It’s a catchphrase he uses all throughout the series. But why does Shikamaru say what a drag?
Shikamaru says what a drag because he’s lazy and does not want to put effort into anything. It’s his catchphrase. Despite being a brilliant ninja and a chunin, Shikamaru says “what a drag” because he considers anything more than the average amount of work to be too much.
Despite this attitude, he continually proves himself useful.
Why is Shikamaru so lazy?
Shikamaru is so lazy because he doesn’t want anything more than an average life. He’s expressed he wants a simple career as a ninja that’ll go as smoothly and ordinarily as possible.
Here’s a quote Shikamaru said about his outlook on life:
Someday, I just want to marry a regular girl who isn’t too ugly and not too pretty. Have two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retire after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spend the rest of my life playing Shogi or Go. Then die of old age before my wife.”
Naruto episode 64: Zero Motivation: The Guy with Cloud Envy!
Shikamaru being so lazy has a lot to do with his determination to live humbly. That being said, his intelligence means a lot of things come easy to him. He scored middle of the road, average grades in the ninja academy. It wasn’t until the chunin exams that his sensei explained that Shikamaru is actually a genius with an IQ over 200.
Other Thoughts on Why Shikamaru Says What A Drag
Why is Shikamaru so smart? Well, his father was the Jōnin Commander of Konoha, and Sensei Asuma tricked Shikamaru into playing a lot of strategy games that helped sharpen and evaluate his intelligence.
All in all, Shikamaru says “what a drag” because he’s lazy and only wants to do the minimum amount of work. He wants to live an average life, although his brilliant intellect pulls him up in the ninja world to complete even more work.