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This was an odd chapter. With so many little things happening at the same time, it’s as if nothing was happening on at all. The biggest thing I took away was how Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji will get the sentimental match-up against Asuma, which for all intents and purposes, would feel wrong not to have after Asuma was revealed to be one of the Edo Tensei summons way back. What was weird was how the chapter played up that confrontation, only for it to switchover and give some limelight to Dan as some great Konoha ninja that we never knew, plus the Izumo/Kotetsu duo with their jump on Kazuku. Once we got back to the trio and they had affirmed their resolve to fight their ex-teacher, we saw more of Kankurou in a pinch with a Mifune/Hanzou samurai/ninja showdown as the cliffhanger. So um, Ino Shika Chou… where?
While I appreciate the emphasis on concurrency to show that there’s a war being fought on several fronts, I’m leaning towards the idea that more focused chapters would make for a much more interesting read. If there is some skipping around that needs to be done, it would probably be better to minimize it and avoid having it right in the middle of something else. If I were to make a guess, the reason for doing so is to get the Asuma, Dan, and Hanzou subplots wrapped up in one fell swoop, which may happen the very next chapter. It’s understandable since they probably aren’t important enough to warrant multiple chapters each, but it also comes off as a quick way of writing them off after they were used to build up reader anticipation. Having them there added impact and now they need to be “dealt with” story-wise.
It’ll be interesting to see if that’s the direction things take in the upcoming chapters, given that Hizashi, Chiyo, Kimimaro, and co. to address. I’m starting to think Kishimoto overdid it with the number of characters he brought back, even though it sure gave him a lot of options on how to play out this war. They’re all pawns for his storytelling after all.
This chapter only set the stage for battle. I expect next chapter will get very intense.
I like how you have the image where they are all like D:
Why did that name remind me of hanafuda…
new reaction face?
Any idea what happened to One Piece this week? There was no official announcement. They just didn’t release the anime or manga anywhere. Is there an official word on what happened? Please let it not be bad!
I like how you said every character is Kishimoto’s “pawns”
He is the “manga master” after all. 🙂
Did Dan ever really have something going for him other than being Tsunade’s doomed boyfriend? I know his death is what inspired Tsunade to push for a medical ninja to be on every team, but other than that, he was more or less fodder, wasn’t he?
I’m not a big fan of this Ninja war arc – too many auxiliary characters with no buildup (and I really don’t like any of the Hidden Cloud). Plus, it somehow sets up Kabutorochimaru as some sort of unstoppable necromancer with powers that Orochimaru or Kabuto on their own never displayed.
That’s the way he came off to me in the flashbacks. They never really hinted at what he’s capable of, hence my comment in the post about how he’s been suddenly made out to be one of Konoha’s special ninjas.
it dragon ball z fusion technique again 😀 ahahaha 🙂
well wouldnt it be kinda fair to say that he must be somewhat special otherwise tsunade wouldnt have fallen in love with him? XD just speculating
his databook stats are actully pretty high and his mission record is about as good as guy’s (the only reason its not is because he died)
also Tenten found the Fan
Well as far as Dan it was laid out that he could potential have been badass. According to the second databook, he stats were all around 4 and he was a jounin. Based onw hat we know of jounin’s we know that most are fairly badass in there own way. While theres no doubt he’s making some stuff up, its not totally from left field…
(sigh) not really much. Though I am excited for the next chapter. Hanzou vs Mifune. I’m guessing this is Mifune’s first time entering war, since the Samurai are always neutral.
You’re STARTING to think Kishimoto over did it? I thought when he brought back ONLY the dead Akatsuki members that he was already overdoing it and had no more ideas for a plot anymore. This is fuckin ridiculous. Like BLEACH, Im only reading it to see how it all ends.
If you’re still reading because you want to see how it turns out, that’s considered a success from the author’s standpoint regardless of whether you find the material agreeable or not.
Unless you completely drop the series, it suggests you still like it more than you hate it. 😛
A success? Hardly, since Im not paying for these Shounen Jump magazines to read it. If anything, since I support scanlations of this manga without spending a single cent myself, Im hurting the author.
@dman,
In that case, aren’t you also hurting yourself by wasting your time reading “fucking ridiculous” manga?
After all, Kubo Tite is going to have you waiting another decade before giving you your precious ending.
@dman: Well in that case, if I were the author, I’d be reveling in your angst and how you continue reading even though it upsets you.
@namd,
Oh yes, a lot of wasted time. Oh how shall I EVER get those 3 minutes a week back?
@Divine,
I never said it upset me. I said it was ridiculous, meaning I laugh at the stupidity this once great series has been reduced to.
Im really amused by people’s reactions. I say one thing I dislike about this series a people get butthurt. The only worse thing about this series is the Narutards who cant stand other people’s criticism.
I think the problem is with how you come off. It doesn’t sound like constructive criticism; it just sounds like you’re hating.
Criticism is fine. You just keep in mind how you say things if you expect people to be receptive to them.
I was unaware I had to watch my tone when speaking my mind on the INTERNET. Regardless of how I come off, if it bothers people they can just ignore me and carry on. If they want to think of me as a troll, fine by me. Just ignore me then. But dont criticize my thoughts, my opinions. Its an opinion and if it bothers them, then they should get in line, instead of acting like I was insulting THEM.
I doubt the Azuma vs. Ino/Choji/Shika will be done in 1 week. Kubo’s style of writing in Bleach to draw out his manga is to have huge panels with hardly nothing going on in them. Thats why the anime always catches up to the manga quickly.
This author is doing the same thing but differently. He has brought in tons of characters. Nearly every hero/villian the series has ever had. He is going to grind this out and stretch it out for all its worth. Those of us that read the manga are going to see some dream matchups. I just hope it doesn’t go on so long that we just want it to end and don’t care who is fighting who any more.
By the time the Hecco Mondo act was over and Ichigo finally fought Aizen alot of folks were bored of the endless fights being ground out and just wanted the arc to end. It ended predictably (with the exception of Gin turning on Aizen and the hints were there that he was going to do it long before he did it).
I disagree… Naruto is far from being perfect, but Masashi Kishimoto is without a doubt a much better story teller than Kubo ever was
Rather than the usual long and whiny flashbacks, I think Edo Tensei + the ninja war is a very smart way to provide some background story for the supposedly dead characters… I’m definitely interested to find out more about what Hizashi, Dan and Hanzo can do
I’m pretty sure our dear Tsunade hime didn’t fall for a mere commoner 🙂
You are right. He is a much better storyteller then Kubo Tite. I didn’t mean he wasn’t a good writer. I just meant that this war is gonna be a long time being played out. I will be shocked if the team beats Azuma in 1 manga chapter next week.
I don’t really think it’ll conclude in one chapter either; I just considered the possibility. It does seem like the fights are getting briefer as of late, simply because there are so many to get through.
anyone else find it wierd that nonone inmportant has died in this war? i mean i know it would be easy to loose an important chr every other chapter but ever since the writer seemed to bottle out of killing off kakashi after the pain fight, death seems to be not likely in this show in fact hes bringing old charactes back! makes me think that this is the calm before the storm in in a short while everyones gonna sart dying off
Well, Atsui and Samui have been sealed/killed, but I don’t supposed we’ve known them long enough to care at all
I’m sure someone of importance will fall victim to the war soon. Kishimoto can be pretty ruthless at killing off main characters (remember Jiraiya and the poor poor Konan)
Who I think will be the unlucky ones:
(1) The old and waned ones are always easy targets => Tsuchikage
(2) The lone kunoichi separated from the gang => TenTen
(3) Kabuto’s new toys => Anko and Yamato
(4) The lovable fat dude who puts others’ lives before his => Chouji
(4) The ones who will make Naruto go kabooming into Kyuubi mode => Hinata & Sakura
If he kills Hinata, this series is never going to end, because I will kill him myself.
That being said, I think Kakashi is a good bet, right in front of Naruto.
omg,
could we plz focus more on naruto?
his quests to save sasuke and become hokage against in the mysterious ninja-world are the things that made naruto my favorite manga
but now i agree with Dman, this shit sux!!
i am not reading because it’s a success. but because i’ve seen the potential that this story has, and i haven’t given up on it! deep in my heart, i know that if they get back the main plot, this is the best manga ever!
naruto needs to kick some ass
so many weeks revolving around random fights!
in every story in the world the purpose of support charachters is to give the audience an evaluation of how the main charcthers stand agains his foes ( his strengh, his weakness, his developement etc… can he win???)
in naruto and bleach this charachters are getting full stories!
The direction the story is gone already makes it impossible for me to believe that Kishimoto can return the story to Naruto’s dreams of becoming Hokage without another timeskip. In that sense, the pre-timeskip Naruto manga is already dead.
Kishimoto only pulled a “megaman” by bringing all the bosses back to life to fight again.This isn’t new, the only new thing is the multiplied frustration of having to fight them again.As for the Mifune/Hanzo fight, I’m not expecting much seeing as how the samurai got downplayed during the Danzo arc.I can predict blade beams and Iai slashes.That’s about it.
Kimimaro vs rock lee round 2? tht would b awsome lol
This war is going to take a year to finish. waste so much time.
The problem is that Naruto is “training,” this whole training thing is an excuse to drag the story along, because only Naruto move the story forward. This war thing just like any other arc moves forward only after Naruto’s training has ended.
naruto has gone downhill since well…a long time.
I wonder if Kishimoto will bring Jiraiya back or not :/
I just want to know is we will ever see sage mode again.
God fucking damn it.
First he spams the fox, then gets scared of it, then trains with jaraya to control it, the hurt sakura and hates it again, then sits under a magic waterfall and master it 90% perfectly.
make up your fucking ind, ugg.
Also these fights are the same as bleach. Tons and tons of them. When I saw akatsuki rez/espada show up in town, I was OH SHIT! Now, there are none stop fights, and the most reaction they are getting from me is “oh, that’s depressing.” when we get a some bit of development just before someone dies.