A software engineer learns from Naruto Shippuden, Dattebayo!!!

A few years back, a friend of mine asked me, “Do you watch anime? Anime is so lit.” To his this question, I was like, “Am I a child to sit and watch anime? I have way more other works and client software to develop than sit and watch some cartoon.”. Years passed, and a few months back, out of nowhere, I thought about giving it a try and then started watching “Naruto”. As I browsed through the episode list, a freaking 500 episode show, I doubted, if I would be able to complete the whole series.

For those who don’t know what “Naruto” is, it is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The story is told in two parts — the first set in Naruto’s pre-teen years, and the second in his teens.

As I started watching the show, I was intrigued by how the story developed with each passing episode. Not only the story but how each character developed and matured overtime was really fascinating to me. So much so that, I completed the entire 500 episodes within a month (skipping some fillers of course). After completing the whole series, when I looked back at it in retrospect, I feel this series was an art which thankfully I saw and learned so much from.

Yes, everybody is Naruto’s fan, me too Dattebayo, but I feel there are so many underdogs in the show from whom I learned so much as a software developer, so I decided to write down it as an article.

Here are some of the things I learned from Naruto Shippuden as a software developer:
P.s. The list includes some spoilers, if you have not watched it yet (go watch it 🙂)

My Ninja way (Naruto Uzumaki)

Everyone has a way of their life and the way they wish to move forward. I have seen many people who get in the software industry just because they think it is fancy. Some get in because their friends are software developers and some take computer science in their studies because they have seen their seniors/brother or sister being a software developer.

For some people, software development is just a job, but I feel there needs to be a real passion to develop and it needs to be one’s ninja way. Having a strong belief in your ninja way keeps you in check and helps you track your progress as a software developer towards your goal.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard (Might Guy & Rock Lee)

These two teacher-student duos are one of my favorites in the whole show. There is so much to learn from these too. Might Guy who knows very little ninjitsu or genjutsu, along with his student Rock Lee who doesn’t know any ninjitsu or genjutsu, are one of the best users of taijutsu. And this knowledge of taijutsu has come from years and years of training and perseverance they have shown for it. They pushed their body to extreme limits while training to become so much powerful that Madara Uchiha himself declared Might Guy as the strongest shinobi he ever fought.

What this explains is, that in the software development industry, some people have a natural talent for writing code or architect systems while others don’t. But there are different aspects of the software industry that one can try to find one’s niche. And through sheer hard work and continuous learning one can enhance their knowledge and be better at what they do.

Patience is the Key (Sakura Haruno)

Sakura, who was always in the shadow of her friends of team 7, initially suffered from a lot of inferiority complex. She always felt that she was the one who dragged her team down in every competition. But later, as the story progressed, she gained her confidence slowly with her patience and will to be better and an equal of other members of her team, she finally achieved that, so much so that she surpassed her mentor Lady Tsunade.

What this teaches us is, a team comprises members of all skill levels and knowledge. There are times when you feel like you are the one dragging the whole team down in any project and feel if it is even worth it? So what do you do in such situations? You keep reminding yourself like Sakura did, that she will work hard and sooner or later be a fruitful asset to your team.

Believe in your team (Kakashi Hatake)

Kakashi Hatake must be one of the most well-written characters of the whole Naruto Shippuden. He is an example of a real team player and a good leader. When he was assigned sensei of Team 7, he initially was hesitant but, then after that, he never took his responsibility as a burden. He taught his team about how only with strong coordination and faith in each other, can a team succeed. He was very observant of the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and helped them overcome them. He was also looking after his team and never backed down from any problem he faced. He also taught his team what he failed to learn when he was a student.

In the software industry too, I believe, a team is only as good as its leader. A good team leader helps his/her team grow, understand their weaknesses and help them overcome those. He/she also helps his/her team members improve on their strengths. He/she needs to be the one to take one for the team when the situation demands and never lose faith in the team.

Your contemporaries are your greatest inspiration (Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha)

There exist a certain kind of bond between Naruto and Sasuke. They were both friends and foe at the same time, but above all, they were each other’s greatest inspiration. Both Sasuke and Naruto wanted to do better than one another and be at the top from a very early age. Had there not been someone to look at, and have the feeling to be better than the other, I don’t think they would be the greatest shinobis of all time.

We, as a software developer, can also learn from this. We all need to find someone from our contemporaries to look at and try to push ourselves to be better than them or at least to the level. Healthy competition can be a real motivator to learn and be better than we were yesterday.

There are so many other characters like Itachi, Hinata, Shikamaru, Nagato, Jiraya, who I loved and learned from, but maybe I will write about them in another post real soon.

Also, I would like to hear why you like Naruto in the comments down below. 🙂

P.s. Special thanks to the person who first suggested me to watch Naruto, and yes, I admit, Anime is not just any other cartoon.