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Last year when I was sick most of the time, I used to watch Naruto for hours on end. I still catch an episode or two while I'm working out in the gym from time to time. There's something about epic ninja battles that makes you want to train harder. That's my way of the Ninja anyway. So what is it about this series that has kids and adults around the world so captivated?

First of all, it's about Ninjas. Need I say more? Ninjas are cool and full of surprises. Especially these ninjas. In the world of Naruto, each character has their own unique set of abilities and special superhuman powers that allow them to excel in their war torn world. The battles are interesting and fun, and full of surprises. There's so much action (most of the time anyway) that you stay on the edge of your seat.

Secondly its characters are so deep and dynamic that you feel like they're more friends than TV characters. Each character has their own personality that inevitably changes and grows throughout the series through their own trials and interactions with other characters.

Thirdly it's funny. Each character has fun quirks, love triangles, problems, and other comical situations that just keep you laughing. You never know what to expect, but it's always very entertaining.  

Finally it's just plain addictive. There are about 300 episodes to date and more coming in each week. You're kept on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next... only to find yourself on another cliff-hanger when that episode ends. I'd say the closest thing to relate it to is Heroes on NBC. Only it's a lot more interesting, has a lot more action, better characters, and much better fight scenes.

Yeah I totally know what you mean. I'm an adult but I LOVE Naruto. It's just so much fun to watch, even if it is a show for Japanese kids. It's cool enough that adults love it too. I know people who used to travel all over to huge costume party conventions for crazy Naruto fans. I'm not that into it, but I still enjoy a couple hundred episodes now and then.

Yay cosplay!!!  But Seriously naruto is an amazing show...it's classified as a shonen anime so in japan its age aim is technically between 18-30, that is why it has become so popular it has something for everyone.   

It really does have something for everyone. I have seen every single episode to date. It has to be a good show if you can sit through over 300 episodes and still be left waiting desperately for the next episode to come out. I used to see students around campus wearing the ninja symbols from Naruto and I always thought, wow that show can't possibly be THAT good. And here I am eating my words and loving it.

There's something so compelling about Naruto himself. He is just a little bratty kid who can't even pass his school to become a ninja and has no friends. No one likes him at all and he's seen as just a menace. But as he grows, he finds friends and slowly changes into a strong and good person who cares deeply for others. As he touches the lives of others throughout the series, you start to see tiny changes in them. You can trace the changes from the point where they met this little kid, to changes in entire nations.

The writers understand human psychology so well and each character is a case study in itself. It's not the typical cookie cutter stock characters you find in most mainstream American entertainment. Each character is a fully developed person with a past that shapes their present life.

And of course the best part is still just the great fun and surprises that accompanies anything to do with ninjas. When you get that many crafty people in battle, you end up with constant plot twists and unexpected events.