Introduction: When Naruto had to battle Sasuke in order to keep him from heading towards a life of evil, he knew that their friendship wouldn’t be the same. The moment I saw one of my closest friends lift a cigarette towards his mouth, I felt a drastic change take place in our relationship. The decision made by our friends can either make or break our relationship. Seeing someone that we feel deeply about finding a way to tarnish the bond we built can make us contemplate the bases of our friendship.

Abstract: Japanese animation relies heavily on the idea of friendship. It is evident that friendship is a major trope in the anime “Naruto”. The show revolves around the relationship between the two main characters, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Throughout every episode, it focuses on the development of the two characters and their companionship. Going through a lot of hardship and facing many challenges together, the viewer can see the shift of their relationship go from a close bond to a competitive rivalry. Jealousy and bragging-rights are the foundations of Naruto and Sasuke’s bond. Always trying to one-up each other and being the complete opposite of one another made it obvious that there would be complications between the two friends. With Sasuke making the decision to commence on a journey towards the notorious villain Orochimaru in order to gain unbelievable strength was the beginning of their friendship’s downfall. The story of Naruto and Sasuke gives a lot of insight on how a wrong decision made by one friend can lead to complication in their relationship. Their friendship can make a clear connection to one of my personal relationships. My best friend, who we’ll be referring to as S, has been in my life since elementary school. Living right across the street from me and attending the same college together, it’s as if one of my wishes came true. I would think that we’d get through college without any difficulty because we’d have each other back. However, that wasn’t the case at all. One day, near the plaza of Baruch College, I see my close friend smoking a cigarette at the corner of the block. Unable to comprehend what I’ve seen happen I had to confront S for this action he committed. The decision of smoking a cigarette led a huge problem in our friendship. I’ve always seen people in my life smoke and we both promised to never stoop to their level. Seeing S go against our word made me reevaluate our relationship and it created a huge dent in our bond. The relationship built between friends can help the development of those two people; helping them have a better understanding of certain things and ideas in the world and overcoming certain situations they encounter in life. Within this essay, I am trying to find the significance of the trope, friendship, in anime. Why do creators of Japanese anime always implement the idea of friendship in their show? By looking through examples of relationships within different animes, I want to see the importance of the trope, how these bonds can help develop the story and characters, and how it can teach viewers the value of friendship.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O2CJN1yAQAyRAxQAzBop5q1VfHS_XDfPSGGs1XEijPU/edit#slide=id.g462aa86f3b_0_216