I suppose what makes the whole thing considered a bad literature product is "what's the point?" How do we, as readers, comprehend and learn from the hero's journey? In the end, nothing has changed right?
Considering the ending, there's really no point of having so much drama and build up. So much ideology presented, yet nothing gets concluded. When you read this whole arc once again, and then read the final arc, you'll most definitely raised your eyebrows :)
"So, what was the past 15 years all about?"
No wonder the series plummeted faster than it took to reach the big three. It gave zero respect to the loyal readers, and only listened to the loud minorities.
Yes - there were themes that Kishimoto was obliged to fill in hooking the reader in the premise of the story. Promises or 'contracts' he'd made with the reader. The problem is the promises were not fulfilled. And not by any of the characters. None of their arcs were resolved. And I don't mean that they were resolved counter to how I wanted them. The very themes the story was built upon were not resolved by Neji's death nor Naruto's pairing with Hinata nor Sasuke/Sakura's rekindling of a relationship and subsequent life paths.
The story ended, yes, and it ended in a way that made some people happy. But the main hero's goals and motivations were glossed over or forgotten. The dark hero's redemption story (which could have carried the underwhelming hero's journey) was half-hearted and ultimately unconvincing. Even Sakura's evolution might have saved it, as she was the last part of the three main characters, but she was abandoned completely. So there is no one left to connect the ending of the story to the motivations of the beginning.
It's still disappointing. Even all this time later.