Naruto's best characters are the last ones most fans would expect. The two characters who are most emblematic of the series are Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, but the reality is that they're not the best characters in the series. In fact, they fail the series in one very significant way—but a couple of other characters make up for that.

So who are those characters? They're the ones Naruto's creator, Masashi Kishimoto, doesn't like, in fact: Sakura Haruno and Rock Lee. It's certainly ironic that while Naruto and Sasuke are the powerhouses who drive the series forward, Sakura and Rock Lee serve as foundations for the series' themes, which couldn't be made out otherwise.

Naruto And Sasuke Fail The Series' Own Themes

Naruto And Sasuke Are Great—Arguably Too Great

If one were asked about Naruto's main themes, the first answer might be along the lines of "love triumphing over violence". After that, things like "hard work", "determination", and "overcoming adversity" would inevitably come up. The simple fact is that on the latter fronts, Naruto and Sasuke totally fail to represent the series' core ideas. Naruto started as an underdog story, but the reality is that Naruto and Sasuke both had immense bloodline buffs. Naruto's own father was a Hokage, after all. Not to mention Naruto having a huge chakra pool from the Nine-Tails, either.

For a series apparently about overcoming hardship and deciding one's fate, the reincarnation twist revealed both Naruto and Sasuke's fates to be inexorably tied to some overarching destiny. Both had immense natural talent—Naruto mastered senjutsu to a level neither Minato nor Jiraiya could attain in their entire lives, for example. They simply fail to represent these thematic essentials.

Sakura And Rock Lee Are Much Better Examples Of Naruto's Core Messages

Sakura And Rock Lee Worked Harder Than Naruto And Sasuke Ever Did

Kishimoto has said before that he doesn't like Sakura and Rock Lee because he feels they represent human weaknesses. Even if that's true, there's something left unsaid: the fact that they're "weak" is precisely what gives their character arcs so much meaning for Naruto altogether. Taking Naruto's emphatic embrace of dualism at face value, it makes sense that a series like Naruto can't just be centered around two powerhouses like Naruto and Sasuke: it needs characters like Rock Lee and Sakura to stand in contrast and accentuate their raw power.

Rock Lee has always been a much better underdog than Naruto, for example. Meanwhile, Sakura trained extensively all throughout Naruto and never received any of the same kinds of ad-hoc buffs as characters like Naruto and Sasuke would. Through actual blood, sweat, and tears, both Rock Lee and Sakura were able to become hugely impactful shinobi, equalling or suring their mentors. Naruto and Sasuke are amazing characters in other ways, and there's a reason they have so much draw. But when it comes to Naruto's best characters, Rock Lee and Sakura are the clear winners.