How Kaguya Became Kishimoto’s Biggest Mistake

Kaguya is one of the most unpopular characters in the Naruto series and for good reason. While it is clear for the fans to see that Kaguya was the strongest individual in Naruto, at least in the original series, that certainly doesn’t take away from the fact that her introduction in the story wasn’t well received by the fans and that in the grand scheme of things, she was detrimental to the plot—ruining quite possibly the very best arc In the series.

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Right when Naruto was about to deal with its greatest antagonist of all time, fans saw the introduction of a completely new individual who felt very disconnected from the entire story, and set up a rather aimless fight in the series. Despite being a very powerful individual, Kaguya ruined Naruto’s end in ways the fans can’t even imagine.

How Kishimoto Set Up Madara As A Great Villain

• Madara Uchiha Was The Ultimate Villain In Naruto
• Madara Was Struck Down By Zetsu

The characters of Kaguya and Madara will always be spoken of together. These two come in pairs, not literally, but, one comes at the expense of the other, which is the trade that Kishimoto was seemingly willing to make towards the end of the Naruto series. Madara was woven into the story from before the timeskip. The Shinobi statues in the Valley of the End clearly suggested to the fans that Madara was a legend from the olden days. In fact, even at the beginning of Naruto Part 2, fans go to see Kurama telling them that Madara bore a menacing presence that Sasuke reminded him of. Clearly, this was Kishimoto’s way of telling the fans that Madara was going to be somewhat relevant at some point in the story and that’s precisely what ended up happening.

When Obito was introduced in the story, fans realized that Kishimoto was brewing a very exciting plot surrounding the character of Madara. With the whole idea surrounding the Masked Man, and eventually, the beginning of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the goal of returning Madara to the battle was slowly starting to come to fruition. Finally, midway through the Fourth Great Ninja War, Madara Uchiha was brought back, and fans knew for the first time that the Naruto series had now received its greatest villain who could go on to redefine what being a villain truly means. It is safe to say that Madara lived up to the expectations of the fans. His display against the likes of the Shinobi Alliance was immaculate and later down the line, he even toyed with the Five Kage. He fought against the four Hokage and even squared up to the Tailed Beasts in what was a massive flex of power.

Madara’s Downfall And Kaguya’s Introduction

Zetsu Used Madara As Kaguya’s Vessel

Madara was, undeniably, Naruto’s best antagonist. The fact is that Madara wasn’t liked just because he was overpowered. It is because he had a compelling story to tell. From Hashirama’s story pertaining to the creation of Konoha, fans knew that, more than anything, Madara also sought peace for his people. Just as Hashirama wanted peace in his own way, Madara took a different direction and laid out a carefully crafted plan, one that would see him sacrifice the lives of countless people, some of whom were even close to him.

Madara’s end goal being the same peace that Naruto was fighting for made this conflict even more exciting. At the end of things, Madara had already made up his mind about wanting to attain power in a certain way and because of that, the Fourth Great Ninja War was started, and, at the same time, fans got to see the revival of the Ten-Tails as well. Madara ended up becoming that Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, and with that, the Naruto series got its biggest shocking moment.

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In an inexplicable turn of events, fans got to see Madara being struck down by Black Zetsu, and with that, the story was changed forever. In Madara’s stead, Kaguya stood as the ultimate antagonist, and with that, years upon years of buildup was absolutely demolished by Kishimoto. Towards the end of the Naruto series, the idea of Kaguya was revealed to the fans and eventually, she was brought back in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Madara’s body was used as a vessel to bring Kaguya to life, and this was a remarkable change in the story that shocked the fans completely. Many fans refused to accept this as the end of Madara, because they felt that he would be back at some point later down the line. Others dropped the series entirely, and refused to accept this writing decision for what it was. But, at the end of the day, fans had to live with this decision of the writer, and see how she did as the final antagonist of Naruto.

Kaguya Vs Team 7 Is One Of Naruto’s Most Lackluster Fights

A Battle That Lacks Emotional Connection

One of the many reasons why Kaguya Otsutsuki wasn’t liked by the fans was because she came at the expense of Madara. Fans need to understand the problem wasn’t entirely her character. In the war, Madara served as a war machine and Kishimoto himself admitted that he had no idea how he would go on to beat a character as strong as him. But, when the time came to deliver upon that, Kishimoto had no answer. All the years of buildup went down the drain when Kishimoto sacrificed Madara for Kaguya. Had Madara not been dealt with like that, the vitriol driven towards this character would certainly not have been as much. But, Madara’s death in exchange for Kaguya is what infuriated fans the most.

To make things worse, Kaguya did not live up to the expectations at all. Her fight against Naruto and Sasuke was lackluster and there was absolutely no emotion there. Kaguya’s goal of reclaiming the chakra of everyone on the planet felt a rather shallow one as well when compared to Madara’s goal of attaining peace through his own bloody method.

All things considered, Kaguya was a very shallow villain. In fact, she, as a character, felt disconnected from the history of the Shinobi. Naruto was always rooted in the story of various Shinobi, some who were done wrong by the world, and others who wanted to bring about a revolution. Kaguya was neither here nor there and fans simply couldn’t connect with her on the same level as they did with other Naruto villains, such as Nagato, Obito, and Madara, among many others. The entire battle went down as Naruto’s worst fight, and it was, undoubtedly, a stain on an otherwise stunning Final Arc of the series.

Thankfully, Kaguya was dealt with before Naruto concluded and fans got a proper battle between Naruto and Sasuke, which once again reminded them of why they loved the story as much as they did. Of course, the introduction of Kaguya had repercussions that are currently giving fans the Boruto series, but, at the end of things, if fans had the opportunity to change this decision taken by Kishimoto, they most certainly would with their eyes closed.

Naruto is available to read on the MangaPlus and the Shonen Jump app. Fans can read the official release and support the author by doing so.

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Naruto

Release Date

October 3, 2002

Creator

Masashi Kishimoto

Number of Episodes

220

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix
, Crunchyroll
, Amazon Prime Video
, Peacock
, The Roku Channel
, Amazon Freevee
, Hulu
, Hoopla
, Pluto TV
, Tubi