It is a widely held belief that the quality of a story is largely determined by the villains within that story. It’s appropriate, then, that a series with as many highs and lows as Naruto would have a broad spectrum of villains ranging from some of the best in anime to some utterly forgettable antagonists. While a lot of Naruto fans were initially drawn to the anime and manga due to the distinctive character designs and inspiration themes, the many compelling and sympathetic villains in Naruto is what kept a lot of the fanbase around. Then again, less interesting antagonists are also directly responsible for some of the weakest moments in the series.  

Villains in Naruto tend to fall into one of three categories: long standing foes that have super defined and explored character, one off baddies that appear briefly at the beginning or end of story arcs, and filler villains that are just around to pad out the anime. As one would expect, the quality of these villains decreases dramatically when looking at the latter two categories. Even though Naruto is a pretty great series and one of the most successful shounen anime and manga in recent memory, there’s not telling the heights it would have reached if all of its villains were given the same consideration and exploration as the best of its baddies. These ten awesome antagonists and ten boring baddies are a huge part of why Naruto is such a roller-coaster of incredible moments and disappointment.

Here are 10 Villains That Hurt The Show (And Ten That Saved It).

Hurt: Black Zetsu

Black Zetsu was a minor antagonist throughout most of the second half of Naruto, until it’s revealed near the very end of the story that he was manipulating many of the other villains and was orchestrating a complicated plot to free his master from her eternal confinement.

While this is supposed to be a major twist, all it does is undercut the efforts and accomplishments of the more beloved villains he deceived earlier in the story. Their ingenuity and motivations mean a lot less if they just amount to footnotes in Black Zetsu’s master scheme. Black Zetsu’s unveiling as the true man behind the curtain in Naruto is a tired trope within shounen anime that has long worn out its welcome and brings down the series’ ending.

Saved: Zabuza

The first major antagonist in Naruto also happens to be one of the best as Zabuza is both a tragic figure and instrumental in building up Naruto’s world. A former Hidden Mist ninja turned contract criminal, Zabuza firmly establishes the horrors of a world where children are expected to fight and end other warriors from different nations.

He’s also only able to escape from this cycle of violence following the ing of this adopted son Haku and his own demise following a confrontation with his final employer. When his iconic sword is added on top of his memorable character arc, Zabuza is a great first antagonist and sets a great standard that all following villains have to measure up against.

Hurt: Sasori

Sasori is a seemingly immortal puppet man who’s a member of the villainous Akatsuki organization. He premiers just after the midway point in the series and while it would make sense for him to have some kind of relationship with one of the well-established characters in the franchise, his only relationship is with a character introduced shortly before he plays an active role in the story.

Yes he is part of a pretty cool fight and yes his grief at losing his parents to war is pretty heartbreaking, but to have him have virtually no connection to a major character in the series is a major waste. Sasori’s character comes out of left field during a time when the series really needed to reestablish some of its best characters, and instead he draws the story away from them.

Saved: Pain

The leader of the Akatsuki during the majority of Naruto, Pain is a fantastic villain that embodies the generational violence at the root of the majority of conflicts in Naruto. A war orphan, Nagato – Pain’s real name – would suffer further tragedy in his life as his best friend and many of his comrades were eliminated during his efforts to create peace in the world.

Following this loss, he adopted the name Pain and decided gain enough power to rule over the world and form an artificial peace until someone became strong enough to end him and create a new era of false tranquility. After losing to Naruto and understanding the error of his ways, he sacrifices his life to revive those he’s eliminated and trusts that Naruto will create true peace someday.

Hurt: Kaguya

Kaguya is an alien or divine being that introduced ninjutsu to the world of Naruto thousands of years before the start of the series. She’s extremely powerful, functionally immortal, and seeks to rule over humanity as she sees them as little more than children that need guidance from a mother.

Kaguya also happens to be horrifically boring and hardly interacts with any other character. She isn’t even foreshadowed much before she appears in the series, giving the impression that she was added at the last minute to give the protagonists one last hurdle to overcome. While it seems like she might get more depth and screen time in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Kaguya’s current standing as a villain is severely lacking.

Saved: Orochimaru

Like a lot of amazing villains, Orochimaru is more self-motivated than he is outright evil. His goal of living forever and mastering every ninja technique in the series leads him to commit some truly awful acts, but also assist the heroes of series during some of the most critical moments.

Sure he took down the Third Hokage for little more than his own personal gain, but he also reanimated the other Hokage so that they could aid the allied shinobi forces in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Orochimaru is a terrific villain because he is so utterly unpredictable that it’s impossible to know what he will do next. Although, whatever plans he does have in store are sure to be entertaining.

Hurt: Kimimaro

Kimimaro is the fifth, arguably sixth, member of the Sound Four ninja team and – if that weren’t exhausting enough already – he’s a central character in one of the most frustrating fights in Naruto. During the Sasuke retrieval arc, he first faces off against Rock Lee and than Gaara as well.

This battle places Kimimaro’s unnerving ability to use his own bones as weapons against Lee and Gaara’s own unique abilities. However, the fight ends abruptly when Kimimaro es away from a terminal illness before the battle concludes. Kimimaro’s only fight in Naruto ends on more of a whimper than perhaps any other in the series and this wasted potential makes the Sound ninja one of the worst villains in the series.  

Saved: Tobi/Obito Uchiha

After Naruto defeated Pain and the series was gearing up for its last few story arcs, a fresh twist surprised fans of the series. Despite playing the fool since his first appearance, the mysterious Tobi was in fact the true leader of the Akatsuki and more powerful than even Pain.

Later, viewers would learn that this mysterious ninja was Kakashi’s former teammate Obito Uchiha and that the heartbroken ninja sought to control the world by any means necessary after the ing of his beloved Rin due to his and Kakashi’s negligence. Even if similar twists would grow stale as the series wore on, this one and this character were welcome additions to the series and only improved it.

Hurt: Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were a group mentioned since some of the earliest parts of Naruto, with Zabuza being a former member of the elite team. Hailed as some of the strongest ninja around and capable of destroying an entire nation with their combined might, many fans highly anticipated their eventual appearance in the series. However, there premier left a lot to be desired and it was soon obvious that the group was over-hyped.

While their actual appearance and conflicts involving these swordsmen is fine in a vacuum, all of the suitable build up and casual mentioning of this group made it seem like they were going to be a bigger deal and it’s a shame they ended up being pretty forgettable.   

Saved: Kabuto Yakushi

Kabuto Yakushi is one of Naruto’s best villains and his character arc is one of the strongest in the series. Hiding behind Orochimaru for most of the series – like a stealthy ninja ought to – he waited until Orochimaru’s supposed ing to take action and become one of the strongest characters in the series.

In fact, he would have gone onto destroy nearly every character if Itachi had not intervened and placed Kabuto under a technique that rendered him immobile until he could move past his hatred for the world and his lost childhood. Few fans expected Kabuto to play such a pivotal role in Naruto’s ending and thankfully he made it better than it would have been without him.