Naruto 

A Tribute

I wanted to be Naruto, the boy with the chakra.

    In 4th grade, I watched an anime. An anime about a boy named Naruto, who while illustrated as an action-packed series about the imperium of a small, mischievous ninja and his path to success, churned a part of me nobody has ever touched before. He helped me see what I truly wanted and needed to become, and channelized my fervor to what it is today. Yes, I wanted to be Naruto, the boy with the chakra.

    All throughout my life, I have watched a fair share of t.v shows, short term thrills that merely acted as a form of entertainment for my agog growing self. Switching from Spongebob, to cartoon network, to marvel and D.C, there were plenty of shows that would encapsulate me, and engender a few giggles and awes here and there, but nothing to really pull me in and hold me tight.

                                                            Then I met Naruto. 

    He was an ordinary boy, blemished with a ghastly past, a demon possessed within him, inciting fear in the people of his villages’ hearts, and singling him out as the loner, the forlorn one that everyone loathed. He was unwanted, unappreciated, and uncared for, an orphan with an uncontrollable past that devastated his current situation. When learning to control the chakra, or bodily energies, within him, his forms would always come out haphazardly, and he was a laughing stock at the bottom of his class.

    But what drew me into his character was the fact that his perseverance was incontrovertible. The backlash, the inevitable failure that would pummel you down was intensified 10-fold for Naruto, and the fact that he was still able to unlock his inner chakra swayed my 10-year old brain to believe that anything was possible. Steve Jobs, Stephen Curry, all of the role models so many other people looked up to were replaced by Naruto for me. He was my role model, my mentor, and the person who never ceased to come to mind when tough times took their toll, and whenever I needed a little extra boost to get my day going.

    So when author Masashi Kishimoto wrote the intrepid tale of blond-haired boy with a demon inside him, he didn’t just conjure a kid’s manga for entertainment and some moola, but managed to precis a poignant piece that gripped mine, and millions of people’s hearts worldwide, and form a mentor that will stay with us forever.

                                                            Thank you Naruto.