Part 1 was great, the chuunin exams and rescue Sasuke arcs are some of my favorites ever. I liked the way characters had their roles and it wasn't a one man show.
I gave up on Naruto once he went full Goku when Pain attacked the village. Tsunade was weak as shyt and Kakashi couldn't do shyt. Sakura shouting for Naruto to save them and he shows up just like Goku at the last minute to win. That was the moment I officially called Naruto shyt. I hate shows that make all the characters useless except for the main character. I have the same beef with DBZ. It's a one man show where everyone else gets their ass handed to them except for Goku.
One Piece gets it right because every character at least has their own battle to overcome with Luffy taking on the main threat.