Manga / Naruto (Manga)

Invariably, all things must come to an end. After 15 years, that end has finally come for the Naruto manga, and what a run it’s been. The world was a very different place back then and it’s certainly amazing when you think about it. The life of a mangaka is far from pleasant, the rewards far from certain. To put effort into anything that long deserves a measure of respect no matter the occupation, and no matter how one feels about the series and how it developed, the fact is that Kishimoto’s managed to do something few people are able to do, and he’s left a mark that won’t fade for a long time.

To many readers, Naruto became more than just a manga, it was a main stay in the daily routine. It was something that came about almost every week like clockwork, ingrained in the mind as a habit that started suddenly and passed by just as quickly (in hindsight). It became part of our lives—to most viewers of RC, more than half of our lives to be—and it’s going to be strange as hell realizing that after today, there won’t be that weekly dose of talk-no-jitsu to read, no spunky yellow/blonde protagonist to combat the evils that plague the ninja world, and no chakra to break the monotony of the daily grind. Granted, Naruto’s far from over in the grand scheme of things—all ends are just another beginning, after all—but the fact remains that the series as we knew it is now complete, and the ending was something that comes with a fair share of the expected and unexpected.

A smile worth a thousand words.


Needless to say, some people will be more satisfied than others given the conclusion of it all, but I think it’s safe to say most people feel more satisfaction than disappointment at how things ended up here (myself included). And why not? Kakashi temporarily taking up the Sixth Hokage mantel was nice to see, the Naruto x Hinata pairing is now truly canon, Shikamaru ended up with Temari, Anko became quite obese (there’s something very amusing about this), and there’s generally not much to dislike here despite the chapter feeling like it was made mostly to fulfill the wishes of a majority of its fans.

Borrowing a page out of Itachi’s book are we?


I don’t mind it of course—it’s the kind of ending I can certainly live with—but I will say that there’s a certain oddity behind not being able to see much development in regards to some of these pairings (Choji x Karui? What?), as well as mixed feelings regarding other things (Sasuke x Sakura, their kid being named Salad, and the ghostly kid that Ino x Sai ended up having together being examples). I suppose that’s what happens when you have so many characters to work with however, and the fact that the signs were there for a vast majority of what happened does much to alleviate any lingering feelings in this regard, as well as the realization that much of this will likely be addressed in the final Naruto movie. At the very least the Naruto x Hinata portion of it all will, and while it’ll take a while to make it over here to the west, you can count me in as someone who’s eager to finally watch a Naruto movie that’s actually canon and will provide additional, complementary material to the series.

One last seal to rule them all.


All in all, one could honestly go on for ages blabbering about the series, it’s lengthy run and the impact its had on our lives. As with virtually every series that lasts this long, the ride didn’t end up as smooth as one had hoped, but it certainly had its moments—especially in the last few chapters. The symbolism and fitting overlay of Naruto and Sasuke on the broken statues at the Valley of the End was especially well done, and it (combined with them both having to use each other’s remaining hands together to complete the seal and dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi) was a testament to how Kishimoto always had a tendency to pull out some nice developments when we least expected it.

Like father, like son.


And with that, the journey ends. It’s not quite an ending if you consider the New Era Opening Project (and the movie, data book, stage play, exhibition, and mini-manga series that’ll come from it) we have yet to receive, but an ending just the same. As we bid farewell for now, I’d just like to take the time to thank everyone here who’s followed both mine and Divine’s coverage of the series here on RC, and I hope that our coverage did contribute at least somewhat to your enjoyment of it all. The end of the series notably marks the end of my weekly coverage on RC for the rest of 2014 as well, but as I fully intend to be back for the Winter, it’s only but a short interlude. Until then, feel free to also leave some comments regarding your own impressions of the series as a whole, its impact (or lack of) on your lives, and how you reacted to the developments here in this final double installment. DATTEBAYO!

The Will of Fire lives on.

206 Comments

  3. This anime literally encompasses my preteen and early teenage years and for that it has my utmost respect. Despite many peoples claims that it dropped in quality over the years, I thankfully can look back on it with nothing but fond and nostalgic memories. This series and these characters will be greatly missed by this Narutard. Believe it.

    Kagehina13
    Reply

  4. Never thought this day would come. This was the FIRST managa (and anime) that I got into and what sparked my love for the entire genre. It’s absence will leave a hole that can never be filled…but I’m happy with the conclusions. Naruto and Hinata are the ones I shipped throughout, so it was nice to see them as parents…and Ino and Sai as well. Never saw that coming but gave me such a laugh. I think this was a nice way to end things…sadly it seems Tenten isn’t destined to succeed ever (she was super cool too, such a shame) but at least she got panel time. I also thought Salada looked more like Karin and Sasuke’s child than Sakura’s and his. I’m gonna miss this series. For better or for worse, it was a pretty damn good ride. Bring on The Last!

    Celecia01
    Reply

    1. Indeed, never thought this day would come as well. So much good times. I never imagined it ends like this. Have so much personal thoughts.

      Overall, the most happy possible revolution was that Naruto had finally married Hinata.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tCuHVkOY1U
      T_T Oh the toad sage would be so proud as, unlike him who stayed single, Naruto got married and was able to make two healthy kids.

      On a side note, I am a bit surprised that Naruto was able to use a Mac. And even more so as we saw skyscrapers on top of those mountains, talk about a change in advancements.

      As for Kakashi, oh come on man, at least show your face by using the statue. Though interestingly, in 219, I did find it ironic the sculptor had to eventually carve Kakashi’s face.

      Mei Terumī and Chōjūrō were two people I shipped a long time ago; T_T I am hoping that did happen, I do find Mei to be attracting. Shikamaru and Temari was one thing, as well as Kiba when they showed a random girl, but what I didn’t expect was Chōji and Karui cause I don’t think anyone shipped them, I didn’t even know they met; well, curiously despite her easy to anger parents, it seems that their daughter doesn’t mind being called fat.

      Now for the “shipping” of the next generation. I am so shipping Naruto’s son with Sasuke’s daughter. I mean, that’s something. Let’s hope history repeats itself in a more romantic way.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH03gLDvmCg
      I do hope that Tsunade would be willing to share a secret for her disciple’s daughter.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDGeCKIuRao
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkpivfiXnSg

      Anko Mitarashi was a surprise to see. The last thing we recalled was how Kabuto was absorbing power from her. Her saved is one thing, but to see her gain weight is another. I guess everlasting peace had some bad side-effects.

      Tsunade is another story. She looks younger. Talk about envious, kinda wished she actually teach more women on her youthful techniques.

      Now I suppose Orochimaru pardoned, we never knew why he attacked Konoha.

      Kyuubi, pfffft, in the end, he is taking a chilling time; they say, when people sleep, you get to see their honest face. I guess the rest of the tailed beast are going be Naruto’s ally. So I guess it’s safe to assume no other military force can ever harm Naruto, along with the 4 other kages.

      Overall, I think I know what Naruto’s son wants to say. “I want to be king of the pirates!” is my likely assumption, we noticed that he drew the Straw-hat insignia on Naruto’s stone statue; like Shanks and Luffy, it is likely that Boruto Uzumaki must have been with pirates and maybe ate a certain fruit.
      http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2014-11-06/one-piece-manga-sends-off-naruto-with-a-classy-secret-message/.80738
      (it seems Naruto did dine with a certain pirate, I wonder if Luffy was chosen as the Best Man during Naruto and Hinata’s wedding)

      p.s Zephyr just incase you didn’t notice. Naruto’s son did indeed drew the Straw-hat symbol on Naruto’s stone statue, where the Konoha symbol was supposed to be, little surprised you didn’t added that. For extra info, on the One Piece 766 cover page it seems Naruto is enjoying some food with Luffy and Chopper, would have been amusing if Luffy lied saying Chopper is the zero tailed Biju.

      L002
      Reply

  8. “Welcome home, Salad.”

    Poor Salad-chan, what a name.

    But really, I wanna just say that this ending was great (and not only because my ships became canon~). As someone who has found it difficult to enjoy the series for the past few years, this final chapter showing the next generation of Konoha really sent me back to the early days of Naruto. I even rummaged through old cardboard boxes earlier on today in order to get out my old Naruto volumes so I can now give them a re-read and hopefully rediscover the magic that made this series so enjoyable in its peak.

    DATTEBAYO!

    Samu
    Reply

      2. English-speakers read “salad” and run with it. Not many point out that “Sarada” is a real name that means “autumnal” (in contrast to “sakura”) and one of the names of the Hindu goddess Saraswati.

        Mistic
        Reply

  10. Its overall a nice and happy end but not as satisfying as Kishimoto did not follow through with his developments till the end of the manga. He pulled of a complete surprises in the last two chapters.

    RS456
    Reply

  12. Was I the only one who thought that Sarada was Karin’s kid? I thought that she was for sure her’s and Sasuke’s at the beginning, what with the glasses looking just that Karin’s. And who was that girl talking to Kiba? Anybody know?

    TEAM HINATA FTW!!!

    DeMe
    Reply

    1. No you are not the only one. Even I thought the same. She looks a lot more like Karin and Sasuke than Sakura and Sasuke. Maybe she is and Sakura is her adopted mother. Who knows what his plans are.

      RS456
      Reply

    1. We all know the real reason Sasuke is traveling. Just leave it to Sasuke to restore the Uchiha clan by spreading his seed all over the Shinobi world. And as far as Salad-chan was concerned I can imagine him say. “My God, Sakura is annoying but I gotta start somewhere”. LOL

      Nadester
      Reply

  14. I haven’t watched a single Naruto episode all my life and this is the first Naruto chapter I’ve read (even though I know quite a few about the series & characters), but… strangely enough, it was nice reading this last chapter. Nice to know Naruto and Hinata ended together in the end, which I’ve shipped from time to time all these years even though I’m not a fan at all. (Or maybe I’m just influenced by Tamako Love Story which I’ve watched last night to have these feelings)

    Red HeartGold ZX
    Reply

  15. Who says it ended
    I can’t wait for Naruto Z next year.

    Random thoughts:

    Orochimaru will be the main antagonist in Naruto Z, while Sasuke is searching for something, probably there’s something to be settled with that he didn’t disclose to anyone.

    Bolt would probably play around Kurama, and brags he can tame it to others.

    Like Naruto’s daughter the whiskers confirms Hinata is his wife too cute.

    Sarada idolized Karin so much something to do with Sakura busy with work and everything, she spends the time with Karin.

    So Gai Sensei never recovered to full strength after using the final gate.

    pedobearmatt
    Reply

  18. thank you for covering the manga it was great. I come here always to read about it after I read the chapter.

    I personal did not like the end, the sasuke side of the manga was what I never like about it, my favorite parts are when Pain show up for the fisrt time. I was amazed by so much that it let a mark and perphaps some day will show up on my writing.
    I did no like Sasuke x Sakura part no because I wanted sakura with Naruto, but because I thought that Sasuke did deserve the stuff he got at the end ( he kill people).

    beside the luck characters development the manga is amazing and I would recommended to anyone.

    oscuda
    Reply

  19. To say that this was disappointing is an understatement. Kishi… you really needed to deviate a little. Every single son/daughter character is a clone of their parents, most of the pairings make less sense than Bulma and Vegeta (Sai and Ino? Really?) and the “old” version of our beloved characters look… ugly. Just very poorly designed. What the heck is up with that city over the Mt. Rushmore faces? What the hell is that?

    Also, if Naruto wanted to spend more time with his son… why didn’t he just make a kage bunshin?

    Archiepiscopus
    Reply

  20. You know what? As much as I want to complain and go into detail about how inconsistent the series is and how certain character arcs are left hanging…I can’t deny the accomplishment of this series.

    15 years is no small feat and Kishimoto seeing this to the end is testament to his skills as a mangaka regardless of the quality at certain times. I actually feel a bit empty that I have one less thing to look forward to every week. It was a gate-way to the shounen genre for me a long time ago and to a lesser extent, manga and anime. I’m sure it was for many people. Ending wasn’t the greatest (the crack pairings were odd) but it’ll do.

    Thank you for these 15 years Kishimoto. May you continue to grow, we still have One Piece ;).

    kondee
    Reply

  21. Unbuckle your seatbelts and exit to the left; Mr. Kishi’s wild ride is finally over. I can’t… believe it. Wait, what’s this I hear? “Naruto the New Era?” “Coming in 2015?” “Next Generation Spinoff Series?” Look Kishimoto, I don’t know how much they offered to pay you, but let it go, it’s not worth it. I’ve seen that mangaka schedule and it ain’t pretty. Take a good long vacation, spend some time with your family, make some new friends, see the world, but for God’s sake don’t go Dragonball on us all and milk the franchise long past its prime! Just say no. Take a few years off; you’ve earned them.

    For all the faults of the previous chapters, at least it was a satisfying ending. Naruto and Sasuke made up and released the infinite Tsukiyomi, Sasuke makes his peace with Konoha, and the Shinobi alliance maintains peace allowing prosperity to flourish. It’s not a perfect world, but like the Villages being an improvement over the warring clans, the Shinobi Alliance is an improvement over the previous system. People get old, have kids, and Naruto and Sasuke compete for the “Worst Father of the Year” award. Ok, Sasuke I can understand not being a model parent (though what the heck is he doing?) but I expected Naruto at least to treat his kid a bit better. I’ve got nothing against corporal punishment, but punching them in the head is excessive. I blame Sakura and Kushina. Guess it was inevitable when his first interaction with his mother was literally her socking him in the head. Still, Bolt acting out for attention was a great callback to the very first chapter, and Naruto’s response really showed how much he had matured over the years. It felt like Kishimoto was writing from the heart there about parenting; your responsibilities as an adult can keep you from giving as much attention to your kids as you’d like and it’s important to let them know you love them and to spend as much time with them as you can. Come on Naruto, that’s what shadow clones are for!

    But enough about the themes of politics and parenting; let’s talk about what everyone really cares about: the pairings! It’s almost like Kishi went overboard to compensate for the lack of romance and started pairing everyone up. Lee used the power of YOUTH! to reproduce asexually, Kiba hooked up with a Cat girl for the lolz (old Akamaru was a kick in the gut though), Sai and Ino along with Shikamaru and Temari got together as many suspected, and Choji and Karui hooked up totally out of left field to complete the third generation Ino/Shika/Cho. As for the big three, the decade+ long pairing war is finally over and NaruHina and SasuSaku won definitively. Sasuke again was confirmed as biggest male tsundere of all time; if you can’t kill ’em or drive them away you may as well just roll with it, eh, eh? Besides, how else is the Hyuga Conspiracy supposed to produce the Kwisatz Haderach if Sasuke didn’t have a daughter to breed with Naruto and Hinata’s son. Despite the lack of attention given to romance, it’s been pretty clear that this would be the end result for a long time now (unless Kishi left everything open), as it was the only outcome that would be consistent with the story’s themes and developments. And I’m darn happy that NaruHina is finally cannon with kids no less; they’re my first and to date only OTP.

    So, what are my final impressions on Naruto? Well, it’s not perfect for sure. The series definitely got worse as it went on, and was downright bad by the end of the war arc. Kishimoto was unable to juggle all the characters he had created and overfocused on Naruto and Sasuke. Themes were executed too simply and/or repetitively which caused a lot of cognitive dissonance with, for instance, the parent-killing Obito being held up as a role model, or Naruto and Sakura’s unrealistic obsession with Sasuke. In my estimation the story wandered a bit too far onto the idealistic side of the spectrum, with all of the villains having a sympathetic goal or backstory, and Naruto being able to save the world and end war without ever having to kill anyone. For a world-shattering war there was far too little death, with only one of the named good guys dying in the process. And finally, while admirably consistent for most of the series, the power scaling got completely out of control by the end with Naruto literally ninja Jesus fighting megazords with giant explosions.

    Despite this it has it’s good points. The action (until the end) was an awesome mix of strategy and spectacle which mixed a lot of different powers and styles together very well. The setting was unique and engrossing and felt like a fully realized world with it’s own history and mysteries. While not developed as well as the could be, for the most part the characters were memorable and likeable. While elements of it were bad, overall the story it told was coherent and thematic. Do your best, treasure your bonds, and never go back on your word. Considering that it was written on a weekly basis over fifteen years, it’s a small miracle that the story ended up this good instead of devolving into a loosely related mess like Bleach or Fairy Tail for instance. Kishimoto had a story and themes he wanted to tell, and was good at sticking to them. If anything, he’s guilty of being too lighthearted and idealistic, but then that is the type of story he wanted to write. Not everyone likes imagining an edgy and grimdark tale, and I for one often prefer the worlds I travel to through fiction to be brighter than the one I live in.

    Overall is it good? Well, in about a year the anime will end. Once that happens I’ll be giving my kid brothers the entire anime cut to only the manga portions. I think that answers the question well enough. Unfortunately, after all the mess it was last year, for me watching Naruto end is almost like watching a sick old pet die. On one hand you’re sad to see it go, but on the other it’s finally out of its misery and in a better place.

    Hochmeister
    Reply

  22. It’s over, it’s finally over. ;_;

    Say what you will, but our weekly manga reading habits will never be the same again.

    Definitely looking forward to the movie to see how the pairings developed. I actually like all the pair except Sakura x Sasuke. For some reason it just irks the hell out of me. Was hoping Sakura would’ve taken Tsunade’s path and went solo, focusing on healing and being awesome.

    bakakubi
    Reply

  23. This was just a mess of a conclusion. There will be 2 things that will stay with me from this manga. The fanfiction quality of the laughably bad final chapter and the fact that Sakura is quite possibly the worst female anime character of all time. While I haven’t been a fan of the timeskip chapters from the beginning, this war arc is probably going to be a good lesson of how to ruin a perfectly enjoyable series. After seeing it all come to an end, I can say the zombie enemies were just lazy and stupid. Also the fact that Kishi didn’t even really kill anyone important made the whole thing not even feel like a war. Obito was also terrible to the point I just facepalmed every time he somehow came back because I was hoping he was dead. Madara was pretty interesting and Kishi went and ruined that too with the whole Kaguya thing. I mean I know fans will be fans, but how the heck are people happy with this sort of conclusion. Also where the heck did Orochimaru go? Did he get a nonsensical pardon too.

    This Guy
    Reply

    1. I agree with all except for Sakura being the worst. If anything, out of all the rookies, she was the one who has developed and advanced the most not just in terms of abilities as a ninja, but as a character. Most everyone else was almost exactly the same as they were in Part 1 in terms of character while having only really advanced in having a new move or something in terms of ability (though part of the blame is because of them not really having much of a chance to display any other new abilities they developed in between the years).

      But yeah, the way Sakura ended up just feels like it ruins that development.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

      1. Yeh the Sakura bit was mostly just my frustration that she ended up with Sasuke after all this. He did nothing but treat her badly throughout the entirety of the manga so there’s no way that should have happened. It’s a straight up disservice to her character and she deserved way better. It’s pathetic really…such a shame.

        This Guy
        Reply

      2. To be honest,it could’ve been interesting to see Sasuke seeking redemption towards Sakura in particular while at the same time,slowly developing their relationship. But alas,Kishi sucks at romance and this isn’t the exactly the series where one should expect some good romance in the first place,even if the potential was there.

        MgMaster
        Reply

  25. Ah it’s over! 15 years! Over half my life and it’s gone! Whether it was bad or good doesn’t matter cause as you put it just became part of our lives, we sometimes hated it, sometimes loved it but read it all the same regardless. I know Kishi must be tired and I think it’s because of this that this ending feels rushed, he probably just wanted to to wrap it up and rest after a decade and a half. As a supporter of the NaruHina ship I am happy that Hinata finally got what she wanted and it was WELL deserved but honestly that could have been a longer more developed and touching union than just a time skip to show she had two kids with Naruto. Since I know the animation staff are fans of that ship I do hope they provide a more in-depth union just like how they did in the Pain arc.
    Also, so now Naruto knows the teleport technique? Seems like that could have been a lot more useful during the series. Ah well who am I kidding? A job well done Kishi, you deserve a long awaited rest.

    gawrshness
    Reply

  26. Well it came to an end. One thing of note is that Naruto never lost himself, even in the darkest time he remained true to himself and his belives, and finally helped Sasuke.

    Personally the mostshoking thing was ChojixKarui i wasnt expecting that and well Onoki is still alive.

    Still were is Orochimaru?

    Naruto ending with Hinata was expected but welcomed, not only that but you could say that because of Naruto and Sasuke and a couple of chapters back Harashima and Madara, because of those moments Asura and Indra may have finally made peace after all it was all Kaguya and Black Zetsu’s fault.

    So many lives corrupted and lost because of one womans god complex: Indra, Madara, Obito, Minato, Kushina, Itachi, Nagato, Konan, Jiraiya, Neji amounst others, still alot got a happy ending

    Oscar
    Reply

  30. ChoCho is already my favorite new gen. Lol.
    Nonetheless, even though the series presented us with a clusterfuck of imbalanced power-ups and a stack of unnecessary villains who had been controlling everything in the shadows the one thing that honestly annoyed me the most were the canon pairings. Just the handling of them tbh.
    I would have a better time enjoying NaruHina and SasuSaku if the road to their relationship had felt like mutual growth.
    It’s not just me right? But both pairings just seemed like a big ole case of Hinata never giving up and Sakura never giving up and crying the entire way through it while Naruto and Sasuke just seemed ever so oblivious to all of it (Naruto more than Sasuke). Never felt any romantic growth out of Naruto, barely with Sasuke.
    Hell, it looked like NaruSaku had been given a better handling than the other two, that’s so weird.
    Nonetheless, it’s cool they’re all together and stuff. It’s great to see Burrito Salad could be a thing, hopefully they name their child Taco. I just think that could have been…at least more mutual than it was.
    Still though, Choji has an interracial daughter. And she’s sassy n proud. Yay!

    Kabble
    Reply

  31. Screw you, Kishi, you sellout.

    Spend most of the series advancing and developing Naru/Saku while Naru/Hina doesn’t even have a few chapters worth of panels together (much less words to one another), yet somehow they’re the ones who end up together? What, is the movie just going to spend the entire time shipping them in order to justify that total lack of development in the main story?

    Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions – I DO NOT hate Hinata as a character nor the Naru/Hina pairing itself nor am I a fanboy of Naru/Saku either. I do not hate the idea IN GENERAL.

    My problem with the pairing happening in the canon story is, as I have always kept saying, the execution due to the complete lack of interaction and (romantic) development between the two to justify their getting together. I enjoy the pairing in a number of fanfiction stories because those stories are able to start from the beginning and actually build up the relationship over the course of that story, which has not happened at all in the canon story which really gives the impression that Kishimoto made it happen simply to please a, presumably, much larger fanbase rather than for the sake of what made sense based on what he’s already done.

    I feel like how I did at the end of Digimon 02 and seeing Sora with Yamato/Matt rather than Tai, despite Sora having far more interaction and development with Tai while having very little of anything with Yamato. It made so little sense that even their VAs (both Japanese and English) were confused about it and questioned the decision to do that.

    Hate me for not bowing down before the deity that is “Naruto” and crying tears of nostalgia that it’s ending, but I’m just being honest based on what I have read since it started. It could’ve been WAY, WAY better than it is. It’s certainly not nor has become the worst thing, but I really feel that, compared to how it started back with Part 1, it became very weak at the end.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

    1. Glad I’m not the only one who found it all to be a complete headscratcher. Spent the entire series doing more of a job developing NaruSaku while NaurHina literally can be summed up in all of like….15 pages out of the entire series.

      Kabble
      Reply

    2. So I am not the only one who saw this. He spent most of the manga series developing Naruto and Sakura’s relationship but at the very end he decided to pair up Naruto and Hinata who had no kind of developmet at all.

      RS456
      Reply

    3. You’ve gravely misinterpreted the manga if you thought NaruSaku had a ghost of a chance because of their “developments.” I’d even go so far as to argue that it was thematically impossible since the end of part one. The main theme of Naruto is bonds. Bonds are good, breaking bonds is bad, and making and maintaining your bonds will eventually bring you happiness. The second Sasuke abandoned Konoha, it was clear that Naruto would not give up on his bonds with Sasuke but would “save” and turn him good again. Any other outcome would go against the theme that Kishimoto was trying to write. Sakura’s relationship and bonds with Sasuke were almost exclusively romantic, as shown by her first confession and previous behavior around him. Since her bonds with Sasuke depended so heavily on her loving him the plot could not allow her to abandon her feelings for him, and thus her bond with him, since it would go against the core theme of the story. Even if she did, it would only make her anathema to Naruto by going against his (and the story’s) philosophy, as shown by his reaction to her attempt to do so during the Iron Country fracas.

      Unlike Sakura’s bonds with Sasuke, Naruto’s bonds with Sakura were not based on his crush but were formed in spite of it! They did not bond as a result of him pursuing her; his attempts to do so only drove her away. A big part of his development towards her was learning to respect her feelings for Sasuke and acknowledge that she did not desire a romantic bond with him, going from trying to impersonate Sasuke to get a kiss at the very beginning to leaving them alone together in the hospital back in part 1. Furthermore, Naruto was never explicitly shown to have a deep romantic love for her, and his actions toward her (most specifically the “promise of a lifetime”) were not founded on his romantic feelings. Their friendship was built off of their shared teamwork on team 7 and interactions with and about Sasuke. All of their part 2 “development” was them becoming better friends from their shared desire to bring Sasuke back, Naruto’s because of his friendship and Sakura because of her romantic love. By early part two they had strong feelings for each other, but only as friends and teammates like all the other teams in the entire manga. The crush was merely a joke he used to tease her, and something Kishi used to tease fans. Unlike Sakura’s bond with Sasuke, the bonds Naruto had formed with Sakura were not dependent on either’s romantic feelings for the other.

      Expecting Naruto and Sakura to end up together because of a friendship developed from the latter’s love of another man is the height of almost fedora-esque lunacy, especially when such a relationship would go against the very themes that the author is clearly trying to write about. The only outcome that would fulfill the story’s theme of bonds for all the members of Team 7 is Naruto and Sakura maintaining their feelings for Sasuke and friendship with each other, and Sasuke acknowledging and reciprocating their bonds.

      Also of note is that none of the above depends at all on Hinata, NaruSaku would not have happened even without her. And since this would be obvious to Kishimoto from the Chunin exams arc where he set Sasuke’s defection in motion, I can only conclude that he intended for Hinata to be Naruto’s final love interest from the very beginning. And while I’ll grant that they didn’t have as much screentime together as I’d have liked, Naruto always inspired Hinata to always do her best and become a better Ninja and person, while Hinata likewise inspired Naruto to do his best against Neji, saved his life against Pain, and again inspired him against falling into despair against Obito. That’s far more of an influence than Naruto’s romantic feelings for Sakura have ever had on the plot or characters. Sure we didn’t have chapters of them going on dates and becoming all lovey-dovey, but this is the wrong genre for that. Just look at Dragonball, Kishi’s inspiration, or Yu Yu Hakusho for example. Just because you prefer Naruto and Sakura together romantically does not mean that Kishimoto sold out, or that the pairings that happened have no thematic or developmental background.

      TLDR

      Hochmeister
      Reply

      1. Hate to break it to you but there were Kishimoto interviews where he admitted he was going to pair Sakura with Naruto as she was the ideal choice during the time when he was developing Naruto’s and Sakura’s relationship.

        RS456
        Reply

      2. You mean that one Jump interview? The one that was made up by desperate NaruSaku fans? Kishi’s never let slip which pairings he was planning on, but I do recall him saying that he had the final chapter all planned out a long time in advance…

        Hochmeister
        Reply

      3. I agree completely with Hochmeister’s assessment, and actually, I found the fact that Sakura WASN’T paired up with Naruto in the end improved her overall development as a character (simultaneously, I think pairing her with Sasuke was a few steps in the wrong direction too). It was important to have her develop outside of her romantic infatuation with Sasuke; if Kishimoto had merely replaced that infatuation with one towards Naruto, I feel like it would have just shown that romance is the only thing Sakura is able to think of. It was good of Kishimoto to make a point of showing that women and men can be close friends and NOT be in love with one another, Jiraiya and Tsunade being the best and most obvious example of this.

        randomly
        Reply

    5. I actually read quite an interesting blog on why the person thought the ending wasn’t that good and it’s actually a pretty unique view that I can also agree with.

      Put in spoilers for length.

      Show Spoiler ▼

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

      3. I agree with your point about shipping characters but to be honest I don’t even care anymore. Maybe I just gave up knowing that Kishi is not good with romance to begin with. Still, the chapter somehow made me satisfied. It has been a part of my childhood and seeing that disaster of an arc end made me feel happy.

        P.S. That meeting really made no sense to me though.

        m0ng
        Reply

      1. Uhh…what tears? I have no problem with the pairing in general. I just have a problem with it happening without any real development to justify it happening in a way that makes sense for the story.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

      2. It is clear Kishimoto altered the story for some fans and used that in the ending with no kind of progress inbetween the alteration and end. If it went as he originally planned Hinata is supposed to be dead a long time ago.

        Slick
        Reply

    7. I for one am amused by the absolute devastation that these stupid ‘shipping’ groups are having because their chosen pairing was not chosen. If you want a laugh, check out the forums and tumblr for these people.

      It makes one feel a lot better about one’s life, knowing that you are not as sad as these people.

      Tarage
      Reply

  32. When I saw Sasuke’s chil and the way how she spoke about Naruto’s I knew that in that very moment a thousand Fanfic Writers are writing about their love.
    Hinata fans rejoice because the shy girl has won, it doesn’t happen often…. Or ever, has anyone remeber when in a manga or anime has the shy girl won?

    Lastywinfan
    Reply

    1. I think thus far none. In Negima it seems Negi went with Asuna and in love Hina Keitaro went with Naru.

      Finaly for the movie Naruto the Last, i cant help to feel the character is trying to get Hinata because just like Sasuke and Naruto having Indra and Asura aka Hagoromos power divided between them Hinata may have something to do with Hamura

      Oscar
      Reply

  34. This series will be missed. Yeah sure, there are many bumpy rides on the way, but nevertheless, it was a long and fun journey. I always thought that I’ll need my grandchild to tell me over my grave the ending of Naruto. Guess that won’t need to happen anymore.

    inferno
    Reply

  35. this was such a nice ending. It doesn’t matter that the last fights leading to this (i.e. kaguya) were bad, this was a really nice ending. Not sure if you noticed it Zephyr but the first page of 699 has such a huge symbolism for naruto and sasuke, they were literally lying on top of the “seal of reconcillation”. such a great moment.

    Another great moment here is when they undid the infinite tsukoyomi. here is the combine pages I found through reddit:
    http://i.imgur.com/7C9dein.jpg

    So sad that Naruto is ending. Despite the ups and downs, this has been an awesome 15 years.

    Xignal
    Reply

  36. After all of the journey, the story has finally ended.

    While Naruto had many highs and lows, I think it is safe to say that we all enjoyed the ride at one point.

    Thank you, Naruto. For all of your adventures. With this, a part of my childhood can be put to rest. And thank you, Kishimoto sensei.

    Phantom
    Reply

  38. Ahhhh very enjoyable ride all throughout. Although I am far too young to say I can look back at my teen years watching naruto, from the beginning, I can say for sure naruto has definitely left a mark in my memories and heart, I agree there were some down and dull moments in naruto, but overall, it was a really enjoyable ride all throughout and I can still look back at my early childhood and feel the good moments come. I personally loved the ending, especially with the naruto x hinata ship, I was definitely satisfied, and although I feel some couples are forced or stretched a bit, overall, it definitely did a good job to wrap up the series in an orderly fashion. Looking forward to the movie for sure for that final epilogue to bring this series to a close! 🙂

    Trap Masters
    Reply

    1. From first to fifth, Idiot, Dork, Perv, Geezer, and Old Hag
      We dont see what he whrote on Kakashi
      In Naruto’s face was written Moron ans Shitty Dad with Luffy’s Jolly Roger in the forehead

      Lastywinfan
      Reply

  40. Fair thee well Naruto. While it was certainly a bumpy ride at times I found it to be overall very enjoyable. Plus it should be noted that Naruto introduced many fans to anime so thank you for that too.

    livevoid
    Reply

  41. For all its ups and downs, especially in Part II, the last few chapters have been fantastic. This was the first anime series I ever watched subbed, and if it wasn’t such a nice gateway to the medium, I doubt I’d be as big a fan as I am today.

    Cassius
    Reply

  43. It wasn’t that bad of an ending. I’m not fan of Naruto and was really annoyed with it’s popularity, but this went out with a great bang. There was a new Naruto trailer that spoiled Kakashi being Hokage before the chapter was out, but everyone knew Kakashi would be that. They still could’ve showed his face in the ending. Anyway, The pairings are awesome and well deserved, although Kishi gave Tenten fans a big “fuck you” to here ending. Still, I’m looking foward to the movie and let this series end in piece Kishimoto. Rest long so you can can have a new property that might exceed Naruto. I can tell you this much….with the way Bleach is going it will go out on a whimper or a cop out. I’m very impatient for that Garbage to end. Kubo is no storyteller.

    Corey Lucas
    Reply

  45. Was this supposed to be the TL;DR version of the ending or what? It was so bad it was laughable,to the point that it was so bad it was actually good due to the laughs I had.

    It’s hard to take this last chapter seriously,not only because of the developments(some of them are alright and I have no issue with SasuSaku & NaruHina pairings) but way-to-go straight up time skips,with little-to-no developments before. I was quite happy when I saw Kakashi as hokage then 1 time-skip chapter later,he’s already gone and there’s Naruto in his place,who as HalfDemonInuyasha stated numerous times,has yet to show that he’s ready for the role. Sure I can see it happening but since there was no more time to show that at least leave it at Kakashi.

    What about Sasuke,did he come back to Konoha after leaving for a bit,took Sakura as his waifu,made a kid then left again? Once again,I don’t have a problem with the development itself but how we saw nothing of it.

    There could’ve been a BUNCH of chapters dedicated to the developments above,rather than stretching out the Ninja War which was,IMO,an arc that got weaker the longer it went on,not to mention towards the end.

    But I can also remember times when this manga was quite good,even really good,IMO. I was actually liking the series quite a bit until the Ninja War,enjoying most of the reveals & twists,most of them being related to Akatsuki’s members. Speaking of Akatsuki,this organization was probably the best thing the show could offer. Hell,it didn’t even feel like a typical shounen anymore when these guys were involved. Remember that ALL of these guys save for Nagato & Obito were some pretty decent-to-good villains,which didn’t succumb to any talk-no-jutsu. I was actually still watching the anime back then and dropped it somewhere after Naruto used his talk-no-jutsu on Nagato,deciding to only stick to the manga.

    It slowly went downhill afterwards,with Naruto & Sasuke receiving power-up after power-up,most of the Ninja Alliance Army feeling kind of pointless & the terrible excuse of a villain that was Obito. But wait,there was still Madara who managed to still keep the series interesting but alas,we couldn’t have that could we? A wild Kaguya appeared,the Sage of the Six Paths and of course,more power-ups given to Naruto & Sasuke.

    But well,at least the series became kind of fun to read once I stopped taking it seriously,especially with reading some of the often-hilarious comments here about it.

    MgMaster
    Reply

    1. Yeah, I also feel that the story started going down after Kakuzu and Hidan were defeated.

      Guys like those two, Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara were all just plain villains; antagonists who wouldn’t be swayed by pretty speeches and were completely unapologetic for their crimes or even enjoyed committing them while looking forward to committing even more for whatever reason (Kakuzu for money, Kisame for the thrill of battle, Deidara and Sasori for “art” lol, Hidan for Jashinism, and such) while also there NOT being philosophy burned into their ambitions or reasoning like we got with Nagato, Konan, Obito, Madara, and such.

      They also gave the cast a much harder time in battles since Naruto and/or Sasuke didn’t get all their huge power-ups yet. I even thought the story would get more interesting after Naruto’s declaration that he would get stronger and beat Sasuke with his “own power” rather than relying on Kurama’s chakra…look how quickly that lasted after Kakuzu and Hidan.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

      1. I even thought the story would get more interesting after Naruto’s declaration that he would get stronger and beat Sasuke with his “own power” rather than relying on Kurama’s chakra…look how quickly that lasted after Kakuzu and Hidan.

        Ah yes,one of the series’ themes which it utterly fails at: that you can beat talent with hard work. Either that or Kishi was just trolling us all along in showing the exact opposite.

        MgMaster
        Reply

      2. Ah yes, back then when the underlying theme was that hard work can surpass talent. As exemplified by the likes of our beloved main character and Rock Lee, who trained his ass off to equal Neji in battle prowess… and then sometime in Shippuuden Kishi completely shat over that making Naruto the cliched special CHOSEN ONE with a super-powerful lineage who will inherit the godly powers of his ancestors. Then he proceeded to bestow Naruto with so many power-ups that resulted in dozens of CyberConnect2 employees losing their lives from severe exhaustion.

        Archiepiscopus
        Reply

      3. “…and then sometime in Shippuuden Kishi completely shat over that making Naruto the cliched special CHOSEN ONE with a super-powerful lineage who will inherit the godly powers of his ancestors.”

        That was another thing from Part 1 that was just completely swept under the rug – the determination of Naruto to follow his own path and NOT be controlled by fate/destiny. He not only really doesn’t do that (he follows Jiraiya’s path really, not his own), but he also ends up entangled in the web of fate/destiny with the whole reincarnation stuff and whatnot.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

    2. While the Itachi reveal was kinda weird, I’d also put Nagato’s “conversion” as the exact moment the story first jumped the shark. The subsequent events in Iron Country with Naruto’s infamous hyperventilation scene almost completely destroyed his plausibility as a character to me. It got better when the war began, but then started slipping downhill once the Ten tails was revived.

      Hochmeister
      Reply

  46. the pairing was soo forced T_T any development between naruto and hinata and now children lol, sasuke got sakura pregnant and run away from her OK… somebody else have noticed that BAD copy and paste and mix of character faces and hairstyles to make the children that so lame.
    well at least that don´t was a gay ending but kishi could finished it in a better way <.<

    dark
    Reply

  48. Even though there is a continuation in Spring 2015, the ending was tough, like saying goodbye to an old friend. Regardless of how the story ended, Thursday morning for me will never be the same.

    Tom
    Reply

    1. Ehehe no. It’s not “one shot, one kid”…i suppose more than two times…it’s not so easy to make a woman pregnant unless 1) you have very powerful seed, 2) you had sex in her fertile period…even so it’s not easy…so i supposed they had sex loooooot of times (well…if i was in Naruto’s shoes i’ll do the same with a girl like this lol)

      Gianluca
      Reply

  57. Oh dear…just imagine the fun the dubs will do in the future if the name ‘Salad’ hold into their teen years.

    Shika: “Hey Bolt, we’re going for some ramen dinner tonight wanna come?”

    Bolt: “Nah, I’m eating Salad tonight”

    For 15 years of rocky-road and landslide here and there, all in all it’s been a fun ride.

    [I just realized there’s a frigging PC in Naruto’s world]

    ElZenom
    Reply

      1. I actually went back and check the PC again and guess what…it’s an APPLE LAPTOP

        [is Kishi trying to tell us that he uses Apple]

        For the skyscapers at first I thought it was pretty off…but then I recall the Rain Village is pretty much a skyscaper-ish city so it surprise me less than the laptop (if all village join forces they probably mix cultures into each other too).

        ElZenom
        Reply

  58. Oh my god….10 years…It’s been 10 years since i have been following this series. Yes, it’s full of plot holes, yes it’s full of retcons, yes it’s full of deus ex machinas, inconsistencies and all that stuff. But the series, especially the first half during when he was a kid will forever be dear to my heart. Geez i sounds so melodramatic right now….It was a really fun ride, but the roller coaster wasn’t quite so thrilling during the end. Despite of that, i still felt emotional reading these last chapters.

    Gwynbleidd
    Reply

  61. That…was too much. Faaar two much. I only missed birds flying above those two in the form of a heart… Too much symbolism that wasnt needed at all, since everything was plain to see. Yes, those two finally understand each other. We get it. No need to emphasize it again and again and again and again… The last chapters were so cheesy that it took away all the impact it could have had. Also, Sasuke’s thoughts in chapter 699 were unnecessary. What did he say that we didnt already know? A satisfying end can still give you something new, but that didnt happen here. I dont even want to start with the pairings. You can see now that it is a big problem having too many characters. The main characters have almost no screen-time left, because everyone and his dog got a little bit, but noone got enough for anyone to be satisfied. Maybe its the best you can do in this kind of situation, but that doesnt make it good…

    The comments are mostly about how its strange that 15 years are over now – sentimental about the story as a whole, but less about the ending itself. I think that proves that the ending wasnt good.

    I still think Kishimoto did a great job by writing Naruto. For sticking with it for such a long time and creating a fun and coherent story, I really admire him and he deserves all the popularity he gets. Sadly, it was also a very predictable story and it never matured with its readers. The ending was rushed and bordering on the ridiculous with all those pairings and their kids. Maybe it would have been better to end with chapter 701 than to fixate on the “00”. Well, all I can say is Im sad to see this show end like this – in more ways than one.

    Libélula
    Reply

  62. I was so disappointed with this ending. Naruto, I considered was far better from your average manga/anime, not just with how popular it was, and the ending was just like any other below average manga I have read, or anime watched. In conclusion, a manga Great, with below average ending (happily ever after is predictable, cliche, and done to death) I mean, just a brief conclusion of everyone years later, I would have so rather them add like 3 conclusion chapters where Naruto had maybe a Hokage coronation or something, among many other things could have happened.

    Mike
    Reply

  63. Great ending and I am glad one manga ended before it dragged on too long. One thing I was dissapointed was how it was all pairing/romance focused at the end, like who ended up and had kid with who while Naruto shouldn’t have focused on those things IMO since they told great story without focusing too much on romance.

    I also didn’t keep up with the pairing fandom but I felt NaruxHina was too forced, similar to HarryxGinny pairing in the Harry Potter fandom and it was obvious Kishimoto only decided on this pairing near the end. If he was a great author any girl who is going to end up with the MAIN CHARACTER should have been developed well from the start so fans can see each step in progress. But that’s just my opinion and I know too many shounen mangas where they had great story but the girl the main character ended up with didn’t feel right but Hinata is a sweet strong girl so meh, I will take it 🙂

    I remember starting Naruto at the beginning of high school and it just gives me a really nice feeling to know it ended while it was still popular. Looking forward to more of Kishimoto’s work.

    Drift
    Reply

  64. The thing I don’t like the most is that Sasuke and Naruto are bad fathers, when they both perfectly know how it’s like to have a bad childhood without parents. Thanks for giving your children the same. Also Naruto isn’t like himself. He didn’t even laugh at his son’s joke. I mean, I know that he is Hokage now and should be serious, but he is like new person. Where is my Naruto, which I’ve loved from childhood who was funny and liked to make jokes? As NaruHina fan I’m kinda dissapointed at how fast their relationship developed. Kishi, you’re making manga, not anime, so please focus on doing your job, not giving it to anime makers… Last, but not the least, I read previous comments and thanks god that there are not SasuSaku here yet. I mean, how they can be satisfied with Sakura being worthless ninja staying at home and taking care of her child ALONE. She should has more respect for herself and just stop running after Sasuke, even if she loves him ( how?! ), because he traated her as scum for whole manga. Now it’s looks like Kishi hates her and gave her bad ending and erase all her character development.

    Shirocat
    Reply

    1. HAHAHA!!!! gotta Agree with ya Shirocat!! shounen manga………creators of some of the WORST Fathers EVER! from Hunter X Hunter, bleach and many others.. they’re either not there, morons or just don’t give a shit….
      also TRUE on the whole “who was that orange haired guy talking to bolt at the end??” cuz it sure as hell wasn’t Naruto..he seemed like a bland imposter devoid of character..alot of them did.

      Ive read/viewed/listened to ALOT of final closing montage/wrap up type episodes in my time.And i would say 85% of them would deliver the endgame goods. BUT this one has got to be one of the weakest…soo copy and paste and boring..i caught NO FEELS.
      TRUE, i was never a Big Naruto fan due to the shitty Artwork and long drawn out Emo Bullsh!t..
      but even i can realize that THIS deserved better.

      BROOKLYN otaku
      Reply

      1. If you are not a Naruto fan why the fuck are you commenting? You people can never make up your minds first Naruto is an idiot who could not be Hokage now he is boring for being responsible.

        OkagetheShadowKing
        Reply

    1. In terms of the manga itself, yes, because it’s what Kishi decided and there’s nothing we can do about that, but in terms of the general practicality of it why they do/don’t work and why and whatnot, they’ll join the ranks of Goku vs. Superman, Superman vs. Batman, Godzilla vs. Gamera, and others; debates that last forever somehow.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

  70. Sigh.. Can’t believe that it has been 15 years … Ever since I started reading the Manga and watching the show I never thought it would last this long or have such impact on both me and the world (both negative and positive), i can’t express how much kishimoto’s influenced me during the past years.. I started making my comics because of how much I liked his work.. My first commissions as an artist were for Naruto fans and my obsession with Manga started with Naruto… But what made Naruto such a phenomena worldwide… Is it the world building and complicated fictional world that kishimoto created (all the terminology and ideas like handseals being used to release different types of ninja attacks.. The iconic geography of that ninja world and history of each unique ninja clan and the dozens of colorful unique characters that hail from different locations and have all sorts of exotic weapons/techniques and conflicting ideals.. It’s probably a mix of all that and more)

    It’s also a lonely (noisy, impulsive, hard headed and brash) kid’s quest in a harsh deadly world to get the recognition he deserves and defend what he cares about the most.. It’s something that should resonate with anyone on the most basic human level.. Also.. That attention to detail, dedication and child-like glee kishimoto works with was truly an inspiration to me and even made me create my own characters and story in the Naruto world.. I’m obviously a sucker for world building so I enjoyed exploring all the tidbits about the history of Naruto’s world and its timelines to fit my own characters within it… And that’s also why I understand and appreciate how much effort went into making this world and story, which makes me quite sad when some people don’t get it or just hate on Naruto because it’s popular.. Sure some people take their affection of Naruto to ridiculous levels (but that’s a problem with the fans of any media or work of fiction.. Not a problem with the work itself)…for example… I don’t fight with anyone over character shipping but I do have my own favorite couples.. I just don’t think it’s worth fighting with anyone over it.

    So yeah some fans might be overreacting or obsessed with the show to the extreme but using stupid dragetory terms like “Narutards” isn’t really any better.. It’s OK if you don’t like something.. But you have to understand it doesn’t automatically make it bad or shitty (to call something bad it requires proof.. Or critique.. And critique requires good understanding of the medium and carefully dissecting a work of any medium to show it’s strengths and weaknesses not spouting hateful bullshit), I Don’t like a lot of things (I.e Pokémon) but I don’t go to where the fans of those things gather to argue with them or insult them and spout hateful bullshit at them while acting all high and mighty with a stick up my ass from on top of my high-horse … That’s just retarded and childish trolling at its worst.

    Long story short I’m both sad and happy to see Naruto end but there is no denying it left quite the impact on me and on the world.. And that I’m suerly going to miss it for a while, thanks Kishimoto and thanks for all the fans whom I spent a lot of time discussing the story and characters with ..it wouldn’t have been as fun without you guys 😉

    Hunter-wolf
    Reply

  71. My issue with long running series ending like this is that the epilogue feels too much like a doujin/ fan fic. They way everything works out perfectly well (as far as we know) is such a stark comparison the the rest of the series.

    15 years is a long time, and major props to Kishimoto for being able to write (or drag on, depending on your opinion) a compelling story for that long. Naruto is certainly NOT my favourite manga by a long shot, but it is respectable in its own right and is definitely worth remembering for its impact on our culture.

    Kentaiyoshimi
    Reply

  72. Still a lot of questions left unanswered with this ending to be honest. It’s been a wild ride and I hope the upcoming movie will answer some of these remaining questions.

    We’ll at least see how Naruto and Hinata got together in the movie, and hopefully we’ll get to see just wtf happened with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

    Ryudo
    Reply

  73. Moral of the story: no matter how hard a guy tries, you’ll only get the girl if she is interested you in the first place. Sorry Naruto, after 700 chapters of hard work, Sakura’s just not into you.

    Nerxiz
    Reply

  77. And so it ended! It’s really been a long time…just like Zephyr said, this is indeed something that have been part of my everyday life for more than a decade now, I’ve been systematically looking for it every week and reading it at a given time like a clockwork again and again…it feels weird knowing THIS IS IT, actually, I think I don’t realize it yet, I think it will really sink in next week…

    Overall, I am satisfied with how the Naruto series ended, I really liked the Naruto x Sasuke moments in the last chapters: we’ve really waited for ages for this to happen and while some might find it a bit too mushy, I think we needed at least that much after all that have happened for these 2 to reconcile! Great moment also when their hands joined to make the seal, and very symbolic: in chapter 698, when they both lost their arms, I actually thought at the time that from now on, they would work together with each one using one hand to make seals…but yeah, I didn’t think far enough and I guess this is really too much, they would have been way too depended on each other and it would have been too hard to fight like that ^^; Still, out of my initial idea, I was still very happy to see it happen that one time in such a great way 🙂

    About the pairings, I am actually ok with all of them: even though it’s not said how long the time skip is, I believe it’s at least 10 years and a lot of things can happen in that time! Some of course are surprising, but none really displeased me.
    I’m pretty happy about the Naruto x Hinata, we will see further things about these 2 in the upcoming movie, and hopefully, all the people complaining about Naruto’s lack of reaction to Hinata’s love confession will come to an end.

    Lastly: could someone tell me what is this huge city right next to Konoha and full of buildings about? @_@

    sherry
    Reply

  78. So I’m just going to rage a little about the epilogue or rather all of the characters we didn’t see.

    First of all, Yamato. We see him free briefly in 699. You’d think he would get some development seeing as he basically helped Kabuto and Obito in the war (against his will, of course, but still…), but all that happens is that he’s freed and that’s it. Now that I think about it, his only role in this story was to be Kakashi’s substitute for Naruto when the former was too busy. Sure he could restrain Kurama in Naruto, but that’s about it. It’s a shame too, since he had an interesting backstory.

    Second, Orochimaru and his gang. This one is pretty self-explanatory. Did they go to jail? Did they go into hiding? Are they dead? You would think that such an important character would get some closure. Hell, I’m surprised even Karin didn’t get to butt heads with Sakura.

    And finally, the big one, probably the most important character: Kurama. Admittedly, this is kind of nitpicking since we do get an idea of what his role will be after the war. Still, let’s break it down. We know that part of him is inside Naruto since he helped out during the fight against Sasuke and Naruto is still alive (meaning Kurama was never completely removed), but we also see him physically outside of Naruto. I can get over this since he’s basically part of a god and he has a connection with Naruto, but what I can’t get over is how we never see what happens after. Does he stay outside? Does he go back inside completely? Does Naruto keep him as a pet? Explain manga, explain!

    On the other hand, we catch up with some people I personally don’t care about, like people from the Cloud village. And honestly, when is the last time we cared about Shino, Kiba, or Tenten? And Asuma and Neji were the only dead people mentioned? What about the guy who was the closest thing to a living father Naruto ever had? But I will give credit to Kishimoto for two things. First, he finally remembered that Bee existed. And second, the last page was a great callback to the very first page of the first chapter. But at the same time, Salad. ‘Nuff said.

    Nitpicking aside, it feels weird for this series to finally be over. It’s gone through some high highs and some really low lows (goddamn it Kaguya), but this is definitely a series I’ll miss.

    Ruddor
    Reply

  79. 15 Years! I was first intrigued by Naruto when I failed the “ninja exam.” Next thing I knew I was hooked. The filler arcs of the Naruto animation really turned me off. But I have always followed the manga religiously. I think the author once said he planned to draw 1000 episodes. But I guess 700 is just as great a place to stop. Not too many authors have the determination to end their masterpiece on their own terms. Three bows to Kishimoto!

    Matroid
    Reply

    1. Who cares about the exam any more? Naruto was the undisputed top dog of the entire ninja world, and even became the leader of his village AND the ninja alliance. Perhaps it was the author’s way to protest against the exam-above-everything culture in Japan (and Asia in general).

      Matroid
      Reply

  81. http://img.mangastream.com/cdn/manga/49/2593/29.jpg
    That ending was just perfect. I’m pretty happy that the anime will be ending this way too. And the characters whom I wanted to be paired up with and/or the ones who are “highly regarded” in the Konoha society, it’s gratifying to see they are doing well. So I can leave a satisfying thought in my memory that the Naruto series is one of the classics to look back on in enjoyment. The main points I find interesting are:
    1. Kakashi becoming the sixth and Naruto being the seventh (ironically team 7 and 7 is a lucky number). Seeing Naruto so seriously fulfilling/living his dream and so rightfully getting the utmost respect he serves gives me the most satisfaction. [Thumbs Up!]
    2. Seeing the next generation was also a such a treat. LOL there is a “rock lee” in every generation so to speak. So much goodness. 😀
    3. Overall, a happy ending for all is the perfect wrap up (other than I miss Neji and they didn’t show what happened to Orochimaru after being freed.) Hopefully the movie can bring out a better outcome than it already is. (^_^) v
    So all you really need to know is that it will be better than expected or even more so.

    random viewer
    Reply

  82. And so ends. I started to read Naruto back in college while the series was on his peak, it was sad to see the series lack in many things that once made it so great but this finale was everything I expected, it´s like say goodbye to an old friend and yet I think I can speak for everyone here when I say this characters are going to stay with us for the rest of our lives, this is the kind of story that leaves an eternal mark in a fan. Thanks you so much Kishimoto-sensei for giving us this epic story to enjoy all this yaers!.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  90. Man, it’s so strange to think that Naruto’s finally coming to an end – though it wasn’t the first anime I’d ever seen, it started my weabo phase, embarrassing as it was. cough I still have my Konaha headband cough

    I do find it amusing how over a century of inventions suddenly pop up in a decade. Maybe that’s what Orochimaru’s doing somewhere that future Hokages don’t seem to care about.

    Zexan
    Reply

  93. I knew it was bound to happen but still couldn’t believe this was really the end. I remember when I was 19 and friends kept recommending Naruto this badass manga about ninjas. I totally dismissed it at first because my idea of ninjas was forged around Ninja Scroll lol (creatures of the night and stealthy). Naruto was the exact opposite of what ninjas were portrayed to be, and somehow that worked. The more I read the manga, the more it grew on me. Pre-Timeskip age was full of adventure, new challenges, and explanations out the ass of how ninjutsu worked. It was a time when all the rookies got their time to shine at some point. The character development was strong, and the flash backs weren’t so bad then. Post-Timeskip…-___-. This is when things started to detour hard. It became more about Naruto which is to be expected given the title of the manga, but it wasn’t the same as before. It was built up in the first part that the ninetails was a force of destruction that few could take on. The fight with Orochimaru vs Fourtails was when I started to facepalm. Yes Orochimaru was my favorite villain despite his pedo fetish for young boys, but it was crazy how he came out the fight with minimum damage. Anyway Post-Timeskip starting beating a dead horse with repetitive themes. It was all about how Naruto used to be shunned and now he is the shit. Talk no Jutsu began to trump all other jutsus. All those awesome characters we loved took a backseat to SuperSayianNaruto and EyeSpammingUchihas (except Itachi). It finally got interesting again with the reincarnation of Madara for me, he was built up as the man to be in ages of old and now he was back. He was the final boss everyone wanted, but not the one we deserved apparently. Kaguya came basically out of nowhere near the end of the manga, gave a lackluster fight and she was gone. I was like really…The fight with Naruto and Sasuke went as expected…talk no jutsu ultimately prevailed along with Naruto beating some sense into captain emo. I was left with mixed feelings about the end. I was hoping for a realistic ending with Naruto maturing and realizing you can’t always get what you want in life. That some people are just set in their ways, but nope. Thankfully I guess the manga isn’t directed at people like me and it sends a message of you can achieve the impossible with enough determination and belief in your own values or at least that is what I took from it. So long Naruto Manga I will be sure to visit your universe in all the spin-offs and games that are sure to follow…believe it ^_^ (yeh that was corny so what)

    CassO
    Reply

  94. Its clear Kishimoto altered the story for some fans without any kind of progress between the alternation and the end and used that alteration again in the end. If it went the way as he originally planned Hinata is supposed to be dead a long time ago.

    Slick
    Reply

    1. According to latest movie trailers it seems he is inserting new nonexistent flash back material in the movie to make up for this. Still I wonder how he is going to insert it as it is going to contradict with what is in the manga and anime.

      Slick
      Reply

  97. As much as most people seem to not like Sakura and Naruto it would have not needed a movie to give closure to it. From what I’ve been hearing Kishimoto originally wanted the ending to be NaruSaku. But the higher ups told him to make it instead NaruHina and SasuSaku because it was more popular so it would help sell more movie tickets, and hopefully make the miniseries sequel sell more as well. He resisted for a while, but gave in by the time the ending happened. It the reason why Salada looks so much like Karin, and so little like Sakura.
    I’m sorry but I really got to ask this are people really happy with how this story ended from a pairing and story perspective.
    Pairing wise both end were more sad than happy. SS Sasuke seems to continue to roam the world never settling down even after he got a child off Sakura. While Sakura has to raise their daughter more or less by herself while pining for the days Sasuke drift back into the village for a short visit. NH Naruto is neglecting his family so bad because of his job that his son is acting out for attention just as bad as when he was a pariah ignored and hated by the entire village. Hinata I’m not sure what she does but I got to ask if Bolt has been acting out because he been focus on work? Why hasn’t she suggested that he spend more time with the family? If nothing else why doesn’t he use Shadow clones so he both do his job and spend time with his family?
    Story wise Kishimoto has spent the last 15 years and 700 chapters writing this story. Yet he has to have a final movie in order to flesh out the final pairing in order to make them believable. Beyond what the popular opinion wanted. He could not be ask to flesh out the romance with the confines of the manga and instead has to use outside material/source/movie to do it for him. After all these year and all this wait isn’t kind of sad?

    Scot
    Reply

    1. Yeah, all that is pretty much what was being talked about in the blog I quoted above along with the fact that there is no sense of triumph, success, or anything with this ending. It just feels plain and empty and everyone is just…existing…none of them really being what they dreamed of or wanted to do when they were younger. I mean, just look at Tenten just sitting bored and miserable in her shop when she had aspired to be a legendary kunoichi like Tsunade or the Ino-Shika-Cho trio seeming to not be (preparing to be) big leaders of their respective clans.

      Even Naruto being Hokage is, at this point, nothing more than a glorified desk job and not exactly “protecting the village” or anything. And then you have to wonder about Hinata. Did she ever get rid of the Caged Bird Seal from the Branch Family of the Hyuga Clan? Is she even considered part of the Hyuga Clan anymore since she’s married to Naruto now or is she now essentially excommunicated from the clan and Hanabi is now the (future) head (which would mean Hinata didn’t, thus essentially broke her promise in doing so)? Or is Naruto technically a part of the Hyuga Clan and “joined” when he and Hinata got together?

      And as you said, the fact that Kishi has to have other stuff like this explained, that should’ve been able to be explained in the story itself, possibly explained in outside material is lame and definitely smells of attempts to weasel out more money from people by higher-ups by essentially forcing people to get the databooks, movies, side-stories, etc. if they wanted to really know anything more.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

  98. Writer irresponsibility. He should of stuck with his original plan till the end. If he developed Hinata simultaneously then it would of been a different story. Listening to higher ups who care about only selling more tickets just ruin the story making it a hacked up job which will most of the time lead to worse sales than expected. Anyway a writer should not listen to some fans demands compromising his/her quality. Ultimately the reader has to accept what the writer does whether they like it or not. If they don’t like it they just stop reading it but most care for quality over who ends up with who.

    Slick
    Reply

    1. Oh please spare us the “higher ups” nonsense, there is no proof of such thing l ever happening, Sakura was head over heels for Sasuke from the very start, and Hinata secretly loved Naruto..Naruto’s love for Sakura was as immature and childish as we was back then, it was very clear when Sakura wanted to go with Sasuke when he left Konoha that it will never work between her and Naruto, and again when Hinata openly confessed her love for Naruto and pretty much sacrificed her life to protect him.

      Naruto choosing Hinata over his childhood crush shows that he matured and realized that Sakura was never meant for him, if anything it shows he has grown up.

      So please stop living in denial and creating pathetic conspiracy theories with no proofs and ridiculous petitions, neither art nor literature are a democracy, want a different ending create your own fanfiction or better, create your own story/series.

      And Naruto did achieve his goal in the end and became hokage and brought Sasuke back to his senses, so saying there is no sense of triumph or achievement makes no sense whatsoever, please stop wasting your time and our time trying to tarnish the ending just because your favorite paring didn’t happen.. move on with your life.. The story is over and all is said and done.

      Hunter-wolf
      Reply

      1. “Oh please spare us the “higher ups” nonsense, there is no proof of such thing l ever happening, Sakura was head over heels for Sasuke from the very start, and Hinata secretly loved Naruto..Naruto’s love for Sakura was as immature and childish as we was back then, it was very clear when Sakura wanted to go with Sasuke when he left Konoha that it will never work between her and Naruto, and again when Hinata openly confessed her love for Naruto and pretty much sacrificed her life to protect him.”

        You do know how hypocritical a statement this is right?

        You call Naruto’s crush on Sakura “immature and childish” when Sakura’s crush on Sasuke, and even Hinata’s crush on Naruto, were just that as well. Sakura nor Hinata ever truly got to know their crushes. Their “feelings” were largely superficial in that Sakura only cared about Sasuke’s looks and “dark and mysterious” attitude whereas Hinata only “knew” Naruto based on what she saw of him on the surface when stalking him.

        Hinata’s confession was made as a deathbed confession, as in she believed that she could get it off her chest without having to deal with the results because she would no longer be around to do so (she even said she knew she couldn’t win and would die). If anything, her actions almost resulted in the total destruction of Konoha due to Naruto going 6 and then 8 tails, nearly releasing Kurama from the seal (and no, him doing so is no sign that he loved her back as, given who he is, it would’ve happened regardless of who was “killed” by Nagato in that situation). It was only due to magic seal hax that it didn’t happen.

        But as Shippuden showed since early on in the Rescue Gaara Arc, Sakura got to know and understand Naruto in ways Hinata could only dream of while, through Sasuke’s own actions, Sakura learned that he wasn’t the person she (believed she) loved anymore, and it got to the point where she even risked her life to try to kill Sasuke herself in order to alleviate the pain she could now easily tell Naruto was going through because of him and the promise he had made to her in bringing Sasuke back. She may not have gone through with it because of past emotional ties, but the fact that she even made the attempt shows how far she was willing to go to give up on her past crush and move on herself.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

      2. Wow, now you are blaming Hinata for the destruction of Konoha, sheesh.. You are taking this way too personally.. You know Pain’s objective was to wipe out Konoha, what has happened is not Hinata’s fault nor Naruto’s.

        And there is nothing hypocritical about my statement, Naruto was a total air-head who can’t even use shadow clone technique, nice not to mention a bit horny like most boys (if harem no jutsu is anything to go by), he just fell for the first girl he encountered and was paired with him.. Only a matter of close proximity, girls on the other hand mature much faster than boys and their love is always emotions driven.. Something that never changes when they grow older.

        As for Sakura’s attempt to kill Sasuke..It’s obvious she didn’t go through with it because she still loved him, the reasons she thought about that action were simply pity for Naruto as she thought he was still chasing after Sasuke to fulfill his promise to her (not because he can’t be a hokage if he lets his best friend follow the path of evil and fail to save him) that’s why Sakura felt guilty and tried to do what she did, also because she thought her emotions for Sasuke were tying her down and making her a burden to team 7… She never had emotions for Naruto more that friendship and comradere.

        And News Flash!!!.. Most anime and Manga today extend their stories through Oval and movies.. That’s nothing new.. Kishi already resolved all the main plot threads in the Manga and didn’t leave any critical information out… And if you thought romance or shipping in Naruto was major plot or important to the story then you are dillusional… romance was never a big theme as it was barely mentioned in the story during the past 15 years like 4 or 5 times… There were many other major themes which he focused on and kept thematic consistency through all these years (friendship, loyalty, abandonment, hardwork VS talent,.. Etc etc)

        Making an extra movie that focuses on the romance between grown up Naruto and Hinata makes perfect sense as it had no place in the last frantic chapters till the conclusion.. All those bogus theories about higher ups don’t make any sense at all either.. We would have had to buy several extra chapters that cover the story between Naru and Hina same way we are going to pay to watch the movie in cinema or on DVD.. And if you aren’t paying for either then what the heck are you complaining about!!? (being a free loader and all).

        Hunter-wolf
        Reply

    1. That petition is far too extreme. A better one would be to ask why Kishimoto chosen this ending, was he order to write it, what was the original ending he wanted, was this the ending he happy with this, and so on.

      Scot
      Reply

  100. A petition!? Holy Shit, that’s going to alter everything. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Get a life, people. I’m tired of people trying to control outcomes of IP’s. the petitions are a sign of selfishness and ignorance to Kishimoto’s work.

    I didn’t weep when Goku ended up with Chichi, I didn’t flip tables when Kikyou died and Kagome won. I didn’t fucking rage when Tamao ended up being the Yoh/Anna housemaid.
    GET A FUCKING GRIP.

    aeriolewinters
    Reply

    1. I agree with you that petition is far too extreme. But think about it this way. Does anyone remember how people reacted to the Mass Effect 3 ending. People had a larger and far more negative reaction to that ending than this. One of the moment the will probably stick with me is the fact that someone actually sent Bioware hundreds of cupcake that all tasted the same. Not only that but Bioware then had to make dlc in hopes of pleasing their disappointed fanbase, and they probably still get complaint about it. Some people still complain about it too this day. They only recently mention a plans to make a Mass Effect 4 only a few days ago. Since they had to wait for the fan anger to die down enough that people won’t mind another game. They still get complaints about it and any time anyone bring up one of their new game it’s and along with Dragon age 2 or swtor is mentioned as well. In the end what was the Mass Effect series. It was a trilogy of three games from 2007-2012 with the series third game having a more or less open ending in hopes of making sequels so they can milk the franchise.

      Naruto is a manga the went on weekly from 1999-2014 that help introduce a generation of children to the wider world of manga and anime, and it’s ending was a copout because they are hoping to sell more tickets to the Last Movie, and hope as well that more people will also buy sequel manga that coming out next year. You’re telling people can’t be upset at that?

      Also no offense but your examples are really weak:

      In Dragonball the arc Chichi was introduces wanting to find a husband and decided on Goku which he agree to not knowing what it means. The next time we see her in the manga in Dragonball is during it’s last world martial arts tournament arc before it went to Dragonball z. In which she was trying to find Goku and became upset with him when once she realized that he had forgotten about her and his promise he made years ago. Once realizing this he quickly apologized and agreed to marry her. So Chichi was always planned to be Goku’s wife. Who else could he end up with? Bulma was in the on again off again thing with Yamcha at the time. blond hair Launch when she was still around had that thing with Tien. Who else was their for Goku to get with?

      Inuyasha was always a story about how love can last beyond a single life time. Also Kikyou in the story was a reanimated corpse power by fragments of Kagome’s soul.

      In Shaman King please correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t Anna introduce as Yoh betrothed? So the writer wouldn’t have to deal with will they or won’t they but instead make humor out of Anna abusing Yoh?

      In Bleach Ichigo is most likely going to end up with Orihime because she was the one introduce and constantly show she has feeling for him. Rukia and Ichigo bond was shown to be because of the fact Ichigo looked like Rukia’s mentor who she has guilt of killing, and Ichigo because she’s his friend as well as he feels like he owes her for giving him the power to defend his friends and family.

      Oda has said he doesn’t really care about romance and wants to focus more on the adventure itself so if their any of it in One Piece he probably would leave it up to the fans because he doesn’t care about it.

      But Naruto introduce Sakura as the girl he was feeling for, but because of Higher up the ending never got to address anything about Naruto’s feeling toward Sakura whether he over them or not. Instead Kishimoto has to spend most of 699 focusing on trying to quickly patch up SasuSaku because he had spent the last 15 years doing nothing but tearing it apart. Naruto and Hinata the main character and the girl he ends up with in the end have basically no interaction throughout the entire ending, and now has to use the Last Movie (something that should just be SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL) to flesh it out because he couldn’t be bothered to put it into the manga.

      Scot
      Reply

      1. Please stop using Mass Effect 3 as an example for people changing something with petitions, Bioware didn’t change the ending at all, they merely expanded it and created an,epilogue that was sorely needed.. Those who didn’t like the original ending still don’t like the extended one… The extended endings of ME3 are pretty much chapter 700 in Naruto (maybe the movie as well, which pretty much happens with every Manga/anime nowadays when it finishes).

        Hunter-wolf
        Reply

      2. I’m Sorry Hunter-wolf it was not my intent in my comment to say that we should petition Shonen Jump to change the ending of Naruto or anything like that. My intent was to use a well known example of people getting upset at an ending that was more concern about the marketing and ip than telling a satisfying conclusion to a story. Also how doing such a thing has negatively effected fans opinion of the creators other works.

        As for the movie are you really going to tell me that it’s a good thing for the main romance of a fifteen year long series has to handled in a movie instead of the manga? Because the writer couldn’t bother to work it into the story and instead has to a movie and hope it wraps everything up? Is that what we settle for good story telling now a days? I don’t mind NaruSaku not happening, but what i wanted was a good story with convincing closure to the pairings which i didn’t feel like any of us got. Instead it feels like we got something that was order from the higher ups, and the Last Movie and the mini-series squeal are going to be used to try to “patch up” the problems with the ending.

        Scot
        Reply

      3. He didn’t work it into the story because romance wasn’t really important to the plot and wasn’t part of the themes of the show/manga.. If anyone wanted romance they could go read some teenage romance novel or a Shojo Manga.. He only hinted at it several times and that was more than enough.. If some people are interested in pursuing the details of the romance between Naruto and Hinata that’s what the movie is for, an extra media piece for an extra plot thread for the hard-core fans who want to know every little detail of what happened.. And frankly romance works better with voice acting and music added.

        Hunter-wolf
        Reply

  101. NARUTO UZUMAKI.

    It’ been a long journey, a huge part of our lives, but now it’s time to say goodbye.

    Such a gap that after this no words feel right, cause there are no any.

    KUDOS and THANK YOU to Masashi Kishimoto.

    Uciha Itachi
    Reply

  102. It truly has been a long journey where it finally bid its farewell. Being a naruto fan makes me feel at lost having its final end. Masashi Kishimoto is one of a hell talented person that can trigger and show some unpredictable outcome of the ending. I will surely miss naruto’s determination

    GAARA
    Reply

  103. “Don’t underestimate me! I don’t quit and I don’t run! You can act tough all you want, you guys aren’t gonna scare me out! No way! I don’t care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life….I’ll still be Hokage someday!!”

    – Naruto Uzumaki (Seventh Hokage)

    Ghost
    Reply

  105. Umm well im soo sad of the naruto series coming to an end and plus i thought that finally naruto and sakura would pair up but it didnt happen. . .anywaz aregatho masashi kishimoto for making dis wonderful series you truly are great and im a great admirer of yours , . . You made naruto a cartoon for us to believe in . . . Thank you again . . . . 🙂

    Naruto geek
    Reply

    1. Yea naruto geek what u say is perfectly true i was hoping for naruto n sakura bt it turns out to be naru n hinata and saku n sasque haha bt same as u i too thank u masashi kishimoto for making this naruto anime series a part of my life . I almost fainted when i got to know that it ended. .

      Heart of naruto
      Reply

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