All three anime in the shonen "big three" feature exciting, memorable, and emotionally impactful protagonists who helped define an era of shonen manga/anime. Fans love the punk tsundere ways of Ichigo Kurosaki, the recklessly carefree Monkey D. Luffy, and the emotionally sensitive and brash Naruto Uzumaki. These three heroes can be compared and contrasted in all kinds of ways, and on some levels, it's clear that Naruto Uzumaki, in particular, is the best of them.
Naruto is best compared to Luffy, since these two heroes have more in common with each other than they do with Ichigo Kurosaki. More so than Ichigo, Naruto and Luffy are clearly Goku's successors as energetic himbo protagonists, and while fans have plenty to love about each of them, Naruto Uzumaki has more personal and thematic depth that give him the edge as a well-written shonen lead. Naruto has much more to offer than his cool jutsu and wacky comedy in the Naruto anime -- he inspires readers in unique ways to see the world through a new lens and believe in a better future not just for themselves, but for all.
Naruto Uzumaki Never Gave In to Hatred or Revenge
Plenty of shonen protagonists endure hardship and trauma in their formative years, which can greatly alter the trajectory of their lives. Such experiences can motivate them to fight for good so no one else has to suffer like they did, and it makes them empathetic to people who suffer under similar circumstances. Examples are many, from Denji in Chainsaw Man respecting Power as a fellow pet owner concerned for her cat all the way to Izuku Midoriya showing kindness to vulnerable people like Izumi Kota and Eri, among others. As for the shonen big three, Naruto, Luffy, and Ichigo all dealt with childhood hardships, with Naruto being widely hated in his village while Luffy was wracked with guild over Shanks losing his arm to save him from a sea king.
Just suffering greater childhood trauma isn't what makes Naruto Uzumaki a better shonen lead than Monkey D. Luffy, however. It's not about the type or severity of the trauma endured -- it's about how the character responded. Heroes and villains alike can think back on hardships like grief, bullying, and a lack of purpose from their earlier years, and the difference is that villains use it as an excuse to harm others while heroes become more empathetic and protective when they see other people in need. Luffy doesn't totally lack empathy or kindness -- he's been known to use tough love on characters like princess Nefeltari Vivi to help them do the right thing. However, Naruto Uzumaki dove much deeper into this topic in the Naruto anime, and he's famous for it.
Naruto Uzumaki grew up a pariah in the Hidden Leaf Village, feared and hatred for being Kurama's living vessel, a jinchuriki. Naruto was also an orphan, having no parents to protect him or explain any of this, so Naruto got used to a childhood of loneliness and rejection. That weighed heavily on him, but it never broke him, and it never pushed him to harm others as a release. At worst, Naruto pulled pranks to get attention and feel like somebody important, such as painting all over the Hokage monument or inventing the amusing Sexy Jutsu in class. But most importantly, Naruto refused to ever fully internalize the village's hatred for him, and he never sought revenge of any kind. In fact, he didn't even ask anyone for a formal apology for the unfair treatment he received.
Naruto's Attitude Helps Him Stand Out From Other Shonen Leads Like Luffy
Naruto Uzumaki took the high road, no matter his juvenile antics, and became empathetic rather than cold because of that mistreatment. Naruto started proving it early in the anime, such as when he empathized with Konohamaru Sarutobi, the Third Hokage's young grandson. Naruto saw himself in a boy whom no one fully understood or appreciated, and then Naruto really started showing kindness with his famed "talk jutsu." Naruto used empathy and idealism to convince his various enemies and antagonists to discard their wicked ways and express kindness instead, such as convincing Zabuza to appreciate Haku's sacrifice or openly relating to Gaara as a fellow jinchuriki with emotional scars. Given how Naruto and Luffy were each written, Naruto Uzumaki had ample chances to be an emotionally resonant hero in this regard, while Luffy simply wasn't.
Of course, a shonen anime does not absolutely need a hero to be like that -- One Piece isn't incomplete because Luffy lacks a talk jutsu. However, if handled well and if it's relevant to the story and themes, such a narrative can be powerful. The Naruto anime is famous for several things, empathetic talk jutsu included, and the Naruto anime still inspires the anime community to this day with Naruto Uzumaki's incredible kindness despite his past trauma. Naruto had every chance and arguably every reason to go bad and show the world his pain like Nagato did, but with his strength of character as a sensitive and idealistic ENFP, Naruto became his best self, all so no one would hate or harm each other ever again. Naruto didn't just save people on the battlefield -- he saved them on a personal level, too.
To a lesser extent, One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy sought to save and protect people with his actions and tough love, such as when he encouraged Nico Robin to choose life over death at Enies Lobby, or when he stood up for Tony Tony Chopper at Drum Island, inspired by Chopper's dream to become a doctor. The difference is that while Luffy does have a bare minimum of empathy and altruism as a proper shonen hero, he didn't stray far from the acceptable minimum. Even shonen antiheroes like Denji and Eren Yeager meet the minimum requirements of selflessness, such as Denji valuing new friends like Power and Himeno, but Luffy never properly stood out with lofty idealism and hard-hitting empathy toward others.
As an ESTP, Luffy is a hands-on, whimsical hero who invents his life as it comes, and as a lover of personal freedom, Luffy wishes to extend that desire for freedom to others on a practical level. He's not the type to deliver a rousing speech or use a talk jutsu, however -- Luffy lets his actions do most of the talking, and he will only fight to grant people their freedom from the likes of Enel and Donquixote Doflamingo, then let the people figure out for themselves how to enjoy their newly acquired freedom. For Luffy, fighting for his own and other people's freedom is a project, while for Naruto Uzumaki, personally saving people and changing the world is a personal mission.
Naruto Uzumaki Changed His Life With the Power of Love
Anime fans are generally aware that romantic love is a low priority in shonen action anime like the big three, and such personal arcs aren't required to tell a complete story. That said, anime fans also know that all shonen protagonists and sidekicks are human beings, and unless the story has a particular reason to say otherwise, all of those characters are capable of love. The only question is whether the author is interested in writing that, and if so, how they handle it. This is another topic that separates Monkey D. Luffy from both Naruto Uzumaki and Ichigo Kurosaki, and arguably, Luffy's character suffers for it. In fact, Luffy embodies the ahodere archetype, someone who's too dense to recognize or understand romantic love.
In fact, author Eiichiro Oda openly stated that he avoids the topic of romantic love in One Piece, since according to him, love is not the point of his pirate adventure, and perhaps he believes it would be a distraction or annoy his young male viewers, his target audience. Mr. Oda is not factually right or wrong in that regard, since it's subjective art, though some modern shonen fans might argue that he's being too much of a purist about what shonen should and should not portray. After all, shonen has broader appeal than the other demographics of seinen, shojo, and josei, so shonen's highly diverse fan base is interested in not just action and adventure, but also personal arcs, such as romance. Mr. Oda has found great success in writing Luffy as a non-romantic ESTP with minimal sentimentality, and while that may suit One Piece's own needs, some fans may be left disappointed.
By contrast, Naruto Uzumaki found true love in the Naruto anime, giving his character a highly appealing and inspiring layer that Luffy's bluntly lacks. At first, Naruto was indeed more like Luffy as a romantically clumsy and clueless young man, but starting in the Chunin Exam story arc, that gradually changed. Naruto didn't just share empowering words with Hinata Hyuga -- he stoked the flames of her hidden love for him, and by Naruto Shippuden, the two of them were growing ever closer as teenagers. Hinata even proclaimed her love for Naruto Uzumaki during the battle against the Six Paths of Pain, and later in the story, in both the main anime and the movies, Naruto and Hinata became true lovers.
For one thing, this newfound romance gave both characters some long-overdue happiness after growing up without much love of comfort, and any Naruto fan will agree that they both deserved love and happiness with one another. That helped conclude Naruto Uzumaki's personal arc in a wonderful way after all his physical battles were fought and won. For another thing, Naruto's wonderful romance with Hinata may have helped normalized the idea of a shonen lead getting a happily-ever-after, contrasting with romantically luckless himbos or ahoderes like Monkey D. Luffy, Soma Yukihira, and Eren Yeager.
Even Naruto's inspiration, Son Goku, found love and got married. If a famously buffoonish and dense man like Goku can marry the woman of his dreams, so can any shonen lead, and depending on the story's writing, that personal accomplishment may be not just a pleasant bonus, but an essential way to conclude the character's arc. That isn't to say that Luffy's arc is ruined or boring because he's not looking for a romantic partner, but it may still disappoint some fans who ship him with Boa Hancock and other characters, even if those One Piece ships don't entirely make sense. While there's no single right answer for how to write or avoid a shonen lead's love life, Naruto Uzumaki's own arc helps make the case that love is what every shonen lead needs to be a happier and more satisfied person. If Naruto the dense prankster can do it, surely every shonen lead can, too, and Naruto sure makes it look good.
