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Nara Shikamaru is a fictional character in the manga and anime franchise, Naruto, created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the manga, Shikamaru is a shinobi affiliated with the village Hidden in the Leaves. He is a member of Team 10, a group of ninja consisting of himself, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and team leader Asuma Sarutobi. Shikamaru is portrayed as a lazy character, unwilling to apply his prodigious intelligence; Kishimoto has noted that he likes Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature. Outside the Naruto anime and manga, Shikamaru has appeared in several other media in the franchise, including video games, original video animations, and six feature films.
Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Shikamaru's character. Many reviewers commented on his laziness and intelligence, and noted his transformation into a leader; Anime News Network celebrated Shikamaru's emergence in the Naruto storyline. Shikamaru has also been highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls. Merchandise based on Shikamaru has been released, including action figures, key chains, and patches.
Kishimoto has noted that he likes Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature despite being a genius, and contrasted him against Sasuke Uchiha's intelligent but abrasive personality. Kishimoto also comically remarked that he would marry Shikamaru if he were a girl, noting that Shikamaru would likely be successful in life. When designing Shikamaru's Part II appearance, Kishimoto wanted to give Shikamaru a unique appearance despite drawing him with a vest that several other ninja wear in the series. As a result, he drew his forehead protector on his arm in order to not obscure his hair.
During Part II, Shikamaru's teacher, Asuma Sarutobi, dies while battling the Akatsuki terrorist member Hidan and Shikamaru starts smoking Asuma's cigars. Kishimoto feared that Shueisha would censor this since Shikamaru was still a teenager and the manga's magazine was aimed at young demographic. However, these scenes were not censored.
Shikamaru approaches the exams with a sense of apathy; when he battles the Sunagakure ninja Temari, he defeats her but forfeits his match to her, due to his chakra being low. Despite this loss, he is the only ninja among his peers to be promoted to the rank of Chunin, as the overseers of the exams were impressed by the insight and intelligence he demonstrated against Temari. As a Chunin, Shikamaru is appointed the leader of a team to prevent Sasuke Uchiha from defecting to the village of Otogakure. Although Shikamaru's team manages to defeat the Otogakure ninja barring their way, Sasuke manages to escape.
In Part II of the series, Shikamaru is assigned the task of locating two members of the criminal organization Akatsuki. While his team manages to find their targets, the immortal Akatsuki member Hidan kills Asuma Sarutobi during the course of the battle despite Shikamaru's best efforts. After Asuma's funeral, Shikamaru sets out with the surviving members of Team 10 to avenge their mentor with the aid of Kakashi Hatake. As the others deal with Hidan's partner Kakuzu, Shikamaru avenges Asuma by defeating Hidan and making sure the Akatsuki member's body is never found. Following the fight, Shikamaru vows to protect Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma's newborn daughter. He is later assigned to the Fourth Division alongside Temari and Choji. He is named a proxy general under Gaara. In the series epilogue, stating his personal desire during the series of final battles, Shikamaru becomes advisor to the Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki after marrying Temari and gaining a son in Shikadai Nara. During Part 2 of Boruto, following Naruto's disappearance and presumed murder, for which Boruto was framed, Shikamaru serves de facto as the Eighth Hokage, without however having been officially inaugurated.
A light novel titled Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness, written by Takashi Yano and illustrated by Kishimoto, stars Shikamaru as the main character and narrator. The novel is set two years after the Fourth Ninja War, focusing on Shikamaru's assignment as organizer of the newly formed Shinobi Union to capture a rogue ninja who rules over the distant Land of Silence and attempts to establish a new world order ruled by the common people. It also explores his growing relationship with Temari, culminating in him struggling to name his child with her, years after the end of the novel. An upcoming novel by Mirei Miyamoto will focus on Shikamaru's life as a father.
Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have commented on Shikamaru's character. IGN stated that Shikamaru was one of their favorite characters in the series, and referred to him as "the poster child for any card-carrying member of Generation X" due to his general lack of enthusiasm and his unwillingness to utilize his potential. In a review of episode 110, IGN praised how Shikamaru managed to transcend his lazy nature in order to take on the mantle of a leader when assigned to lead a team in order to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha and agreed that the decision to make him Chunin was fair. Anime News Network also commented on this development, calling Shikamaru's emergence as "an unlikely hero" one of the highlights of the arc. In a subsequent review of episode 135, in which the mission to retrieve Sasuke has failed and the members of Shikamaru's team were critically injured, IGN lauded the "great moment" in the episode in which Shikamaru began to cry after learning his friends will recover, and declared that he will be a better leader for the sake of his friends. Mania Entertainment's Justin Rich celebrated his "sheer intellect", calling him "one of the most fascinating characters in the series" and "one of the few truly brilliant fighters in shōnen anime". Dani Moure, another reviewer from the same site, noted about his battle with Temari during the Chunin Exams that it was "one of the better fights involving the supporting players".
Javier Lugo from Manga Life found Shikamaru's fight in the series' fourteenth volume good despite how threatening it is for him. For Part II, Park Cooper from the same site acclaimed Shikamaru's strategy in dealing with the members from the series' antagonist, Akatsuki. Amy McNulty from Anime News Network praised how Shikamaru's epilogue episodes helps to expand his characterization as he decides to aid Naruto when he becomes the Hokage. Reviewing the anime s third episode, Sam Stewart from IGN enjoyed the adult Shikamaru's characterization for how he helps his sons Shikadai but ultimately felt he was overshadowed by his wife Temari.
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