I loved the Pain arc. I thought it had such cohesion. Pain was a great villain, there were many layers to his villainy, many secrets to be divulged (the multiple Pains), and there were lots of storylines all tying together into a grand finale. There was a purpose to Pain's vengeance that you could understand without having to be forced to sympathise with. But when you did learn their backstory, you truly felt sympathy for them. Not forced, and not purposeless.
Even Danzo made a better villain than Madara or Kaguya or Zetsu.
Sorry...just reminiscing about when the series was still good.
Reminiscing maybe but you are SO right.
Pain arc was my favorite and it easily the best fight from Naruto. The only one where he did fight alone and you were feeling like they were even. Plus the whole build up with Jiraiya. I told all my friend back then that the manga should have ended here. Naruto got acknowledge by everyone in the village, show skill at Kage level and get hug by Sakura while Hinata watch smiling happily, accepting that Sakura was the one. I did thought how it might have continue from there.
I believe Pain should have been the main villain with Tobi. Once he's defeated, Danzo become Hokage and tried to hunt Sasuke. Naruto take a small party and go behind Danzo's back to fight Taka and the remaining akatsuki. Kabuto could have joined the fray later. That arc could have serve to show Naruto as a leader.
But I was afraid that the serie goes downhill from there. And it did. But I've endure, like most of you the bull, thinking that the ending would be like the pain arc, but amplify. I thought, yeah, Naruto did have the skill, now he need to show that he can be a leader.
What makes me so mad about the ending is that in the end, Naruto become Hokage, but was never shown a leader either in battlefield or in strategy. Hell during the war it acknowledge Sakura and Kakashi to have brain for plan. Ending and movie never develop Hokage Naruto, instead they develop douchebag Naruto.
His dream become meaningless, he give up his way of a ninja and his love for Sakura. How come it is a good ending. They recton his entire character. He did save Sasuke but like Jiraiya or Obito he failed to get the girl like the older generation before him. What about the whole surpassing the old generation, when the edo Kage do the fight, show how broken they are as ninja without beast. 3rd can use five element, Naruto didn't even master wind to make ninjutsu. It's a disappointment on all point. If they have at least put an ending for neutral fan at least. I mean the main character didn't achieve any of his goal in a satisfying way or plain give up.