My favorite part about Naruto is that the opening video changes slightly because of what happens during the episodes, more anime should do that. In the manga the plot has really been opened up (I guess it'll be around for a lot longer) so it has sort of gotten interesting there, seems original. I'd say 5th grade sounds like the right target audience, although the commercials shown during the show seem to be for kindergarten (diapers, toddler shoes). The show recently has gotten a little too emotional and there are some other things that make it very unnatural. I don't watch the 4kids version, I'm commenting on the Japanese version.
