Why is Naruto so popular?

[LordSappington]

I liked the anime for a while, as long as it was in Japanese with subtitles. The manga are pretty good for a while too. But after so long it just gets a little worn out and I'm sick of remembering all those characters.

[Blasted Child]

For anyone who hasn't seen Naruto, here's a break down of an ordinary episode:

1. A good and a bad character stand before eachother in an arena, ready to engage in a fight. Fifteen minutes pass while people in the audience talk about why the two fighters hate eachother, and what their special abilities are, just to remind the viewers.
2. Here follows a scene for the girls: A young female friend of the good fighter remembers their childhood together, preferably on a flowery meadow. Overly nostalgic emotions are slapped in the face of the viewers. There will be plenty of circular, plate-sized mouths, representing laughter and/or crying.
3. The two fighters remind eachother and the audience why they hate eachother, and what their special abilities are.
4. Flashback to an episode where the bad guy killed the good guy's friend. Insert sad emoticon. Even though characters die all the time, every death will be followed by endless scenes of girls crying, tears mixed with stars and more flashbacks to flowery meadows.
5. Fighter one uses his special ability. It can be something along the lines of "The ten tentacles of moon-shadow" or "The secret dragon's sand-castle-whirlwind-flute". Whatever the writers fancied in their state of puerile, stoned mindlessness.
6. The next episode is plugged, with the promise of revealing the outcome of the battle.
7. The episode ends. Listen to a japanese song full of shallow clichées like "Trust in the love of a loving bird of freedom, etc"
8. Next episode; start from 1 again.

[LordSappington]

Originally Posted by Blasted Child

"The ten tentacles of moon-shadow"

Kinky.

[Dr. Boogie]

Originally Posted by LordSappington

I liked the anime for a while, as long as it was in Japanese with subtitles. The manga are pretty good for a while too. But after so long it just gets a little worn out and I'm sick of remembering all those characters.

There aren't that many characters to remember. And even a monkey can remember 7 things.