There are many characters in ‘Naruto’, who simply are the greatest of all time. However, there is one particular character who gained lot of attention after few episodes. Quite a few characters in the anime spend most of their time lurking in the shadows, but none exemplify this any more literally than Shikamaru Nara. He is the only child of the Nara clan.
Shikamaru possesses the coveted Shadow Possession Jutsu. An ability that allows him to control his opponents’ movements using their shadows. Not only does he have incredibly powerful natural abilities, but he’s one of the few genin early on who actually possess the brains to back up their skills. Wits plus skill equals fans love. Read on to know more about the incredible Shikamaru and why fans love him so much.
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What Makes Shikamaru One Of The Best Characters In ‘Naruto’?
Shikamaru has insanely high intelligence. However, he often doesn’t feel the need to apply it himself because he is lazy. The intelligent ninja in the hidden leaf village is one of the most laid-back students and the laziest one. He avoids responsibilities like how I avoid healthy foods every chance I get.
The shadow ninja avoids responsibilities because he doesn’t want anyone to have high expectations of him. (I know right? Who is he? A saint or what?) Despite that side of him, he can truly come through when it counts. If you already didn’t know he always had Naruto and Choji’s back, no matter what.
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What Values Does Nara Holds High?
A young Shikamaru got fed up with the others for bullying Choji and went off to cloud-watch in his special spot, befitting of his lazy, non-confrontational nature. Choji was there when he arrived, so the two shared snacks and looked at the clouds together. If this did not make you shed happy tears, and want to just hug Shikamaru tight, then you might probably write a board that says stone and sit by the side.
Even if he doesn’t like getting caught up in unnecessary conflict, he values his allies greatly just like Rock Lee. He will volunteer for missions or extra work if it means that it can in some way benefit him. The lazy ninja will still go to great lengths to avoid admitting that he does indeed enjoy helping out his allies. He’d much rather complain about how laborious it all is instead while giving more than a hundred percent.
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Let The Statistics Speak For Itself
Thanks to the official databooks that came out, most characters within the series have numbered statistics from one to five that rank their overall abilities. Since fans see Shikamaru and the others at various stages in their development, he has three sets of stats. However, this will focus solely on his final jonin stats.
His intelligence is a perfect five out of five, with ninjutsu coming in second at three-and-a-half. His genjutsu, stamina and hand seals all mark at an average three. While his speed is slightly lower at two-and-a-half. Finally, his taijutsu and strength are at a two, meaning he doesn’t have a single statistic that’s too weak.
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Creator’s Comments On Shikamaru
It’s always fascinating to find out what an author thinks about the characters they created. In Shikamaru’s case, Kishimoto remarks that he’s quite fond of him. His highly intelligent yet lazy nature is in direct contrast to Sasuke’s intelligent yet abrasive personality.
Kishimoto even remarks that if Shikamaru were a girl, he would want to marry him. Since he’s the type of person who would most likely go on to be highly successful in life. He also notes that the reason he wears his headband on his arm is to differentiate his similar appearance from other vest-wearing ninja.
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