The hidden blade in naruto‘s Land of Fire has produced many fine and talented shinobi of high intelligence and impressive skill. That said, there are also many teaching methods used that can be surprising due to the fact that they push boundaries, raise questions about the danger to children, or seem completely ineffective.
Granted, the story takes place in another world and Hidden Leaf is on the cusp of war at all times, while being in charge of raising and training the next generation of ninjas as thoroughly and succinctly as possible. However, this does not change the fact that many modern viewers would have something to say about certain training techniques.
8 Kakashi just tells Naruto to perform a technique
Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry is an integral component of their relationship, and Naruto often defines their progress using Sasuke himself as a measuring stick. When Sasuke reappears during the final stage of the Chunin Exams (having learned the advanced Chidori Jutsu from Kakashi), Naruto asks his sensei to teach him the same after Orochimaru and the Sound Village threat have been nullified. In a screen showing how likely Kakashi and Sasuke are to understand the new jutsu, Kakashi gives a basic explanation to Naruto, basically telling him to reach out and focus. Since Jiraiya has already established that Naruto has hyperactivity and concentration issues at school, requiring specific ways to learn new techniques, unsurprisingly this fails.
7 Apparently starvation works wonders
Team 7 fails the first part of Kakashi’s bell test because they don’t understand the need to work together. Sasuke has a superior attitude, Naruto wants to do everything himself, and Sakura is too worried about Sasuke to focus. Kakashi then gives Team 7 one more chance to prove himself to him: don’t feed a tied up Naruto while taking their lunch break.
Of course, the secret lesson is still teamwork, the idea being that they will disobey it for the well-being of their teammates, which Sasuke and Sakura do. However, as pedantic as it sounds, pretending to force not to feed a child while the food is being waved in front of him seems a bit cruel.
6 Sakura did not thrive under the hands-off approach
Thank goodness for Tsunade Senju, because otherwise Sakura wouldn’t have had any sort of individual instruction aimed at really improving her skills, giving her a specialty. While Sasuke received most of Kakashi’s special instructions for some time out of necessity and Naruto was able to fill in some gaps with Jiraiya’s teachings before the time skip, it appears that Sakura was left on her own after grasping the basics. While Kakashi acknowledges her potential in genjutsu and chakra control, no follow-up is made regarding her abilities under her tutelage. Only thanks to Tsunade’s guidance does Sakura become a combat medic ninja.
5 The Might Guy method is an extreme exercise
Might Guy’s teaching technique emphasizes repetition and determination above all else. These lessons are exemplified through high-intensity penalty training regimens to ensure ninjas constantly improve without becoming easily discouraged. While theoretically a good teaching method with proven success, like Rock Lee’s desire to be a strong shinobi with just taijutsu, it has its flaws. Not knowing when to quit can contribute to causing more damage, as shown by Lee trying to keep fighting Gaara during the Chunin Exams, even while he is unconscious. Even Tsunade must teach Lee a lesson in restraint when he wants to attempt multiple stairs on his own too soon after his surgery.
4 Jiraiya likes sexy jutsu too much
While he’s an entertaining and heroic mentor, Jiraiya also exhibits perverted traits that wouldn’t work today. In addition to spying on women as “research” for his Icha Icha series, Jiraiya is easily swayed by Naruto’s Sexy Jutsu. The technique involves the latter temporarily turning into a physically attractive, naked woman, and manages to catch Jiraiya’s attention at all times. Jiraiya is meant to teach Naruto (and manages to), but he still makes inappropriate detours, accompanied by a boy. Add in that the boy Naruto offers to do the Sexy Jutsu in exchange for more instructions from Jiraiya at one point and it all becomes somewhat awkward.
3 A thousand years of death is wrong for obvious reasons
While it seems like a great and powerful jutsu, the technique simply involves creating a blunt enough underpants that sends the opponent scurrying away to escape the discomfort. While it evokes a schoolyard prank that kids would play on each other, it does raise some questions about sexual harassment, even if it ends up teaching ninjas to be mindful of their surroundings and be on their guard. Also, one has to wonder about the ethics of an adult teacher regularly using this tactic on one of his young students, regardless of whether it’s supposed to be a fun learning experience.
two Jiraiya sends Naruto hurtling into an abyss.
Ninjas often use sink-or-swim methods, with the purpose of causing enough despair for their students to discover the lesson they are being taught. Jiraiya’s attempt to get Naruto to draw on the power of the nine-tailed fox is one such example. As Naruto continues to work on the toad summoning technique, he easily becomes exhausted and can only summon a small one. Knowing Kurama’s extraordinary power within Naruto and wanting him to harness it, Jiraiya throws an unconscious Naruto off a cliff to try and get results. Fortunately, Naruto subconsciously communicates with Fox and triumphantly uses his power to summon Gamabunta to break his fall.
1 Orochimaru experiments on his students and finds them disposable.
Orochimaru is known for his amoral scientific experiments on humans and jutsu. He is also a surprisingly good teacher, and those who learn from him benefit from strength and skill increases. However, the trade-off is infinitely dangerous and definitely not worth it.
While Orochimaru trains the students in unique and empowering ways, it is also accepted that he will perform experiments on them, physically manipulating and augmenting their bodies for his own ends. There is already an inherent risk in this, but Orochimaru regards his students as disposable and will willingly sacrifice them for his own benefit. Entering into this nauseating association implies consent to this treatment.
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