A friend of mine sent me the first episode when it came out on fansub. I hated it, I was especially pissed at how hard they were trying to make me feel bad for naruto. Thought it was the cheeziest thing on the face of the planet. Also thought it was the worst artwork ever. So, I dropped it. About a year and a half later, another friend of mine insisted that the series was quite good. Since I generally agreed with him, I sat through it. When Sasuke did that amazing combo on kakashi (which kakashi owned), I was hooked. Marathoned 45 episodes that sitting. I'm glad to have given it a second chance.