Naruto had always been a chidhood staple of mine. It was the first anime that introduced me to this whole wide world that all of us here live in now. It was also the first manga that I ever read (due to getting impatient because of the filler). So I guess it's fitting that my first review would also be this one.

Story :
The story as a whole was good, maybe because the pacing wasn't hindered by endless filler as compared to the anime. But I did caught myself skipping several panels as I read through the chapters. This didn't affect my overall experience though as I was still able to follow along the story despite ignoring a few details. That could be good or bad, depending on who you ask, but to the casual reader, I guess it would help out a lot. The latter arcs was big moment after big moment and sometimes that didn't really resonate well with me. But there were some moments that I consider the best in the series.

Art :
The art was good and easy on the eyes. The battles and the flow of the scenes was easy to follow and understand. The art itself improved as the story continued especially the scenery during the battles was quite nice to look at. I don't really have any gripe with Kishimoto's art style as I feel it is quite polished and appropriate for the manga medium.

Characters :
The most developed character by the end of the series is Naruto. As the titular hero of the manga, that wasn't a shock. However, some of my fondest moments in Naruto were among the supporting group of cast. The early chapters were a great showcase of the world of Naruto and getting to know the stories of the other characters felt like we were experiencing a whole world. This sadly diminished as the story progressed, understandibly so, as the story started to highlight Naruto. But it was still disappointing to lose the spotlight on some of the lesser known characters I grew to love.

Enjoyment:
I will admit that most of my experiences watching/reading Naruto was when I was still a kid, so this might be more influenced by rose-colored glasses than anything else in tgis review. I doubt I will ever be able to mimic that experince if I decide to reread the series now. But I don't mind as I will always have an appreciation of Naruto no matter what.

Overall :
Overall the story of Naruto is one of the better stories I had experienced, it might not be everybody's cup of tea. But that is the appeal of manga in my eyes, as there is something for everyone. As my childhood was heavily influenced by Naruto, I have heaped a lot of praise on it. But I am aware it is not perfect. There are some aspects that could have been done differently and perhaps would have helped the story. But, without Naruto, I wouldn't have probably made this review in the first place.