Naruto is a total angst-fest.
Often, I will decide on my favourite character in a series before I read or watch it. Mello, for example, in Death Note, or if we go way back, Ken in Digimon. (I also have a thing for fucked up boy geniuses with inferiority complexes.)

My bosses' daughter is rather into Naruto. And I guess I'd seen it referenced enough that when she was showing us her trading cards*, I was able to point at Gaara and say, "I like him." Except that I would've been referring to him as 'the sand boy'.

This weekend I read volumes 11-16 (Mum had bought them for the library - I hadn't actually read beyond volume 4). I read the first half of that on Saturday night.

Wow, I thought. Why didn't Kate tell me Gaara was a psychopath? I'll have to take that up with her next week.

Then on Sunday I read the rest. Oh my gosh, does Naruto have the angstiest backstories or what? Yow. It was sad. I kind of have trouble following everything, what with not having read a whole chunk, but Gaara as a little kid was incredibly effecting.

Anyway, I'm reassured my favourite-character-meter is not totally off.

* She says she's not a complete geek because she doesn't actually play them. Um, whatever you say, dear.