The Will of Fire, Grand heroism vs Personal resolution
Naruto in fact preaches against heroism, self-sacrifice and ego death despite the fact that it romanticizes it a lot. Itachi lives in complete solitude hated by the very people he has spent his life protecting. His fanbase loves him for it and hates Sasuke for lashing out against the leaf village. It's funny, Itachi is a very rare phenomenon, where a character is the most beloved within a series, yet is misunderstood by 95% of it's fanbase. Itachi's way of life is very clearly condemned by the writer.
Generations of people have sacrificed themselves for the concept of the leaf village. The fanbase praises them, but Kishimoto intended for them to be tragic failures. Hashirama killed his best friend, Minato ruined the life of his child, Itachi ruined his own life and the life of his brother, Hiruzen gave his life to merely nerf Orochimaru, his own student, whose corruption he was partially responsible for...
They were all fools... And then Naruto come's along to vindicate all of them. Naruto succeeding feels so good because it gives meaning to the sacrifices generations of people have made for a system that only encourages more sacrifice. They very well could've all died in vain. Naruto could've failed at any moment in the show, and all the people who entrusted him with their lives would've died for nothing. I believe Kishimoto isn't trying to say: "Hashirama was right, Madara was wrong". I believe he is trying to say "Naruto made Hashirama right". Hashirama very well could've been wrong, the cycle of hatred might've never been broken, after all he himself couldn't end it. There's a world where the leaf ninja kept sacrificing themselves, only for peace to never come.
Naruto didn't change anything, he didn't change the system, he simply ended the unnecessary conflicts within his own personal life. He is called the child of prophecy, but that is really an insult to his character, he never tried to be the savior of the world (like Madara), he simply bore the burden his predecessors left him with. Naruto simply "did his part".
The Will of Fire isn't necessarily correct, it is just a framework to show the virtue of fighting for your bonds.
Naruto isn't the second coming of Jesus, he is just a really good friend.
I think the Will of Fire an awful ideology. IMO the show doesn't at all state the will of fire to be "the correct ideology", it is more abstract than that, it simply solidifies the importance of fighting for bonds.
Naruto in fact preaches against heroism, self-sacrifice and ego death despite the fact that it romanticizes it a lot. Itachi lives in complete solitude hated by the very people he has spent his life protecting. His fanbase loves him for it and hates Sasuke for lashing out against the leaf village. It's funny, Itachi is a very rare phenomenon, where a character is the most beloved within a series, yet is misunderstood by 95% of it's fanbase. Itachi's way of life is very clearly condemned by the writer.
Generations of people have sacrificed themselves for the concept of the leaf village. The fanbase praises them, but Kishimoto intended for them to be tragic failures. Hashirama killed his best friend, Minato ruined the life of his child, Itachi ruined his own life and the life of his brother, Hiruzen gave his life to merely nerf Orochimaru, his own student, whose corruption he was partially responsible for...
They were all fools... And then Naruto come's along to vindicate all of them. Naruto succeeding feels so good because it gives meaning to the sacrifices generations of people have made for a system that only encourages more sacrifice. They very well could've all died in vain. Naruto could've failed at any moment in the show, and all the people who entrusted him with their lives would've died for nothing. I believe Kishimoto isn't trying to say: "Hashirama was right, Madara was wrong". I believe he is trying to say "Naruto made Hashirama right". Hashirama very well could've been wrong, the cycle of hatred might've never been broken, after all he himself couldn't end it. There's a world where the leaf ninja kept sacrificing themselves, only for peace to never come.
Naruto didn't change anything, he didn't change the system, he simply ended the unnecessary conflicts within his own personal life. He is called the child of prophecy, but that is really an insult to his character, he never tried to be the savior of the world (like Madara), he simply bore the burden his predecessors left him with. Naruto simply "did his part".
The Will of Fire isn't necessarily correct, it is just a framework to show the virtue of fighting for your bonds.
Naruto isn't the second coming of Jesus, he is just a really good friend.
