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| THIS IS AN MANGA ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING BEYOND THIS CHAPTER. ---------------------------------------- sasuke's back. |
MY CLAIMS |
| Finllay they eliminated both Akatsuki menbers...the revenge was consummate!!! |
| Cool, the children are the king. |
 |
| And thus ends the Akatsuki Suppression Mission arc and I have to say, this is easily my favorite of the Part two arcs thus far. What strikes me the most about this arc, is how it's the most disconnected Naruto's been from the main story in pretty much any arc. That's not to say that Naruto still doesn't feel like the main character, not only does he still defeat the big bad, but the training segments and the internal thoughts from Kakashi makes this the arc the most heavily emphasized Naruto's power potential and importance. Part of me wonders if that was an active decision to help compensate for the fact that Naruto himself isn't really involved here, and his defeat of Kakuzu reads more like a conclusion to his training than the climax of a battle with a finishing blow (though to be fair I guess, Kakashi delivers the final blow). While Naruto still maintains screen-time and development, this arc is definitely Shikamaru's story, and considering how good of a character Shikamaru is, that's a big advantage. It's a pretty simplistic plot, and I do think it might've been a bit more effective if Asuma wasn't setting off so many death flags prior to their encounter but otherwise, I think Kishimoto delivered very well. The chapters detailing his death had some great visual transitions, and the structure was effective. The smoke still stinging their eyes and the end with the 'ghost' of Asuma passing the torch of Shikamaru were really strong panels that packed some weight. Probably my favorite was when Shikamaru broke the news to Kurenai, the zoomed out perspective, the lack of dialogue, just seeing a woman breaking down from the news of her loves death, always going to be pretty powerful. Even though I complained a bit about how obvious Asuma's death was, I might have to take that comment back because thinking now it really helps the reveal of his baby reveal. Like maybe he was considering retiring once it was born, or something, at the very least he was definitely contemplating the significance of the young because of it. And now that Shikamaru has decided to support the baby, I hope that doesn't imply he'll move into another field because Shikamaru's fights are among the best of the series. I like how Kishimoto plays fair with the audience, giving us all the pieces we need before Shikamaru reveals everything like the first encounter with Hidan, and winning with brains instead of brawn is just a lot more satisfying to me, because it engages with the audience more than a power-up. Though in fairness, I did like Naruto's training, mostly for the insight into Jutsu. The more detailed a power system, the better I'm concerned. It's still nowhere near as intricate as Nen but I do like that there's more complexity and individuality to Chakra now, and the Rasengan being upgraded to the Rasenshuriken is a cool visual upgrade that ties into the Ninja world well enough. I did genuinely enjoy the training stuff, from the Chakra insight to the relationship between Kakashi and Naruto (as well as the brief stuff between Kakashi & Yamato/Tenzo). Another main reason this arc worked so well for me was due to Hidan and Kakuzu. Interestingly, these two are also quite the departure in terms of Naruto's villains. Possibly because Naruto's interaction with them are minimal, but they don't have any real depth to them, there's no attempt even made to humanize them or give them some emotional weight (even Sasori had that and he was a legit puppet). But they more than made up for that with their unique power set (which contrasted nicely with the weight of Asuma's death) but more importantly, their strong lively personality and dynamic clash. The bickering between a religious zealot and money grubbing bounty hunter were always entertaining to me (I love the note that Kakazu originally teamed up with him because religion were suppose to be profitable [though it's also seems clear to me that there's a level of respect between the two, or friendship (though the arc doesn't bother diving into that, because it's not the point for once)]). While I do find antagonists like Gaara who mirror the protagonist or ones that tie to some thematic idea like Zabuza and Haku to be generally better, it was nice to have simple, personality driven villains to contend with for a change, and I think Kishimoto delivered here. On a final comment more about this chapter in specific, I do like the note that Sasuke didn't kill a single one of those guys. Sasuke retaining some level of likability is kinda crucial for this type of plot to function well, and while that itself isn't enough to do that, it's definitely a nice touch. |
| I can't help but feel bad for her and shikamaru |
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