What is a "genius" ninja

[LobsterMagnet]

One thing I found very interesting is that if you read some of the Kishimoto interviews he mentions how he was the second to last lowest ranked person in class. The whole underdog mentality that is reflected by naruto seems to be kishimoto's reflection on his own school experience within the japanese school system which is probably why he uses the term genius so much. Ironically enough If I remeber correctly he said that Sasuke was his favorite character even though naruto was the most similar to him. Even in the character popularity poll which they ran after the end of Part 1 had sasuke ranked at number 1 vs naruto who was number 2.

[pureskillz]

sigh....u guys jus remember the big quotes. if u PAY ATTENTION to wat the sannin and watnot say, they do mention that a genius is a genius because they can learn faster and more efficiently. normal people (like naruto and lee) have to work harder for the same results. how else would sasuke get lee's speed (which took Lee his whole life to work up) in a month??

[Psyke]

There are tons of underdog vs genius type of plot in mangas/animes. Most obvious examples would be:

1. Naruto vs Sasuke
2. Gouku vs Vegeta
3. Sakuragi vs Rukawa

As for the definition of genius I agree with what Pureskillz said. A genius is one who who has the potential to excel and takes less time to master higher level skills. A genius can also mean he can think/perform better with better planning and situational analysis. Of course, Terra's point of making the genius the "one" for the underdog to defeat also stands correct.

[vasco]

For me, genius ninja is...
1> finish the enemy as soon as possible when you have chance
So in Neji vs Naruto and Sasuke vs Naruto, it showed Neji and Naruto are not genius in my opinion
2> withdraw when you don't have chance.
Shikamaru did it all the time.
3> Avoid attack enemy strength, but the weakness
Naruto always attack enemy's strength, that why he always had hard time
4> Does the writer wants him be a genius or not
everything we says need to pass by the writer ^_^