hey glassesblu, I haven’t read all these myself but this person always has good recs so here is some kkg
Along with that Naruto gift exchange event there's also applications for a Naruto zine (that focuses on the teams)
I've been reading a lot of fanfic lately and just Everybody agrees that Kakashi should have just fucking adopted Naruto.
I'm watching the first series again because I don't think I ever like sat down and actually followed it through (I caught some of it, and read/watched a lot of 'cliffnote' type things, but it was a lot time ago and I was lucky enough to start in on my Naruto obsession just when Shippuden was starting, so that was a perfect point to jump in and fill back on context as I went) Anyway, a few things I've noticed (I started with the Tsunade retrieval arc because I've gotten bogged down in the Chunnin exams before but I'm thinking I'm gonna have to go back and watch it again anyway) 1) There's a lot more pain and anger in Naruto as a raw n00b than I at all expected, being used to his older iteration. I mean, I know he's got a lot to be mad about, but I think I was expecting more of the genki kid you see in stereotypes of his character, you know? 2) I don't know if it's been said before, but this kid is a poster child for undiagnosed neurodivergence. ADHD definitely - and not just in the hyperactive way, you can see he really has trouble focussing on a task and does better when he's given multiple things to do at once, except when he hyperfocuses and practically burns himself out Doing The Thing - and almost certainly some level of mild ASD and possible surface dyslexia? I don't think he has severe issues with literacy, but he definitely tries to avoid books (or scrolls) in favour of more kinetic learning methods. (It also reminds me of how painfully I identify with his personality, too - I'm also someone who really, really really sucks at school-type learning and have been told repeatedly by negative sources that I'm stupid, but I bet if Naruto took an IQ test he'd rate like me - in the highest 15%, for all the good it does.) 3) I'm currently at The Valley of The End and I just keep picturing how much more dramatic this would be in the Alternian version of Naruto and it was a pair of first kismesises wailing on each other because Sasuke's trying to break them up and Naruto won't let go XDD
god your opinions are all so fucking correct it's actually why i prefer part one naruto - he acts like a neglected, angry little kid. he can get annoying, but it feels more real to me than the more generic Shounen Hero Guy in shippuden. same goes for sasuke. also sns is a hideous redblackpale mess and you're right about that too.
It's inconsistent, but he has a hard time reading the kanji in the mission orders Kakashi gives them as part of the bell test. He might not be wholly illiterate, but he's absolutely not completely fluent in/comfortable with the written word at the start of the series.
