There is a lot to the negative to be said about Jiraiya's moral fiber -- but above all, he has managed to survive with not only his skin and his sanity, but also at least the core of his ethics intact. This isn't played up very strongly in the series -- he spends most of his visible screen time playing the buffoon -- but in flashbacks, and in Naruto's comments about his time with Jiraiya, it slowly becomes clear that Jiraiya did his best to instill not only the knowledge of ninja business, but also the desire for peace, into all his students. No matter that he's managed to claw his way to middle age through a haze of war, betrayals, and bloodshed -- Jiraiya still has a strong core of being simply, essentially good that is elusive but perhaps his strongest driving force.
In terms of combat abilities, both sheerly physical and magical, Jiraiya is a powerhouse. Even in his fifties, he's built like a tank, and in the times when his shirt comes off, it's very clear that not a bit of it is fat! He's a six-foot-two solid slab of muscle and surprisingly deadly hair, and packs a commensurate punch. Beyond that, he shows talent with the core element of fire, as well as summoning and manipulating oil as a secondary element, using it singly as well as to enhance the power of his flames. He's also an expert in chakra seals, which are a complicated art that allows chakra, the body's inherent, internal energy, to be shaped and formed into a variety of ongoing techniques that don't need to be maintained. For example, the work holding the fox demon inside Naruto is a seal created by his dead parents; it's been holding strong for 16 years thus far. Jiraiya is a master of those seals, the guardian of the second half of Naruto's seal until his death.
By far Jiraiya's greatest specialty is summoning; he is contracted with a clan of ninja toads who have trained him in their secret ways, and come to his aid whenever he calls them. Many of his techniques are named as Toad techniques, even those that don't directly require summoning one of the toads -- they're techniques that the toads have pioneered, and that rightfully go to the ninja trained by them. He has techniques such as the Toad Flatness: Shadow Manipulation technique, which is essentially a combination of invisibility and mind control, he can transport an area around him such as a hallway or room into the belly of a toad, he can create dimensional space inside of toads to hide himself, interrogate prisoners, and generally take care of business -- and, oh right, he can summon the toads, who are themselves ninja, as battle partners.
Some of them are really big. That isn't grass the toad is crouching in. That's the tops of trees. Trees that are themselves several stories tall.
Good thing he can't summon in Luceti, eh?
He also possesses sage techniques, which allow him (with assistance) to draw on the vast energy of the world around him, resulting in a multiplication of his level of power -- but presumably, that won't be an issue in Luceti, since again, it requires him to summon toads for assistance, and he can't do that.
Weaknesses: Although it is never openly stated canonically, Jiraiya's behavior and past history show a strong indication that his biggest weakness is cowardice. Not in the face of battle -- he'll leap into combat when needed, no matter how strong the enemy, and as a younger man he was perhaps even brash about it -- but rather, in the face of difficult emotional circumstances.
That's a benefit to Obfuscating Stupidity, after all. It lets you run away from things, and claim it all in the name of simple irresponsibility.
After all, he was named as Naruto's godfather -- but actually staying in Konoha to raise his godson? Too difficult to face the ghosts that lingered there. Easier to go off and be a spy, be a drunk, be a popular author of a popular series of bodice-ripping pap.
When he actually came back and became Naruto's teacher, did he mention 'Oh, by the way, I knew your parents, they were actually very close to me and let me tell you all about them, as I know you're desperate to know anything about your origins'? Nope. He says once, maybe twice, that Naruto reminds him of the Fourth Hokage, and that's it. Too difficult to actually admit to Naruto that he knew and should have been there all along. Easier to drop a single line about Minato and then just do something ridiculous and possibly perverted to distract Naruto.
Because it's never openly acknowledged in the series (probably because Jiraiya's dead by the time Naruto learns anything about his family), Jiraiya never openly gives a canon rationalization for what he did. There's no Obi-Wan-style "From a certain point of view" lecture. But looking at Jiraiya's behavior, looking at the way he tackles the entire world, it's easy to figure the things he is and isn't willing to tackle.
He barely talks about Orochimaru, despite the immense interest of that topic -- and when he does, it's mostly to try and persuade Naruto to give up on Sasuke. Run away from your difficult emotions, don't give them power over you. Don't hold strong, painful emotional attachments -- or at least, if you still hold them, sure as hell don't acknowledge that you hold them!
In terms of abilities, it's hard to find weaknesses in Jiraiya's powers. Going by the skill statistics the author of Naruto has published, Jiraiya is tied for being the highest-statted character (indicating not only immense power but immensely well-rounded power; he's no specialist with areas of weakness). However, the greatest weakness that can be identified is his reliance on his summons; many of his abilities require their assistance, and without them, he'll be considerably diminished.
Jiraiya | Reserved | Strengths/Weaknesses
Strengths:
Writing porn is a strength, right?There is a lot to the negative to be said about Jiraiya's moral fiber -- but above all, he has managed to survive with not only his skin and his sanity, but also at least the core of his ethics intact. This isn't played up very strongly in the series -- he spends most of his visible screen time playing the buffoon -- but in flashbacks, and in Naruto's comments about his time with Jiraiya, it slowly becomes clear that Jiraiya did his best to instill not only the knowledge of ninja business, but also the desire for peace, into all his students. No matter that he's managed to claw his way to middle age through a haze of war, betrayals, and bloodshed -- Jiraiya still has a strong core of being simply, essentially good that is elusive but perhaps his strongest driving force.
In terms of combat abilities, both sheerly physical and magical, Jiraiya is a powerhouse. Even in his fifties, he's built like a tank, and in the times when his shirt comes off, it's very clear that not a bit of it is fat! He's a six-foot-two solid slab of muscle and surprisingly deadly hair, and packs a commensurate punch. Beyond that, he shows talent with the core element of fire, as well as summoning and manipulating oil as a secondary element, using it singly as well as to enhance the power of his flames. He's also an expert in chakra seals, which are a complicated art that allows chakra, the body's inherent, internal energy, to be shaped and formed into a variety of ongoing techniques that don't need to be maintained. For example, the work holding the fox demon inside Naruto is a seal created by his dead parents; it's been holding strong for 16 years thus far. Jiraiya is a master of those seals, the guardian of the second half of Naruto's seal until his death.
By far Jiraiya's greatest specialty is summoning; he is contracted with a clan of ninja toads who have trained him in their secret ways, and come to his aid whenever he calls them. Many of his techniques are named as Toad techniques, even those that don't directly require summoning one of the toads -- they're techniques that the toads have pioneered, and that rightfully go to the ninja trained by them. He has techniques such as the Toad Flatness: Shadow Manipulation technique, which is essentially a combination of invisibility and mind control, he can transport an area around him such as a hallway or room into the belly of a toad, he can create dimensional space inside of toads to hide himself, interrogate prisoners, and generally take care of business -- and, oh right, he can summon the toads, who are themselves ninja, as battle partners.
Some of them are really big. That isn't grass the toad is crouching in. That's the tops of trees. Trees that are themselves several stories tall.
Good thing he can't summon in Luceti, eh?
He also possesses sage techniques, which allow him (with assistance) to draw on the vast energy of the world around him, resulting in a multiplication of his level of power -- but presumably, that won't be an issue in Luceti, since again, it requires him to summon toads for assistance, and he can't do that.
Weaknesses: Although it is never openly stated canonically, Jiraiya's behavior and past history show a strong indication that his biggest weakness is cowardice. Not in the face of battle -- he'll leap into combat when needed, no matter how strong the enemy, and as a younger man he was perhaps even brash about it -- but rather, in the face of difficult emotional circumstances.
That's a benefit to Obfuscating Stupidity, after all. It lets you run away from things, and claim it all in the name of simple irresponsibility.
After all, he was named as Naruto's godfather -- but actually staying in Konoha to raise his godson? Too difficult to face the ghosts that lingered there. Easier to go off and be a spy, be a drunk, be a popular author of a popular series of bodice-ripping pap.
When he actually came back and became Naruto's teacher, did he mention 'Oh, by the way, I knew your parents, they were actually very close to me and let me tell you all about them, as I know you're desperate to know anything about your origins'? Nope. He says once, maybe twice, that Naruto reminds him of the Fourth Hokage, and that's it. Too difficult to actually admit to Naruto that he knew and should have been there all along. Easier to drop a single line about Minato and then just do something ridiculous and possibly perverted to distract Naruto.
Because it's never openly acknowledged in the series (probably because Jiraiya's dead by the time Naruto learns anything about his family), Jiraiya never openly gives a canon rationalization for what he did. There's no Obi-Wan-style "From a certain point of view" lecture. But looking at Jiraiya's behavior, looking at the way he tackles the entire world, it's easy to figure the things he is and isn't willing to tackle.
He barely talks about Orochimaru, despite the immense interest of that topic -- and when he does, it's mostly to try and persuade Naruto to give up on Sasuke. Run away from your difficult emotions, don't give them power over you. Don't hold strong, painful emotional attachments -- or at least, if you still hold them, sure as hell don't acknowledge that you hold them!
In terms of abilities, it's hard to find weaknesses in Jiraiya's powers. Going by the skill statistics the author of Naruto has published, Jiraiya is tied for being the highest-statted character (indicating not only immense power but immensely well-rounded power; he's no specialist with areas of weakness). However, the greatest weakness that can be identified is his reliance on his summons; many of his abilities require their assistance, and without them, he'll be considerably diminished.