Good storytelling involves well-written characters who are defined and relatable, but it also involves creating a detailed world with its own history and rules, and the Anime industry has provided audiences with great storytelling for decades. In 1997, Manga artist Masashi Kishimoto published the first chapter of Naruto, and this story about a young boy who wanted to become Hokage went on to become one of the most popular series in the world.
Naruto takes place in a world dominated by ninja who can use a variety of abilities, and by the time the story ends, fans are introduced to well over a hundred characters with different backgrounds and allegiances, but when there are many characters, there are bound to be a few noteworthy ones who simply get cast aside because the story doesn't deem them to be important anymore.
Hidan
Hidan may have not been the strongest member of the Akatsuki, but he was still quite formidable thanks to his immortality and the forbidden ritual that turns him into a living Voodoo doll. Shikamaru defeated him by blowing his body to pieces and burying him alive in a forest-where he would remain imprisoned until he died from malnutrition.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakuzu mentioned that Hidan wasn't resurrected because he was still alive, which means that the bad guys simply left a very useful weapon in the ground, which is silly because Obito could have retrieved his body with his space-time ninjutsu at any time if he wanted to.
Suigetsu
Suigetsu came from the Hidden Mist Mist Village, and he became an Akatsuki member for a very brief time while following Sasuke on his quest for revenge. The argument can be made that Suigetsu is nothing more than a side character, but he was the reason why Sasuke was ultimately able to defeat Killer B and the Eight-Tails, and he was able to hold his own against the future Raikage. Unfortunately, Suigetsu falls completely off the map during the series' final arcs, as he barely appears during the war, and when he does, it is only to serve as comic relief.
Shino
Shino was introduced at the very beginning of the series and despite having a very interesting and effective insect-based ability, he is by far the most underused character in the series. As a member of Team Kurenai, he was partnered with Hinata and Kiba-both of whom had some sort of impact on the series, while his greatest achievement was narrowly defeating a young Kankurō.
In the second half of the series, Shino was not included in any major storyline except for the Fourth Great Ninja War, and even then he received extremely little screen time. At least he became a bit more useful in Boruto where he serves as an Academy instructor.
The Great Sage Toads
When Jiraiya fought Pain in the heart of the Rain Village, he found himself in need of more power, which is why he decided to use Sage Mode, and in doing so, he introduced fans to Fukasaku and Shima-The Two Great Toad Sages.
These little toads are actually quite a handful, and they become an instrumental part of Naruto's Sage training, and Fukusaku is the one who delivers the secret message that contains Pain's secret. After Naruto defeats Pain, however, these toads are practically never seen again.
Kurenai
When Kurenai was first introduced, she was made out to be a genjustu master, but as the series progressed, more and more characters were introduced who put her abilities to shame. She served as Hinata, Kiba, and Shino's sensei, and she fought against Sound and Sand ninja during the invasion in the first half of the series. Unfortunately, Kurenai was turned into a non-existent character in the second half of the series, who went from being a talented Jonin to being nothing more than Asuma's love interest and the mother of his child.
Temari
Temari is Gaara's older sister, and when she made her debut during the Chūnin Exams, she showed great skill by defeating Tenten. She also battled against Shikamaru-who she would later save during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc when he was fighting one of the Sound Four.
Unfortunately, the story deemed that Temari was not very important, because all she did in the second half of the series was accompany Gaara to the Five Kage Summit, and hit Madara Uchiha with a single burst of wind during Fourth Great Ninja War.
Kiba
Dog lovers love Kiba because he never goes anywhere without his ninja dog Akamaru, and he played a decent role in the first half of the series where he fought Naruto during the Chūnin Exams, and he later went with Naruto and Shikamaru to bring Sasuke back to the village. Kiba's usefulness completely evaporated after the time skip, despite the fact that he trained to become stronger. Aside from appearing here and there during the war, the only time Kiba was used was in filler episodes and two missions where he was only brought along because of his sense of smell.
Madara Uchiha
Madara Uchiha was set up to be the final villain of the series, and he was certainly one of the world's most powerful and skilled ninja, as evidenced by the fact that he took down thousands of ninja by himself, but he also managed to defeat the Five Kage and all of the Tailed Beasts. Kishimoto made him so strong in fact that even he did not know how to defeat him, so he decided to have his body taken over by a less experienced Kaguya instead. Sidelining Madara for a lesser villain was absurd because it turned him into a puppet and completely removed him from the final Arc which ended up feeling incredibly rushed.
Most Of The Tailed Beasts
As the series continued, fans learned that the Tailed Beasts were more than just demon spirits who loved to kill and destroy. It turned out that they were sentient beings with their own emotions, personalities, and names, but there are three Beasts who get all the attention. Gyūki (Eight-Tails) was given a predominant role because of his connection with Killer B, while Kurama (Nine Tails) was given the most screen time because of Naruto, and Shukaku received a decent amount of development because he was linked to Gaara. The other six beasts simply appeared just to be defeated almost instantaneously.
Jiraiya
Jiraiya was a beloved character, and he played a major role in Naruto's life by acting as his mentor, and to this day his death is one of the series' saddest moments. That death came at the end of his fight with Pain, and Naruto was never able to say a proper goodbye because his body sank to the bottom of a lake. It would have been interesting to see Jiraiya return as a reanimation during the Fourth Great Ninja War, but Kabuto was unable to get some of Jiraiya's DNA because his body was too deep to get to, which is absurd because Kabuto could have used any of his reanimations to go get a sample. Even Boruto was able to bring him back as a clone.
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