I think I know what you mean about it being a 'style' thing. I thought Lee went 'super saiyan' really blatantly at one point in the anime, everything from the raised hair & energy, to the level jumping bit. But I noticed there's a similar thing in Fushigi Yugi - same 'changes' for the power jump. Now...FY is a shoujo anime as far as I know, and Naruto/DBZ is shonen. So maybe we could say it's a "Japanese style" rather than one just for 'boy's anime'. Either that, or they're both copying off DBZ.Gemberkoekje wrote:There is no super saiyan and kamehameha in Naruto.
However, the Chakra effects do look like the power effects in DBZ, and it is a anime in the same style (read: Boys anime, Shonen)
As for general comparisons, I think the horridly drawn out fight (really just them talking and not moving for 9 episodes) between the old hokage and Orochimaro was as bad as Goku and Cell. Sure, Naruto gave us other things to look at while that fight was at a standstill, but the fight still lasted episodes with little to no progress. After a certain point, postponing the 'outcome' stops being a tension builder and starts being very annoying. I'm surprised that battle isn't touted the most in comparisons of the two anime. They literally stood and stared at each other for at least 4 episodes.
One thing I think Naruto does well is building the various characters. There are a lot of them, and each one - even rarely seen ones like Ino, get backgrounds and motives and interraction that makes them 'real.' With so many established real characters, it's natural to have a very long anime. That makes each fight important - in dbz how many people really care to see minor characters like Yamcha and Krillin fight each other? Naruto makes those minor fights important, and it doesn't skimp on them at all. It reminds me of YYH or the One Piece manga - every character is important, even if he's only shown in 1/100th of the anime. If they make me care about *all* the characters, I don't mind complicated plots that span a few hundred episodes.
It could be like Inuyasha. o.O The same stale cast doing the same thing with the same villain, driven by ungrowing romance. I'd rather have a wide mix of motives and character-types with a developing plot.
As for the fanbases, yes, Naruto is the next DBZ. Is there any argument about that? At least on this website, Naruto is sweeping the boards, becoming the most used anime, taking the most spots on the top vids lists for a single anime, and getting the most attention by rabid fans. We knew it would be long before we found out it was getting licensed. It has what long anime like Inuyasha (or even Detective Conan) lacks - a range of things to appeal to male and female fans, and enough anti-fans to make it the subject of endless debates.
