel your pain. This guy used a formula for one arch (Zabuza's) of the story and just kept recycling it. Naruto gives enemy a serious case of guilt trip, enemy attacks and nearly beats Naruto, Naruto uses "GUTS! It's Super Effective!", bad guy has a change of heart and repents before dying/admitting defeat. This has been used so many times, with enemies that kept getting stronger and stronger, that he literally had to come up with an object for Naruto to fight. Madara is that object.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Pft, ending Naruto is easy. It's going to pretty much happen one of two ways.

Sasuke dies. Naruto gets his eyes (because Madara just proved instant transplants are totally a thing) which totally instantly evolve into the rinnegan because uber-plot-hax-no-jutsu and Naruto then uses Kyuubi-Sage-Mode-Rinnegan-Susano'o-all-element-amaterasu-rasengan-bijuudama-kamehameha-no-jutsu.

Or he ends it the same way he ends every fight. Talk-no-Jutsu into friendship-no-jutsu.

... or possibly the first followed by the second.

Either way Naruto then becomes ninja jesus and lives happily ever after, albeit getting none from Sakura while continuing to friendzone Hinata.

Kishi can have that one for half my usual rate.

Ha! That's great. I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed Naruto literally talks all but one of his enemies 'to death.' There's a reason the fight against Kakazu is my favorite...

If I could make a small adjustment: Hinata uses gentle fist style on Naruto when she slaps him after he leads her on for so long, then storms off to find a man who actually appreciates all she does.

 

[TheEvilGenius]

I see a few people in here saying long-running series are always lackluster. My response; One Piece & Hajime no Ippo. *drops mic and walks out*

Seriously, though, I gave up on Naruto years ago. Then I got back into it because I think someone may have been slipping hallucinogens into my drinks. Now I gave up on it again. It's just bad. Really, REALLY bad. It hit its high point during the Chuunin exams and hasn't recovered. Bleach... actually pissed me off. Kubo had the best possible ending for that series after the Aizen fight. Then... Fullbringers. *sigh*

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

On the solving 'how on earth are they going to beat this villain?' problems...we have Nox from Wakfu.

Spoiler: ZOMG SPOILERS

Nox wins, he drains the life force of an entire race to power his machine, and uses all the collected energies he's amassed over 200 years to go back in time...'twenty miserable minutes!'. he'd been developed well enough that while it was clear he was out of his mind, he seemed to think he was doing 'good in the long run' as it were...so when his master plan doesn't work due to his misunderstanding temporal physics, he...corrects what little he can and then...gives up. The protagonist, the only one who knows what actually happened, tells his friends to just let Nox go, since it's over.

Nox is one of the best villains I've ever seen, ever. Just because he had such a complicated backstory and motivation. Looking awesome didn't hurt, either.

Nox was my personal favourite too, he seemed like a real fleshed out and fresh type of villain.

There's also qilby but his story felt a little out of place compared to Nox's and Nox's backstory felt more dramatic and easier to indentify with.

 

[Artina89]

This is why I really like Death Note. The anime and the manga never overstayed its welcome in my opinion. I used to really like Bleach, especially the season 1 opening theme by Orange range, but in the end I found it really confusing and hard to follow, so in the end I gave up on it. If it ever does end though, I will try and get into it again.

 

[Flunk]

Sooo... we had this little discussion about a month ago, about wheter or not Naruto was hated, and I answered that the reason I (and I suspect a lot of other people) dislike the series, is because it's become increasingly poorly written.

Well, guess what? Kishimoto just came out during the Shonen Jump held Jump Festa event, and admited that he had no f***ing clue how the main character is supposed to be able to defeat the main villain. He's out of ideas...

What. A. Piece. Of. Crap.

He's written himself into a corner, made his beloved Uchiha God Mode Sue too powerful, and now he's realised what every other person on the planet has: the main character can't win. This is worse than Aizen in Bleach, and will probably share that series retarded pre-timeskip conclusion as well...

Why did I ever even like this series?

Oh he'll just go on a quest to meet the never-before heard-of super-master of ultimate power who will train him in the art of super destruction fire quest technique. He's pulled that out so many times so far he'll eventually pull it back out again. Or maybe the other guy has a secret weakness that turns him weak and easy to beat, although that would make Naruto look bad. Heck they could even have it so that the villain is secretly in love with X minor character and only their love can turn them away from the evil. Those are all very hacky answers to this problem and I'm sure he'll pick one eventually.

I gave up on this series years ago because it's just so repetitive. I honestly think he still draws it because it's popular and not because he gives a damn anymore (or ever did in the first place).

 

[Mangod]

Sooo... we had this little discussion about a month ago, about wheter or not Naruto was hated, and I answered that the reason I (and I suspect a lot of other people) dislike the series, is because it's become increasingly poorly written.

Well, guess what? Kishimoto just came out during the Shonen Jump held Jump Festa event, and admited that he had no f***ing clue how the main character is supposed to be able to defeat the main villain. He's out of ideas...

What. A. Piece. Of. Crap.

He's written himself into a corner, made his beloved Uchiha God Mode Sue too powerful, and now he's realised what every other person on the planet has: the main character can't win. This is worse than Aizen in Bleach, and will probably share that series retarded pre-timeskip conclusion as well...

Why did I ever even like this series?

What was wrong with the Aizen battle?! I mean, if it was rather quick and maybe anticlimactic, then sure. I get that. My brother agrees. I do a little too.

But I'd hardly call the conclusion so lame. Kubo had a plan for how Ichigo would win. A super awesome power-up that would have a big price. A very big price. Said price just happen to kick in at an inopportune time. And the rest? Well, that last factor should be somewhat expected too, I think. It's not like there couldn't have been a lead up.

This is just me speaking personally, but I felt that the final showdown between Ichigo and Butterflaizen was a cop-out. I was expecting something like, I dunno, Ichigo and his buddies catching up to the villain, in full God Mode, and after getting toyed with, Orihime finally lashes out at Aizen. Since the Hogyoku and Orihime's powers boil down to

they'd cancel each other out, and Aizen, getting caught in the crossfire between two diametrically opposing forces who're both trying to rewrite reality, gets busted down from full on God to mortal again. The gang gets up, throw everything they have left at him, and in the end, Ichigo kills/K.Os/puts Aizen into a coma or whatever.

It just felt like... instead of tying back to what we've been shown previously, of the characters and what they can do, Kubo just gave Ichigo a magical powerboost. How? Wizards, that's how!

It just felt like a letdown...

What I find more problematic with Naruto at the moment is that it has been non-stop war for...how many chapters now? I had the same problem with the Arrancar fights in Bleach. Basically, the story has been...uhm...let's see. Ah! Since chapter 515. So 145 friggin' chapters now since the war began. That's just under 1/4 of the entire manga! I don't like constant fighting and the drama of the characters that inevitably goes with it.

SERIOUSLY!? Every now and then I hit up the manga online to read and catch up, and you're telling me the war is that damn long? I last read a Naruto manga a year and a half ago and the war was just about to start. That's ridiculous...No story arc needs to be that freaking long.

I mean, I like Naruto, but it's really unreasonable to expect me to fully devote myself to anything for so long. I prefer shorter mangas like FMA or Death Note. At least those don't drag on for ages past their expiration date.

Are they still on Namek?!

 

[FalloutJack]

Ah, well you see, that is why I made the decision to hate Naruto like it was Final Fantasy 8, because it's bad like that.

(DISCLAIMER: As I have gone into that on BOTH sides numerous times, I will only explain by request. It gets verbose.)

 

[DarthSka]

I was a huge Naruto fan during my high school years, and that carried over into college too. Now, I'm still a fan, but I don't indulge in it nearly as much as I used to. I've limited it to reading the newest chapter each week, and watching it on Toonami if I'm still awake. I'm hoping it will end soon, not because I don't like it, but because I don't see how they can take it anywhere meaningful after this huge war against such powerhouses like Madara. Just let him be Hokage, make some Naruto Jr's, and move on.

 

[Vausch]

Well, in defence, any series that goes on for this long is bond to suck. You can't really hold that against it, can you?

Is there any long running manga/anime that has a satisfying ending?

...

Exactly!

Would you consider FMA long running? Because the ending to the manga left me feeling quite satisfied.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Hehe, I remember back in 2003, back when nobody in America knew of Naruto, "holy crap, this ninja anime is really good!" we said. It was, it was.


I haven't kept with whatever happened after the 4 tails fight with Orochimaru in shippuuden, episode 90something, I'll eventually get back to it. I think that 2 year filler stretch between the timeskip kinda killed it for me. I do have a ton of fond memories of the series and of playing imported ps2 naruto fighting games back 10 years ago with my friends so I still have a spot in my heart for that original Japanese-language series with a whiny brat and no super saiyans.

 

[Hard-Target]

Years ago i stopped watching anime all together. I do keep up with a few manga but i don't read nowhere near as much as i did during my teens. That said naruto was one of the ones i used to fallow. I kept up with it all the way up to when they set out to rescue Sousuke the first time. After that *poof* i just stopped caring about the series. No reason really. I just dropped the series like it was hot coal. After i found out about all the hate the series seemed to get i felt liked i dogged a bullet honestly.

Now on to the topic, i do agree with most here that Kishi seems to be a competent enough writer that got pushed in over his head before he was ready. The early story lines were enjoyable from what i remember and some of the fights were clever. It takes a lot of talent to be able to maintain a piece of fiction for such a long time though, especially on a format that requires so much of your time and effort on a week to week bases. I feel that he should have ended the series while he still had a say on the matter, so he could develop his skills better before attempting such a level of commitment to his work.

i think that Long-runners like One Piece, Berserk, and Hajime No Ippo had an easier time maintaining their quality because there is a better sense of pace and scale. In One Piece it's not just the characters that are developed but the world itself as well. Each character, environment, and major event given is deeply rooted into the lore of the universe and the history behind it. We see different countries, cultures, and ideas clash and affect the characters.

Ippo and Berserk on the other hand are more about the career/life of the characters. Both series expand through the years of their respective leads. We see Guts from the moment of his birth, to his teens and early 20's as a member of the Hawks, to his mid to late 30's as the black swordsman. In Ippo's case we watch him go from a meek high school student to a world class level boxer in the span of a decade in story.

Kishimoto doesn't seem to be sure how to handle such a level of narrative....