Naruto became one of the most successful anime and manga series in the world because of its story and action sequences. It also helped that the series has plenty of interesting characters. Most of these characters are ninja who are all skilled in combat, and many of them have personalities which make them very relatable. As the story progressed, fans were introduced to more than 100 characters, and some of them receive well-deserved praise, but others are a bit overrated.
A character can be overrated for various reasons. They can be built up to be strong, but end up being quite weak when compared to characters introduced later. Their lack of character development can also be called into question, as well as their overall contribution to the plot.
10 Shikamaru Nara
Thanks to his genius-level intellect, Shikamaru Nara can use his clan’s Shadow Possession Jutsu in clever ways. The series makes it seem like he is the smartest ninja in the world, but in reality his tactical skills are not that superior. Someone like Kakashi or Sasuke can develop tactics in the middle of a fight, while Shikamaru needs to observe first.
Naruto is another great example. Compared to Shikamaru, Naruto is dumb, but he was able to come up with a strategy to beat the Six Path’s of Pain on the fly. Shikamaru’s intelligence is great when he has help or when he has enough time to plan, but in direct combat, he can be killed very quickly.
9 Hidan
Hidan was a devout follower of the Jashin faith, and he used the religion’s forbidden techniques to gain immortality. These techniques also gave him access to the curse that turned him into a human voodoo doll. His Taijutsu skills were superb, which is understandable since close-quaters combat was the best way for him to obtain some of his target’s blood.
His curse is extremely powerful and deadly, but it is the only technique he apparently knows or chooses to use, and it can be countered very easily. If it were not for his immortality, Hidan could actually be taken out by a couple of Chunin.
8 Zabuza
Zabuza Momochi was part of the Mist Village’s legendary Seven Ninja Swordsman, and he was the first real threat that Naruto and Team 7 encountered. Zabuza was a skilled Jonin, but compared to other ninja, his strength is criminally overrated.
He was not able to beat pre timeskip Kakashi in a one-on-one fight, which means that he would not stand a chance against someone like Kakuzu. He was feared because he mastered the Silent Killing Technique by combining it with the Hidden Mist Jutsu. Unfortunately, this combo only worked against nameless ninja, and it could be countered with clones or Substitution.
7 Rock Lee
Many Naruto fans like Rock Lee because he is a true underdog, but he is overrated nonetheless. He cannot use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but through sheer determination, he trained and became a Taijutsu master. Before the timeskip, he managed to overpower Sasuke, and fight both Gaara and Kimimaro.
After the timeskiip, it became clear that Lee was not important to the story. He fought a clone of himself while trying to help rescue Gaara, and then he did virtually nothing until the Fourth Great Ninja War – where he had no impact on any of the major battles.
6 Hinata Hyuga
A lot of fans like Hinata despite the fact that she received very little character development. From the beginning, she was a shy girl who was deeply in love with Naruto. He was of course oblivious to her feelings. Many fans likely relate to Hinata in this regard, which is why they consider her to be a good character.
After the timeskip, Hinata attempted to save Naruto from Pain and fought alongside him during the war, which shows that she did get stronger and braver as the story progressed. That being said, these two moments are spread very far apart and her character is mainly defined by her love for Naruto.
5 Sakura Haruno
For some, Sakura Haruno is both overrated and underrated. A lot of fans dislike her because she is weak, but she was trained by Tsunade, and as a result, she now possesses incredible physical strength. She is also one of only two medical ninja who mastered Mitotic Regeneration, which basically makes her immortal in battle.
What makes Sakura so overrated is her lack of originality and versatility. Sakura never developed or mastered her own techniques, instead she mastered specific techniques that specific individuals could teach her, and she was never able to surpass them. It also does not help that she spent the entire series pinning over Sasuke.
4 Neji Hyuga
Despite being a member of the branch family, Neji was a prodigy of the Hyuga. He was also the first of the Konoha 11 to become a Jonin. These factors made it seem like he was one of the strongest ninja in the Leaf Village, but he was nowhere close to being Kage-level.
Neji was sidelined for the majority of the second half of the series, but he did play a role during the war when he sacrificed himself to save Naruto’s life. Unfortunately, this sacrifice felt unnecessary and avoidable. It felt as though the author needed one of Naruto’s friends to die during the war, and Neji’s name was picked at random.
3 Kisame
Kisame was one of the first Akatsuki members to appear, and his chakra levels were superhuman. He was one of the Mist’s Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and he wielded Samehada – a sentient great sword which consumes the chakra of anyone it cuts.
Kisame was on the verge of beating Killer B, but the tables turned when Samehada betrayed him in favor of B’s chakra. This proved that much of Kisame’s power actually came from Samehada. An unarmed Kisame forced Guy to use Seven Gates, but Samehada would have healed him and given him access to a human-shark hybrid form that would have made fighting and escaping much easier.
2 Madara Uchiha
Madara Uchiha is one of the strongest characters in Naruto, and his power was on full display during the Fourth Great Ninja War when he wiped out thousands of allied shinobi singlehandedly. He gave Nagato the Rinnegan, and he orchestrated Rin’s death in order to turn Obito into his pawn.
Madara’s strength cannot be disputed, and for many fans, that makes him the best villain, but that is far from true. Madara’s plan to save humanity would have ultimately led to their extinction, making it flawed from the beginning. It turns out that he was actually following Black Zetsu’s plan to resurrect Kaguya, which means that the legendary Uchiha was just another pawn.
1 Shinsui Uchiha
Shisui was considered the most skilled Uchiha of his generation. He mastered the Body Flicker Technique to the point that no one could track his movements, and his Mangekyo Sharingan gave him access to a genjutsu that controls the minds of others. Based on his abilities, the argument could be made that he is stronger than Itachi.
At the end of the day, Shisui was more of a plot device than an actual character. His defining moment came when he gave Itachi his eye – an act which ultimately led to the end of Kabuto’s Reanimation Jutsu. The anime attempted to make him a significant character by giving him some fight scenes, but all of that was filler.