5 Shonen Protagonists Who Are Better Than Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki is praised as one of the greatest characters of all time, never mind Shonen in particular.

But is he the best shonen protagonist out there, or are there better characters than him when compared?

This is all purely non factual (as is the case with this kind of content), but there are shonen protagonists better than Naruto(who I feel is slightly overrated).

Let’s talk about it.

Here’s a list

1. Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)

Ichigo Kurosaki is one of the simplest shonen protagonists in terms of his goals and his ideas. He only wants to protect his friends, which also extends to his family.

He wants to do the right thing for people, and that is why he wants to get stronger, improve, and become more than he is.

There’s no iffy bullshit with Ichigo, it’s as straightforward as it needs to be and that makes him likeable in a lot of ways.

This is reflected in his relationships and friendships in Bleach, and his commitment to his circle of friends.

Compared to Naruto, Ichigo is underrated as a protagonist (shonen or otherwise).

2. Vegeta (Dragon Ball Franchise)

Vegeta is one of my favourite anime characters of all time. He’s also a character I share traits with.

He is an introvert, dedicated, focused, a family man, a set of strong principles he lives by, and introspective.

The early Vegeta compared to the Dragon Ball Super Vegeta, and how his character has developed is one of the greatest examples of storytelling in the world of anime or shonen.

It sets the basis for what we see later in many Shonen (Naruto included) when it comes to villains who turn to the light and have tragic backstories that push them into their decisions for sometimes no fault of their own from childhood.

Vegeta’s story is realistic and so is his mindset (better than Naruto’s).

3. Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)

Sasuke Uchiha has always been the character I favoured over Naruto from the early days. The Naruto community in situations like this get toxic when you say this. It’s irrational.

I relate to Sasuke and it’s that simple. Not in an “oh he is so me” nonsensical kind of way, but when it comes to topics of revenge, feelings of vengeance, and that being your prerogative.

On top of the fact, he is more in control of his emotions, introverted, and highly focused.

These are the things I relate to but his writing style is what I like better by comparison to Naruto.

4. Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)

Erza Scarlet is not only a better character than Naruto Uzumaki in my eyes, but she is miles better than many female characters in Naruto, to begin with. The obvious doesn’t need to be mentioned.

She is a balanced character who on one hand supports justice, doing the right thing, fairness, equality, and so on, but will raise her hand if discipline is needed and won’t hesitate to punish any offenders.

She’s not delusional and is very grounded. But of course, these traits I like don’t sell as well as the Naruto approach.

Relevant: 10+ Anime Shows That Have A Similar Art Style To Fairy Tail

5. Natsu Dragneel (Fairy Tail)

Natsu Dragneel is a lot like Naruto Uzumaki in a lot of ways, and of course, you could say someone like LUFFY as well from OP.

Either way, Natsu’s approach to the same things (enemies) especially when it comes to both genders is more sensible and pragmatic. Naruto’s unwillingness to react in any way, especially with Sakura at first, was painful to see.

Even if that woman happened to be a killer.

Natsu on the other hand doesn’t have any double standards in that way, you could say because he’s an idiot or you could say because he is fair.

It’s an important character trait besides his obvious traits like loyalty, friendship, and all the other stuff.

6. Goku (Dragon Ball Franchise)

Goku is a classic character and is the influence of Naruto Uzumaki among many other protagonists in Shonen. His influence goes beyond this into other genres (One Punch Man, etc).

Character-wise, I find Goku to be more true to life than someone like Naruto. The latter’s story of how he got an entire village to back him and he did it without killing sounds and is actually nice.

His childhood backstory adds to it as well, but I like realism, and Uzumaki Naruto’s logic doesn’t work in realistic terms. Goku on the other hand isn’t that wishy-washy, but still manages to be heroic when it counts.

Goku’s as original as it gets.

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