Shikamaru Nara Overview

"Shika" means deer (鹿), and "-maru" (丸) means "round", "circle", or "well-developed", but is commonly used as a suffix in boys' names. Along with Ino (meaning boar) and Choji (meaning butterfly), Shikamaru's name is a pun on the "Ino-Shika-Cho" winning combination in Hanafuda.

His surname, Nara, is from Nara Prefecture in Japan, and Nara ko-en (Nara Park) there is famous for deer whose antlers are used for medicines. Coincidentally, Nara Animation is also one of the production companies behind the Naruto anime. Nara was also the era when Buddhism was introduced to Japan. The several Buddhist monasteries founded in Nara took the deer as their symbolic protector, and made hunting deer illegal in the prefecture.

In Shonen Jump's character popularity polls, Shikamaru has been in the Top 10 since the third poll, usually in 4th or 5th place. In the most recent poll, however, he was in 10th. He is the only character on his team to make it to the top 10.

Background Information

Originally a Genin level ninja that graduated with Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru is a lazy, easygoing genius that was promoted to Chunin level after the Chunin Exam Arc. He is from a family of shadow manipulators and deer herders. His main technique is Shadow Imitation Technique. Later in the series, his father teaches him his second jutsu, Shadow Neck Bind Technique, an extension of his first technique.

Shikamaru is the sort of unenthusiastic person who would rather take a nap than get excited over something and likes the thinking games that older men are usually into, such as Shogi and Go. A testament to that is the fact that Shikamaru even decided to sleep during the attack of Konoha by the Sand and Sound Villages, as he thought it would be too troublesome to get up and fight, and end up getting attacked, after he had dispelled a sleeping genjutsu cast by the enemies. This was found out after Sakura was about to cancel the genjutsu and found out he was in fact aware of his surroundings, much to her annoyance. Another example is before he was supposed to fight Temari. Shikamaru contemplates forfeiting, but is forced to compete when pushed into the arena by Naruto. When thrust into action-laden situations, uncomfortable situations, or indeed, any situation at all that would require him to exert himself, he tends to remark "How troublesome" (the English dub uses a similar phrase, "What a drag"). He is fully aware of this side of his personality and even dubs himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward".

However, when duty calls, Shikamaru has a strong moral compass and sense of commitment to his comrades. Even though by his own testimony that he lacks bravery, he will sacrifice himself and face almost certain death for the sake of his friends without a second thought, such as when he stayed in back to confront the Sound Ninja, giving Naruto enough time to catch up with Sasuke. Since he has been promoted to Chunin, his responsibility for the lives of his friends has weighed very heavily on him on occasion.

Shikamaru is a brilliant strategist, and though his sensei, Asuma Sarutobi, often plays Go and Shogi against Shikamaru, Asuma has never actually managed to beat him. Asuma got suspicious upon realizing that Shikamaru was so good at board games despite his abysmal grades, which were almost as low as Naruto's. As a result, Asuma administered an IQ test disguised as a game to Shikamaru, which revealed that Shikamaru was a genius with an IQ of over 200. Shikamaru had felt that even moving his pencil in class was a bother and always slept through tests, resulting in his low grades. Shikamaru has a habit of putting his fingers together to create a square and closing his eyes so he can concentrate and come up with a strategy. Once he does, which often takes only a few minutes; he is often already thinking ten moves ahead of his opponent with over a hundred strategies already planned out.

Shikamaru has a longstanding friendship with Choji Akimichi, in whom he has complete trust. Before they were promoted to Chunin rank, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino Yamanaka were on the same Genin team under Asuma. Their fathers were on the same team as well. Their teamwork is unparalleled.

Shikamaru's most distinctive character trait is that he finds 'all' women bossy and "troublesome". Given his mother's tyrannical personality, this isn't too surprising; however, his father shares the exact same attitude despite marrying her in the first place. He considers the Sand ninja Temari to be the most troublesome woman he knows, followed closely by his mother. However, despite his near sexist attitude he has expressed a notably mature interest in marriage and raising a family. Just before he is about to be killed during the Destruction of Konoha arc, he thinks about how he wanted his life to go: "Marry someone who is not ugly or beautiful. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after the daughter is married, and the son has a job and spend the rest of my life playing Shogi and Go. Then die before my wife."

His favorite dish is mackerel and kelp; his least is boiled eggs. His hobbies are napping, Shogi (a Japanese game similar to chess) and cloud watching. Recently has also taken up smoking as something he picked up from Asuma, even using his lighter (which is similar to a zippo), but he does mention that he'll stop after he avenges Asuma's death. His favorite phrase is "Live each day quietly".