Though lazy by nature, Shikamaru has a rare intellect that consistently allows him to prevail in combat. The responsibilities that these successes leave him with cause him frequent annoyance, but he gladly accepts them so that he may be of service to his fellow members of Team 10, and to prove himself to generations of the past and future. Shikamaru is the only child of Yoshino and Shikaku Nara. When he was young, he once played "ninja" with other children his age. From that point onward they were best friends; upon entering Konoha's Ninja Academy, they'd usually sit together in class and hang out afterwards. Shikamaru had very little interest in the class itself, preferring to spend his time sleeping rather than listen to Iruka Umino's lessons. Shikamaru showed the same lack of enthusiasm for the tests he was given and couldn't be bothered to actually answer the questions, leading to his poor grades.

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He is a member of Konohagakure's Nara clan. He is best friends with Naruto Uzumaki and Choji Akimichi since childhood. Though lazy by nature, Shikamaru has a rare intellect that consistently allows him to prevail in combat. The responsibilities that these successes leave him with cause him frequent annoyance, but he gladly accepts them so that he may be of service to his fellow members of Team Asuma, and to prove himself to generations of the past and future. As a genin, Shikamaru Nara was the sort of unenthusiastic kid who liked to watch clouds. He preferred not to get involved in "troublesome" activities, pretending to be busy to avoid responsibility. He also does not like fighting, deeming it, as he does to most things, "troublesome". He is fully aware of this side of his personality. He even named himself "the number one at running away" or "the number one coward". In fact, his most commonly used phrase is "how troublesome" in the Japanese version, and "what a drag" in the English version.
Originally an Academy student alongside Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru trained under Asuma Sarutobi as part of Team 10, and became the first of his generation to become a chunin level shinobi. His intelligence allowed him to adapt well to many situations, and his friends often looked to him as a leader. Fans watched him grow from a lazy genius to the advisor to the Hokage over the years, but they might still have some questions. In the case of the anime, Shikamaru appeared in the very first episode as it centered on Naruto and his classmates taking graduation exams. That was not how the manga played out. In the manga, focus was squarely on Naruto and his new team at the beginning of the story.
In the anime and manga, Shikamaru is a ninja affiliated with the village of Konohagakure. Shikamaru is portrayed as a lazy character, unwilling to apply his prodigious intelligence; Kishimoto has noted that he likes Shikamaru due to his easygoing nature. Numerous anime and manga publications have commented on Shikamaru's character. Many reviewers commented on his laziness and intelligence, and noted his transformation into a leader; Anime News Network celebrated Shikamaru's emergence in the Naruto storyline. Shikamaru has also been highly popular with the Naruto reader base, placing high in several popularity polls.