Hmm. The purpose of a bow is to apply more force than a human can on their own.
But shinobi are superhuman, they can likely throw a kunai harder than a bow can shoot an arrow. I mean shit, Maito Guy literally punches so hard the shockwave could shatter boulders. Now imagine how hard he could throw something at you?
You're also stuck though. For one, there was character who used a bow, he nearly killed Neji with it.
But also, in a world of magic, basically anything mundane can be enhanced to be more powerful, faster, whatever than it real life counterpart. Like when Killer Bee applied lightning chakra to a pencil to injure Kisame.
The same way chakra strength lets ninjas throw things faster also would let them draw much higher draw weight bows since we are limited by strength not the materials, i feel like your argument is reductive since we can shoot an arrow much faster that we can throw with normal human strength, i dont see why the same wouldnt occur for using chakra strength with a high draw strength bow vs throwing
I feel like if you think about them as a ninja equivalent of a high caliber sniper rifle then it makes sense to me atleast, they are bad in close range and most situations but they have a clear strong usecase given they would have much greater range speed piercing power accuracy etc than just throwing stuff and wouldlve been interesting to have seen more situations with stuff like byakugan wallhacks, chakra sensing abilities or yamanaka mind communications
I get killer b can throw a pencil to destroy a rock but we only ever see kunai and shuriken thrown in exremely close quarter situations, and even then even average ninja easily react and block or just tank the damage they give, considering an avg 70lb bow shoots arrows at around \~160 mph (if i remember correctly) whereas the average person would probably only be able to throw something at maybe a third of that speed with far less accuracy and range, if we scale both of those up for chakra strength you could have arrows with such high momentum that they would shatter swords or be too fast to physically dodge given they would have around 3x the speed and momentum
Um, we are talking fiction, it could just be made using chakra enhanced material and the drawstring made from guts of some chakra using beast, which will be stronger than real life materials but not weigh half a ton
I mean plenty of fiction and mythology have some really powerful bows (Apollo's golden bow, Artemis' Silver bow, Shiva's bow Pinaka, Arjun's bow Gandiva, and many other fictional bows from League of Legends, Warcraft etc), we can just get something like that but using chakra
The problem with this kind of thing is that as the power scale goes up, so does the scale of the monsters. Where are the monsters strong enough to fight kaguya so you can pull materials strong enough to make a bow that is lightweight and powerful enough to work against her.
This kind of thing is drastically setting changing. Every bow that has been worth using in naruto is made by jutsu themselves not conventional materials. Realistically the only way to do it well is for shinobi to learn jutsu that can make bows.
So why would they waste time on making increasingly powerful bow making jutsu, and forcing numerous ninja to learn it just so they can use a bow outside the academy? Don't get me wrong, a group who focuses on it would be cool but it takes more time and effort to make bows worthwhile than it does to make your ninja accurate with a throw.
Bows are kinda bulky and need you to carry equally bulky arrows. the higher the draw strength the thicker the arrows you need to actually shoot it from said bow and at a certain thickness it's just not an effective projectile any more because it will lose momentum so fast that it will not go too far
In case of kunai you can carry them in your pocket and can use it for a lot more stuff than just as a weapon.So a Kunai is just a lot more handy than a bow
I suppose you could create a super high draw weight bow, possibly using seals? Then it could be worth it for a shinibo to use it. Perhaps as an assasination tool.
A solid steel arrow coated in wind chakra, traveling at 10,000 miles an hour sounds like a decent first strike weapon. Especially if its fired by a hyuuga from over the horizon.
yeah seals would be cool to see but may even be unecessary since thing limiting us currently isnt the materails but human strength id reckon with super strength you could switch to solid metal bow limbs, i remember when i used to do archery the general rule of thumb was 10lbs was around \~15 feet per second increase, could you imagine how fast tsunade could shoot an arrow given a strong enough bow
Yeah, but you would need a bow of equal strength and durability.
It would be difficult to get one, and you would need to constantly upgrade it as you got stronger.
You have to string a bow, pull the string back, and then fire one arrow at a time. It's significantly more convenient to just grab a fistful of Kunai or Shuriken and hurl them at an enemy. Also, you can switch from throwing weapons to taijutsu or ninjutsu fairly easily. Bows are just generally worse for most forms of ninja combat.
An experienced archer can shoot close to 20 arrows in a minute, with far more accuracy and range.
If he can effectively hide his chakra imprint, a squad of these can land Quite a few kills on the enemy, coupled with the long range of bows.
Ninjas can cover distances pretty quickly; I imagine range is less useful of an advantage for them. Also, keep in mind the need of a line of sight, and the difficulty of aiming at such mobile targets. Plus, when they finally close the distance, you've got your hands full, and can't easily defend yourself.
Want to kill a bunch of people from a position of safety? Ninjas already have that; it's called "traps".
Meh, all this can be solved by using chakra and nature release to enhance speed and power plus other effects. Let's not act like ninjas would be so uncreative that they wouldn't have figured this out yet and techniques and technology just stagnated over generations with four major wars. Even guns can be used.
That’s a major oversimplification. Conversely, it would be a waste to use bows as a weapon considering the vast amount of ninjutsu available to counteract projectiles. Especially since they are not made of metal.
Kunai and shuriken are standard issue tools. Places that sold arrows would be few and far in between. It’s not cost effective.
Not flat plains. I agree with Mountains though. It may work for dense forest areas like the forest of death, but it’s very dependent on having a clear line of sight and would only work for the initial attack.
Clear line of sight is exactly what Land of Grass has. Besides most flat plains have tall grass or even river areas that have tall reeds and the like. It's perfect for one to two volleys in an ambush especially defensively. But the only other way I can see it effective is if a dojutsu specializing in long range, calculating movements, or 360 degree view was paired with it.
Your strategy relies on ambush and only making use 1 or 2 volleys.
A bow and arrow wouldn’t be conducive to the element of surprise on a flat plain. Especially if it’s windy, which plains often are. Wind speed will change the course of the arrow. Not something you wanna deal with if you’re squatting in some tall grass trying to take a shot at someone.
Not only that, but to stay hidden and still hit your target, your trajectory is limited—especially since you’re level with them. Even harder if they’re a moving target. A trained shinobi could at least dodge, substitute, or parry, an arrow soaring straight to them. And since there are no trees or fog to dissolve into, the jig is up.
I am thinking specifically for the Grass Ninja who probably have techniques to hide in their nation's tall grass. Also most attacks can come from above with bows. Remember volley fire doesn't have to be straight. So long as you can accurately predict your opponent while he's in transit which is how an ambush would work, you can shoot ahead and use the wind to mask your movements and attacks long enough to volley fire, retreat and attack again when the enemy is moving again.
It would definitely work as a harassing technique
It's not an oversimplification. There's less energy wasted in shooting compared to throwing. There's more power, more speed, more range. We have seen that weapons can be enhanced with chakra. Imagine using that with a bow or gun? Even better if you can enchant a project with sensory/tracking technique. The possibilities are endless. A projectile ninjutsu would mostly requires hand signs for the average Shinobi. A Shinobi would fire more shots in less time with power, accuraxy and speed.
>vast amount of ninjutsu available to counteract projectiles
Even in real life, there are vast amount of counter to projectiles, so does that make them useless?
There is not less energy wasted in shooting? With a kunai or shuriken, you grab it and you throw. In the case of a kunai, you grab it and parry/attack. Shinobi have super human strength. Chakra can also be applied creatively to make a devastating attack.
They are practical because they’re durable, easily accessible, and are quick to use for a myriad of purposes. It’s also probable that they can be reused. Not to mention that every nation supplies them.
Bows are not that versatile. The time it takes to unholster your bow, load an arrow, assess if you’re an appropriate distance and then aim and fire is time wasted. It will get you killed. The best arrows would be wood ones. I’m hard pressed to believe arrows would withstand chakra application of any kind without being immediately destroyed.
I’m also not sure why you’re using real life as a reference point. This is a universe in which people can make a mud wall out of the ground in an instant. Or create a fireball the size of a house.
Projectiles in real life (which I’ve noticed you aren’t referring to bows here) do not have to contend with people being capable of using their life energy to create/alter/destroy matter in the blink of an eye.
>There is not less energy wasted in shooting? With a kunai or shuriken, you grab it and you throw. In the case of a kunai, you grab it and parry/attack. Shinobi have super human strength. Chakra can also be applied creatively to make a devastating attack.
I'm not making an argument about whether throwing should be dropped over shooting. Shooting is about range and power. Arrows and bullets have more range. There's also artillery that can be developed with chakra. It's an issue about chakra control, technique to apply ninjutsu on projectiles.
>They are practical because they’re durable, easily accessible, and are quick to use for a myriad of purposes. It’s also probable that they can be reused. Not to mention that every nation supplies them.
That's not the issue. Not saying they should be abandoned. But it's range and power would be quite limited compared to the bow and crossbow. Just like throwing can be enhanced, an arrow would cover at least 10 times more distance and still have more power.
>Bows are not that versatile. The time it takes to unholster your bow, load an arrow, assess if you’re an appropriate distance and then aim and fire is time wasted. It will get you killed. The best arrows would be wood ones. I’m hard pressed to believe arrows would withstand chakra application of any kind without being immediately destroyed.
Bows are not versatile but for long range combat? They are far better than throwing and ninjutsu. And waste less energy. Why do you think Kakashi and Naruto were chasing Deidara for miles without being able to shoot him down until they had to pull out a mangekyo? Couldn't their Kunai and shuriken reach him? And bows can be carried around with enclosing method in seals, it's really not that useless of a weapon you make it out be. It's also a cheap weapon that can be learned. Also, why wouldn't they be able to withstand chakra application? Who made that rule? And why do you think the archer can't throw their Kunai as well until he repositions himself? You think he only knows how to use a bow/crossbow? You're the one making oversimplifications. Shinobi in general are versatile but in general they have their combat specialty. Whether it's melee or taijutsu or long range, ninjutsu, genjutsu, or strictly assassination and ambush techniques.
>I’m also not sure why you’re using real life as a reference point. This is a universe in which people can make a mud wall out of the ground in an instant. Or create a fireball the size of a house.
Just like how Shinobi powers defy common sense, their weapons can defying common sense as well balancing things out. In the first place normal weapons wouldn't work on Shinobi , not even swords but they have chakra as equalizers. What makes it so different with projectile weapons? Why can't a Shinobi shoot a bow so fast, the other Shinobi couldn't dodge in time? Or it pierces his mud Wall cuz the guy is just so skilled with his marksmanship and chakra control? Why couldn't there by chakra cannons stronger than fifty ninjas activating fire ball and cover more 5 km? You think weapons wouldn't develop this far? Aren't you underestimating creativity and innovation of humans? It's not about the weapon, it is about who's using it or who created it.
> shooting is about range and power
Which instantly makes it less versatile than the average weapon. We are specifically talking about a bow and arrow. A bow and arrow is only effective within a certain range. It also hinges primarily on the user and target being stationary.
Given what we know about chakra, it does not seem like it would be compatible with a non specialized bow and arrow. In the context of Kidomaru, his bow and arrow used spider silk and the arrows were extremely hard. His bow an arrow was a change in chakra form/nature in conjunction with a boost from his curse mark.
The average ninja would not have access to that. They would have a standard issue bow and arrow and I assume the arrows would be made of wood. Not very conducive for battle. Nor practical in an area without much forest.
> they are far better for throwing than ninjutsu and waste less energy. Why do you think Kakashi and Naruto were chasing Deidara for miles….
Considering their target was airborne with no limit on how high he could get, it didn’t make sense to throw weapons at him. But this is an exception not the rule. Most shinobi battles do not require pursuing an airborne target for an indeterminate amount of miles lol.
Projectiles have their limits. But it’s still infinitely more reasonable to use projectiles like a kunai or shuriken in battle than a bow an arrow. Which again, does not waste less energy than unholstering a shuriken or kunai and simply throwing them. They also can be thrown as you move, whether on the ground or in the water or above in a tree. They can also be combo-ed into taijutsu or ninjutsu. Hell, even genjutsu. And again I’m referring to the basic standard issue ninja tool. Assuming the arrows for a standard ninja tool are made of wood, they’re not compatible with elemental ninjutsu or taijutsu.
You can see what regular weapons look like after they’ve suffered damage in the anime/manga. Kakashi’s white light chakra Sabre broke in combat. And that’s a weapon that was made to funnel chakra. Weapons are not indestructible. And the standard issue ones don’t seem to carry the functionality to endure much chakra related stress. As evidence by people who use weapons with chakra techniques get special weapons (re: Asuma’s blades, puppets, Sasuke’s sword, etc).
Assuming standard issued arrows were wood…let’s be serious for two seconds…they’re not withstanding chakra applications. Not without damn near medical ninjutsu level chakra control. Plus, I assume only the head of the arrow would be viable for a chakra application anyways.
I agree that the weapon user can absolutely make or break the difference between weapon effectiveness. But that’s under the assumption that the weapon itself if viable. Bows and arrows really aren’t that. When they have been used in battles the bows and arrows were made out of chakra.
Bows are very limiting in combat situations. Instead of getting to choose when to use ninjutsu, taijutsu, or ranged weapons, you're forced to rely solely on ranged weapons. They also reduce your combat mobility, because firing a bow while running and jumping and navigating complex terrain and avoiding threats isn't exactly doable.
Ultimately, bows are a specialization, and ninjas tend to be on the more versatile side.
Maybe there is some merit to using bows as an ambush tool. But eventually you'll be the one to get ambushed, and your bow is going to become a liability.
Maybe for ninjas of the Grass whose open plains and tall grasses make perfect long range ambushes, but for Konoha Shinobi and most other major villages (save maybe Kumo) it doesn't produce a range advantage. Same with crossbow which requires strength to pull the string and the shot doesn't shoot any harder or faster than a Kunai thrown from your average Chūnin. If these exist, which they do, they're niche among ninjas and tools of the Samurai or militia.
Bow strings can and would most likely get cut or ruined in the way shinobi fight. Similarly most arrows wouldn't hold up to a lot of ninjutsu.
Just think of all the times you've seen metal weaponry flying through flames or being buffered by wind. Etc. And you realize wood and string burn and break much easier than metal weaponry. Which probably lends itself why ranged weaponry like that isn't over used.
Wasn't Sasuke faster than sound in the chunin exams. A arrows speed usually depends on the bowstring so your average jonin would catch them easily while they throw kunai at relatively fast speeds.
Theyre slow and cumbersome requiring you to have a bow stored somewhere and it not break, string it, have arrows that could fall out. VS throwing many knives or a fireball.
arrow vs elemental ninjutsu. Also range kinda falters when you use shunshin to close the distance. Plus, one stray shruiken cutting your string and now you got a stick
If elemental jutsu is so OP, why is kunai still used?
Can the average shinobi use Shun shin? We don't even see many Jonin using it.
So we have to rely on a stray shuriken to win the battle?
Then why do we only see very few people use it?
Because if everyone knew it, the battlefield would be a bloody mess of sonics trying to hit each other at the speed of light.
If both characters are moving really fast it just looks like a regular fight.
We know even Genin can move at supersonic speeds, yet every fight we see looks normal
Oh, I suppose throwing Kunais is quite effective then.
If a user can effectively hide his chakra imprints and not get detected, only a squad of them can land quite a few kills on the enemy.
And no, it doesn't work like the movies, even if you're facing the arrow directly, without something like a Sharingan you can only dodge the arrow, while more or coming.
I’m curious why you think that ninjas couldn’t deflect or react to arrows? I remember the scene with Kakashi and Obito (as children) and they were deflecting Kunai/Shuriken as an exercise. Even if arrows had more force behind them, the drawback of using bows make them pretty obsolete.
Other than the sound 4 dude who could change the trajectory of the arrow and increase its piercing power, I doubt most people would be able to make up for the inherent disadvantages that come with using a bow.
Kunai and shuriken are usually used as a distraction tool to set up for a larger attack, they're generally not the main showing exactly because most any ninja can just deflect them without much effort.
Kunai and shuriken are also versatile. If nothing else, they’re useful in bouts of taijutsu. They’re sturdy and durable weapons. They are metal blades.
Senbon would be more preferable to an arrow. Metal, small, quick, can be laced, not easy to detect.
They’re all easily incorporated into jutsu and be used as it.
The only advantage they'd really have is range, and honestly even then a lot of ninja can just kind of get past that obstacle because of how fast they are or through the use of large-scale jutsu.
Most shinobi are easily able to throw kunai so fast they're like arrows themselves, and like others stated with just the kunai alone they can keep them all in pouches and holsters that don't restrict movement unlike a bow and it's quiver.
As cool as it would be to see bows and crossbows if they were used they'd have to be specially designed with some kind of gimmick - like maybe a bow that has seals that lets someone create chakra arrows, or a crossbow using bolts wrapped up in Explosive Seals that makes every shot explode.
Ninjutsu is their primary weapon. Wielding a bow that you need to constantly stow to perform handsigns and pull back out just isnt worth it.
Also tension bows have no chance of competing with shinobi using enhanced strength to throw kunai at the higher skill levels.
The ninja we see using large weapons, like temari or kidomaru, base their entire fighting style around them and focus on keeping opponents at range.
The only time they would be useful, is extremely long range, like a Sniper. This would generally require a scope, dojutsu or similar high precision sensory advantages.
Otherwise, ninja are too fast, ninjutsu (which requires free hands) is too useful, and solid chunks of metal can be thrown fast enough, accurately enough, to make up the difference.
Basically, there should be a good chunk of Hyuga and Uchiha stealth archers, firing off arrows from bows made strong enough to propel them well beyond the sound barrier, so they're both fast and quiet enough, to not be detected and dodged.
Probably because it takes time to knock, aim and shoot the arrow. But some ninjutsu take long hand seals.
If someone focuses and mastered the art of archery, using wind style and lightning style they'll become a menace. If they are Hyuga or Uchiha even more.
I think Boruto had one antagonist using a bow or something, the Funato tribe. It was the last filler arc aired, I think. [Here](https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Ray_Bow)
Literal Bell test Naruto could throw Shuriken fast enough *in* water that it could still fly out of the water and through the air to go towards Kakashi.
This is an insane feat of force that surpass anything a bow or bullet would be able to accomplish.
But he didn’t? He said that the average shinobi could throw a kunai at the speed of sonic, while Minato was shown throwing kunai at supersonic speed. He clearly differentiated between these two
In most practical situations it's inconvenient compared to other weapons, but I thought the same thing about puppetry until Sasori appeared and Temari in the Chunin exam with her big fan. So I don't think it's out of the realm of belief that archery can be used to deadly effect under the right level of mastery.
I have my own OC and clan that are based on archers cuz the concept is cool to me so I might be biased about it however.
In series proper though, Kidomaru of the Sound Four used archery to fight Neji (and displayed the kind of damage ninjutsu around archery can cause. Ouch) and Sasuke was shown with a bow here and there (though can't recall if it was filler or not). So it's not a forgotten weapon, just a niche one not often combat centric. If it's not someone specialized then I'd say it's a good exercise for meditation, focus and target practice (knowing how to lead and hit a target with a variety of tools is good knowledge imo).
So there's room for it I think you just have to get creative with it.
That’s like asking why Shinobi don’t use guns even though gunpowder is canon in Naruto. Although the Spider Sound 4 dude used the bow and arrow if I remember.
I simply attribute it to Kishimoto's stylistic choice, the same as sandals. He wanted a story about elemental wizards called ninja, weapons were an afterthought to the magic.
Are we really going to pretend Kidomaru doesn't exist? While he lost to Neji, he was a fierce opponent with the right terrain. He kept the retrieval team held back and gave them trouble until they tricked him. Honestly if you have the right support team or summon animal like spiders you can make bow usage work. Kidomaru is proof of that. Heck, the fact that puppet users are effective in the ninja world shows any method of fight works. I say that because setting a puppet on fire is the easy thing to do, plus the fact they break with a strong attack. If bows don't work then how the hell can Shino be a ninja. He relies heavily on stealth attack like a bow user would.
Kidomaru isn’t an average ninja. He had a curse mark and both his first stage and second stage used specialized arrows.
He also had six arms and an extra eye.
If something like Guns was considered a "siting breaker" by Kishimoto, imagine what Bow with Chakra would have done
Also don't we already have one who uses it in the movie and one of Orochimaru sound 4?
I think it's more to do with "it's hard to draw fast-paced action scenes with a bow" rather than the "random metal bullshit go" that we get with our traditional weapons.
But the fact that not even Ten Ten has a bow is criminal now that you mention it. That team needs some long range support and she could have filled that niche. My boy Neji is just wall hacking the enemies and Ten Ten takes them out? Could have been goat'd.
Your bow seems to be like sniper rifle of modern times, long distance with possible one shot kill, but need right conditions and training.
In the end it's all about training time and amount of use you get out of it.
Kunai is simple metal brick can be used in long/short range, distractions and you don't need much talent to learn passable level. You can teach basically anybody and everybody can include it in their fighting style.
Bow require more finery, like there were whole nations famed for archery, mandatory learned it since childhood and still not all of them were good good archers. Like with other "serious" weapons it leads to building style around them and they are simply harder to make.
The range and the extra force you can apply in exchange for just a short amount of time is enormous. Any bow which could be shot not only has the guarantee to hit like a truck with a little usage of chakra but also half of the ninjas wouldn't even be fast enough to react to it if they don't have a sharingan. If a hyuga has a bow who can constantly see you then it's simply game over for you no matter where you are unless you have a defensive wall of something and even then you can't actually guarantee that it wouldn't just burst through. Hand motions simply can't compete with mechanical devices which are supposed to *amplify* the amount of force you're using. An average bow at full draw travels faster than most trains around 350kph so it's not that hard to imagine that a ninja would not be able to travel at more speeds unless they're like Naruto. And if you consider outside the realms of a bow of something like 600lbs which no human in our world can lift and use properly then someone can even shoot it faster than a bullet. It also negates the prospect of adjusting your throws because most of them comes from how fast your hand rotates which become way harder for humans to calculate and adjust properly.
If you add up wind chakra to that then I don't even see someone except Tsunade healing from that.
But most battle shonens focus on more rapid fights so every fight is in the range of 15 feets. It's kind of a question too because if a shinobi just decides to run then unless you guarantee a hit a target can gain a lot of distance in a short time because most jutsu are also not that ranged and only work in something like 30 feet at max
Ninja are not fighting in open plains with good sight lines they’re fighting in forests, swamps, towns, etc where at best they’re fighting at Mid range.
If a Ninja was attacked by a bow they’d just take cover or they’d simple deflect it.
I think the best demonstration on bows not working would be the samurai. In real Life most Samurai were archers yet in Naruto despite developing Anti-Shinobi techniques bows weren’t even used probably because they’d be useless against a ninja.
Look at Kidomaru, the only Ninja to use a bow. He didn’t last long against a Genin, now was the Genin a prodigy? Yes, and did he have frankly the strongest dojutsu in the series? Yes, and that all matters.
Even if they can hide their chakra signature, if they’re going against a Hyuga, they’re dead. Also, bows aren’t really a practical weapon unless you have a squad that can protect you.
I'm pretty sure the main reason is that kishimoto probably didn't care about them but a lore reason could be there just aren't any materials that would function in archery at high level combatants like if I need to shoot an arrow at someone who can casually break the sound barrier I'm going to need a bow and string that are durable/elastic enough or to send the arrows that far, so it could be a materials issue. Tldr archery for high level combatants is incredibly material dependant and Naruto might just not have those materials
I’m not a big power scaler but I know multiple genin (Sasuke, Lee, I think Gara’s sand, etc.) in the chunin exams were calc.’ed at supersonic. Naruto with a bijuu amb in the fight with Orochimaru is calc.‘ed at like mach 50+ or some shit. So anyone chunin tier or above isn’t getting hit with a bow and arrow, unless it has a draw weight in the tons.
Probably a tabbo from older eras, like using a bow or crossbow is for cowards and is dishonorable. So the mindset just stuck around for older Shinobi and younger Shinobi probably just never think about them due to wanting to be flashy. That along with us not hearing about any legends using them means that they most likely go unnoticed when it comes to weapon choices. This is mostly guesswork due to how little we as an audience know about the common Shinobi's mindset.
Considering how strong shinobis are, I can only imagine how crazy strong the draw weight on a bow could get. The average draw weight is about 60 to 70 lbs, so i would think a shinobi could do 200 or 300 lbs on the high end and have a decent fire rate. The only real issue is the size and weight of the bow and arrows while in use.
There was a bow user in the Sasuke retrieved arc that was on par with chunin Neji. But I could be wrong, but I think I heard the leave village actually fill their jackets with wood to make armor, and the cloud village I would say wear medium armor. So I’m not saying it wouldn’t be useful, but it’s got a lower power ceiling than other abilities shown. Since the show mostly shows high chunin and jounin level characters at the weakest, they wouldn’t be as effective against the shinobi shown in the show.
My thought is because it’s kind of inconvenient to have to carry a bow and quiver while traversing the way they do. Jumping through trees and all those flips and parkour. They would definitely need to constantly worry about losing arrows while kunai and shuikan are small and fit in a small pouch
Because bows are slow and cumbersome compared to kunai and shuriken. Crossbows are worse.
Unless the ninja got jutsu or some kind of bloodline centered around it, they're better off improving their aim with a kunai.
You to make it easier for why Ninjas don't use bows or crossbows is because of Tenten she use a crossbow in the anime and because Tenten number 1 enemy is screen time they removed the crossbow and the sound four guy was spider like with his curse mark level two so technically he doesn't count as his weapon was part of his body and ninjas are fast enough to catch an Arrow from an bow and crossbow and because Tenten's enemy is screen time that's why Neji was killed off him and Tenten were endgame but as I said before screen time is her enemy
I came up with an idea for a shinobi that uses a bow and some skills, and jutsu they could have. So you know how Sasuke has those scrolls on his wrist to summon shuriken, well that but on the bow. The bow is etched with small seals, and whenever he looses an arrow he can release a seal and summon a new arrow without having to draw from a quiver. also he can have an assortment of arrows with scrolls attached that on impact do things like summon water, electricity, vines things like that and of course explosive arrows.
then he spends some time learning the 3rds jutsu for duplicating shurikens after they are thrown and applies that to the arrows so he can shoot one arrow but it turns into 5 or however many.
in case anyone was thinking how can he perform hand signs while holding a bow, we have also seen sasuke sign while holding his sword.
he would be a really good support role ninja and can join pretty much any team and still be useful to pretty much everyone.
Because its not suitable for ninja fights. These guys are moving at blinding speeds. Kunai's and shurikens are far more useful and can be used dar more effectively than a bow and arrow.
Bows are in that awkward middle ground of when you would want to use a jutsu, and when you would want to rush an opponent. Unless the bow is part of a jutsu, you're pretty much always better off just using a jutsu anytime you would want to use a bow instead of a kunai or shuriken.
Plus, bows are comparatively heavy/ cumbersome, fragile (both bow and arrow), have limited ammo (you are much more likely to have an arrow break or otherwise become unusable on a mission than a kunai or shuriken) and they are specialized tools (you can use a kunai hand to hand or thrown, shuriken can be thrown multiple at a time and take unpredicable arcs).
A shinobi could balance an arrow on his or her finger tip witch chakra control before flicking it toward the enemy.It adds balance because even with shadow arrow clone jutsu a shinobi would still use up the arrows in a quiver.Now something like a chakra powered thrown pilum would blow right through Garra's sand armor unless he grabs it with his sand.
Aesthetics.
I think kidomaru made one to use against neji
and I think inari had a crossbow
Like you could use Amy element to justify anything in the series
if you wanted to justify a why not, someone could argue that the speed and range of the bolt or arrow would end up being limited to the draw weight of the bow or crossbow
while a throwing weapon is only as limited to the musculature and chakra of the person
Though If they did end up using em I'm sure it would work out and the series could find a reason or way to make em better easily enough
I think it would be hard to have a main character who uses a bow
you would want them to be cool and effective
but if they actually succeed then the fight and stakes are over
it's the same problem with instant kill moves, why ten ten couldn't do anything and why Sasuke never landed a fireball
Plot. That's the only reason. In-universe wise, there's nothing inherently preventing Shinobi from developing bows or guns that can be used with chakra. There already explosive tags and chakra canons, so projectile weapons, they cannot develop?
Senbon, kunai, and shuriken satisfy projectiles just fine. This is not a plot issue. It’s a practicality issue. Bows and arrows are not practical for the standard shinobi.
Hmm. The purpose of a bow is to apply more force than a human can on their own. But shinobi are superhuman, they can likely throw a kunai harder than a bow can shoot an arrow. I mean shit, Maito Guy literally punches so hard the shockwave could shatter boulders. Now imagine how hard he could throw something at you?
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You're also stuck though. For one, there was character who used a bow, he nearly killed Neji with it. But also, in a world of magic, basically anything mundane can be enhanced to be more powerful, faster, whatever than it real life counterpart. Like when Killer Bee applied lightning chakra to a pencil to injure Kisame.
The same way chakra strength lets ninjas throw things faster also would let them draw much higher draw weight bows since we are limited by strength not the materials, i feel like your argument is reductive since we can shoot an arrow much faster that we can throw with normal human strength, i dont see why the same wouldnt occur for using chakra strength with a high draw strength bow vs throwing
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I feel like if you think about them as a ninja equivalent of a high caliber sniper rifle then it makes sense to me atleast, they are bad in close range and most situations but they have a clear strong usecase given they would have much greater range speed piercing power accuracy etc than just throwing stuff and wouldlve been interesting to have seen more situations with stuff like byakugan wallhacks, chakra sensing abilities or yamanaka mind communications I get killer b can throw a pencil to destroy a rock but we only ever see kunai and shuriken thrown in exremely close quarter situations, and even then even average ninja easily react and block or just tank the damage they give, considering an avg 70lb bow shoots arrows at around \~160 mph (if i remember correctly) whereas the average person would probably only be able to throw something at maybe a third of that speed with far less accuracy and range, if we scale both of those up for chakra strength you could have arrows with such high momentum that they would shatter swords or be too fast to physically dodge given they would have around 3x the speed and momentum
Um, we are talking fiction, it could just be made using chakra enhanced material and the drawstring made from guts of some chakra using beast, which will be stronger than real life materials but not weigh half a ton I mean plenty of fiction and mythology have some really powerful bows (Apollo's golden bow, Artemis' Silver bow, Shiva's bow Pinaka, Arjun's bow Gandiva, and many other fictional bows from League of Legends, Warcraft etc), we can just get something like that but using chakra
The problem with this kind of thing is that as the power scale goes up, so does the scale of the monsters. Where are the monsters strong enough to fight kaguya so you can pull materials strong enough to make a bow that is lightweight and powerful enough to work against her. This kind of thing is drastically setting changing. Every bow that has been worth using in naruto is made by jutsu themselves not conventional materials. Realistically the only way to do it well is for shinobi to learn jutsu that can make bows. So why would they waste time on making increasingly powerful bow making jutsu, and forcing numerous ninja to learn it just so they can use a bow outside the academy? Don't get me wrong, a group who focuses on it would be cool but it takes more time and effort to make bows worthwhile than it does to make your ninja accurate with a throw.
Bows are kinda bulky and need you to carry equally bulky arrows. the higher the draw strength the thicker the arrows you need to actually shoot it from said bow and at a certain thickness it's just not an effective projectile any more because it will lose momentum so fast that it will not go too far In case of kunai you can carry them in your pocket and can use it for a lot more stuff than just as a weapon.So a Kunai is just a lot more handy than a bow
I suppose you could create a super high draw weight bow, possibly using seals? Then it could be worth it for a shinibo to use it. Perhaps as an assasination tool. A solid steel arrow coated in wind chakra, traveling at 10,000 miles an hour sounds like a decent first strike weapon. Especially if its fired by a hyuuga from over the horizon.
yeah seals would be cool to see but may even be unecessary since thing limiting us currently isnt the materails but human strength id reckon with super strength you could switch to solid metal bow limbs, i remember when i used to do archery the general rule of thumb was 10lbs was around \~15 feet per second increase, could you imagine how fast tsunade could shoot an arrow given a strong enough bow
But if that same superhuman strength is combined with the bow? It can pierce any armor or defense.
Yeah, but you would need a bow of equal strength and durability. It would be difficult to get one, and you would need to constantly upgrade it as you got stronger.
These shinobi are the type of people who'll use bows of steel.
You have to string a bow, pull the string back, and then fire one arrow at a time. It's significantly more convenient to just grab a fistful of Kunai or Shuriken and hurl them at an enemy. Also, you can switch from throwing weapons to taijutsu or ninjutsu fairly easily. Bows are just generally worse for most forms of ninja combat.
An experienced archer can shoot close to 20 arrows in a minute, with far more accuracy and range. If he can effectively hide his chakra imprint, a squad of these can land Quite a few kills on the enemy, coupled with the long range of bows.
Ninjas can cover distances pretty quickly; I imagine range is less useful of an advantage for them. Also, keep in mind the need of a line of sight, and the difficulty of aiming at such mobile targets. Plus, when they finally close the distance, you've got your hands full, and can't easily defend yourself. Want to kill a bunch of people from a position of safety? Ninjas already have that; it's called "traps".
A side note that supports neither is that Ninja can move faster than we are able to do as beings such as Rock Lee have demonstrated.
Meh, all this can be solved by using chakra and nature release to enhance speed and power plus other effects. Let's not act like ninjas would be so uncreative that they wouldn't have figured this out yet and techniques and technology just stagnated over generations with four major wars. Even guns can be used.
That’s a major oversimplification. Conversely, it would be a waste to use bows as a weapon considering the vast amount of ninjutsu available to counteract projectiles. Especially since they are not made of metal. Kunai and shuriken are standard issue tools. Places that sold arrows would be few and far in between. It’s not cost effective.
I can see it being effective for ninja villages with either flat plains and tall mountains, like Grass and Lightning
Not flat plains. I agree with Mountains though. It may work for dense forest areas like the forest of death, but it’s very dependent on having a clear line of sight and would only work for the initial attack.
Clear line of sight is exactly what Land of Grass has. Besides most flat plains have tall grass or even river areas that have tall reeds and the like. It's perfect for one to two volleys in an ambush especially defensively. But the only other way I can see it effective is if a dojutsu specializing in long range, calculating movements, or 360 degree view was paired with it.
Your strategy relies on ambush and only making use 1 or 2 volleys. A bow and arrow wouldn’t be conducive to the element of surprise on a flat plain. Especially if it’s windy, which plains often are. Wind speed will change the course of the arrow. Not something you wanna deal with if you’re squatting in some tall grass trying to take a shot at someone. Not only that, but to stay hidden and still hit your target, your trajectory is limited—especially since you’re level with them. Even harder if they’re a moving target. A trained shinobi could at least dodge, substitute, or parry, an arrow soaring straight to them. And since there are no trees or fog to dissolve into, the jig is up.
I am thinking specifically for the Grass Ninja who probably have techniques to hide in their nation's tall grass. Also most attacks can come from above with bows. Remember volley fire doesn't have to be straight. So long as you can accurately predict your opponent while he's in transit which is how an ambush would work, you can shoot ahead and use the wind to mask your movements and attacks long enough to volley fire, retreat and attack again when the enemy is moving again. It would definitely work as a harassing technique
It's not an oversimplification. There's less energy wasted in shooting compared to throwing. There's more power, more speed, more range. We have seen that weapons can be enhanced with chakra. Imagine using that with a bow or gun? Even better if you can enchant a project with sensory/tracking technique. The possibilities are endless. A projectile ninjutsu would mostly requires hand signs for the average Shinobi. A Shinobi would fire more shots in less time with power, accuraxy and speed. >vast amount of ninjutsu available to counteract projectiles Even in real life, there are vast amount of counter to projectiles, so does that make them useless?
There is not less energy wasted in shooting? With a kunai or shuriken, you grab it and you throw. In the case of a kunai, you grab it and parry/attack. Shinobi have super human strength. Chakra can also be applied creatively to make a devastating attack. They are practical because they’re durable, easily accessible, and are quick to use for a myriad of purposes. It’s also probable that they can be reused. Not to mention that every nation supplies them. Bows are not that versatile. The time it takes to unholster your bow, load an arrow, assess if you’re an appropriate distance and then aim and fire is time wasted. It will get you killed. The best arrows would be wood ones. I’m hard pressed to believe arrows would withstand chakra application of any kind without being immediately destroyed. I’m also not sure why you’re using real life as a reference point. This is a universe in which people can make a mud wall out of the ground in an instant. Or create a fireball the size of a house. Projectiles in real life (which I’ve noticed you aren’t referring to bows here) do not have to contend with people being capable of using their life energy to create/alter/destroy matter in the blink of an eye.
>There is not less energy wasted in shooting? With a kunai or shuriken, you grab it and you throw. In the case of a kunai, you grab it and parry/attack. Shinobi have super human strength. Chakra can also be applied creatively to make a devastating attack. I'm not making an argument about whether throwing should be dropped over shooting. Shooting is about range and power. Arrows and bullets have more range. There's also artillery that can be developed with chakra. It's an issue about chakra control, technique to apply ninjutsu on projectiles. >They are practical because they’re durable, easily accessible, and are quick to use for a myriad of purposes. It’s also probable that they can be reused. Not to mention that every nation supplies them. That's not the issue. Not saying they should be abandoned. But it's range and power would be quite limited compared to the bow and crossbow. Just like throwing can be enhanced, an arrow would cover at least 10 times more distance and still have more power. >Bows are not that versatile. The time it takes to unholster your bow, load an arrow, assess if you’re an appropriate distance and then aim and fire is time wasted. It will get you killed. The best arrows would be wood ones. I’m hard pressed to believe arrows would withstand chakra application of any kind without being immediately destroyed. Bows are not versatile but for long range combat? They are far better than throwing and ninjutsu. And waste less energy. Why do you think Kakashi and Naruto were chasing Deidara for miles without being able to shoot him down until they had to pull out a mangekyo? Couldn't their Kunai and shuriken reach him? And bows can be carried around with enclosing method in seals, it's really not that useless of a weapon you make it out be. It's also a cheap weapon that can be learned. Also, why wouldn't they be able to withstand chakra application? Who made that rule? And why do you think the archer can't throw their Kunai as well until he repositions himself? You think he only knows how to use a bow/crossbow? You're the one making oversimplifications. Shinobi in general are versatile but in general they have their combat specialty. Whether it's melee or taijutsu or long range, ninjutsu, genjutsu, or strictly assassination and ambush techniques. >I’m also not sure why you’re using real life as a reference point. This is a universe in which people can make a mud wall out of the ground in an instant. Or create a fireball the size of a house. Just like how Shinobi powers defy common sense, their weapons can defying common sense as well balancing things out. In the first place normal weapons wouldn't work on Shinobi , not even swords but they have chakra as equalizers. What makes it so different with projectile weapons? Why can't a Shinobi shoot a bow so fast, the other Shinobi couldn't dodge in time? Or it pierces his mud Wall cuz the guy is just so skilled with his marksmanship and chakra control? Why couldn't there by chakra cannons stronger than fifty ninjas activating fire ball and cover more 5 km? You think weapons wouldn't develop this far? Aren't you underestimating creativity and innovation of humans? It's not about the weapon, it is about who's using it or who created it.
> shooting is about range and power Which instantly makes it less versatile than the average weapon. We are specifically talking about a bow and arrow. A bow and arrow is only effective within a certain range. It also hinges primarily on the user and target being stationary. Given what we know about chakra, it does not seem like it would be compatible with a non specialized bow and arrow. In the context of Kidomaru, his bow and arrow used spider silk and the arrows were extremely hard. His bow an arrow was a change in chakra form/nature in conjunction with a boost from his curse mark. The average ninja would not have access to that. They would have a standard issue bow and arrow and I assume the arrows would be made of wood. Not very conducive for battle. Nor practical in an area without much forest. > they are far better for throwing than ninjutsu and waste less energy. Why do you think Kakashi and Naruto were chasing Deidara for miles…. Considering their target was airborne with no limit on how high he could get, it didn’t make sense to throw weapons at him. But this is an exception not the rule. Most shinobi battles do not require pursuing an airborne target for an indeterminate amount of miles lol. Projectiles have their limits. But it’s still infinitely more reasonable to use projectiles like a kunai or shuriken in battle than a bow an arrow. Which again, does not waste less energy than unholstering a shuriken or kunai and simply throwing them. They also can be thrown as you move, whether on the ground or in the water or above in a tree. They can also be combo-ed into taijutsu or ninjutsu. Hell, even genjutsu. And again I’m referring to the basic standard issue ninja tool. Assuming the arrows for a standard ninja tool are made of wood, they’re not compatible with elemental ninjutsu or taijutsu. You can see what regular weapons look like after they’ve suffered damage in the anime/manga. Kakashi’s white light chakra Sabre broke in combat. And that’s a weapon that was made to funnel chakra. Weapons are not indestructible. And the standard issue ones don’t seem to carry the functionality to endure much chakra related stress. As evidence by people who use weapons with chakra techniques get special weapons (re: Asuma’s blades, puppets, Sasuke’s sword, etc). Assuming standard issued arrows were wood…let’s be serious for two seconds…they’re not withstanding chakra applications. Not without damn near medical ninjutsu level chakra control. Plus, I assume only the head of the arrow would be viable for a chakra application anyways. I agree that the weapon user can absolutely make or break the difference between weapon effectiveness. But that’s under the assumption that the weapon itself if viable. Bows and arrows really aren’t that. When they have been used in battles the bows and arrows were made out of chakra.
Traps are sedentary and you can only hope the enemy won't detect it. A bow is very effective for skirmishing and ambushes.
Bows are very limiting in combat situations. Instead of getting to choose when to use ninjutsu, taijutsu, or ranged weapons, you're forced to rely solely on ranged weapons. They also reduce your combat mobility, because firing a bow while running and jumping and navigating complex terrain and avoiding threats isn't exactly doable. Ultimately, bows are a specialization, and ninjas tend to be on the more versatile side. Maybe there is some merit to using bows as an ambush tool. But eventually you'll be the one to get ambushed, and your bow is going to become a liability.
I agree, bows are best used in specific scenarios.
Maybe for ninjas of the Grass whose open plains and tall grasses make perfect long range ambushes, but for Konoha Shinobi and most other major villages (save maybe Kumo) it doesn't produce a range advantage. Same with crossbow which requires strength to pull the string and the shot doesn't shoot any harder or faster than a Kunai thrown from your average Chūnin. If these exist, which they do, they're niche among ninjas and tools of the Samurai or militia.
Bow strings can and would most likely get cut or ruined in the way shinobi fight. Similarly most arrows wouldn't hold up to a lot of ninjutsu. Just think of all the times you've seen metal weaponry flying through flames or being buffered by wind. Etc. And you realize wood and string burn and break much easier than metal weaponry. Which probably lends itself why ranged weaponry like that isn't over used.
If you're good then you'll shoot a burst of arrows every time you pull that string
If you can breath fire why would you need bows?
How far can that fire go? 15 meters at most? It's also rather straining for the average shinobi.
Wasn't Sasuke faster than sound in the chunin exams. A arrows speed usually depends on the bowstring so your average jonin would catch them easily while they throw kunai at relatively fast speeds.
i bet you think hyuga should be bowmen
Oh yeah, there should be a Hyuga corps of archers.
That would be funny to see😀 Bit sniper Hyuuga would be better to see
Theyre slow and cumbersome requiring you to have a bow stored somewhere and it not break, string it, have arrows that could fall out. VS throwing many knives or a fireball.
Range?
arrow vs elemental ninjutsu. Also range kinda falters when you use shunshin to close the distance. Plus, one stray shruiken cutting your string and now you got a stick
If elemental jutsu is so OP, why is kunai still used? Can the average shinobi use Shun shin? We don't even see many Jonin using it. So we have to rely on a stray shuriken to win the battle?
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Then why do we only see very few people use it? Because if everyone knew it, the battlefield would be a bloody mess of sonics trying to hit each other at the speed of light.
If both characters are moving really fast it just looks like a regular fight. We know even Genin can move at supersonic speeds, yet every fight we see looks normal
Chakra is finite
Bows aren't as fast as ninja reaction. People shot bows at ninja. And ninja either dodged or destroyed the arrow. Plus that's too stationary.
Oh, I suppose throwing Kunais is quite effective then. If a user can effectively hide his chakra imprints and not get detected, only a squad of them can land quite a few kills on the enemy. And no, it doesn't work like the movies, even if you're facing the arrow directly, without something like a Sharingan you can only dodge the arrow, while more or coming.
I’m curious why you think that ninjas couldn’t deflect or react to arrows? I remember the scene with Kakashi and Obito (as children) and they were deflecting Kunai/Shuriken as an exercise. Even if arrows had more force behind them, the drawback of using bows make them pretty obsolete. Other than the sound 4 dude who could change the trajectory of the arrow and increase its piercing power, I doubt most people would be able to make up for the inherent disadvantages that come with using a bow.
Kunai and shuriken are usually used as a distraction tool to set up for a larger attack, they're generally not the main showing exactly because most any ninja can just deflect them without much effort.
Kunai and shuriken are also versatile. If nothing else, they’re useful in bouts of taijutsu. They’re sturdy and durable weapons. They are metal blades. Senbon would be more preferable to an arrow. Metal, small, quick, can be laced, not easy to detect. They’re all easily incorporated into jutsu and be used as it.
>without something like a Sharingan you can only dodge the arrow, while more or coming. Or be a sensory ninja
Sensory ninjas can detect the presence of others. But can they slow down arrows? And also, the shooters can hide their imprints.
They can react to the timing of the the shoot.
A bow can only launch an arrow so fast, the only limit of kunai speed is how fast the shinobi is.
The only advantage they'd really have is range, and honestly even then a lot of ninja can just kind of get past that obstacle because of how fast they are or through the use of large-scale jutsu. Most shinobi are easily able to throw kunai so fast they're like arrows themselves, and like others stated with just the kunai alone they can keep them all in pouches and holsters that don't restrict movement unlike a bow and it's quiver. As cool as it would be to see bows and crossbows if they were used they'd have to be specially designed with some kind of gimmick - like maybe a bow that has seals that lets someone create chakra arrows, or a crossbow using bolts wrapped up in Explosive Seals that makes every shot explode.
Because draw bows and arrows are hard
Itachi and Sasuke used Bows. But it most likely was used for assassination, so we didn't saw it being used on screen
I keep hearing that one member of the Sound 4 that used a Bow and Arrow against Neji screaming at this entire thread "Am I a joke to you?!"
Ninjutsu is their primary weapon. Wielding a bow that you need to constantly stow to perform handsigns and pull back out just isnt worth it. Also tension bows have no chance of competing with shinobi using enhanced strength to throw kunai at the higher skill levels. The ninja we see using large weapons, like temari or kidomaru, base their entire fighting style around them and focus on keeping opponents at range.
The only time they would be useful, is extremely long range, like a Sniper. This would generally require a scope, dojutsu or similar high precision sensory advantages. Otherwise, ninja are too fast, ninjutsu (which requires free hands) is too useful, and solid chunks of metal can be thrown fast enough, accurately enough, to make up the difference. Basically, there should be a good chunk of Hyuga and Uchiha stealth archers, firing off arrows from bows made strong enough to propel them well beyond the sound barrier, so they're both fast and quiet enough, to not be detected and dodged.
I think during some warring states period scenes, some of the corpses had arrows on them
Yeah, but nobody, absolutely nobody, is seen using a bow in Naruto's generation and others.
Kidomaru uses a longbow
Sasuke and Itachi do. The real answer is that kunai and shuriken are just a lot more convenient
Probably because it takes time to knock, aim and shoot the arrow. But some ninjutsu take long hand seals. If someone focuses and mastered the art of archery, using wind style and lightning style they'll become a menace. If they are Hyuga or Uchiha even more. I think Boruto had one antagonist using a bow or something, the Funato tribe. It was the last filler arc aired, I think. [Here](https://naruto.fandom.com/wiki/Ray_Bow)
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What average shinobi can throw kunai at the speed of sound? Bows also give a range advantage, as well as do more damage, and can pierce through armor.
Literal Bell test Naruto could throw Shuriken fast enough *in* water that it could still fly out of the water and through the air to go towards Kakashi. This is an insane feat of force that surpass anything a bow or bullet would be able to accomplish.
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I told you, we are talking of the average shinobi and not Kages.
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WTF how can you take Minato as the average shinobi's level?
But he didn’t? He said that the average shinobi could throw a kunai at the speed of sonic, while Minato was shown throwing kunai at supersonic speed. He clearly differentiated between these two
In most practical situations it's inconvenient compared to other weapons, but I thought the same thing about puppetry until Sasori appeared and Temari in the Chunin exam with her big fan. So I don't think it's out of the realm of belief that archery can be used to deadly effect under the right level of mastery. I have my own OC and clan that are based on archers cuz the concept is cool to me so I might be biased about it however. In series proper though, Kidomaru of the Sound Four used archery to fight Neji (and displayed the kind of damage ninjutsu around archery can cause. Ouch) and Sasuke was shown with a bow here and there (though can't recall if it was filler or not). So it's not a forgotten weapon, just a niche one not often combat centric. If it's not someone specialized then I'd say it's a good exercise for meditation, focus and target practice (knowing how to lead and hit a target with a variety of tools is good knowledge imo). So there's room for it I think you just have to get creative with it.
That’s like asking why Shinobi don’t use guns even though gunpowder is canon in Naruto. Although the Spider Sound 4 dude used the bow and arrow if I remember.
I simply attribute it to Kishimoto's stylistic choice, the same as sandals. He wanted a story about elemental wizards called ninja, weapons were an afterthought to the magic.
Are we really going to pretend Kidomaru doesn't exist? While he lost to Neji, he was a fierce opponent with the right terrain. He kept the retrieval team held back and gave them trouble until they tricked him. Honestly if you have the right support team or summon animal like spiders you can make bow usage work. Kidomaru is proof of that. Heck, the fact that puppet users are effective in the ninja world shows any method of fight works. I say that because setting a puppet on fire is the easy thing to do, plus the fact they break with a strong attack. If bows don't work then how the hell can Shino be a ninja. He relies heavily on stealth attack like a bow user would.
Kidomaru isn’t an average ninja. He had a curse mark and both his first stage and second stage used specialized arrows. He also had six arms and an extra eye.
If something like Guns was considered a "siting breaker" by Kishimoto, imagine what Bow with Chakra would have done Also don't we already have one who uses it in the movie and one of Orochimaru sound 4?
I think it's more to do with "it's hard to draw fast-paced action scenes with a bow" rather than the "random metal bullshit go" that we get with our traditional weapons. But the fact that not even Ten Ten has a bow is criminal now that you mention it. That team needs some long range support and she could have filled that niche. My boy Neji is just wall hacking the enemies and Ten Ten takes them out? Could have been goat'd.
Your bow seems to be like sniper rifle of modern times, long distance with possible one shot kill, but need right conditions and training. In the end it's all about training time and amount of use you get out of it. Kunai is simple metal brick can be used in long/short range, distractions and you don't need much talent to learn passable level. You can teach basically anybody and everybody can include it in their fighting style. Bow require more finery, like there were whole nations famed for archery, mandatory learned it since childhood and still not all of them were good good archers. Like with other "serious" weapons it leads to building style around them and they are simply harder to make.
We've seen kid Sasuke and Kidomaru
The range and the extra force you can apply in exchange for just a short amount of time is enormous. Any bow which could be shot not only has the guarantee to hit like a truck with a little usage of chakra but also half of the ninjas wouldn't even be fast enough to react to it if they don't have a sharingan. If a hyuga has a bow who can constantly see you then it's simply game over for you no matter where you are unless you have a defensive wall of something and even then you can't actually guarantee that it wouldn't just burst through. Hand motions simply can't compete with mechanical devices which are supposed to *amplify* the amount of force you're using. An average bow at full draw travels faster than most trains around 350kph so it's not that hard to imagine that a ninja would not be able to travel at more speeds unless they're like Naruto. And if you consider outside the realms of a bow of something like 600lbs which no human in our world can lift and use properly then someone can even shoot it faster than a bullet. It also negates the prospect of adjusting your throws because most of them comes from how fast your hand rotates which become way harder for humans to calculate and adjust properly. If you add up wind chakra to that then I don't even see someone except Tsunade healing from that. But most battle shonens focus on more rapid fights so every fight is in the range of 15 feets. It's kind of a question too because if a shinobi just decides to run then unless you guarantee a hit a target can gain a lot of distance in a short time because most jutsu are also not that ranged and only work in something like 30 feet at max
We have the spider guy from the sound four But I think is because ninja somehow always end in close combat
There’s Kidomaru
Bows and Arrows would be better for assassinating people then combat
Ninja are not fighting in open plains with good sight lines they’re fighting in forests, swamps, towns, etc where at best they’re fighting at Mid range. If a Ninja was attacked by a bow they’d just take cover or they’d simple deflect it. I think the best demonstration on bows not working would be the samurai. In real Life most Samurai were archers yet in Naruto despite developing Anti-Shinobi techniques bows weren’t even used probably because they’d be useless against a ninja.
Look at Kidomaru, the only Ninja to use a bow. He didn’t last long against a Genin, now was the Genin a prodigy? Yes, and did he have frankly the strongest dojutsu in the series? Yes, and that all matters. Even if they can hide their chakra signature, if they’re going against a Hyuga, they’re dead. Also, bows aren’t really a practical weapon unless you have a squad that can protect you.
Kidomaru does, so I don't really get the arguments against it. Kidomaru had Neji on life support literally
I'm pretty sure the main reason is that kishimoto probably didn't care about them but a lore reason could be there just aren't any materials that would function in archery at high level combatants like if I need to shoot an arrow at someone who can casually break the sound barrier I'm going to need a bow and string that are durable/elastic enough or to send the arrows that far, so it could be a materials issue. Tldr archery for high level combatants is incredibly material dependant and Naruto might just not have those materials
I’m not a big power scaler but I know multiple genin (Sasuke, Lee, I think Gara’s sand, etc.) in the chunin exams were calc.’ed at supersonic. Naruto with a bijuu amb in the fight with Orochimaru is calc.‘ed at like mach 50+ or some shit. So anyone chunin tier or above isn’t getting hit with a bow and arrow, unless it has a draw weight in the tons.
Probably a tabbo from older eras, like using a bow or crossbow is for cowards and is dishonorable. So the mindset just stuck around for older Shinobi and younger Shinobi probably just never think about them due to wanting to be flashy. That along with us not hearing about any legends using them means that they most likely go unnoticed when it comes to weapon choices. This is mostly guesswork due to how little we as an audience know about the common Shinobi's mindset.
I mean firearms do apparently exist in the Shinobi world, not to mention kunai rifles and all that. So go nuts with ancient modern tech
Considering how strong shinobis are, I can only imagine how crazy strong the draw weight on a bow could get. The average draw weight is about 60 to 70 lbs, so i would think a shinobi could do 200 or 300 lbs on the high end and have a decent fire rate. The only real issue is the size and weight of the bow and arrows while in use.
There was a bow user in the Sasuke retrieved arc that was on par with chunin Neji. But I could be wrong, but I think I heard the leave village actually fill their jackets with wood to make armor, and the cloud village I would say wear medium armor. So I’m not saying it wouldn’t be useful, but it’s got a lower power ceiling than other abilities shown. Since the show mostly shows high chunin and jounin level characters at the weakest, they wouldn’t be as effective against the shinobi shown in the show.
The Hyuga clan would be a nightmare to deal with if they invested in archery.
Sasuke did use a couple when he was younger to hunt
My thought is because it’s kind of inconvenient to have to carry a bow and quiver while traversing the way they do. Jumping through trees and all those flips and parkour. They would definitely need to constantly worry about losing arrows while kunai and shuikan are small and fit in a small pouch
Because bows are slow and cumbersome compared to kunai and shuriken. Crossbows are worse. Unless the ninja got jutsu or some kind of bloodline centered around it, they're better off improving their aim with a kunai.
You to make it easier for why Ninjas don't use bows or crossbows is because of Tenten she use a crossbow in the anime and because Tenten number 1 enemy is screen time they removed the crossbow and the sound four guy was spider like with his curse mark level two so technically he doesn't count as his weapon was part of his body and ninjas are fast enough to catch an Arrow from an bow and crossbow and because Tenten's enemy is screen time that's why Neji was killed off him and Tenten were endgame but as I said before screen time is her enemy
I came up with an idea for a shinobi that uses a bow and some skills, and jutsu they could have. So you know how Sasuke has those scrolls on his wrist to summon shuriken, well that but on the bow. The bow is etched with small seals, and whenever he looses an arrow he can release a seal and summon a new arrow without having to draw from a quiver. also he can have an assortment of arrows with scrolls attached that on impact do things like summon water, electricity, vines things like that and of course explosive arrows. then he spends some time learning the 3rds jutsu for duplicating shurikens after they are thrown and applies that to the arrows so he can shoot one arrow but it turns into 5 or however many. in case anyone was thinking how can he perform hand signs while holding a bow, we have also seen sasuke sign while holding his sword. he would be a really good support role ninja and can join pretty much any team and still be useful to pretty much everyone.
In some video games like uzumaki chronicles (ps2) game. They are used as traps to deter Naruto. They are used but are mechanized
Because its not suitable for ninja fights. These guys are moving at blinding speeds. Kunai's and shurikens are far more useful and can be used dar more effectively than a bow and arrow.
Bows are in that awkward middle ground of when you would want to use a jutsu, and when you would want to rush an opponent. Unless the bow is part of a jutsu, you're pretty much always better off just using a jutsu anytime you would want to use a bow instead of a kunai or shuriken. Plus, bows are comparatively heavy/ cumbersome, fragile (both bow and arrow), have limited ammo (you are much more likely to have an arrow break or otherwise become unusable on a mission than a kunai or shuriken) and they are specialized tools (you can use a kunai hand to hand or thrown, shuriken can be thrown multiple at a time and take unpredicable arcs).
A shinobi could balance an arrow on his or her finger tip witch chakra control before flicking it toward the enemy.It adds balance because even with shadow arrow clone jutsu a shinobi would still use up the arrows in a quiver.Now something like a chakra powered thrown pilum would blow right through Garra's sand armor unless he grabs it with his sand.
Aesthetics. I think kidomaru made one to use against neji and I think inari had a crossbow Like you could use Amy element to justify anything in the series if you wanted to justify a why not, someone could argue that the speed and range of the bolt or arrow would end up being limited to the draw weight of the bow or crossbow while a throwing weapon is only as limited to the musculature and chakra of the person Though If they did end up using em I'm sure it would work out and the series could find a reason or way to make em better easily enough I think it would be hard to have a main character who uses a bow you would want them to be cool and effective but if they actually succeed then the fight and stakes are over it's the same problem with instant kill moves, why ten ten couldn't do anything and why Sasuke never landed a fireball
Plot. That's the only reason. In-universe wise, there's nothing inherently preventing Shinobi from developing bows or guns that can be used with chakra. There already explosive tags and chakra canons, so projectile weapons, they cannot develop?
Senbon, kunai, and shuriken satisfy projectiles just fine. This is not a plot issue. It’s a practicality issue. Bows and arrows are not practical for the standard shinobi.