Naruto Series: Shikamaru Nara (ISTP)

Ti:

“Figuring out for yourself is a valuable part of training.”

“It’s not because I’m lazy, it’s just because I don’t care.”

Shikamaru is reserved, calm, cool and collected. He’s rarely shown getting emotional, and usually approaches things logically. He places little value in rules and regulations, a result of the deadly Ti-Se combination. As a kid, he was shown to be a rule breaker, and even a bad influence on Naruto, encouraging him to do the sexy jutsu once. Shikamaru is never shown trying to control his environment. In fact, he’s relatively unstructured, especially early on. He eventually developed ambition and a training regimen, but that was not an initial impulse for him.  However, you do see him very obviously organizing his head space. In the middle of battle, he’s sometimes shown retreating to a safe spot so he can physically stop everything he is doing, put his hands into a specific position, shut his eyes, and just retreat into his head space. Once allowed to do that, he can sort through all of his thoughts and develop the best strategy. Shikamaru does end up in a leadership position, but reluctantly. Shikamaru describes himself as a loner, only really having a few close friends within the village. He also falls in the trap of not fully explaining his thoughts, like many other Ti users. When getting Temari to help him with Naruto’s wedding gift, Shikamaru fails to give her a complete explanation and later ends up in an awkward situation.

Se:

“Oh man… those clouds are so lucky. so free. More to the point, I didn’t feel like doing this in the first place. And I only became a ninja because I thought life would’ve been more interesting as one… I suppose things aren’t gonna be that simple.”

“A good strategist has to be able to clearly assess the situation moment by moment in order to direct his team. The skills you possess are best deployed in the rear guard not in the thick of battle. Putting you at risk in the front lines only increases the chances of our failing in the mission.” – Asuma arguing against Shikamaru’s strategy

Shikamaru is very laid back. He’s frequently shown laying around and relaxing. He lives in the moment, and when younger, struggles to see beyond it. He initially doesn’t have ambition, goals, or really any strong desires to do anything. He is seen as lazy and unmotivated. He’s even caught sleeping in class, and leading other children to play hookie when bored. However, Asuma does note that Shikamaru is motivated by competition, which is a common Se tendency. As a result, Asuma uses games (like Shogi) and puzzles to teach him. When older, Shikamaru is shown preferring to do things himself, rather than delegate. In battle, Shikamaru strategizes on the fly. While he may form a strategy in advance when given information, he is frequently shown adjusting his plan and analyzing once exposed to the situation. When confronted with a trauma, like Asuma’s death, Shikamaru reacts impulsively and leaves the village almost immediately afterwards to get revenge.

Some people may argue that Shikamaru’s shadow style jutsu allows him to detach/distance himself from the battle, suggesting an intuitive. However, the first thing to note is that he essentially inherited shadow style from his father, rather than exclusively choosing it. Second, while Shikamaru’s shadow style jutsu is more long distance, he does not use that as a reason to stay detached from the battle, which would be anti-Se. While planning for the battle that would ultimately cost Asuma his life, Shikamaru is shown developing a strategy in which he would be in the thick of the battle. Asuma argues against it, saying that as a strategist,  Shikamaru should remain in the rear so that he can “clearly assess the situation moment by moment.” Shikamaru just argues back with a very Se-esque,  “I’m aware of the risk, but what does it matter?”

Ni:

“Regardless of our limitations, we can always be of some use. Our power may seem insignificant… but it may just prove to be useful in the grand scheme of things. Stay focused. Never avert your eyes, because if an opening arises, even our insignificant power may be enough to determine the fate of the world. Which is why everyone must stay alert and ready to strike at any moment!”

“Sorry guys, but this time I’m really only going on intuition. I bet it’ll happen soon though.”

Shikamaru’s Ni comes out primarily in his strategizing, instincts, and focused mentality (when he’s not being lazy). He picks up on the taboo surrounding young Naruto, and unabashedly asks his parents what was up with him. When strategizing, Shikamaru watches his opponents until he gets enough pieces of information to allow a strategy to click into place, and he’s hesitant to vocalize a strategy before that point (Ti-Ni). Shikamaru likens much of his strategic thinking to Shogi, and uses the game to represent every battle he faces. Shikamaru can usually see how things will play out. Even as a child, when fighting Temari in the Chunin exams, Shikamaru sees his inevitable defeat at one point and just resigns, not seeing the point in fighting it out to the bitter end. This seems to suggests Ni > Ne since he only saw one possible outcome,  rather then continuing to fight with the idea that their might be something he had missed or a possibility that he hadn’t considered. In addition, Shikamaru doesn’t view himself as regularly relying on intuition like an actual intuitive would (if you take the above quote into consideration). In general, when he’s motivated, Shikamaru is a very focused individual who encourages others to focus as well.

Fe:

Shikamaru has an awareness of those around him. He’s generally a nice person, and is sympathetic towards Chogi when he is getting picked on. Later in life, Shikamaru also demonstrates Fe insecurity.  When it comes time to get Naruto a wedding gift, Shikamaru is very sensitive about his gift choice. When considering giving him cash, he expresses a fear of what people will think and worries about them thinking he is too lazy. After deciding on something, Shikamaru goes to Temari for advice, but at the same time, worries what she will think of the gift idea.  As second to the Hokage, Shikamaru looks out for Naruto’s wellfare, and frequently tells him to just go home when he sees Naruto getting overly worn out and tired, or when he thinks he’s been away from his family for too long.