Characters’ lives would change throughout the series, producing memorable and heartbreaking stories along the way. As brilliant as the series was, Naruto had plenty of flaws that even die-hard fans couldn’t ignore.
Masashi Kishimoto began the series with little thought as to the future of its characters. This led to more than a few inconsistencies for its 700-plus episode run as an anime.
Where opportunity lies, those with enough creative insight will fire off savage memes. This is ironically great for fandom, and the promotion of Naruto itself. Sometimes the fans got a little harsh, but overall the memes provided a good laugh and a deeper look at the series.
From common catchphrases to delicate foot moves, here are the 15 Savage Naruto Memes Only True Fans Will Understand.
It's All In The Feet
Ignoring the similarities between Orochimaru and Michael Jackson, this savage Naruto meme attacks Kishimoto once again for his love of pop culture.
There have been countless fandom scripts, stories, and artificial letters regarding the topic. However, if you ignore that noise for just a moment, you’ll see that Kishimoto is paying his respect to another artist whom he admired.
Naturally, it would be Kakashi who would be the influencer of the infamous footwork. The similarities are especially shocking if you watch the MJ scene in slow motion because it’s all about the chakra.
How someone wants to use their chakra is entirely up to them-- whether it be healing, looking younger, fighting, or working on those slick dance moves. Next to the Naruto run, the Jackson side-step should be a classic fandom move. Is anyone willing to start a trend?
Like, What Is A Naruto?
Explaining anime to non-anime fans can be interesting but also extremely frustrating-- even when referring to the third most popular manga in the world. Such a conversation leaves us feeling exactly like The Rock in this savage Naruto meme.
The older the generations get, the harder it is to explain. However, surprisingly, there are some millennials out there who are still in the dark.
The days of comic books dominating the movie and geek scene are numbered. Fads only last so long before they become irrelevant, and, likely, anime isn’t going anywhere.
Anime will only become more popular and mainstream within the next few years. So, help those who don’t know. You can still look at them funny but do your part-- help educate those who have been living under a rock for the last decade.
Dattebayo! Filler!
We love Naruto and all it provided for us over the years. However, every true fan knows that the filler episodes were a bit much. While not all of them were bad (some were great), it seemed like massive amounts of time passed before the storyline got back on track.
Between 2002 and 2007, Naruto was made up of 43% filler. So, out of 220 episodes, 94 of them were considered filler, or almost half of them during five years.
This savage meme plays off the filler travesty, spinning a quote Kakashi told Naruto during the first anime season: “Those who betray the ninja rules are trash — but those who betray their comrades are lower than trash.” Let’s hope that Kishimoto and Ukyō Kodachi don’t make the same mistakes for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
Alternate Reality
Writers and illustrators find inspiration from the oddest of sources, transforming those original concepts into their own personal work of art. While many Naruto fans are aware of Kishimoto’s fascination with The Matrix movies, this meme exploits another source of inspiration.
Orochimaru was always trying to destroy Konoha, yet he did it in a true Butt-Head manner. One could mistake him ordering Ramen rather than trying to take over the world.
Butt-Head has striking similarities to Orochimaru, plus he’s not a big talker. Naruto, on the other hand, can’t shut up. He also has a similar hair style to Beavis. Perhaps in this new alternate reality, Naruto would run around shouting “yeah, yeah, eh-eh-eh,” instead of "Dattebayo!"
Better yet, what if the two phrases were combined? How many Naruto fans would watch that?
Never Give Up!
Poor Sakura. It took over 700 episodes before Naruto fans were given the chance to see her in a different light. However, her past is hard to get rid of, and this savage Naruto meme isn’t going anywhere.
For the true Sakura fans, however, rewards for their loyalty and diligence towards her character paid off. She and Sasuke finally got married, and she caught up to Tsunade regarding healing skills. In Boruto: Naruto's Next Generations, she’s a cool mom with an even cooler daughter.
For the longest time, Kishimoto didn’t know what to do with her character. He has even admitted this several times during interviews in the past. This lack of direction led many to question what Sakura’s purpose was and why she was in the story.
Playing off of these feelings and wide spreading fan theories, the Sakura memes flooded the internet.
Striking Similarities
Mike Judge and Greg Daniels took American cartoon fans by storm in the early '90s with the cult classic show King of the Hill. Fascinated with American television and movies, it would seem that Kishimoto not only borrowed from The Matrix, Japanese folklore, and Beavis and Butthead — but King of the Hill too.
Not that Naruto fans were complaining because Kakashi Hatake is by far one of the coolest characters created in the Naruto franchise.
While some of these statements within this savage meme might be an exaggeration, others are on point. Our favorite is the father figure to a young blond-haired boy.
Add in the fan theory that Bobby isn’t Hank’s biological child, and this meme becomes even more hilarious. We wonder if Kakashi’s father would look like Bill Dauterive.
Forgotten Skills
The training that Naruto received from Jiraiya was supposed to be a huge game-changer regarding his skill level and character arc. However, for the true Naruto fans who diligently watched his two-plus years of training, there didn’t seem to be much summoning going on.
Instead, Naruto continued to rely on his deviant jutsu technique, shadow clones, and Rasengan. While he summoned his frog once in a while, it seemed like a last resort for him, So, what was the point of taking two years to learn the technique?
If summoning slugs was cool, why wasn’t summoning frogs? After all, they are quite similar to one another. Perhaps, Naruto felt that his frog was showing him up. Being the lead character, maybe he was jealous and wanted to keep his number one spot.
Battle Between Friends
Teams on Naruto had different levels of combatants who needed to work together in order to be successful during missions. While each team member had a specific role, Team 7 and Team 10 were often criticized because of Sakura and Ino.
Interestingly enough, both were originally close friends. This savage meme takes their weakness to a whole new level, pitting them against each other in a classic BFF fight.
The fight takes place in episode 42 and is referred to as “The Ultimate Battle: Cha!” Once again, Kishimoto can’t make up his mind, so he has both girls eliminate one another in a final punch, taking them both out of the finals. Would the storyline have been different if Sakura had won against Ino? Sadly, we’ll never know.
Naruto Vs. Dragon Ball
The fandoms of Naruto and Dragon Ball have been at each other’s throats regarding which anime is better since Naruto first hit the television screens across the globe-- similar to the debates regarding Pokémon vs. Digimon.
While the controversy has increased the popularity of both franchises in question, it has also helped the controversy itself take on a life form of its own.
Naruto fans claim superiority over the debate, and the argument is compelling. From having better female characters to avoiding time manipulation and alternate realities, Naruto clearly edges out over Dragon Ball as the more well-rounded anime.
However, if the only topic up for discussion is fight scenes, then Dragon Ball would have the advantage over Naruto. Naruto was more consistent with its storytelling, though, so we wonder why the debate still lives on.
Fandom Crisis
Itachi Uchiha caused quite a stir when he first made his appearance in Naruto. The fandom was split on whether or not they liked him.
A majority of female fans were quick to light a flame under his character, while male fans seemed indifferent over his actions. However, all this was about to be flipped upside down when he went from evil villain to savior.
Whether or not you agree with Itachi’s decision, it doesn’t really matter. His character arc was one of the most brilliantly written within the whole Naruto franchise.
Love or hate him, Itachi will forever be one of the greatest characters that Kishimoto created. As for the fangirls who flipped sides, history loves to repeat itself. This will undoubtedly lead to future Boruto: Naruto Next Generations memes.
Weird Kids
Remember your first school dance? Yeah, we’d rather not either. It’s an awkward time in everyone’s childhood, which is why this savage Naruto meme is so hilarious. Add in that this was the first time anyone had landed a hit on Gaara (done by Rock Lee), and you’ll never see the fight in the same light again.
The fight between Gaara and Rock Lee took place during the Chūnin Exams. Similar to kids at a middle school dance, they awkwardly stumbled around one another-- much like it was their first fight or something.
Rock Lee isn’t known for being the most graceful fighter either. His style is his own. The only thing that could make this savage meme even better would be to have other characters doing the Naruto run in the background.
Those Who Influence
One reason Naruto reached its massive levels of popularity is because of how Kishimoto allowed others to influence Naruto (and vice versa). Becoming the clear and identifiable center of attention, the supporting cast did exactly what they should do in a well told story-- they supported and were supported by the protagonist.
Then there's Sasuke. No one knows for sure how the infamous kiss between Naruto and Sasuke helped the storyline. Nor can anyone explain the continued callbacks to it as the series progressed.
However, we do know that it is the most referenced moment within the entire Naruto franchise. In other words, if you’re uncertain as to what moment is being talked about here — it might be time to admit that you’re not a true fan of Naruto.
No Sage Mode?!
For one to enter Sage Mode, the individual must remain still. This is because they have to be one with nature and balance themselves, which allows the natural energy to merge with their own physical and spiritual energies.
The person's body also needs to be strong enough to support this increased power. Orochimaru did not have a strong enough body, even though he was the one who discovered the Ryūchi Cave.
Maybe if he had gone the frog route, instead of choosing a snake, it might have been easier for him. However, there most likely isn’t anyone who wanted to watch a frog on frog fight.
Orochimaru’s weakness did, however, provide the storyline with an interesting twist, and it’s not as if Jiraiya and Tsunade didn’t have weird characteristics and traits either.
Dabbed Out
Because of Naruto being classified a Shōnen manga series, most assume that it is only aimed at a young audience. This misconception often takes place because Americans don’t have a realistic grasp on Japanese culture.
Naruto had more than a few deviant themes sprinkled throughout it. From Jiraiya’s hobbies and Naruto’s special transformation technique, to some really interesting facial expressions.
This savage Naruto meme plays off of those strange facial expressions, bringing a whole new depth and meaning to them.
While this is just a fan theory we can make fun of, a deeper look into the series might surprise you-- we already know that Kishimoto was heavy into pop culture, so it really shouldn’t come as a shock if he was referencing another popular “growing” trend taking place in America.
What A Drag
Shikamaru Nara is a shinobi belonging to the Konohagakure’s Nara clan. His character is well known for being extremely lazy, but highly intelligent. Even in the new Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, his son Shikadai Nara acts exactly like him.
We’ve all had that one friend who becomes a contradiction of a stereotype. This is Shikamaru. His goal in life was to live unremarkably, wishing to pass on in the same manner. He also considers himself a coward. However, he always steps up to the plate when he's needed.
Shikamaru is the most chill character within the Naruto franchise and sees everything as "such a drag." Though he doesn't do much, he's always a big help to the team.
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Do you know of any other savage Naruto memes? Link to them in the comment section and share the fun!
