Naruto Anime Analysis (Season 5)

Themes and My Opinions

Themes

Unrequited love

Sakura has had a crush on Sasuke since she started at the Ninja Academy. However, no matter how many times she tried to get Sasuke's attention, it didn't work. Instead, Sasuke was always cold towards her when she was trying to get his attention.

Naruto has a crush on Sakura, but Sakura likes Sasuke. Yet, despite knowing this, he makes a promise to Sakura that he will bring back Sasuke since Sasuke went to join forces with the villain, Orochimaru. 

Rock Lee also has a crush on Sakura, but Sakura likes Sasuke. 

Hinata has a crush on Naruto, but Naruto seems clueless, even though there are certain hints that she likes him. For instance, Hinata's face would always be red or blush whenever she was around Naruto. She would even give him food. 

Friendship

Friendship is evident when the genin are split into teams, namely:

1. Team 7, consisting of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Their teacher was Kakashi Hatake.

2. Team 8, consisting of Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. Their teacher was Kurenai Yuhi.

3. Team 3, consisting of Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten. Their teacher was Might Guy.

4. Team 10, consisting of Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino. Their teacher was Asuma Sarutobi.

5. The Sand Siblings, consisting of Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari. 

The friendship displayed by each group taught some important lessons. For instance, Team 7 was taught by Kakashi about the importance of friendship. In Season 1: Episode 5, Kakashi said these words: "While a ninja who breaks the rules is scum, those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." As time went on, Team 7's friendship grew despite their differences. For instance, Sakura at first thought Naruto was stupid because he lost his parents. Yet as time went on, she realized that Naruto was a good friend. Moreover, Sasuke and Naruto were rivals at first since they didn't get along. Yet as time went on, they became friends, which is saddening because Sasuke left the village in hopes of getting power from Orochimaru. Despite all this, Naruto is determined to bring Sasuke back, no matter how long it takes, which further highlights the theme of friendship throughout the anime series. 

Team 8 friendship continues to flourish as they help each other grow as shinobi. For instance, in Season 4: Episode 151, it is revealed that Hinata mastered her new ninja technique known as the Protective 8 Trigrams: 64 Palms. With the intense training she got from her teammates, she mastered this technique, which helped them defeat the Kamizuru clan, who were after the Bikochu beatle. With their friendship to help each other, they are bound to become skilled ninjas. 

Team 3's friendship was meaningful when they had Might Guy as their teacher. In Season 5: Episode 195, the student-teacher relationship between Rock Lee and Might Guy is superb. When Rock Lee was worried that he couldn't use the Hidden Lotus, Might Guy reminded him of what he said when Rock Lee had his first surgery. In Season 2: Episode 100, Might Guy said to Lee in that flashback, "You worked hard, Lee; there's no doubt in my mind that the surgery will be a success. You have the power to shape your destiny, and on the one and one thousand, nope, one in a million chance something should happen to go wrong, I'll die right along with you. Since the day I met you, my nindo has been to train you to become the most splendid ninja possible; that's a promise." This just further reinforces the close bond that they share; hence, in Season 5: Episode 195, Might Guy said, "You trusted me then, and your surgery was successful; you must trust me now. If you must forsake the hidden lotus, then you'll just have to work that much harder. There is nothing you cannot accomplish through hard work." Might Guy prove to be a good teacher who cares about his students. For instance, there was one time he taught his team a valuable lesson. He said, "As you go through life, you'll find that the world is covered by many rules, but the most important rules are the ones that come from within, the rules that you place on yourself." With his teachings, Team 3 continued to stay together as a team and are working together to become skilled ninjas.