I’ve said he’s not a villain and I’ll stand by that.
However,Narutoinarguably writes Danzo into a cornerand writes itself into a corner in the process.
Miraculously, he manages to do just as much damage to its world.
To start with, Danzo’s character lacks detail.
His intentions are one-dimensional to the point that they’re often self-defeating.
However, while his influence is believable, that’s precisely the problem.
Danzo’s role inNaruto’s narrative isable to swallow up the agency of several ofNaruto’s most interesting characters.
There arecountless examples of Danzo’s disproportionate influence onNaruto’s biggest events.
The best and most immediate example is probably his relationship with Orochimaru.
The trend continues for essentially every significant antagonist inNarutofrom the Third Hokage onward.
The problem isn’t that Danzo’s presence underminesNaruto’s narrative.
It’s exactly the opposite.
And certainly, it is believablethat’s precisely the problem at hand, though.
The simple fact is thatseveral characters inNarutocould have had much more depthif it weren’t for Danzo.
Danzo’s role inNarutoworks, but it doesn’t make for a better story.
For example, why did Itachi have to become a “misunderstood” villain?
Couldn’t he himself have broken bad and turned against the Uchiha and Konoha all at once?
These are only a handful of examples ofhow Danzo is relentlessly turned into a scapegoat for the franchise.
Summary
Naruto is a Japanese manga and anime franchise created by Masashi Kishimoto.
It has expanded into anime series, films, novels, video games, and more.
The sequel series Boruto continues the story, focusing on Naruto’s son, Boruto Uzumaki.
