Madara grabs a Kunai, rips out the explosive tag and attach it to a dude like a price tag and throwing the Kunai somewhere and ends up hitting another dude
I mean, he slit people's throats with it, that hardly counts as useless. Like, what else was he supposed to do? Try and beat someone to death each and every time? The Yellow Flash would've been more like the Yellow Slog
Which brings another point: Why on earth would Minato not give them a seal before? Imagine how hilarious it would be if Kakashi used the Kunai when Rin was kidnapped and then Minato thought... "shit, where the fuck am i? WHERE ARE THEY?"
Damn straight and even though he himself emits that the difference in shape makes it bulkier than conventional kuni it's probably far better at blade locking and parrying against other kuni because of it's design.
I think the kunais are effective weapons in normal ninja battles. The story suffers a bit for not showing ordinary ninjas living and diying in ordinary ways. It could also show an epic battle between high-tier ninjas being finished by a simple but accurate kunai throw. It would be hilarious if Shino did it.
I always found it funny that when a person has a kunai thrown at them they counter it by throwing a kunai of their own. Like if you have enough time to throw your own kunai then surely you have enough time to dodge the one thrown at you.
Which is a shame, the Itachi throwing the kunai off a angle is not just super cool, but useful to hit people. Can totally picture Sasuke or Kakashi copying the flying thunder god and making the kunai go where they need like that.
@@robmarsh918 never said that, he didn’t know it’s durability, for all he knew a Kunai could work as isshiki kicked sasuke out of it and it was a rib cage susanoo he didn’t know it’s durability and a kunai could’ve worked for all he knew
I think as time went on they went from a dangerous potentially lethal attack to a more convenient way to make your opponent move with the threat of injury
Yeah, kunais were supposed to be both as weapons for silent range attack/kills, and to force the enemy re-position, like chess to control the battle but now no one even flinches to them
Hello! Not a naruto fan here but I know a bit about real life ninjutsu. The pop culture version of the kunai has very little in common with the real version. A real kunai is a gardening tool, a small shovel that shares much in common with the modern trowel. Many ninja weapons are adopted civilian tools. carrying around a sword would make you a very high profile individual but the kunai is something one can carry openly without drawing much attention to themselves. if and when they are thrown, and shuriken as well, the goal is not to kill your target but to act as a distraction. To draw attention and focus away from the ninja so they can either escape or move in for a more lethal blow. So yes, how you describe it is how a real world kunai would be used when thrown. though they are more lethal when sharpened and used more like a knife. That being said with crazy ninja magic and super strength I could see someone throwing one hard enough to be reliably lethal.
Was about to post when i found this comment. Yeah Kunai might not be dangerous at a point but there isnt many if at all moments where ninjas at base form would just have a kunai bounce off them, they HAVE to move. They are still useful, just not for killing
The only problem with kunais is that Kishimoto couldn't possibly adjust them for his dumb power creep where by the end of the series literally the only useful attack is a nuclear bomb no jutsu. Kunais were actually useful at the beginning of the series, especially in the fight against Zabuza. They weren't necessarily killing tools, but useful tools nonetheless.
We've seen kunais used to parry swords like the executioner's blade. They're actually very strong defensive weapons against enemies who rely on weapon combat. Their size makes them convenient to carry for whenever you need them too. Not to mention how often characters have been creative with kunais, like attaching explosives, smoke bombs, or just being diversions. Shikamaru vs Temari is probably the most creative use of a kunai in the entire series.
Yeah, about parry Zabusa`s sword. It should be particly impossible to do it. The lenght and the weight of the sword should pull away the kunai. In real is it allready hard or impossible to parry a normal sword with a normal dagger. So, it should be even harder by a even shorter dagger (kunai) vs a even longer sword. But yes, they are fit for a back up weapon.
Kakashi vs Obito is hype as hell because of the use of kunai. The very last time they ever were useful in a fight and it was solely because it was to parallel to back when they were kids
I always thought of Kunai as support items. They have been used to help set up traps, like cutting wires, activating triggers, and just plain fishing/ hunting. Sure, you might as well add chakra to them, like Kakashi splitting rocks with lightning style in the Tobi fight, or Sasuke using his foot to launch it at an enemy for a surprise attack. I mean they are the basics so it should be common to add to them.
I like you, your the first to realize it was never intended to be a weapon as much as a ninja tool.... in the real world those who studied ninjutsu used kunai as a gardening tool... commonly used for digging or tilling soil, they are primarily dull and damaged... not good in combat
@@jacobjensen7118 especially when nukes that people take point blank are introduced (naruto). I just don't get why people complain. If mfs are slicing the moon in half why is a kunai not working surprising
That is when enhancements with chakra should've been used more for other characters to keep up, like some super heavy Rock Lee Tonfa or even Sakura using weights as makeshift boxing gloves. There were shown examples with ninjas using chakra differently, much like how the Raikage has those golden rings to shatter opponents with.
Even with that it won't work because you need time to focus on all these characters and kishimoto didn't have that looks what happens to the kauz fight
The scene where Obito used the kunai as a decoy while running towards Kakashi while he was caught of guard by the kunai was an excellent use of the kunai. Heck, this even got me like 🙀🙀🙀😳😮💨With the basic kunai I think you have to be creative in how you use it.
Totally, very creative or very skilled, like when itachi curved kunais "wanted" style to hit nagato summons. Its also cool when fire is added to kunais or shurikens.
I’m pretty sure Kunais are used more in the beginning of the anime because that was around the time the characters actually acted like ninjas so they actually used all the tools on them. Usually using Kunais to plan attacks or attack someone. That’s also the reason i just love the early Naruto so much because no one were gods it was just ninjas doing what they had to do to survive
@@DivertingTale bro look at how they used to fight in the early Naruto. How they used to be more about sneaking up on people and how much they used to use ninjutsus on each other. Heck look at Kakashis outfit. You are probably watching the wrong show if you think these characters aren’t ninjas
@@verguco6051 Naruto ninjutsu is seriously called SHADOW clone ninjutsu where he hides himself in his shadows clones. Plz watch the anime before y’all talk 😂
@@jackluffy7914 kid, ninjas should be completely stealthy, use dark clothes on night, infiltrate ain the day, use mundane clothes, not using a fucking symbol of what village you are on the forehead, screaming who you are and where you came from, naruto ninjas never were real ninjas
Have you ever considered that because a kunai can damage a ninja regardless of how powerful he is, people would focus a lot on avoiding them? I mean, is one of the most common weapons in all of Naruto, probably even used before hashirama was born, and used by a lot of countries, people most likely had a lot of time to think about how to counter it
actual ninja didnt even use them as weapons, the used them to climb, but since naruto characters can walk on walls their secondary use became the primary use
@@zodrac516 That was a counterargument that I thought of too - that kunai could always damage someone no matter how strong they were. Sadly the argument doesn't hold up if since a good way to show the threat of kunai would be to actually make them do some serious damage, and to actually show that they were a threat through writing and storytelling. If Kishimoto threw kunais a bone every once in a while, by making them do some serious damage to a character, then it would be more justified.
Rewatching the entire series right now and I personally think the fight between sasuke and itachi when they throw hundreds of Shuriken was the best scene.
Well it kind of is since that would have been a good time for more Talk-No-Jutsu, since Danzo's plan entirely relies on Hanzo not communicating with Yahiko long enough to realize something about this isn't right.
I think of kunai the same way I think about modern weapons used for suppressive fire; the bullets from suppressive fire can and will kill you but their purpose is to facilitate maneuvering, defense, and other combat tactics. I think kunai mirror this in being just dangerous enough to make it more worthwhile to dodge or defend against it that it can be used for several utility purposes. What if you ignored it and it had a paper bomb on it, or some weird jutsu triggers when it hits you, or (in the case of Minato/Tobirama) they can teleport behind you. Just getting hit by it, even if not fatal, can injure and inhibit your performance which can lead to your death. Hell, in the case of FTG, dodging it is a bad idea too.
In the real world, Kunai aren't actually meant as weapons. They were a farmer's tool mainly used for digging. It was associated with ninja because it's something that can be carried around without raising suspicion. As basically spies, it is crucial for shinobi to lay low.
On the eight gates and weapon thing, there was one movie where Lee had like this nunchuck staff thing and that was actually so cool. Kind of wish that was in the actual series
I think it's a bit short-sighted to say kunai are useless just because we rarely see them kill anyone. If a character attacks with a kunai and the other dodges or blocks with his weapon, then it already did something. It posed enough of a threat to force the opponent to react to it, so it, by definition had use in this. The opponent being skilled enough to avoid to something doesn't make it useless. A kunai being used against a perfect susanoo is one of the few situations where it is actually "useless"
Kunai/Shuriken are the equivalent of ki blasts in DB or guns in Marvel/DC. They're just meant as long range action set pieces. Also having blunt force resistance and having cutting resistance are two different things. Again, it's like most iterations of WW who is able to swap hands with Superman but needs her bracelets to block bullets
A reason that Kunai's displaced swords (common during the warring states period) seems to be that in modern times it's common to use an element on kunai's to make them act as sword. The best scene of this is when Danzo wraps a kunai in wind style to make a sword. Which is why swords are seemingly obsolete amongst Jonin after the warring states.
Kunaïs are usefull but in an universe where people can destroy iron and concrete wall with their hand/jutsu its not that powerfull anymore of course. Same for shuriken, it's not supposed to be deadly weapon, but more like a way to make small injuries to obtain the advantage. Best example is kidomaru (ok it's not real kunai but he gives his web kunaïs form tho) to analyse and hurt neji more and more. Neji do the same to attack at distance in this fight.
I just want to say this. If Baryon Mode Naruto or 8 Gates Might Guy had a kunai in their respective fights, they could (and should be able to) gouge out the eyes of both Isshiki and Madara, since we know that a dojutsu eye is fragile as a normal eye. Expecially Baryon Mode Naruto, in the anime, has every opportunity to permanently blind his foe!
@@villain9482 skin, yes. Eye membrane? Not sure. I mean, obito begged Sakura to destroy his rinnegan with a kunai. So I assume Baryon More Naruto could have at least tried to gorge out Isshiki eyes, and Guy should have definitely gone for a punch to the head!
As a weapon, D tier, as a tool that can combine with whatever you have in your pocket? A Tier Shikamaru basicly plans everything with a kunai as a starting block
I think the main reason we never see the kunai being utilised is cause most of the cast aren't exactly Ninja... they are way too confrontational to be remotely close to Ninja. Something u missed on the Kunai being useful or actually utilised is by Shikamaru a fair few times. N thats mainly cause the kunai is a ninja tool more than a ninja weapon. So ultimately its proper use is rarely a lone kunai thrown at the target.
The fight between Kakashi's kunai and Zabuza's executioner blade is a good fight and makes sense because I think it was meant to show viewers the skill level between the two, with Kakashi being the better taijutsu fighter.
Kunai is good for surprise attacks. You know the main use for it in real life was as a climb tool, hidden knife and use in wild. To ninjas in Naruto it is almost the same, it is much more used by kids who are not too good with jutsu and taijutsu, adults use more as a diversion and distraction than a true weapon. Besides that only people who use it with chakra use weapond in a effective way in Naruto. Like bee was able to turn normal pencil on weapons, this is a thing that should be used more often.
The reason Kunais are useless in Naruto is because we only mostly focus on characters that don't need them, I mean what's a Kunai gonna do against a Susano'o 🤷♂️
This is kind of like saying the most useless punch in boxing is a jab because it doesn’t knock people out. Kunais can be used for defending, setting up stronger attacks, apprehending, infusing chakra and many other things as you mentioned
The same reason why Tenten is the most useless and power crept character in the series , weapons ( just like fire ) are uber dangerous and realistically would end the fight in like 10 minutes therefore they had to be severely nerfed for most of the series until the power creep reached Kamehameha level battles at which point weapons are simply worthless by comparison
5:58 In HEMA there's actually quite a few techniques that use a dagger against a sword that apparently can be pretty effective. Granted, a kunai is absolutely not optimal for taking on a sword since it's lacking a guard.
What about Sakon getting killed by Kankuro? He used the Iron Maiden to trap him in and then used swords to finish him off. Does that not count because they were arm swords so they're "special".
something else is the kunai size changing a ton. some of them are tiny, like the size of fingers and other times its almost as big as their forearm. also different thicknesses. some are more flat and others look square and really thick. a big and thick kunai could be really heavy and powerful being thrown around at the crazy speeds that the ninjas can throw stuff at.
All weapons come in variable sizes and styles. In the land of waves, naruto used a hugeee shuriken that looks very different from small ones. I think it would be cool if more ppl had personalized shuriken kind of like how swords are treated in naruto
Kunai are pretty effective against opponents lacking chakra, where they become a convenient way to not need to either go over and beat them or expend significant energy on chakra. However, the manga series tends to fail at providing opponents without chakra. In fact, we see very little of what should be routine work for ninja. A kunai could still work against an opponent with chakra, but it's no more effective than explosives, punching them in the face, or anything else.
I always wondered why naruto never just used multi shadow clones and then surrounded the person in a dome of 2000 shadow clones and just rained down kunai on them. I mean I get why because that’s insanely op in the story unless you’re a hyuga but logically he could have just smoked people with clones and weapon spamming
Compared to other Shonen series, Naruto mostly averts the type of power creep where a "strong" character can tank pretty much anything being thrown at them that's not a "powerful" attack. It doesn't matter whether you're a Genin or a Kage if you get pierced by a regular sword or a knife and you didn't manage to avoid, counter, or block it... you will get hurt unless you have a pretty good healing factor.
@@trace6954 not my point. It's like saying a pistol is more destructive than a sniper in real life. Yes a pistol can kill, but if a person can survive a snipeshot(OP jutsu) aimed at their body without any harm, it makes no sense for it to be killed by a pistol bullet hitting the same spot(kunai).
I think because they are so common and accessible people generally know how to counter them, and the best fighters would use them sparringly or as an add on to land another attack
This is perfect for the One Piece stans who say “logia’s are invincible outside of the verse cuz no one else has Haki🥴” A 6 inch piece of metal is able to harm planetary beings if they enhance it with spiritual energy to boost its AP and durability. Sometimes, as Demonstrated by Asuma, that spiritual energy can do damage outside the range of the physical weapon to do internal damage. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the exact definition of Armament Haki.
Not the definition of armament haki is weaponized will power and spiritual power it can bypass loads of haxx etc just because they both use some of the same pieces don’t mean it’s the same puzzle
@@charlesreed7935 You can say “Nuh uh” all you want, but you didn’t provide any properties armament haki has that chakra coating does not or vice versa. As of now the only argument I’ve really heard y’all say is based on the terminology being different. This is like saying we know fire can be put out by water but we don’t know about “Agua” since in Spanish it’s not technically called “water” even though the definition is nearly identical. Also, I don’t even know about that analogy mate… how you gonna have the same puzzle pieces and a different puzzle?
@@charlesreed7935 Regardless though… a sponge that’s advertised as being able to absorb water very well, will still be able to suck up blood cuz the properties that make that possible are shared. It’s just not mentioned in the description cuz it’s not a primary purpose, or relevant to the producers. Even if you try it on a margarita that has sugar, ice, and a lime… the vast majority of the margarita will be gone to the point that it’s no longer even a margarita. All that will remain in the cup is the extra ingredients but the liquid will be gone. Doing that to someone’s attack be it Haki/DF generated or Chakra generated is going to significantly weaken it, if not totally nullify it. Haki is just spirit and will power, chakra has those properties and MORE. So chakra based attacks would be like liquid based attacks where as haki is just a subcategory of liquid being only water. Meaning chakra would definitely thoroughly work on Haki but Haki would barely work on chakra if at all since it’s less complex. Dumping a margarita instead of water on a fire, will still put it out. Maybe more effectively, maybe less but it definitely would work. However drinking water instead of a Margarita won’t still get you drunk.
14:33 Okay, to be fair, it wasnt JUST that Neji got killed by a stick. Its that this man has a grand total of 3 siganture moves and he didnt think to use the one thats basically a shield!
Haven’t watched the video, but Kunais in real life are more like multi-purpose tools, that can be used as a combat, and utility knife. Also these types of weapons, like shuriken, are made to hit, and stun, but not kill enemies, especially when u throw them from a distance(except paper bomb kunais)
Um, didn't Sasuke (with Boruto) stab Momoshiki's absorbing hand Rinnegan with a kunai? I think that makes a kunai useful. Same with Borushiki stabbing Sasuke's Rinnegan. Then there's Minato and his special flying raijin kunais that is the cornerstone of fighting style. Lastly, Shikamaru used kunais with exploding tags as distractions to hit Hidan's shadow with Asuma's chakra blades with shadow chakra. So yeah, nobody died to a kunai. But, it crippled Momoshiki and Sasuke, made Minato a beast and was a good diversionary tactic for Shikamaru.
@Boredfan Gerrude 1 - was already answered. 2 - Who cares if it was a sneak attack? They're ninjas. That's what they're supposed to do 🤦🏻♂️ 3 - Not deadly? Tell that to the 1000 shinobi that he killed. Without his kunai, he won't be a flee on sight order. 🤦🏻♂️
something in noticed in a lot of Shonen anime, and action shows in general is that, unless the weapons are the main focus, characters will rarely ever use them, only weapons i see getting brought often in a good way are swords and guns, other tools tend to get forgotten or some times frown upon and told to be "cheating" because a "real" fighter uses their body as weapon
Shikamaru said something that explained Naruto’s original intent best. A small power can be useful. Examples of this being true. Neji knocked out with a punch, Gaara defeated by a head butt, Pain beaten by a regular rasengan, sexy jutsu landing the best blow on Kaguya. These examples are all over Naruto. Small power, big impact. No matter how strong you are a kuni can kill you. It takes no chakra to use and can kill. At best it creates a great distraction. I think 🎉Kuni’s are the most essential tool in the show. Pain used a nail to attempt to kill Kakashi. In the right hands a nail was a deadly weapon, shield and chakra less win condition.
For me they are used as tools for means rather than be weapons, not saying they aren’t weapons but in the series they are definitely more of a tool / situational item😊
Kunais were actually used in the past not for killing but for genral purposes like grapple hook or a knife................ and rod like wepons were actually used to kill in the past.
They should have used more swords. With how strong they get, many could even use giant swords like Zabuza and Kisame. Or kanabo and warhammers. There's really no excuse for shinobi to at least carry short swords or katana/longswords like Sai, Shisui, Sasuke and Orochimaru.
I'd say, there is a really good and crucial "excuse": jutsu and hand seals. As someone else already mentioned in the comments: Every second, where you're holding a weapon/sword/kunai and therefore must "get rid of it"/put it back, is a second lost, which you might have needed to do hand seals. In addition you need to carry your sword over long times/distances and you're very visible armed. While shuriken and kunai, as small throwing weapons, manage to be on the verge of functional to unfunctional for ninjas (in the Naruto world), swords and other big weapons step right over this line. Therefore: Every ninja, who uses a sword/weapon, especially a big one, is a special exception and gets (most of the time) a "gimmick" to rationalize this exception. Like Kisame, Hidan, Temari or Sasuke. As for people like Sai, Shisui and the ANBU: They're specialists, who are mostly used for asassinations. Or in other words: They creep up on there prey and slice 'em up, before the victim even notices. Itachi, as someone who was an ANBU and used a sword, is a good example, because he volunterily gave up on using it right after going rogue. Also: The ANBU doesn't really have "swords", from a size perspective it's more of a "dagger", like a wakizashi or something.
Kunais are literally one of the first things they learn as ninjas. It’s most likely ingrained in them to use it as a fundamental tool regardless of how powerful they are.
It's very strange to have "it didn't kill anyone" be the bar. The reality is that everyone feared and tried to avoid getting hit by them which speaks more to the power of them. You can find examples of such things being used in various tactics from chess to various battlefields and even exemplified by Shikamaru when he says (paraphrased) "the first attack is meant to be a distraction for the real attack."
Kunais has its uses and there are various times it is very useful for each shinobi and these are my favorite instances: - Part 1: Kidomaru created his own golden kunais from his mouth and attacked Neji from a safe distance finding his Byakugan’s blind spot - Chiyo uses kunais to attach her chakra threads to Sasori’s Hiruko’s puppet tail which allowed her to save Sakura later on - Danzo’s unique Wind Style kunai (turned into a sword) used to stab Sasuke; Danzo’s Wind Style shurikens was badass as well - Kakashi saving an unconcious Obito from falling into Lava, and saving himself and Sakura from falling into the Lava as well attaching a scroll to the kunai when Kaguya warped them into her dimension - In episode 285, Pakura used a kunai to fight Omoi, one of the best filler fights It’s useful when the situation calls for it depending on the shinobi
The real reason why they become more irrelevant as the series goes on is definitely power creep, but my head canon says that chakra is a good defense against chakra, which is why a chakra nuke might not kill someone who is pretty strong, but being stabbed might. Absolutely no evidence of this, this is just how I rationalize it as the show progresses lol
Shinobi should use more weapons in general. Especially weaker shinobi. You could see it as an extension of taijutsu; it can help you attack and defend more effectively than with bare hands, but also without wasting chakra if it's not necessary. Otherwise, scrap weapons (at least with strong opponents) and focus on taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. Thou I guess that that's mostly what happened anyway.
I’m confused at to why you didn’t highlight minato cutting off one of the tails of the 8 tails more… I feel like that is by far the best use of kunai in the series.
Something I think should be noted that I haven’t seen brought up is how it’s very important that shinobi keep hands open if they need to use hand signs, so that is a reason to not use kunai. The moment it takes to get rid of one to use a sign could be the difference between getting that jutsu off or not
The thing with the Kunai is that in real life, they weren’t really used as weapons, at least at first. They were gardening tools used by peasants. The most effective use for one to a ninja was cutting holes in walls during infiltration. They did eventually become weapons in martial arts, but they weren’t throwing items. That was only for the Shurikens(which also weren’t weapons). So the Kunai not becoming an effective weapon really isn’t surprising.
I find it highly interesting that this video dropped simultaneously with Macho Nacho Productions' latest video titled: _"New KunaiGC Modchip For The Nintendo Gamecube"_
when he was talking about how madera can withstand blows that are basically nukes but can be stabbed by a sword i immediately thought about yajirobe slicing vegeta
Honestly I think part of the issue is they never really expanded the concept of chakkra weapons, as think of all the special designs and abilities that could have. Also yes power creep instead of doing more normal ninja stuff is a big part of it. For Example Fire kuni being designed to have a jet engine effect when fire chakra is added making them the fastest and most penetrative. Wind kuni having little fins and limited homing ability. Earth not needing special designed kuni but they just use Earth Style to increase the mass, so their kuni can stagger better. Lightning kuni being designed to be better conductors letting lighting arc between multiple. Water kunai basically having channels in the blade so it can release a high pressure shot into the target when it hits, that you maybe enhance further with a poison capsule so not only are you getting burst attack but its injecting poison into you.
Two of the best Kunai scenes imo were 1)Zabuzas massacre on the bridge after Hakus death and Narutos speech 2)Madaras entrance in shippuden when the ninja tried grabbing him with earth style and he just stabbed him in the head that was cold af
The way I've seen Naruto combat for the most party, Durability isn't much of a factor at all unless someone has regeneration, healing chakra, or legit armor. Most characters seem to just be glass cannons with ways to avoid damage rather then take it
Around the 10 minute mark they actually show that in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. If you hit the weapon button he pulls out a kunai but drops it because he's too tired to hold on.
I think Tenten was supposed to be that character who makes the weapon fights cool and kunais relevant but all she did throughout the series was to open a seal scroll and drop a bunch of weapons then forget about them
There’s some logical sense in them taking titanic blows, but dying to a knife cut. Blunt force trauma covers a greater surface area, where a weapon like a blade is small enough to do maximum damage with minimal effort.
the meanest kunai combo that iv seen was from konohamaru vs jugo. Yo, that rib slash, lung stab, into a underspin side kick that planted it into his face. That was cold af.
Well the main thing is, all shinobi have superhuman abilities and are trained with and against kunai from an early age. And one thing you can expect is: if you draw a kunai, so will your enemy. And usually that's what happens. Kunai get parried or countered. So they kind of neutralize themselves. Plus while they are dangerous weapons, every ninja has access to better stuff as long as they have chakra. They still can kill, but probably not a powerful shinobi.
I feel like kunai are like jabs in boxing. They are used to set up more risky things with a less risky quick safe option. You don’t see boxers get knocked out by jabs but and arguably some will throw many jabs and only land a few but still keep throwing them. It’s not really about landing so many but it helps you dictate how the fight goes so you can use more powerful stuff
Kishimoto stated that the Naruto verse is around gun level meaning that anyone with a gun and kill any character in the series so if someone gets to stab you with a kunai it can definitely be fatal. The Naruto verse AP and DC are pretty high but when it comes to tanking attacks it's no higher than a pistol.
Maybe a hot take, but you talking about the Mist village arc reminded of how much more interesting the world of Naruto felt during the Mist village arc. You'd have things like mafia, samurai bodyguards, not just these contrived ninja based societies that made the world feel so restrictive and one note.
Kishimoto has got to be one of the worst writers ever powerscaling wise. Even the techniques introduced in early DB were not completely worthless at the end of DBZ.
I think the idea is that when you get hit by a jutsu it's a physical embodiment of a spiritual energy and if you have enough spiritual energy to withstand it it dosen't do any damage where as a knife is a knife and regardless of how strong you are or how skilled you are there's very little you can do about getting stabbed unless you get lucky and it dosen't hit anything vital
Honestly always wondered why chidori users went for a chidori rather then just stabbing someone to save chakra. There are times where a kunai wouldn’t serve but sometimes they just pop out a chidori for like no reason at all
What's the best Kunai scene in Naruto?
When Naruto stabbed himself.
Madara grabs a Kunai, rips out the explosive tag and attach it to a dude like a price tag and throwing the Kunai somewhere and ends up hitting another dude
When Danzo tried to stab Sasuke while he had a susano'o
Ask Sasuke's eye, man didn't even see it coming lol
Everytime hiraishin was used.
Even if they are useless, we can't deny that Minato had the coolest looking kunai in the series
I mean, he slit people's throats with it, that hardly counts as useless. Like, what else was he supposed to do? Try and beat someone to death each and every time? The Yellow Flash would've been more like the Yellow Slog
@@Komix777 I meant kunai on anyone but Minato's hands
Which brings another point: Why on earth would Minato not give them a seal before?
Imagine how hilarious it would be if Kakashi used the Kunai when Rin was kidnapped and then Minato thought... "shit, where the fuck am i? WHERE ARE THEY?"
Well to be fair minatos Kunais are the least useless just because they have the flying raijin seal on them
Damn straight and even though he himself emits that the difference in shape makes it bulkier than conventional kuni it's probably far better at blade locking and parrying against other kuni because of it's design.
I think the kunais are effective weapons in normal ninja battles. The story suffers a bit for not showing ordinary ninjas living and diying in ordinary ways. It could also show an epic battle between high-tier ninjas being finished by a simple but accurate kunai throw. It would be hilarious if Shino did it.
Shino finishing someone off with a regular kunai toss is very in character, wish he had more fights....
Also Itachi being specifically a throwables genius
Minato would like to beg to differ.
Kunai-s were used by RL ninja because they were gardening tools , which could be used as improvised weapons without drawing suspicion.
@@dragonlordskater5028 Well Itachi saved Naruto and Bee thanks to Kunai xD
I always found it funny that when a person has a kunai thrown at them they counter it by throwing a kunai of their own. Like if you have enough time to throw your own kunai then surely you have enough time to dodge the one thrown at you.
Rule of cool.
Yea but that's less style-points
@@lucykitsune4619 Understandable
Which is a shame, the Itachi throwing the kunai off a angle is not just super cool, but useful to hit people.
Can totally picture Sasuke or Kakashi copying the flying thunder god and making the kunai go where they need like that.
Prettt sure it’s just to stop the kanao from being near you in case it has a explosive seal
If you feel stupid, Danzo used a kunai against Sasuke's Susanoo.
He was testing its durability
@@Shiki-a7k”What?! If my kunai can’t penetrate it, it’s must be absolutely indestructible! Nothing is stronger than a generic kunai!” 😂
He didn't expect it to work
@@robmarsh918 Well it's still some iron so yeah it's pretty dense and solid
@@robmarsh918 never said that, he didn’t know it’s durability, for all he knew a Kunai could work as isshiki kicked sasuke out of it and it was a rib cage susanoo he didn’t know it’s durability and a kunai could’ve worked for all he knew
I think as time went on they went from a dangerous potentially lethal attack to a more convenient way to make your opponent move with the threat of injury
That does make sense
Yeah, kunais were supposed to be both as weapons for silent range attack/kills, and to force the enemy re-position, like chess to control the battle but now no one even flinches to them
Even in the beginning they were trash tbh
Hello! Not a naruto fan here but I know a bit about real life ninjutsu. The pop culture version of the kunai has very little in common with the real version. A real kunai is a gardening tool, a small shovel that shares much in common with the modern trowel. Many ninja weapons are adopted civilian tools. carrying around a sword would make you a very high profile individual but the kunai is something one can carry openly without drawing much attention to themselves. if and when they are thrown, and shuriken as well, the goal is not to kill your target but to act as a distraction. To draw attention and focus away from the ninja so they can either escape or move in for a more lethal blow.
So yes, how you describe it is how a real world kunai would be used when thrown. though they are more lethal when sharpened and used more like a knife.
That being said with crazy ninja magic and super strength I could see someone throwing one hard enough to be reliably lethal.
Was about to post when i found this comment.
Yeah Kunai might not be dangerous at a point but there isnt many if at all moments where ninjas at base form would just have a kunai bounce off them, they HAVE to move.
They are still useful, just not for killing
Remember when Yahiko threw himself into a kunai?
And Kiba stabbed himself too.
Sasuke’s eyes
Hashirama threatened to kill himself with a Kunai
That probably counts as a cutscene death
Wait what when??? Lol
The only problem with kunais is that Kishimoto couldn't possibly adjust them for his dumb power creep where by the end of the series literally the only useful attack is a nuclear bomb no jutsu. Kunais were actually useful at the beginning of the series, especially in the fight against Zabuza. They weren't necessarily killing tools, but useful tools nonetheless.
Cloak a kunai in Kurama chakra. There, it's great despite the power creep.
@@boredfangerrude kinda pointless if you could just as well throw a chakra nuke
@@boredfangerrude why do that if you can do a massive tailed beast giant sage mode planetary rasengan?
@@chivasroco1752 obviously coating with chakra would be for characters that aren't naruto💀
@@no.1spidey-fan182 yeah, but then again what's the point? We've seen Asuma throw his windchakra infused knife and it managed to punch through a tree.
I always said. When it comes to naruto if your parents blessed you with a name you have nothing to fear from kunai
Haah
We've seen kunais used to parry swords like the executioner's blade. They're actually very strong defensive weapons against enemies who rely on weapon combat. Their size makes them convenient to carry for whenever you need them too.
Not to mention how often characters have been creative with kunais, like attaching explosives, smoke bombs, or just being diversions.
Shikamaru vs Temari is probably the most creative use of a kunai in the entire series.
Yeah, about parry Zabusa`s sword. It should be particly impossible to do it.
The lenght and the weight of the sword should pull away the kunai. In real is it allready hard or impossible to parry a normal sword with a normal dagger. So, it should be even harder by a even shorter dagger (kunai) vs a even longer sword.
But yes, they are fit for a back up weapon.
Lmfao no bruh. Even a knife or a dagger would be better defensively than a Kunai simply because they actually have guards
@@Phantom-bh5ru They seem to make it work. Rule of cool.
Kakashi vs Obito is hype as hell because of the use of kunai. The very last time they ever were useful in a fight and it was solely because it was to parallel to back when they were kids
@@Phantom-bh5ru
Kunai is also often used as distraction or trap deployments.
It’s a ninja tool, not the main killer weapon so yeah
I always thought of Kunai as support items. They have been used to help set up traps, like cutting wires, activating triggers, and just plain fishing/ hunting. Sure, you might as well add chakra to them, like Kakashi splitting rocks with lightning style in the Tobi fight, or Sasuke using his foot to launch it at an enemy for a surprise attack. I mean they are the basics so it should be common to add to them.
I like you, your the first to realize it was never intended to be a weapon as much as a ninja tool.... in the real world those who studied ninjutsu used kunai as a gardening tool... commonly used for digging or tilling soil, they are primarily dull and damaged... not good in combat
@@jacobjensen7118 especially when nukes that people take point blank are introduced (naruto). I just don't get why people complain. If mfs are slicing the moon in half why is a kunai not working surprising
@@jacobjensen7118
They were also used as besieging tools, for things like anchoring ladders and casting and securing lines.
That is when enhancements with chakra should've been used more for other characters to keep up, like some super heavy Rock Lee Tonfa or even Sakura using weights as makeshift boxing gloves. There were shown examples with ninjas using chakra differently, much like how the Raikage has those golden rings to shatter opponents with.
Even with that it won't work because you need time to focus on all these characters and kishimoto didn't have that looks what happens to the kauz fight
The scene where Obito used the kunai as a decoy while running towards Kakashi while he was caught of guard by the kunai was an excellent use of the kunai. Heck, this even got me like 🙀🙀🙀😳😮💨With the basic kunai I think you have to be creative in how you use it.
Obito is King
Totally, very creative or very skilled, like when itachi curved kunais "wanted" style to hit nagato summons. Its also cool when fire is added to kunais or shurikens.
I’m pretty sure Kunais are used more in the beginning of the anime because that was around the time the characters actually acted like ninjas so they actually used all the tools on them. Usually using Kunais to plan attacks or attack someone. That’s also the reason i just love the early Naruto so much because no one were gods it was just ninjas doing what they had to do to survive
They never acted like Ninja. Look at the colors Naruto and Sakura wear as their combat clothes
@@DivertingTale bro look at how they used to fight in the early Naruto. How they used to be more about sneaking up on people and how much they used to use ninjutsus on each other. Heck look at Kakashis outfit. You are probably watching the wrong show if you think these characters aren’t ninjas
they never were ninjas, i mean fucking naruto is running aroung with orange clothes and screaming
@@verguco6051 Naruto ninjutsu is seriously called SHADOW clone ninjutsu where he hides himself in his shadows clones. Plz watch the anime before y’all talk 😂
@@jackluffy7914 kid, ninjas should be completely stealthy, use dark clothes on night, infiltrate ain the day, use mundane clothes, not using a fucking symbol of what village you are on the forehead, screaming who you are and where you came from, naruto ninjas never were real ninjas
Have you ever considered that because a kunai can damage a ninja regardless of how powerful he is, people would focus a lot on avoiding them? I mean, is one of the most common weapons in all of Naruto, probably even used before hashirama was born, and used by a lot of countries, people most likely had a lot of time to think about how to counter it
actual ninja didnt even use them as weapons, the used them to climb, but since naruto characters can walk on walls their secondary use became the primary use
@@devforfun5618 true, but it's also a pretty cool weapon, so why not
@@zodrac516 That was a counterargument that I thought of too - that kunai could always damage someone no matter how strong they were. Sadly the argument doesn't hold up if since a good way to show the threat of kunai would be to actually make them do some serious damage, and to actually show that they were a threat through writing and storytelling. If Kishimoto threw kunais a bone every once in a while, by making them do some serious damage to a character, then it would be more justified.
Rewatching the entire series right now and I personally think the fight between sasuke and itachi when they throw hundreds of Shuriken was the best scene.
Shuriken
Shuriken is a big difference
@@BathrobeMack shit yeah my bad! But still best scene imo
Only Shikamaru knows how to use kunais effectively
COUGH COUGH minato COUGH COUGH
@@Imimurwalls283 i agree minato is good at using kunai, but shikamaru on other hand is literally Genius on how using them to outplay his enemies
Shikamaru is overrated
"Noody was ever killed or gravely injured by a kunai, at least a named character"
Yahiko: Is my death a joke to you?
Well it kind of is since that would have been a good time for more Talk-No-Jutsu, since Danzo's plan entirely relies on Hanzo not communicating with Yahiko long enough to realize something about this isn't right.
I think of kunai the same way I think about modern weapons used for suppressive fire; the bullets from suppressive fire can and will kill you but their purpose is to facilitate maneuvering, defense, and other combat tactics. I think kunai mirror this in being just dangerous enough to make it more worthwhile to dodge or defend against it that it can be used for several utility purposes.
What if you ignored it and it had a paper bomb on it, or some weird jutsu triggers when it hits you, or (in the case of Minato/Tobirama) they can teleport behind you. Just getting hit by it, even if not fatal, can injure and inhibit your performance which can lead to your death. Hell, in the case of FTG, dodging it is a bad idea too.
In the real world, Kunai aren't actually meant as weapons. They were a farmer's tool mainly used for digging. It was associated with ninja because it's something that can be carried around without raising suspicion. As basically spies, it is crucial for shinobi to lay low.
On the eight gates and weapon thing, there was one movie where Lee had like this nunchuck staff thing and that was actually so cool.
Kind of wish that was in the actual series
I think it's a bit short-sighted to say kunai are useless just because we rarely see them kill anyone. If a character attacks with a kunai and the other dodges or blocks with his weapon, then it already did something. It posed enough of a threat to force the opponent to react to it, so it, by definition had use in this.
The opponent being skilled enough to avoid to something doesn't make it useless. A kunai being used against a perfect susanoo is one of the few situations where it is actually "useless"
how can you survive a meteor falling on top of you but get stabbed by a sword?
Kunai/Shuriken are the equivalent of ki blasts in DB or guns in Marvel/DC. They're just meant as long range action set pieces. Also having blunt force resistance and having cutting resistance are two different things. Again, it's like most iterations of WW who is able to swap hands with Superman but needs her bracelets to block bullets
Kunais are the equivalent of Fire Jitsu. They look cool and dangerous, but they rarely are decisive.
A reason that Kunai's displaced swords (common during the warring states period) seems to be that in modern times it's common to use an element on kunai's to make them act as sword. The best scene of this is when Danzo wraps a kunai in wind style to make a sword. Which is why swords are seemingly obsolete amongst Jonin after the warring states.
Kunaïs are usefull but in an universe where people can destroy iron and concrete wall with their hand/jutsu its not that powerfull anymore of course. Same for shuriken, it's not supposed to be deadly weapon, but more like a way to make small injuries to obtain the advantage.
Best example is kidomaru (ok it's not real kunai but he gives his web kunaïs form tho) to analyse and hurt neji more and more. Neji do the same to attack at distance in this fight.
i'm surprised we didnt see more poison weapons in naruto, like sasori used it a few times with his doll tail and the poison gas but were there more ?
@@Gensolink kankuro but it doesn't count i guess lol, but yes i don't have any name right now
I just want to say this. If Baryon Mode Naruto or 8 Gates Might Guy had a kunai in their respective fights, they could (and should be able to) gouge out the eyes of both Isshiki and Madara, since we know that a dojutsu eye is fragile as a normal eye.
Expecially Baryon Mode Naruto, in the anime, has every opportunity to permanently blind his foe!
If he punched Isshiki in the eye, couldn't Baryon "lower" the lifespan of it, making him go blind faster.
I have been saying this for a long time.
I was gonna say the kunai would literally break over their skin. But I forgot they use chakra to amp weapons too
@@villain9482 skin, yes. Eye membrane? Not sure. I mean, obito begged Sakura to destroy his rinnegan with a kunai. So I assume Baryon More Naruto could have at least tried to gorge out Isshiki eyes, and Guy should have definitely gone for a punch to the head!
@@lucabaldazzi7289 yeah no definitely the eye. We've never seen them amp their eyes durability before 💀.
As a weapon, D tier, as a tool that can combine with whatever you have in your pocket? A Tier
Shikamaru basicly plans everything with a kunai as a starting block
I think the main reason we never see the kunai being utilised is cause most of the cast aren't exactly Ninja... they are way too confrontational to be remotely close to Ninja.
Something u missed on the Kunai being useful or actually utilised is by Shikamaru a fair few times. N thats mainly cause the kunai is a ninja tool more than a ninja weapon. So ultimately its proper use is rarely a lone kunai thrown at the target.
What do you expect is going to happen when you throw around shovels?
@@ZenoDLC I think you mean Trowels
@@stewartbuglerwhat's a trowel?
srry I'm lil dumb
@@regenratior_rule a tiny sharper spade for grouting and weeding. Its essentially a gardening tool. They come in various shapes
The fight between Kakashi's kunai and Zabuza's executioner blade is a good fight and makes sense because I think it was meant to show viewers the skill level between the two, with Kakashi being the better taijutsu fighter.
You really forget about our man Choji wrapping his body in kunais for his Spiky Human Boulder jutsu against Jirobo? 😹
Kunai is good for surprise attacks. You know the main use for it in real life was as a climb tool, hidden knife and use in wild.
To ninjas in Naruto it is almost the same, it is much more used by kids who are not too good with jutsu and taijutsu, adults use more as a diversion and distraction than a true weapon.
Besides that only people who use it with chakra use weapond in a effective way in Naruto. Like bee was able to turn normal pencil on weapons, this is a thing that should be used more often.
The reason Kunais are useless in Naruto is because we only mostly focus on characters that don't need them, I mean what's a Kunai gonna do against a Susano'o 🤷♂️
Danzo 🤡
This is kind of like saying the most useless punch in boxing is a jab because it doesn’t knock people out. Kunais can be used for defending, setting up stronger attacks, apprehending, infusing chakra and many other things as you mentioned
perfect example yes
Kunai are the ki blasts of Naruto.
Not an expert, but I believe kunais were only used because they were cheap and easy to convert from gardening tools
The same reason why Tenten is the most useless and power crept character in the series , weapons ( just like fire ) are uber dangerous and realistically would end the fight in like 10 minutes therefore they had to be severely nerfed for most of the series until the power creep reached Kamehameha level battles at which point weapons are simply worthless by comparison
5:58
In HEMA there's actually quite a few techniques that use a dagger against a sword that apparently can be pretty effective.
Granted, a kunai is absolutely not optimal for taking on a sword since it's lacking a guard.
0:45 U didn't have to violate my man Sasuke like that 💀
What about Sakon getting killed by Kankuro? He used the Iron Maiden to trap him in and then used swords to finish him off. Does that not count because they were arm swords so they're "special".
He mentions other weapons but the rant is about kunai specifically
Kiba lost to a kuani
something else is the kunai size changing a ton. some of them are tiny, like the size of fingers and other times its almost as big as their forearm. also different thicknesses. some are more flat and others look square and really thick. a big and thick kunai could be really heavy and powerful being thrown around at the crazy speeds that the ninjas can throw stuff at.
All weapons come in variable sizes and styles. In the land of waves, naruto used a hugeee shuriken that looks very different from small ones. I think it would be cool if more ppl had personalized shuriken kind of like how swords are treated in naruto
Kunai are pretty effective against opponents lacking chakra, where they become a convenient way to not need to either go over and beat them or expend significant energy on chakra. However, the manga series tends to fail at providing opponents without chakra. In fact, we see very little of what should be routine work for ninja. A kunai could still work against an opponent with chakra, but it's no more effective than explosives, punching them in the face, or anything else.
I always wondered why naruto never just used multi shadow clones and then surrounded the person in a dome of 2000 shadow clones and just rained down kunai on them. I mean I get why because that’s insanely op in the story unless you’re a hyuga but logically he could have just smoked people with clones and weapon spamming
Didnt he do that to gaara?
@@nickchagnon he only used shurikens
Fire style, naruto corspe fire jutsu
Compared to other Shonen series, Naruto mostly averts the type of power creep where a "strong" character can tank pretty much anything being thrown at them that's not a "powerful" attack. It doesn't matter whether you're a Genin or a Kage if you get pierced by a regular sword or a knife and you didn't manage to avoid, counter, or block it... you will get hurt unless you have a pretty good healing factor.
which is stupid. Arguing that a nuke destroying a mountain to be less destructive than a random piece of iron is just weird.
@@michaelshahoe both equally fatal in the right circumstances though
@@trace6954 not my point. It's like saying a pistol is more destructive than a sniper in real life. Yes a pistol can kill, but if a person can survive a snipeshot(OP jutsu) aimed at their body without any harm, it makes no sense for it to be killed by a pistol bullet hitting the same spot(kunai).
@TheSpectacularRevenant Because he blocked It with the chakra cloak. In his regular form, he world be skewed.
And I said It mostly averted that cliche, not that It totally averted It.
I think because they are so common and accessible people generally know how to counter them, and the best fighters would use them sparringly or as an add on to land another attack
Fun fact... Naruto's thigh pouch is just... not big enough to store a kunai.
Must be a Bag of Holding
sasuke in losing his eye to a kunai is the only time i've seen a kunai do something.
This is perfect for the One Piece stans who say “logia’s are invincible outside of the verse cuz no one else has Haki🥴”
A 6 inch piece of metal is able to harm planetary beings if they enhance it with spiritual energy to boost its AP and durability. Sometimes, as Demonstrated by Asuma, that spiritual energy can do damage outside the range of the physical weapon to do internal damage. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the exact definition of Armament Haki.
Not the definition of armament haki is weaponized will power and spiritual power it can bypass loads of haxx etc just because they both use some of the same pieces don’t mean it’s the same puzzle
@@charlesreed7935 You can say “Nuh uh” all you want, but you didn’t provide any properties armament haki has that chakra coating does not or vice versa. As of now the only argument I’ve really heard y’all say is based on the terminology being different. This is like saying we know fire can be put out by water but we don’t know about “Agua” since in Spanish it’s not technically called “water” even though the definition is nearly identical.
Also, I don’t even know about that analogy mate… how you gonna have the same puzzle pieces and a different puzzle?
@@charlesreed7935 Regardless though… a sponge that’s advertised as being able to absorb water very well, will still be able to suck up blood cuz the properties that make that possible are shared. It’s just not mentioned in the description cuz it’s not a primary purpose, or relevant to the producers. Even if you try it on a margarita that has sugar, ice, and a lime… the vast majority of the margarita will be gone to the point that it’s no longer even a margarita. All that will remain in the cup is the extra ingredients but the liquid will be gone. Doing that to someone’s attack be it Haki/DF generated or Chakra generated is going to significantly weaken it, if not totally nullify it.
Haki is just spirit and will power, chakra has those properties and MORE. So chakra based attacks would be like liquid based attacks where as haki is just a subcategory of liquid being only water. Meaning chakra would definitely thoroughly work on Haki but Haki would barely work on chakra if at all since it’s less complex. Dumping a margarita instead of water on a fire, will still put it out. Maybe more effectively, maybe less but it definitely would work. However drinking water instead of a Margarita won’t still get you drunk.
14:33 Okay, to be fair, it wasnt JUST that Neji got killed by a stick. Its that this man has a grand total of 3 siganture moves and he didnt think to use the one thats basically a shield!
Haven’t watched the video, but Kunais in real life are more like multi-purpose tools, that can be used as a combat, and utility knife. Also these types of weapons, like shuriken, are made to hit, and stun, but not kill enemies, especially when u throw them from a distance(except paper bomb kunais)
Um, didn't Sasuke (with Boruto) stab Momoshiki's absorbing hand Rinnegan with a kunai? I think that makes a kunai useful. Same with Borushiki stabbing Sasuke's Rinnegan.
Then there's Minato and his special flying raijin kunais that is the cornerstone of fighting style.
Lastly, Shikamaru used kunais with exploding tags as distractions to hit Hidan's shadow with Asuma's chakra blades with shadow chakra.
So yeah, nobody died to a kunai. But, it crippled Momoshiki and Sasuke, made Minato a beast and was a good diversionary tactic for Shikamaru.
1-Boruto is fanfic
2-He got a sneak attack because plot
3-Minato's use is not normal and isn't deadly on its own
@@boredfangerrude Boruto isn't fan fic lmao, takes an insane amount of copium to believe that even as kishimoto actively writes it.
@Boredfan Gerrude 1 - was already answered.
2 - Who cares if it was a sneak attack? They're ninjas. That's what they're supposed to do 🤦🏻♂️
3 - Not deadly? Tell that to the 1000 shinobi that he killed. Without his kunai, he won't be a flee on sight order. 🤦🏻♂️
Never forget that Boruto destroyed Sasuke's rinnegan with a generic kunai.
something in noticed in a lot of Shonen anime, and action shows in general is that, unless the weapons are the main focus, characters will rarely ever use them, only weapons i see getting brought often in a good way are swords and guns, other tools tend to get forgotten or some times frown upon and told to be "cheating" because a "real" fighter uses their body as weapon
Shikamaru said something that explained Naruto’s original intent best. A small power can be useful. Examples of this being true. Neji knocked out with a punch, Gaara defeated by a head butt, Pain beaten by a regular rasengan, sexy jutsu landing the best blow on Kaguya. These examples are all over Naruto. Small power, big impact. No matter how strong you are a kuni can kill you. It takes no chakra to use and can kill. At best it creates a great distraction. I think 🎉Kuni’s are the most essential tool in the show. Pain used a nail to attempt to kill Kakashi. In the right hands a nail was a deadly weapon, shield and chakra less win condition.
Imagine the fusion dance between tenten and rock lee in he speed alone makes the shit deadly let alone the gates
For me they are used as tools for means rather than be weapons, not saying they aren’t weapons but in the series they are definitely more of a tool / situational item😊
Kunais were actually used in the past not for killing but for genral purposes like grapple hook or a knife................ and rod like wepons were actually used to kill in the past.
They should have used more swords.
With how strong they get, many could even use giant swords like Zabuza and Kisame. Or kanabo and warhammers.
There's really no excuse for shinobi to at least carry short swords or katana/longswords like Sai, Shisui, Sasuke and Orochimaru.
I'd say, there is a really good and crucial "excuse": jutsu and hand seals.
As someone else already mentioned in the comments: Every second, where you're holding a weapon/sword/kunai and therefore must "get rid of it"/put it back, is a second lost, which you might have needed to do hand seals.
In addition you need to carry your sword over long times/distances and you're very visible armed.
While shuriken and kunai, as small throwing weapons, manage to be on the verge of functional to unfunctional for ninjas (in the Naruto world), swords and other big weapons step right over this line.
Therefore: Every ninja, who uses a sword/weapon, especially a big one, is a special exception and gets (most of the time) a "gimmick" to rationalize this exception.
Like Kisame, Hidan, Temari or Sasuke.
As for people like Sai, Shisui and the ANBU: They're specialists, who are mostly used for asassinations.
Or in other words: They creep up on there prey and slice 'em up, before the victim even notices.
Itachi, as someone who was an ANBU and used a sword, is a good example, because he volunterily gave up on using it right after going rogue.
Also: The ANBU doesn't really have "swords", from a size perspective it's more of a "dagger", like a wakizashi or something.
I would love to see a character that uses kunai so effectively that they can fight on par with kage level threats with only a few kunai and no jutsu
Kunais are literally one of the first things they learn as ninjas. It’s most likely ingrained in them to use it as a fundamental tool regardless of how powerful they are.
It's very strange to have "it didn't kill anyone" be the bar. The reality is that everyone feared and tried to avoid getting hit by them which speaks more to the power of them. You can find examples of such things being used in various tactics from chess to various battlefields and even exemplified by Shikamaru when he says (paraphrased) "the first attack is meant to be a distraction for the real attack."
Kunais has its uses and there are various times it is very useful for each shinobi and these are my favorite instances:
- Part 1: Kidomaru created his own golden kunais from his mouth and attacked Neji from a safe distance finding his Byakugan’s blind spot
- Chiyo uses kunais to attach her chakra threads to Sasori’s Hiruko’s puppet tail which allowed her to save Sakura later on
- Danzo’s unique Wind Style kunai (turned into a sword) used to stab Sasuke; Danzo’s Wind Style shurikens was badass as well
- Kakashi saving an unconcious Obito from falling into Lava, and saving himself and Sakura from falling into the Lava as well attaching a scroll to the kunai when Kaguya warped them into her dimension
- In episode 285, Pakura used a kunai to fight Omoi, one of the best filler fights
It’s useful when the situation calls for it depending on the shinobi
Sakura also saved naruto in the forest of death against orochimaru
Itachi taking out the eyes of nagatos summonings to surprise attack him and safe Naruto and bee
I hunger for more rewrites, but these ones satiate it...for a while!
The real reason why they become more irrelevant as the series goes on is definitely power creep, but my head canon says that chakra is a good defense against chakra, which is why a chakra nuke might not kill someone who is pretty strong, but being stabbed might. Absolutely no evidence of this, this is just how I rationalize it as the show progresses lol
They were irrelevant even in part one
Remember when Dygo made Kakashi use Kunai as weapons again literal swords and he won in the rewrite?
Sasukes’ rennigan would disagree with this video.
The biggest use for kunai is rogue ninjas scratching their headbands lol
What’s crazy is naruto going against sasukes sword with a kunai
If he infused wind chakra to the kunai like Danzo did, he could've made his own sword
0:45 Hey man, Yahiko the original akatsuki leader died by a kunai
Shinobi should use more weapons in general. Especially weaker shinobi. You could see it as an extension of taijutsu; it can help you attack and defend more effectively than with bare hands, but also without wasting chakra if it's not necessary.
Otherwise, scrap weapons (at least with strong opponents) and focus on taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. Thou I guess that that's mostly what happened anyway.
I’m confused at to why you didn’t highlight minato cutting off one of the tails of the 8 tails more… I feel like that is by far the best use of kunai in the series.
7:43 that's already better than Jiraya who lost EVERY fight he's fought (including the one he got the sannin nickname)
lol that's true, never thought about this before
You do realize jiraiya has won fights before and plus he fights stronger people than tenten
Something I think should be noted that I haven’t seen brought up is how it’s very important that shinobi keep hands open if they need to use hand signs, so that is a reason to not use kunai. The moment it takes to get rid of one to use a sign could be the difference between getting that jutsu off or not
The thing with the Kunai is that in real life, they weren’t really used as weapons, at least at first. They were gardening tools used by peasants. The most effective use for one to a ninja was cutting holes in walls during infiltration. They did eventually become weapons in martial arts, but they weren’t throwing items. That was only for the Shurikens(which also weren’t weapons). So the Kunai not becoming an effective weapon really isn’t surprising.
Never forget the mist village shinobi using the double sided kunai in the chunin exams
the only person who actually used kunai effectively was Minato
Remember that Hashirama, a guy who's made of 100% Hashirama cells, tried to kill himself with a kunai.
This channel is underrated man its pretty good
I find it highly interesting that this video dropped simultaneously with Macho Nacho Productions' latest video titled: _"New KunaiGC Modchip For The Nintendo Gamecube"_
when he was talking about how madera can withstand blows that are basically nukes but can be stabbed by a sword i immediately thought about yajirobe slicing vegeta
Honestly I think part of the issue is they never really expanded the concept of chakkra weapons, as think of all the special designs and abilities that could have. Also yes power creep instead of doing more normal ninja stuff is a big part of it.
For Example
Fire kuni being designed to have a jet engine effect when fire chakra is added making them the fastest and most penetrative.
Wind kuni having little fins and limited homing ability.
Earth not needing special designed kuni but they just use Earth Style to increase the mass, so their kuni can stagger better.
Lightning kuni being designed to be better conductors letting lighting arc between multiple.
Water kunai basically having channels in the blade so it can release a high pressure shot into the target when it hits, that you maybe enhance further with a poison capsule so not only are you getting burst attack but its injecting poison into you.
Just found another awesome naruto CZcams. You have earned my sub my man! Keep it up
5:35
* Chuckles in parrying dagger *
Two of the best Kunai scenes imo were
1)Zabuzas massacre on the bridge after Hakus death and Narutos speech
2)Madaras entrance in shippuden when the ninja tried grabbing him with earth style and he just stabbed him in the head that was cold af
13:10 I think the logic used is that a non chankra item is cutting them where as a chankra blast can be resisted by having a lot of chankra
The way I've seen Naruto combat for the most party, Durability isn't much of a factor at all unless someone has regeneration, healing chakra, or legit armor. Most characters seem to just be glass cannons with ways to avoid damage rather then take it
Around the 10 minute mark they actually show that in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. If you hit the weapon button he pulls out a kunai but drops it because he's too tired to hold on.
I think Tenten was supposed to be that character who makes the weapon fights cool and kunais relevant but all she did throughout the series was to open a seal scroll and drop a bunch of weapons then forget about them
There’s some logical sense in them taking titanic blows, but dying to a knife cut. Blunt force trauma covers a greater surface area, where a weapon like a blade is small enough to do maximum damage with minimal effort.
2:59
Historically - those needles are the authentic Shuiken. Those were needles mostly - the "stars" are mostly a myth.
Everyone gangsta, until a kunai takes out a rinnegan😂
the meanest kunai combo that iv seen was from konohamaru vs jugo.
Yo, that rib slash, lung stab, into a underspin side kick that planted it into his face. That was cold af.
Well the main thing is, all shinobi have superhuman abilities and are trained with and against kunai from an early age. And one thing you can expect is: if you draw a kunai, so will your enemy.
And usually that's what happens. Kunai get parried or countered. So they kind of neutralize themselves. Plus while they are dangerous weapons, every ninja has access to better stuff as long as they have chakra. They still can kill, but probably not a powerful shinobi.
that trick shot sasuke hit in his 1v1 with naruto where he threw one hit it with another to deflect it and nailed naruto clone behind a rock was wild
Kunai are pretty useful in Naruto. We can see top tiers using it in battle against other Sword users etc.🙌
I feel like kunai are like jabs in boxing. They are used to set up more risky things with a less risky quick safe option. You don’t see boxers get knocked out by jabs but and arguably some will throw many jabs and only land a few but still keep throwing them. It’s not really about landing so many but it helps you dictate how the fight goes so you can use more powerful stuff
Kishimoto stated that the Naruto verse is around gun level meaning that anyone with a gun and kill any character in the series so if someone gets to stab you with a kunai it can definitely be fatal.
The Naruto verse AP and DC are pretty high but when it comes to tanking attacks it's no higher than a pistol.
Maybe a hot take, but you talking about the Mist village arc reminded of how much more interesting the world of Naruto felt during the Mist village arc.
You'd have things like mafia, samurai bodyguards, not just these contrived ninja based societies that made the world feel so restrictive and one note.
Kishimoto has got to be one of the worst writers ever powerscaling wise.
Even the techniques introduced in early DB were not completely worthless at the end of DBZ.
I think the idea is that when you get hit by a jutsu it's a physical embodiment of a spiritual energy and if you have enough spiritual energy to withstand it it dosen't do any damage where as a knife is a knife and regardless of how strong you are or how skilled you are there's very little you can do about getting stabbed unless you get lucky and it dosen't hit anything vital
Honestly always wondered why chidori users went for a chidori rather then just stabbing someone to save chakra. There are times where a kunai wouldn’t serve but sometimes they just pop out a chidori for like no reason at all