Naruto Fans Agree Madara's Death Was A Mistake
When it comes to storytelling, creators have to constantly make choices to move the plot forward. Unfortunately, not all of those decisions are going to be received well. And more often than not, fans can be very vocal about their dislike of a decision. For instance, though the "Naruto" franchise maintains a strong following, fans are quick to point out various choices they aren't happy about. And one of the most maligned decisions has to do with one particularly powerful Uchiha.
Various hints were sprinkled throughout the series hyping up Madara Uchiha's power. When he finally made his official debut, he lived up to the hype when he made short work of a squadron of the Allied Shinobi Forces. After dominating opponent after opponent, he quickly became a fan favorite and still retains a strong following. According to a 2023 global survey determining the most popular "Naruto" character, Madara placed seventh overall.
Despite his immense popularity, the character was defeated toward the end of the series. After absorbing all the tailed beasts — nine creatures of tremendous power characterized by the number of tails they sport — Madara becomes the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, making him one of the most powerful ninjas in shinobi history. With these abilities, he achieves his ultimate objective of trapping all ninjas in a hallucination of their ideal world. With so much power and nobody capable of defeating him, he seemed invincible. That is until he was struck down and replaced with a new, even more powerful villain in Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. A decision that simply didn't sit right with many fans.
Fans were very unhappy about Madara's death
In a now-deleted post on the r/Naruto subreddit, one fan reached out to ask about the general reaction to Madara's untimely demise and the responses were primarily a mix of disbelief, disappointment, and frustration.
Redditor u/Wavestination took all the ramen when they garnered over 900 likes with a simple "What the f***?" perfectly encapsulating their shock and confusion. u/odiumodious continued the discussion by expressing their disappointment in the subsequent events of the series, referring to the Kaguya arc, and elaborating on how they were unhappy with Madara's abrupt dismissal.
Some commenters were more directly critical with user u/Toros_Mueren_Por_Mi saying, "Stupidest thing I ever f*****g saw." u/Mithrellas denounced his death further by quipping, "I thought I missed something in the chapter. Nope, it was just that lame."
Other commenters suggested alternate endings with which they would have been satisfied, with the general consensus being that Madara continues on as the final villain of the series. u/superbigtune1 provided the simplest solution offering, "Madara should have been the final boss, then [K]aguya built up over a new Naruto series."
Overall, it seems that many fans were very unhappy with Madara's death and subsequent choices in the plot. Considering that "Naruto" creator, Masashi Kishimoto once declared that Madara had no weakness in a 2012 interview, it appears that he was meant to be an overwhelming force that couldn't be killed. By the creator's own logic, it appears that he shouldn't have been defeated so quickly. And taking into account the character's popularity, he probably shouldn't have been replaced with another villain.