naruto, Naruto Shippuden and now Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the adventures of the young good-for-nothing ninja turned Hokage continue to be told, more than two decades after their debut. Only, although water has flowed under the bridge, it happens that certain scenes or inconsistencies do not strike the aficionados of this cult work until years later. This is the case of this key part of the anime which makes no sense if you are not Japanese.
A cult scene
Naruto’s story is not over. From despised young orphan to world’s most famous ninja, Naruto continues his adventure in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which focuses on Boruto, his son, as well as the evolution of the ninja world in the face of the arrival of industrialization. A vast universe imagined by Masashi Kishimoto which expands even more over the years. Difficult for such a complete world to be consistent from start to finish. Between the real inconsistencies and the scriptwriting facilities, it happens that the readers of the manga, or the spectators of the anime, fall naked in the face of certain choices of the mangaka.
But when a key part of Naruto is based on a Japanese model, it is logical that Western viewers are a little lost. This is the case at the very beginning of naruto, while the future Hokage is still a child. As you know, Naruto struggles to pass the Academy exams. Iruka denies him three times his Genin rank, with Naruto unable to create a satisfactory clone of himself, let alone three. But then, how can a student who failed such an important exam three times in a row end up in the same class as other students his age? Aren’t his repeated failures supposed to propel him towards classes populated by younger students?
Although Naruto is late compared to the other students of his age, the young boy nevertheless finds himself integrating team 7 with Sakura and Sasuke. Several Internet users have already asked themselves this question, which has something to raise a few eyebrows. However, this is not an inconsistency. And for good reason, even if Kishimoto does not explain precisely the course of the years of study of the Academy, the Japanese school system is based on three annual exams. While his companions managed to obtain their Genin rank by passing one or more exams, Naruto failed each time.
When he should have repeated a grade, the 4th Hokage’s son found himself manipulated by Mizuki, one of his instructors, and ended up stealing a roll of forbidden techniques. This is where he ends up learning Multi Cloning Supra, proving to Iruka that he is capable of taking the next step in his learning. Faced with such proof of skill, Iruka is forced to assign him the rank of Genin. Despite his repeated failures, Naruto finds himself in the same team as his friends of his age because the work is based on the Japanese system and not Western. It is therefore normal if Naruto did not repeat three times.