The overall Naruto anime franchise is split into two, with a two-year time skip dividing them. The original Naruto anime goes first, following 12-year-old Naruto Uzumaki as he begins his ninja career and learns more about the vast world beyond the Hidden Leaf Village's walls. After that comes Naruto Shippuden, the lengthier saga that depicts 15-year-old Naruto's great battles against the Akatsuki organization as the stakes become ever higher.
Fans will have their own opinions on which phase of the franchise is better, and there are plenty of arguments for the original Naruto anime, which put more emphasis on ninja-style trickery and had great comedy. Still, Naruto Shippuden has plenty of strengths as well in its canon story arcs, and it may be no coincidence that many of the show's best quotes, plot twists, battles, and iconic scenes take place in Naruto Shippuden. For ten particular reasons, anime fans may agree that despite how great the first Naruto anime was, Naruto Shippuden represents the franchise at its strongest.
10 Naruto Shippuden Focuses on the Akatsuki as the Ultimate Threat
It was both a strength and a weakness for the original Naruto anime to have a variety of villains. On the plus side, that led to more diverse antagonists with different jutsu, but then again, that made the original anime feel a bit disjointed, since the narrative couldn't decide who the main villain was. Naruto Shippuden focused mostly on the Akatsuki organization, and that was a real boon.
By having a more clearly defined group of villains, Naruto Shippuden could steadily raise the stakes and tension, from the Akatsuki's efforts to capture jinchuriki to Madara Uchiha's ultimate plan to capture the entire world in a genjutsu. Shonen fans also love villain teams like the League of Villains, Upper Moons, Phantom Troupe, and Espadas, and Naruto Shippuden easily cleared the bar with the Akatsuki.
9 Naruto Shippuden's Heroes Are the Ideal Age For Shonen Adventures
There are some exceptions, such as Gon Freecss and Killua Zoldyck, but for the most part, shonen action anime series tend to have teenage heroes for good reasons. Heroes aged 14-18 are the right age to be old enough for some maturity and confidence but still young enough to keep learning and growing. Heroes like Yuji Itadori, Ichigo Kurosaki, Monkey D. Luffy, and Tanjiro Kamado are all in their mid-teens, for example.
It was fun having a team of 12-year-olds in the original Naruto anime, but as fans got older, they were ready for a more mature set of heroes, so the time skip gave them an older, wiser Konoha 11 to match. Protagonist Naruto Uzumaki was the best example, retaining his youthful enthusiasm while having more moments where he acts like a proper young man. Sakura Haruno, who also reached 15, was more mature and sure of herself as a stronger young woman.
8 Naruto Shippuden Has Themes of International Politics
Some anime franchises keep the plot moving with in-universe geopolitics, such as the tension and then the war between Paradis Island and the Marley Empire in Attack on Titan, not to mention the affairs of the World Government in One Piece. Meanwhile, the Naruto anime hinted at the bigger world beyond the Leaf Village, and then Shippuden delivered.
Over time, the Naruto Shippuden anime started to focus on international affairs, such as the Kage summit that took place not long after the destructive Pain arc. That made the worldbuilding even more immersive while also creating new plot threads and stakes for the heroes to focus on. It wasn't just heroes vs villains; it was also nations vs nations.
7 Sasuke Uchiha is More Complex and Exciting Than Ever in Shippuden
In the first Naruto anime, Naruto's shonen-style rival Sasuke Uchiha slowly slid into villainy when he grew frustrated with his apparent lack of progress. That led to the original anime's plot twist, with Sasuke abandoning the Leaf Village to gain more power with Orochimaru. But in Naruto Shippuden, Sasuke was more than just a good guy turned bad.
In Shippuden, Sasuke was many things, being a cool antihero at his best and a chilling supervillain at his worst, and it was fascinating to see. Shippuden made it clear Sasuke wasn't just a villain for the sake of it; he was a confused yet confident rogue who had his own agendas and human faults and desires. Thus, he did everything from betraying Orochimaru and Karin to building his own team of friends and helping Team 7 defeat Kaguya Otsutsuki near the story's end.
6 Naruto Shippuden Kills Off Many Characters to Drive the Plot
The original Naruto anime indeed killed off a few characters, such as Hiruzen Sarutobi and a variety of minor villains, but that doesn't compare to the bloodbath that is Naruto Shippuden. That saga boldly kills off many major heroes and villains alike to create powerful emotional stakes and push the story in new directions.
Jiraiya's death at Pain's hand made Naruto the true successor to Jiriaya's dream, while Asuma Sarutobi's demise forced Shikamaru Nara to rise up as Team 10's new leader, all laziness forgotten. Shippuden even temporarily kills off Gaara to show what an immense threat the Akatsuki is, and Nagato gives his life to show his faith in Jiraiya's and Naruto's dream of peace.
5 Naruto Shippuden Shows Naruto Becoming Jiraiya's True Successor
The Pain arc killed off Jiraiya not just to create dire stakes and shock viewers, but to force Naruto Uzumaki to grow up some more. For years, Jiraiya had been Naruto's mentor and father figure, and Jiraiya shared his dream with Naruto: to achieve world peace by ending the cycle of violence. When Jiraiya died, Naruto grieved, and then assumed Jiraiya's mission.
Naruto stepped out from Jiraiya's shadow as his true successor, and he went further with that dream of peace and unity than Jiraiya ever did. It was almost like My Hero Academia, with Naruto Uzumaki becoming the symbol of peace that the war-torn ninja world always needed, and it made Naruto that much wiser and more lovable.
4 Naruto Shippuden Shows Naruto Uzumaki Becoming a True Hero
For years, protagonist Naruto Uzumaki dreamed of becoming a famous and respected ninja and even Hokage. Naruto endured years of mistreatment in the Leaf Village and was widely rejected as a monster, so Naruto strove to be the opposite. He took some steps in that direction early on, then broke into a sprint in Naruto Shippuden to realize that goal.
It was in Naruto Shippuden when Naruto became the Hidden Leaf Village's ultimate hero. He personally defeated Pain and inspired Nagato to revive all the fallen, so the entire village cheered for Naruto as their savior. It was a cathartic moment for Naruto, and nothing like that happened in the original anime, not even when he fought Gaara to a draw during Operation Konoha Crush.
3 Naruto Shippuden Focuses on the Theme of Cycles of Hatred
From beginning to end, the Naruto franchise had plenty of engaging themes and messages, from believing in oneself and the value of persistence all the way to the unbreakable bonds of friendship and forgiveness. But it wasn't until Naruto Shippuden that the story had its best and most worldly theme: the cycle of hatred and violence.
The young Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan tried to end that dreadful cycle but failed, so they decided to make the entire world suffer and learn a hard lesson about the cycle. Naruto Uzumaki shared their dream of unity and ending the cycle, but he taught them that hope, not destruction, would overcome the cycle. For a time, Nagato thought it was hopeless, and briefly, Naruto wasn't sure he had the answer, either. But then Naruto and Nagato did find the answer, and the world began to heal.
2 Naruto Shippuden Subverts Expectations About the Akatsuki's Members
While Orochimaru was a fine villain in the original Naruto anime, he was almost cartoonishly evil, meaning his character didn't have a lot of nuance or surprises in store for anime fans. Meanwhile, Naruto Shippuden unleashed the Akatsuki organization, which included members who had plenty of surprises in store.
For example, the villain Itachi Uchiha was revealed to be an anti-villain after all, an idealistic ninja who killed his own family to prevent a bloody coup in the Leaf Village. Then, the dreaded, much-anticipated leader turned out to be a would-be Naruto who once borrowed Jiraiya's dream of world peace, hence Naruto's successful talk jutsu after facing Nagato and Konan. Finally, the oddball Tobi tried to be a supervillain, only to be redeemed as Kakashi's old friend, and he gave his life for a good cause. Nothing quite like that happened in the original anime.
1 Naruto Shippuden Greatly Expands the Combat System
Even if the Naruto Shippuden anime got carried away with its power scaling to become off-brand Dragon Ball Z, it was still delightful to watch the franchise expand its combat system in such dazzling ways. For example, Naruto Uzumaki didn't just keep using the Rasengan jutsu -- he invented new forms, including a wind-based windmill Rasengan, among others.
The combat system also expanded to show what jinchuriki like Naruto and Killer Bee can do when they actually have control over their tailed beasts, as opposed to going berserk as a half-other. Shippuden also expanded upon the Mangekyo Sharingan, such as with the Susano'o, and fans also got to see the power of Sage Mode from both Naruto and Jiraiya.
