shikamaru nara

Character outline

[edit] Personality

Shikamaru is an extremely unenthusiastic person, and as such lives his life avoiding work. This is partly due to seeking paths of least resistance, as he often chooses to do things he would otherwise not do if people nag him enough. His plans on life reflect this aspect of his personality, as he plans to be an average ninja making an average salary, and retire once his children become independent. In his free time he typically takes naps, watches clouds, and plays strategy games such as Shogi and Go. When put into a situation where he potentially needs to put effort into something, he attempts to try to find a way to avoid it such as forfeiting a battle or by pretending to be preoccupied with something else. In the instances where he can't avoid these situations, Shikamaru tends to remark "how troublesome" (めんどくさい, mendokusai^?, English TV "what a drag" or "such a pain"). He is fully aware of this side of his personality, even dubbing himself "the number one at running away."

Shikamaru as he appears in Part II

Despite his lazy tendencies, Shikamaru is extremely intelligent. Asuma, wondering why Shikamaru was always able to beat him at Shogi and Go despite receiving abysmal grades at the Academy, disguised an IQ test as a series of puzzles to see how smart Shikamaru really was. In doing so, Asuma found Shikamaru to have an IQ of over 200, and learned that Shikamaru's poor grades were a result of him finding lifting a pencil to be too much work for him. Nevertheless, Shikamaru works very well with his teammates as their fathers were teamed together in their youth as well. Of his teammates, Shikamaru is closest with Choji, who repays Shikamaru's confidence in him with unyielding loyalty to Shikamaru. Shikamaru also has a strong bond with Asuma, often spending time with him playing strategy games. After Asuma's death, he developed a smoking habit not unlike his teacher's, though he does not seem to enjoy it. The cigarettes remind him and his friends of Asuma, and are a symbol of his watching over them. He even vows to protect Asuma and Kurenai's unborn child for Asuma's sake.

One of Shikamaru's more distinctive characteristics is that he finds all women to be bossy and "a pain." He also often discusses how women ought to act. This viewpoint seems to be largely due to his mother's tyrannical personality, though it also seems to be influenced by his father's identical view of women. Contrary to this opinion, he has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family with a son and daughter. Ironically, Shikamaru seems to constantly find himself surrounded by the very same strong-willed and bossy women he dislikes. In addition to his own mother, and being surrounded by bossy females, he usually ends up fighting against such women.

Shikamaru has had a number of his appearances coincide with those of Temari. The two face each other during the final matches of the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru has a chance to claim victory in this match, but he forfeits the match instead, having run low on chakra. Temari later comes to his aid during the Sasuke Retrieval arc and defeats Tayuya of the Sound Four to save him. Shikamaru returns the favor in the last of the anime's filler arcs and saves her from one of the Shiitenshounin. In addition, the two are seen together in their Part II debuts. In this instance, Naruto Uzumaki asks if the two are on a date, though both state that this is not the case. Temari ranks as one of the women he finds most troublesome, along with Ino Yamanaka and his mother, although it seems that they keep up a friendly relationship.

[edit] Abilities

When the need arises, Shikamaru is quick to abandon his lazy nature and act appropriately to complete a mission or save his teammates. Using his Shadow Imitation Technique he can capture the shadow of an opponent to either keep them immobilized or force them to mimic his movements. This ability causes Shikamaru to frequently take the task of stalling enemies so that his comrades can get to safety or to simply buy time. Although this role puts him in a dangerous position once he can no longer stall the opponent, Shikamaru is willing to serve it, feeling that sacrificing his life to ensure the safety of his friends is worth it. While he frequently exercises this sense of self-sacrifice, his genius has thus far allowed him to escape these encounters relatively unscathed. When given the chance, Shikamaru touches the tips of his fingers together, forming his fingers into a circle, and closes his eyes so that he can concentrate. He then considers every element that is relevant to the situation at hand and analyzes the information to its fullest. Once finished, Shikamaru is able to plan out a battle ten moves in advance and can devise over a hundred strategies to use against an opponent.

This combination of intelligence and dedication to his teammates causes Shikamaru to become the first of the primary Konoha Genin to advance to the rank of Chunin. As such, Shikamaru is forced to lead his fellow Genin in their various missions, first seen during the Sasuke Retrieval arc. At the end of this mission most of Shikamaru's team is left gravely injured and their target manages to escape, causing the mission to be a complete failure. While he starts to question his capability to be a leader in this instance, he realizes, with help from his father, that if he steps down, he is passing on the responsibility to a potentially less able successor who may not be able to keep his team alive. Shikamaru resolves to never put his team in danger again. During the anime's filler arcs Shikamaru is assigned as an instructor at the Ninja Academy, and also proves to be much more comfortable with his leadership position.

Once becoming a Chunin, Shikamaru's father teaches him how to use the Shadow Neck Bind Technique, allowing him to use his shadow to have more interaction with an opponent by using it to choke an opponent. This more interactive capability with his shadow is put to great use over the timeskip, and by Part II's start he can use Shadow Sewing (影縫い, Kage Nui^?), which allows his shadow to lift from the ground and either grab and throw weapons or simply pierce an opponent. He also starts to be able to utilize an opponent's shadow for the same purpose with Shadow Summoning Technique (影寄せの術, Kageyose no Jutsu^?), allowing him to use their own shadow against them.^[5] After he comes into the possession of Asuma's trench knives, Shikamaru creates the Shuriken Shadow Imitation Technique (影真手裏似の術, Kagemane Shuriken no Jutsu^?). By channeling his shadow into the knives, Shikamaru obtains a portable source of immobilization that he need only throw at an opponent's shadow to capture them and save himself the energy.^[6] Likewise, Shikamaru becomes able to use multiple shadow-based techniques at once, predominately involving the use of one of his new abilities to restrain a target and follow up with the Shadow Imitation Technique to capture them.

[edit] Plot overview

Shikamaru went to the Chunin Exams without a particular objective. Although he gives up in the finals he became a Chunin anyway, because of his incredible way of thinking through the match. During the invasion in Konoha Shikamaru helps Naruto and Sakura to find Sasuke by staying behind and creating a diversionary ambush against the Sound Ninja who were pursuing them. As a result of his early advance to the rank of Chunin, Shikamaru plays a considerably more active role in the plot than most members of the Konoha 11, albeit more indirectly than the primary cast. His first assignment as a Chunin is to assemble a team to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha which forces him to defeat his escorts, the Sound Four. While his teammates defeat their enemies, Sasuke is able to escape despite their best efforts. Initially Shikamaru wants to quit as squad leader, but is sharply rebuked by his father, who tells him his friends will still go on missions with or without him, and could die under another person's leadership.

In Part II, Shikamaru is assigned to track down two members of Akatsuki. While he and his team manage to find their targets with relative ease, Akatsuki member Hidan is able to kill Asuma during the course of the battle. After Asuma's funeral, Shikamaru sets out with the surviving members of Team 10 to avenge their sensei. As his team deals with Hidan's partner, Shikamaru is able to defeat Hidan in Asuma's memory, weakening Akatsuki by one member.