The Most Wasted Naruto Character of All Time

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The series is well-known for its large and lovable cast, but also criticized for not using many of its characters effectively. While the story heavily focuses on Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, other characters – from popular supporting roles like Rock Lee to important heroes like Sakura Haruno – often get overlooked and underutilized.

As a huge Naruto fan, it really bothers me how many characters they introduced and then… just didn’t do anything with! But honestly, there’s one character in particular that I think was a massive missed opportunity. When they first appeared, I was so excited – they seemed like they’d be a really important player. But sadly, they never got their moment to really shine, and that’s saying something considering how many other characters suffered the same fate in the series!

Naruto Wasted Many of its Most Popular Characters

With so many characters in Naruto, it’s not surprising that some have faded into the background. This is particularly true in the Naruto manga, which doesn’t have the extra filler episodes found in the anime to develop those characters further. While most fans aren’t too concerned about characters like Kiba and Tenten being less prominent, many wish Rock Lee and Sakura had received more attention.

Rock Lee quickly became a fan favorite during the Chunin Exams arc. He’s a lovable, funny character who overcomes a difficult past, making him both relatable and inspiring. Many viewers consider his battle with Gaara to be a standout moment, not necessarily for its spectacle or overall importance to the plot, but because it’s a complete and compelling story within the Naruto or Naruto: Shippuden series.

Lee’s defeat by Gaara actually motivated fans to root for his improvement, hoping he’d show that dedication could triumph over innate ability. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite happen. While he enjoyed a cool team-up with Gaara and had some smaller parts in Shippuden, plus his own comedic series, Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals, he eventually faded into the background. It’s a shame, as he deserved a more significant role – one that ultimately went to his mentor, Might Guy.

Lee was a missed opportunity for Masashi Kishimoto. Despite being ranked as the 20th most popular Naruto character in 2023, his potential wasn’t fully realized. Many fans feel the same way about Neji and Hinata, and believe Shisui Uchiha deserved a more significant role in the story.

Honestly, one of the most frustrating things to me is how Sakura Haruno from Naruto gets treated! Despite all the negativity she gets – especially from people who only watch the anime – she’s actually incredibly popular. In fact, she’s consistently ranked higher in global polls than even Naruto and Sasuke, only falling behind legends like Minato and Itachi! It’s wild to me that such a popular character gets so much flak.

Despite being a beloved character and Naruto’s most reliable friend throughout the entire series, Sakura is unfortunately underutilized. While she has some strong moments and is portrayed as more capable in the manga, her lack of impact, especially in the first part of the story, is well-known. Ultimately, the story wouldn’t change much if she wasn’t present.

The beginning of Naruto: Shippuden is strong, particularly with Sakura playing a key role in the Kazekage Rescue arc and demonstrating her training with Tsunade in an impressive battle against Sasori. Unfortunately, her importance diminishes significantly after that. Similar to the first part of the series, she has occasional good moments, but she’s rarely central to the main storyline. She never receives another dedicated focus, and her romantic relationship with Sasuke is arguably the weakest aspect of the entire show.

While characters like Sakura and Lee didn’t quite reach their full potential, they still managed to become fan favorites over time. Fans often lament the lack of development for characters like Shino and Kurenai, which feels strange considering how promising they once seemed. However, one character stands out as even more underutilized – someone with incredible potential that the author, Kishimoto, never explored.

Anko is the Most Wasted Naruto Character of All Time

Anko Mitarashi appears early in the Naruto series as the supervisor for the Forest of Death portion of the Chunin Exams. She quickly establishes herself as a skilled and collected ninja, comparable to other elite Jonin. The story takes a dramatic turn when Orochimaru enters the Forest of Death, signaling him as the main villain. Anko steps forward to challenge him, revealing a significant personal connection to this powerful, legendary shinobi – one of the Sannin.

I’m still so frustrated by Anko’s story! It turns out she was actually Orochimaru’s first apprentice, which totally explains her snake abilities. But the really sad part is, he never cared about her as a person, just as a tool for his experiments, and tossed her aside when he was done. Given how important Orochimaru is to the whole story, and how central his curse marks become to Sasuke’s journey, Anko should have been a major character going forward. She was easily the most interesting female character up to that point! But unbelievably, this is the last time we really see her play any significant role in the official story. It’s a huge missed opportunity, honestly.

Anko possessed a unique understanding of Orochimaru, one that surpassed even his former colleagues, Jiraiya and Tsunade. This understanding came while she dealt with her own painful feelings of being abandoned and the lingering uncertainty about how much Orochimaru had manipulated her memories. If Orochimaru was correct in believing Anko was jealous of his choice of Sasuke, a compelling story could have emerged—one where she attempted to aid Sasuke with his curse mark, all while harboring resentment towards him for possessing the body Orochimaru favored. This internal conflict would have been deeply unsettling for her, as she recognized the wrongness of her feelings but couldn’t escape the impact of her past trauma.

It would have been great to see more of Anko’s fighting skills, especially since Kurenai didn’t get much screen time. A rivalry between Anko and Kabuto would have been a natural fit. However, the story understandably focused on Orochimaru’s past with Hiruzen during the Konoha Crush arc, and Anko wasn’t included in the search for Tsunade. By the time Shippuden began, the series seemed to have moved on from Orochimaru, unfortunately sidelining a fantastic villain in favor of Madara.

After Orochimaru disappeared, Anko didn’t have the opportunity to grow as a character or have any significant moments. Even when Orochimaru and later Kabuto became major threats, the second half of Shippuden already had too many characters and unnecessary storylines. Adding Anko to that crowded mix wouldn’t have been effective.

I’ve always felt that Naruto really focused on the older characters – those connected to the big legends like the Sannin and previous Hokage. It’s a shame they never did much with Anko! Even considering the author wasn’t always the strongest at writing female characters, a good story diving into her past with Orochimaru could have made her super popular – like Zabuza and Haku – instead of being, well, less memorable than even Kiba’s dog, Akamaru!

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2026-05-15 23:47