Well, you've probably read by now many of the hate-filled reviews by many die-hard Naruto fans who have loved the show long before it came to Cartoon Network's Toonami a while ago. I'm one of those die-hard fans. But, I'm here to try and give an unbiased review.
First of all let me say that yes, I am with those many that hate what has been done with the Naruto series here in America. I hate Naruto's every-other-sentence, "believe it", I hate Shino's voice actor, I hate the editing, yada-yada-yada I hate a lot about it you get the point and you've heard all of that before. But let me say, that for those who do not have access to the subbed version(particularly now that it is licensed and therefore some people would be deterred because that's illegal) they might find this quite an enjoyable show.
Naruto, at it's core, is good. That point is arguable only by osmeone who has underanalyzed Naruto. Naruto takes the long showcased subject of Japanese shinobi(or ninja) and turned it into something quite original. There are over thirty characters in the show, each with their own UNIQUE skills, personalities, and flaws. Take Rock Lee for example, definitely one of my favorite characters because he is incapable of using magic or illusions in battle, and therefore has relied completely on hand-to-hand combat. But since he has been extremely determined to prove him self on equal standing with the other ninja, he has become quite powerful.
Sasuke is the show's heart-throb, always one-upping Naruto and, though he's on his team, manages to be his friend and rival all at the same time. Up until far later in the episodes(where they start filling in a time skip in the manga with "fillers") the show is consistent and the plot keeps rolling along with new elements and twists, character developments, and pretty important to me, their strength. It isn't a DBZ-like approach where every time they beat an enemy a new stronger one comes, then they get stronger. It is a more realistic approach, witht he main characters and their allies under the shadow of their teachers and their most powerful allies whom they can't even hope to go against at their current levels, training to try and become close to a match.
This series has creativity, originality, great action, great story, great character development, and that all makes it a very good show. However, the flaws in the English dubbing are quite apparent. I've heard many many dubbings in my day, and I really must say that this one is quite bad(I can't say it's the worse when I still remember One Piece). The voices of the original anime help to define the character, they do a good job of suiting each character's personality, but I don't think that's the case here on the English version. It's quite apparent that these voices do not suit the characters, and that the show suffers from the changes made to it.
When all is said and done, I must say that it still manages to be a pretty good show, especially for those who are not so used to the English subtitles. The original Naruto series gets a 5/5, and the English, a 3/5. I suggest, like others here, you check out the original. It's almost a different show. Trust me, you'll thank me.
Dattebayo.
