OK, so I've watched 103 episodes so far of this series, and I have to say it, Naruto is original. Yes Mishimoto was a big follower of Toriyama, and in many ways Naruto is a sort of homage to him. But Naruto has a lot of things that DBZ was missing. First off, when characters die, THEY STAY DEAD!!!!! There is no special way to wish them back. Once they're gone they're gone. Second, music: the music in Naruto is 100X better then anything heard in DBZ. Dbz did have some cool themes, but Naruto is the only series where I have actually imported the soundtrack. There's almost nothing wrong with the soundtrack other then the usual soft theme. Granted it isn't a Yoko Kanno piece, but in essence not everything should be compared to the work she does because it invariably falls short. Thirdly, character development:
The characters develop feelings for each other, and you will find yourself developing feelings for the characters. There are animes that do that, but not to the extent Naruto does. I have cried multiple times while watching Naruto because of the pain that Naruto and Company have to go through. Mostly Naruto in his quest to become Hokage. In DBZ, I couldn't care less about what happened. Fourth, fights: There is nothing wrong with the length of the fights in Naruto. They're not too fast and they're not too unbearably long. The average fight lasts about 4 episodes. There is an exception to this in the 70s, but only because there are two fights going on at the exact same time. In short, download the first 20 episodes, which takes you through the first saga. Yes, 103 episodes is a lot of time, but the story will keep you engrossed. Also of note, Happy Birthday to the anime which turns 2 years old on Sunday Oct. 3rd. I give this a 9/10
The characters develop feelings for each other, and you will find yourself developing feelings for the characters. There are animes that do that, but not to the extent Naruto does. I have cried multiple times while watching Naruto because of the pain that Naruto and Company have to go through. Mostly Naruto in his quest to become Hokage. In DBZ, I couldn't care less about what happened. Fourth, fights: There is nothing wrong with the length of the fights in Naruto. They're not too fast and they're not too unbearably long. The average fight lasts about 4 episodes. There is an exception to this in the 70s, but only because there are two fights going on at the exact same time. In short, download the first 20 episodes, which takes you through the first saga. Yes, 103 episodes is a lot of time, but the story will keep you engrossed. Also of note, Happy Birthday to the anime which turns 2 years old on Sunday Oct. 3rd. I give this a 9/10