Hero of the Week: Jiraiya

This week's hero is none other than the coolest and possibly most powerful of the legendary sannin. That's right, it's the best character in Naruto, Jiraiya!

Not only is Jiraiya one of the most powerful in the series but also one of the funniest (if not the funniest). Being the sannin equivalent of Naruto, he gets into a lot of hillarious situations. The perverted old man archetype may be played out, but he pulls off the role perfectly, using the excuse that he is writing a novel to "research" women bathing.

Despite his perverted attitude, he cares quite a lot about Naruto and the next generation. He cares so much that he "willed" himself back to life so he can pass on the key Naruto needs to unlock his full strength. Anyone that can will themselves back to life is a caring for someone is both a caring and badass individual.

Speaking of badass, Jiraiya's fights are possibly the most badass in the series. The battle with Tsunade against Orochimaru shows that Jiraiya is on a completely different level than most of the characters in the series. His little skirmish with Itachi (possibly the most threatening antagonist at the time) proves that no enemy will get away without getting seriously messed up (though it does add to the confusion of Jiraiya>Itachi>Orochimaru>Jiraiya). Despite the hopelessness of the Pain fight, Jiraiya displayed an amazing amount of effort and even had a chance of taking out Pain altogether.

Konoha lost a great man with his death. His legacy has been passed on, but many feel the series has gotten much worse since his death. He definitely added some light hearted fun to the otherwise dark story. Fortunately, we are already starting to see a little bit of Jiraiya in Naruto. Hopefully he can be just like the perverted sage by the end of the series.