16 Years Later, This 10/10 Pain Quote Makes Naruto a Better Anti-War Anime Than One Piece

It’s been over 16 years since Naruto Shippuden Episode 162 (Season 8, Episode 11) first aired on May 27, 2010, which essentially immortalised the series as the better anti-war anime than One Piece. And that’s all because of the iconic Pain quote during his confrontation with Tsunade and the Leaf shinobi.

While One Piece certainly has heavy themes highlighting the cruelty of war, Pain actually broke down the very nature of war in this 10/10 dialogue that still gives us shivers. The way he points to the ruling figures of the great nations, claiming that their entire persona as noble world leaders makes no sense, as they don’t care about how common people die or suffer, comes from his lifelong experience. The emotions behind every word he said felt extremely personal.

How Pain’s View on War Is More Realistic Than All of One Piece’s

Dialogue often leaves a stronger impression on viewers than suggestive moral lessons. And while One Piece has strong implications about the cruelty of war, none of the quotes from the series can match the absolute aura that the Pain quote has.

In One Piece, the entire Marineford arc does a phenomenal job of showing the horrors of war. Later, certain character stories, like that of Law, explicitly point out how the ruling figures, whether qualified or not, unfairly control law and justice. The complete erasure of history itself (the Void Century) also highlights the savagery of military oppression.

However, Pain single-handedly steals the title of the best anti-war anime for Naruto. And it’s not just that one quote we mentioned earlier. The dude has spat out more hard facts about war than we can probably comprehend. His core ideology of ending the cycle of hatred, along with his desire to take revenge for Yahiko’s death, was fully realised when he declared that the world shall know pain! Only those who know true pain would understand the suffering of common folk.

While Pain alone makes Naruto a better anti-war anime than One Piece, there have been many other instances throughout the series that further solidify it as arguably one of the best anti-war anime ever made.

Every Time Naruto Proved Why It Is the Best Anti-War Anime

Itachi Uchiha from the Naruto anime series | Credit: Studio Pierrot

Pain’s iconic speech on the cycle of hatred isn’t the only moment where Naruto highlights the brutality of war. Even the Uchiha Massacre incident proves how political distrust and fear can push an entire clan toward tragedy.

The way Gaara was raised as a weapon by his village also shows the oppressive nature of the world’s leaders, who fit Pain’s definition of those who don’t care about the people beneath them. In fact, the entire history of the Five Great Nations is filled with political warfare that resulted in major internal conflicts within them.

Even the series’ most iconic villain, Madara, fits well into this context. He simply seeks destruction because he believes humanity is fundamentally trapped in an endless cycle of war, and only death can salvage it. And finally, Nagato comes in again. The moment Naruto refused to kill him made the entire anti-war theme of the series even more meaningful, as Naruto literally broke the cycle of hatred. Wouldn’t you agree?

The Naruto anime series is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.