Reflection and Analysis

Naruto - Should Naruto Be Hokage? (8/13/2019)

MAL originally.

No.

The above answer is the conclusion I've come to, yet one of the manners in which I will go into this is by pointing utilizing some of the arguments I've seen regarding why some people Naruto should be Hokage.

The fact he ended up Hokage is a forgone conclusion because we're told at the very beginning this is Naruto's wish.

The problem with this argument comes down to Show, Don't Tell. While it is true that we were constantly told by the narrative that Naruto would become Hokage we were never shown by the narrative he would become Hokage. Let me correct this by saying, yes, there were things like gaining Tsunade's necklace which originally belonged to the first which showed in the narrative he would become Hokage, but giving the reader context clues something will happen is not the same as giving the character proper character development towards the end goal. As such the necklace still falls into telling the reader that Naruto will become Hokage.

Naruto deserves to be Hokage.

This is what we call a logical fallacy. Specifically, the name for this particular logical fallacy is Red Herring where the plee is made based on what a person deserved rather than what a person earned. The question of whether Naruto should be Hokage is not a question of whether he deserved to be Hokage, but a question of whether or not he earned the right.

Naruto is powerful.

The fact he is powerful does not mean he deserves the role let alone earned said role.

Why not? The role of kage is simply a figure head role.

No, it's not. While it is true Tsunade shirked paperwork like Naruto does under her tenor, her skills as Hokage also lay in the medical field and she preferred focusing on getting her hands gritty. Plus, how do we know the reason she doesn't like paperwork is because she's stuck filling out paperwork for - say - Naruto and his latest shenanigans, or something similar? Stating this is a figure head role undermines the power of not just the other Hokage but the other Kage.

Naruto earned the role. After all, he is the hero.

Did he? The narrative is really good as painting him the hero for things he most certainly did not do on his own, but the end game plot was majorly pulled out of thin air just so Naruto could be the ultimate hero. An example of this can be seen when Naruto gets a bridge named after him despite the fact he wasn't the only hero, nor was he the one who did the major leg work. In fact, some of the trouble they got into was the result of Naruto doing stupid things such as jumping inside the ice barriers when Sasuke wanted him remaining outside.

Another is the fact it wasn't Naruto who rallied the five nations together, but instead Gaara with his speech. He's likely not only the youngest Kazekage but the youngest kage. Of course, Gaara thinks Naruto should be Hokage, but Gaara is also a bit blind towards the person who rescued him from the dark place he was in with a bit of tough love.

Of course, here are the reasons why Naruto shouldn't be Hokage.

He doesn't have any leadership skills and the Hokage is a leadership position.
He'll use his clones to do anything except paperwork which in turn leads to him neglecting his own family.
Naruto isn't very bright, or so we're told. The fact he learned certain skills is a lucky fluke. This leads to him making dumb decisions which gets people in trouble, something a Hokage shouldn't do. Of course, people normally grow out of such things, but Naruto never really did.
Naruto was taken out by his own daughter on the day he was supposed to be inaugurated as the next Hokage. While this was meant as humor on the Mangaka's part, in reality it ends up showing how incompetent Naruto is and how unfit for the job he is.
The actual Manga should have shown him having some kind of character growth towards becoming Hokage, but for every step forward there was always two steps back.
Naruto's reason for becoming Hokage is because by doing so he'll have people's respect, yet he doesn't realize a Hokage needs to gain the respect of the people before becoming Hokage.


Of course, it is also important to note that believing Naruto shouldn't be Hokage doesn't mean I dislike him as a character. I think though he would be better off deciding a different route particularly after learning that his reason for becoming Hokage is flawed.