One of the most popular and beloved shonen anime, Naruto Shippuden paved the way for a new generation of viewers to enjoy the stories of Konoha as its Jinchuriki ended up on a quest to save the entire shinobi world from annihilation... and his best friend from himself.
So, it's a given that one of the best parts of the long-running series would be the likable characters, and Naruto definitely doesn't falter in that aspect. From the eponymous protagonist himself to his long line of friends and enemies, Naruto is full to the brim with some of the greatest characters of any fictional medium, with their stories propelled forward through both individual narrative arcs and the overarching story. However, some characters in Naruto do enjoy better development and stories compared to others.
Updated on July 7, 2022 by Amanda Bruce: One of the reasons the Naruto main characters go through intense character development is the time span of the franchise. It covers the formative years of the titular teen character's life, and flashbacks and filler episodes in the anime mean that adults are also more fully fleshed out than in the original manga. It is still evident that some of the Naruto characters get more screen time devoted to them than others, which leads to more stories and more character development. That character development continues for a lot of the surviving characters in the Boruto sequel series as well.
Temari
When Temari is first introduced during the "Chunin Exams" arc of the series, she's brash, overconfident, and seemingly cruel. As the audience gets to know her through her interactions with her brothers and with Shikamaru Nara, however, she becomes a more layered individual.
Temari also softens over the course of the Naruto series. While she might still be ready for a fight at a moment's notice, she develops into someone who cares just as much for others as she does her own survival. She puts the good of the shinobi world ahead of the good of just her own home village.
Hinata Hyuga
At her core, Hinata Hyuga doesn't change much throughout the Naruto franchise. She is a kind and caring person, even from a young age, and she places the lives of those she cares about at the highest level of importance. How she develops in the series is as a fighter.
Even Hinata's father thinks she's too meek to become a shinobi as a child. Hinata proves him wrong by training as hard as she can early in the series, during the time jump, and even during the Shippuden era to become one of the best defensive fighters the Allied Forces has. She might not want to fight, but she's fully capable of it, and she knows it. Hinata's confidence is what develops over the series, allowing her to become more than the trope of the shy young woman who can't it her feelings.
Sakura Haruno
Most fans could easily predict that Sakura would be near the very bottom of Naruto characters ranked according to their arc, which is a shame since this character definitely had a ton of potential. From hints at her propensity for genjutsu and her desire to be a better shinobi, there were a lot of moments that made the audience believe she would get quite a bit of character development.
However, with the increased focus on other characters — especially Naruto and Sasuke — Sakura and her character arc ended up fading into obscurity in order to make way for other people and their stories.
Lady Tsunade
Lady Tsunade is tracked down by Jiraiya and Naruto as the village's last hope when they need a new Hokage. Powerful and respected, the village elders know that Tsunade has what it takes to be Hokage, but she is disillusioned from her own experiences in the previous shinobi wars.
Tsunade's character development happens very quickly. A fight with Naruto, Kabuto, and Orochimaru makes her see that there are still idealists out there willing to put themselves on the line, and she agrees to help the village for the time being. From that moment on, she's fully devoted to being a strategist, putting the village before all else, and training the new generation to do the same. It's less development though and more of a reveal as to who the character could have been if she hadn't run away from her home village.
Ino Yaminaka
Ino is very much a ing character. Unlike Sakura and Sasuke, she's not often part of Naruto's main storyline. That means the audience isn't always privy to her potential character development.
When the series begins, however, she's very much seen as someone who is shallow and more concerned with her appearance than her skills. While she does continue to put a lot of stock in her appearance, she also cares deeply for the people around her, and she commits to not only learning her family's mind control jutsu but also mastering medical ninja skills. Ino slowly becomes someone that everyone can count on, even if she does remain very insecure.
Neji Hyuga
Neji takes his role as a shinobi in training very seriously. He doesn't initially think it's fair that his cousin Hinata gets so much attention for her part in the main Hyuga family when she appears to be significantly less skilled than him.
Neji's biggest moment of character development occurs following the Chunin Exams. Though he nearly kills his cousin during their one-on-one match, he comes to understand just how wrong his actions were. Neji becomes one of Hinata's biggest ers and a much better team player as the result of his talk with Hinata's father. By the events in the best episodes of Naruto Shippuden, he's willing to sacrifice himself to save her.
Hashirama Senju
While Hashirama is not one of Naruto's main characters, a lot of his impact is seen throughout the anime. The first Hokage is easily one of the more likable people on the entire show, with his will for justice and fairness being a salient feature of his character that governed pretty much all of his actions as an individual.
While the manner of his ing is something that has been a fairly massive plot hole in Naruto, the rest of his character is written rather seamlessly and ends up forming the perfect half of a story with his eternal rival.
Obito Uchiha
For the longest time, Obito was a fascinating antagonist, and fans couldn't wait until they finally uncovered the backstory of Kakashi's friend... only to realize just how horrible it really was.
There's absolutely no solid reason as to why Obito betrayed the Leaf Village and ended up formulating such a diabolical plan, in the first place. The motivation that he loved Rin and didn't want to live in a world without her still doesn't explain the anger he held towards his friend... especially since he'd already realized that it wasn't Kakashi's fault that she'd ed away.
Madara Uchiha
Even in death, Madara didn't stop thinking about his plans, which is a testament to just how diabolical and stubborn this member of the Uchiha clan really is.
Madara is a fascinating character who shows just how trivial ambition and hatred really can be. He could've easily been the final antagonist of Naruto — and a rather compelling one indeed — but Kishimoto simply had to shoehorn Kaguya in order to drive the stakes even higher. It's a move that ultimately backfired since Madara could've easily been the most imposing challenge faced by Naruto and Sasuke instead.
Gaara
Casually cruel and believing himself better than any other students at the Chunin Exams, Gaara has an attitude that's initially shared by his siblings when they compete. It doesn't take more than a fight with Naruto for Gaara to begin to shift and grow.
Like Naruto, Gaara grew up with everyone being afraid of him. But unlike Naruto, Gaara also grew up being treated as a weapon by his people. His experiences made him angry and unable to control the tailed beast inside of him. Fighting Naruto, or more accurately, Naruto extending his hand in friendship instead of outright fighting him, helped Gaara to accept himself and begin developing real friendships.
