The debate on who is the best Shonen protagonist has been going on for decades, and every few years the candidates change. However, some protagonists like Luffy, Goku, and Naruto remain the same. The rivalry between the fandoms is no joke, as everyone is hell-bent on proving that their favorite protagonist is the best.
A viral poll by YouTuber DygoKnight put some of the most popular current Shonen protagonists against each other to determine who is the best. Naruto Uzumaki won by a huge margin but at the risk of offending every other fandom involved.
The Viral Poll to Decide the Best Shonen Protagonist
Naruto Uzumaki’s Sage Mode from Naruto: Shippuden. [Credit: Studio Pierrot]
DygoKnight, the YouTuber who posted the poll on their community page, is a Brazillian content creator who is known for creating analysis and discussion videos. His center of attention is Naruto and related topics to the franchise. On October 1, the YouTuber uploaded a poll to determine who the best Shonen protagonist is.
DygoKnight’s poll on Best Shonen Protagonist | Credits: @DygoKnight YouTube community page
The options were Naruto, Luffy, Goku, and Yuji (who has been hilariously called Kaisen from Jujutsu Kaisen.) Naruto won by a majority vote with 55%. Goku and Luffy came second and third place with 19% and 18% votes respectively. Yuji, on the other hand, only received 8% of the votes.
Naruto | Credit: Studio Pierrot
In just a single day, the poll has accumulated over 87,000 votes. The post also has more than a thousand comments with three thousand likes. Needless to say, it was a vast poll, with the results combining the opinions of numerous otakus.
Eiichiro Oda Fanatics are Butthurt Over Naruto Beating Luffy in the Poll
An angry Luffy in One Piece | Credits: Toei
Luffy and Goku were badly defeated in the poll conducted by DygoKnight. Naruto took first place, and for good reason. Naruto might not be the strongest character out there, but he is definitely a better protagonist than his rivals. While most heroes succumb to revenge after suffering, Naruto did not take that path despite the heart-wrenching death of Jiraiya.
Related One Piece: Why Fans are Wrong About Luffy Falling Into the Child of Prophecy Trope That Masashi Kishimoto Did With Naruto
Naruto suffered a great amount of childhood trauma and was even shunned by most people in his village. However, he did not hold a grudge against anyone. His famous Talk no Jutsu emerged as a result of his ability to talk things over even with the biggest of villains. He does not succumb to useless fighting unless it is absolutely necessary and nor is he on the lookout to be the strongest ninja on Earth.
Best shounen protagonist is luffy quite easily it’s just op haters and Naruto kids n d riders that say otherwise— Gintoki Sakata (@sakata_gin73) October 1, 2024
Luffy clears Naruto, YouTube shorts autism moment up there— Marin Petrov (@_MomoLoL) October 1, 2024
However, fans of One Piece are not happy with the result because, in their opinion, Luffy is the best out there. Luffy is no doubt a strong character with ethics and a sense of deep camaraderie but the character development of Naruto just cannot be defeated.
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One Piece fans are of the opinion that Naruto won simply because the YouTuber’s followers are mostly Naruto fans, and it is a Naruto-centric page. Others simply state that Luffy cannot be defeated by Naruto. But at the end of the day, it isn’t about who is the strongest but who is the most well-developed character, and Masashi Kishimoto stands undefeated in the category.
Naruto and One Piece are available to read on Viz Media, and the anime are currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
