Naruto Chakra Nature Tier List

Revisiting the Chakra Natures

It’s been a while since I last wrote about one of my favorite anime series, Naruto (excluding my weekly Boruto episode reviews). And, it looks like it’s been almost two years since I last wrote about chakra natures from the series.

So, for this article, I placed all of the chakra natures on a tier list and will be going through each tier explaining the placements of the natures. S-Tier is the best and F-Tier is the worst. Natures are also ordered from strongest to weakest within each tier, with the stronger natures to the left.

As for which natures are included in this list, the answer is simply: all 23 of them. Every nature covered in my original article ranking the chakra natures, the extra kekkei genkai natures, and the upgraded natures are all included on this tier list.

S-Tier Natures

If you’ve read my original article on the strongest chakra nature in Naruto, it should come as no surprise that Yin-Yang release is at the top of S-Tier. It’s broken, evidenced by the fact that it can even nullify the effects of all other jutsu.

The other S-Tier nature is Dust release. This is the only kekkei tōta nature (combination of three basic natures) known, so you’d expect for it to be powerful. But, that distinction isn’t enough to put it in S-Tier. This nature earns its spot because it can disintegrate anything it comes in contact with.

A-Tier Natures

The top A-Tier nature is, unfortunately, Wood release. Canonically, Wood release is the strongest, aside from the two S-Tier natures. However, that’s only because of the religious significance of wood. If Wood nature acted like real wood, it wouldn’t be anywhere near this high up.

Magnet release is my pick for the second strongest in A-Tier because of how versatile it is and how strong its users are. While Dust release is the best offensive nature and Wood or Crystal release is the best defensive nature, Magnet release is extremely good at both offense and defense. It can even disrupt opponents who use weapons.

Speaking of Crystal release, it’s the final nature within A-Tier. From what we’ve seen of it, Crystal release is effectively Earth release, but indestructible. If Wood release wasn’t magic instead of ninjutsu, Crystal would be the definitive best defensive nature.

B-Tier Natures

Starting off B-Tier we have Explosion release simply due to its destructive nature. Unless you have a giant snake named Monda to hide inside of (or Crystal release), Explosion release is going to do some serious damage to you.

Lava release is very close to Explosion release in my mind. It’s lava, so it’s a dangerous nature to go up against. But, it’s also very versatile. It can be used to produce molten rock, acidic mud, corrosive quicklime, and even vulcanized rubber. It’s just not as destructive as Explosion release.

Like Crystal, Steel release is an improvement upon the standard Earth release. Steel is stronger than Earth, and Crystal is stronger than Steel. So, naturally, Steel would fall somewhere between them considering the same types of jutsu can be used with all three, just to varying levels of effectiveness.

Something interesting about Dark release is that we’ve seen a fair amount of people use abilities that work just like it without them being stated to have Dark release. For example, the Karma’s ability to absorb chakra in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is effectively Dark release. And because that ability is so useful, I think it deserves to be in B-Tier.

Finally, Scorch release is B-Tier as well due to how lethal it is to humans. This nature can quickly evaporate all the moisture in the air, and within living things, causing death. It is, however, weak against Water release, which is why it’s at the bottom of B-Tier instead of in A-Tier.

C-Tier Natures

I’m putting Boil release at the top of C-Tier because it’s very similar to Lava release but generally less dangerous. Like Lava release, this nature can be corrosive. But, the majority of the time it isn’t and is instead used to produce hot steam.

Typhoon release is also in C-Tier because as far as we know, it’s just a more powerful version of Wind release. However, I wouldn’t say it’s as much of an upgrade over standard Wind release as Steel is over standard Earth release.

My placement of Storm release may be a little controversial. This chakra nature allows the user to control powerful beams of electricity as if they were a fluid. You might think that should be above Typhoon release. But, the reason I’m putting it below Typhoon release is that Wind release is strong against Lightning release, and so Typhoon release should be strong against Storm release.

Ice release is everyone’s favorite kekkei genkai chakra nature from the beginning of the original Naruto anime. We know it’s strong enough that its users were hunted down and persecuted. But it’s not really anything special as far as kekkei genkai go. If there was an improved version of it, like Crystal is to Steel, then that would be higher-tiered.

Rounding out the bottom of C-Tier is Mud release. As a kekkei genkai combining both Earth and Water release, it’s naturally tiered above them. And while I do think it deserves to be above D-Tier, it only barely makes it into C-Tier. It’s doubly weak to Storm release above it, so that’s not good.

D-Tier Natures

My pick for the top of D-Tier is both unique and probably controversial. Blaze release is the only nature on this list that’s not officially recognized as a chakra nature. However, because it’s referred to as a “release,” we can assume it is.

Now, Blaze release is what Sasuke Uchiha uses to manipulate the black flames of Amaterasu. That seems like it should be higher up, right? Well, it can only manipulate those flames, making it extremely niche. Just having Amaterasu alone is good enough — you don’t need Blaze release as well.

Yin release is the best of the basic chakra natures. This is the “mind” part of the “mind and body” of Yin-Yang release. It’s responsible for powerful genjutsu as well as shadow-based jutsu. Yin is extremely good as far as basic natures go.

The bottom of D-Tier is another great basic nature, this time the best of the basic elemental natures, Lightning release. Not only is this the most offensive basic nature, but it’s also effective against two other basic natures, Earth and Water release.

E-Tier Natures

As the only tier comprised of only basic natures, E-Tier starts off with Earth release. Despite not being as good as Yin or Lightning release, Earth release is probably the most versatile of the basic chakra natures. For this reason, it gets to sit at the top of E-Tier.

Fire release is right in the middle of the basic chakra natures. It’s the standard, which makes sense since it’s what the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village tend to specialize in. It’s good against one nature and bad against one other. There’s not much else to say about it.

The final nature of E-Tier is Wind, which is both weak to fire and less damaging than fire. So, naturally, it’s going to sit below fire on the tier list. Again, there’s nothing special about this nature. It just exists.

F-Tier Natures

The best of the worst chakra natures is Water release. The reason this basic elemental nature is in F-Tier is that it’s weak to both Lightning and Earth. Yes, it’s also strong against Fire and Scorch release. But there’s only one known Scorch release user (who’s dead), so that’s doesn’t really matter.

Yang release is the worst basic chakra nature because it allows users to manipulate their physical attributes. An example is the Akimichi clan’s Expansion jutsu. But, you can be physically strong without being able to use Yang release. It’s fine when paired with other natures. However, I wouldn’t want just Yang release.

And, the worst of the worst when it comes to chakra natures is Swift release, a kekkei genkai of all things. It allows the user to move extremely quickly to the point their movements can’t be tracked. Do you know who else can do that without needing Swift release? Basically everyone. Think about Rock Lee’s speed without his leg weights or Minato’s various Flying Thunder God techniques.

Conclusion

What parts of my chakra nature tier list do you agree with? And what parts don’t you agree with? Let me know in the comments. And if you want to make your own chakra nature tier list, make sure to tweet it at me when you’re done.

If you enjoyed this article, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.