Characters - 4/10. All of them are unlikeable (except one or two). And NONE of them have any meaningful development. This wouldn't be that big of a deal (I mean, how many series has character development for side characters) except for the fact that whole volumes are dedicated to some characters, and still they don't develop. Of course the MC doesn't develop either.
The story - 3/10. Terrible, terrible storytelling. Reading through, my biggest impression was that the author couldn't decide on WHAT to focus on. And since he can't decide what to make of the manga, it fails to be anything. As a character study it fails because the author switches between characters way too much, and nothing seems to have a lasting impact on any of the characters. Also, the situations the kids are put in are so bizarre and extreme they are nigh impossible to relate to. As a fighting manga, it fails because the "enemy" seems to forget about their plans to capture/ attack the protagonist after one fight. They just.... forget. There was also hints of it trying to be a coming of age tale, but again it switches between characters way too much, and protagonist doesn't get any character development. Besides all of that, there are many plot holes and random stuff that happen in the manga for no apparent reason. So... yeah. The whole manga is pretty much just a bunch of weird characters interacting with each other, for 12 volumes. And all of it is pointless, too. Seriously, you can read book 1, skip to book 12, and you wouldn't be missing a thing; when the finale comes, you'll be just as confused as anyone else that read the whole thing.
All in all - 4/10. Narutaru is pretty much a pointlessly violent, incoherent version of Evangelion. But if you reeeeally want a dose of kids suffering in pain and misery, read Bokurano by the same author (he's obsessed with psychopathic kids). It has the same agony, but the story is infinitely better.
