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Series Conclusion - Your Thoughts
Topic Started: Oct 6 2014, 06:28 AM (9,308 Views)
Shikamaru
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Paperwork Kage
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Well, it's now official that the manga will be ending next month. What are your thoughts on the series finally wrapping up? Favorite moments? When did you start the series? Anything which you wish was done differently?
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Bloodedge
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Ninja Academy Student
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Wow finally a finish date!

I started in 2006 and read through chapter 1 - 310 (ish) in a couple of days (being a student at the time - and of course having nothing better to do!). Loved it, kept on reading, bought the Viz novels and now looking forward to finishing my collection.

Highlights:

1) Naruto taking out Kakuzu with his rasenshuriken (finally thought he was learning some skill at this point).
2) Minato finally being confirmed as Naruto's dad (we all 'knew' this, but was a great reveal).
3) Naruto vs Pain (epic cloak like the Fourth's and sage mode - still my favourite battle).

Hated:

1) 2007 - Pretty much all dedicated to Sasuke (yawn)
2) The inclusion of Kaguya - should have stayed with Madara IMO.
3) The fact that Naruto as of yet never got both halves of Kurama....



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Mohrpheus
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Jounin
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I started reading when the series was about halfway through the Hidan and Kakuzu arc. To this day, it is still my favorite arc. Having the focus being put on a team other than 7 was refreshing, and it really fleshed out Shikamaru's character. Despite not being a prevalent character, Kishi actually managed to make Asuma's death seem like a real tragedy, both to readers and the characters he was close to.

On another tangent, it's not exactly a moment I hate (though there are a couple), but a quirk Kishi overuses - freaking omens. I've lost count of the number of times that something bad happens, and a character notices something that alerts them to there being something wrong. I find it to be a somewhat contrived device in general, but in Naruto it just plain irks me.
Edited by Mohrpheus, Oct 6 2014, 07:37 AM.
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majestiic
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she-nobi
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I'm sad, as with anything that I've invested time in and thoroughly enjoyed *coughminuskaguyacough* -_-

I started watching Naruto during the Chuunin exam. Particularly the Rock Lee vs. Gaara match, and was instantly hooked. I don't know if it were the vast difference in characters, the battle animation, the intensity .. but it grabbed me, and has held me down for 10 years.

My only wishes for this manga is for it to go out gracefully, because it hasn't been graceful what so ever in a few months. But that's just my opinion -- Kaguya arc really disgusted me -- I'll always think Madara should have been the epilogue boss, and I just want the series that I know and love to recover and give a good final bow.

That, and I want Naruto and Hinata to be a thing. That's it. =)

My Highlights:

- Chuunin Exams
- Sarutobi v. Orochi + Kage (can't believe i almost forgot this)
- Sakura's fight with Sasori (my God it was great to finally see her kick ass)
- Minato stopping the Nine Tails from being awakened inside Naruto and their official meeting
- Madara against the Allied Shinobi .. my god that was fantastic stuff.
- Revenge on Kakuzu and Hidan for Asuma (RIP)
- Shodaime and Madara's interaction as children

Dislikes:

- Sakura going ass-backwards as far as development
- Sasuke's attitude the entire Shippuden series sans when he cried over Itachi's death
- Itachi dying
- Jiraya dying
- NEJI dying (still don't understand why that was a thing)
- KAGUYA KAGUYA KAGUYA KAGUYAAAAAA--*explode*

:FP:
Edited by majestiic, Oct 6 2014, 09:36 AM.
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Rezk
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Ninja Academy Student
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It's pretty shocking that it's going to end so soon. We all knew it was coming at the end of this year and continuing the manga at this point is pretty much beating a dead horse. But come on, five chapters? Only five chapters to wrap up the supossedly climactic battle that everyone was waiting for since the end of part one? I really hope Kishimoto can make it work but my guess is that they're betting on the movie that's coming out in a few months to give the story closure.
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kaneda
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The Biker
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Can't believe it's going to be over soon. I started it back when I was in 8th grade and now I've finished college. It's been a big part of my life (so much so that I felt myself drawn back to here after hearing the news), so it's a bit bitter sweet. Personally I feel that the quality of the comic's story has gone downhill in the past few years, but I still enjoy reading it every week. Gonna be an odd feeling when it's all done.
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vectorsigma
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Jounin
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Ill summon "There will be a Part 3" no jutsu!
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Lunacy Divine
Jounin
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I began watching and then reading the series in 2005, and needless to say, a lot of things about it appealed to me. It had nearly everything I was looking for in a shounen manga - a colorful cast of characters, an engaging plot, interesting mechanics, and fights that placed an extremely heavy emphasis on strategy and outmaneuvering the opponent as opposed to the usual dose of 'WHO IS MORE STRONK?' steroids-infested DBZ bullshit. Its incorporation of Japanese cultural elements was equally intriguing, as was its well-structured world building, and a lot of this stuff was also easily accessible for those who may not have been as familiar with the medium. In spite of all this it was never my favorite shounen manga and I've always thought that at its absolute best it was still second to Fullmetal Alchemist and third to my personal favorite, One Piece (which I began reading in 2003... BEFORE it was cool!) but it still had this undeniable sense of charm that really managed to captivate the reader in ways that arguably defied logic. Even with obvious and very frustrating flaws that dated back to as far as before the timeskip, it was difficult to simply throw in the wastebin because it was always gleaming with so much potential.

In reality, though, that's all the series has ever amounted to with the conclusion of its arcs - failed potential. It was failed potential when Kishimoto had characters like Neji and Chouji survive extremely fatal attacks because he couldn't stomach the fact that people of all ages constantly die in the world he had created, it was failed potential when the highly experienced Kakuzu fell victim to a basic feigning tactic that we've seen lowly Genin exploit, it was failed potential when a villain like Orochimaru who was KNOWN for his meticulousness and high level of preparation deliberately left himself vulnerable to an attack from something that just so happened to be an item he was searching for throughout his life, and it was failed potential when a character who was gradually established to become the penultimate antagonist throughout the entirety of Part II gets reduced to a vessel at the expense of a complete nobody like Kaguya. There are many more examples of this, Pain's invasion of Konoha being among the worst. This isn't to claim that the manga didn't contain plenty of highlights (I'll contend that Asuma's death, Itachi's backstory and the flashback of Hashirama and Madara were prime examples of Kishimoto at his best) or well-written characters (Madara to me is quite possibly the best villain this series has ever had, even in death, which is rare for an antagonist in this manga) but the vast majority of its arcs often ended in ways that left a lot to be desired. Ultimately, Kishimoto's biggest faults are mind-numbingly obvious; he absolutely refuses to kill off a lot of the younger characters even when it may be necessary for the development of another one and additionally has this annoying tendency to write off his antagonists in completely nonsensical ways because he made them too strong and too intelligent.

There are a veritable ton of things I would have changed, but I think the greatest example of something that could have been approached differently is the final Shinobi World War arc. In a lot of ways, I think it really was set up to be one of the best arcs in Part II because the war's first half was so brilliant and promising - a lot of side characters were finally granted the limelight (even Ten Ten got much-needed exposure), some of our favorite villains were brought back to unleash chaos on the battlefield, friend and foe alike were given a surprising amount of character insight and development, and Kishimoto's world building was expanded even further with the introduction of history's past legends resurrected as Edo Tensei zombies. This began to decline when Naruto literally stole everyone's spotlight using Tajuu Kage Bunshin, but it picked up shortly afterwards with the resurrection of Madara and his stand-off against the Gokage. The quality sort of spiraled around like a roller coaster at this point; just to name a few examples, disliked events consisted of Obito's unmasking being unbelievably predictable, character ages being shamelessly retconned, and the battle against the Juubi being reduced to a game of nuke volleyball, while favored events consisted of the wonderfully fleshed-out flashback of Konoha's founding, the alliance's teamwork against Obito, and Madara's fight against the Bijuu. The plot's stability was all over the place and I feel it may have been indicative of Kishimoto's waning passion for his work. Even with all of that in mind, I would have been fine with the series ending after Obito's defeat because it was implemented on a solid note in addition to emphasizing one of the manga's main themes, with the entire alliance uniting together against a common foe as peace and cooperation became fully realized. While Madara's subsequent showtime was fine in itself, I strongly dislike what it led to - Naruto and Sasuke getting free handouts that immediately made them gods resulted in the series shifting considerably off-course from what it once represented, with the theme of hard work being thrown to the wayside while our main heroes were suddenly capable of fighting on a DBZ-ish scale as opposed to the tactical battles we've become so accustomed to throughout both Part I and Part II alike. The power gap was increased to such a dramatic degree that all of our favorite side characters were now completely and utterly useless, but it gets worse - as soon as Kaguya intervened, the series inevitably reached its absolute lowest point. Even the battle against her largely amounted to a one-sided Sasuke rescue mission above all else, and I don't think I've ever witnessed an arc in any fictional medium that began on such a promising note only to end in a total trainwreck outweighing every other trainwreck.

Despite all of my complaints, I'll certainly miss Naruto. I've kept up with it for nearly ten years now, and there's a certain sadness in seeing something I've enthusiastically read about, watched, and discussed on Leafninja finally come to an end. But it's time, and it has been time for a long while. Hats off to Kishimoto for giving us a series that became so widely talked about, and I can only wish him well as he pursues other endeavors.
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Salamanca
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Jounin
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Oh man I can't believe this is coming to an end. As most of you, I started following Naruto through the anime when it was airing in Cartoon Network. I got into the manga out of me wanting to know what happens next and now I'm solely a Manga reader.


I honestly enjoyed everything for what it was. Never really found myself hating the manga, there were few things I disliked. Like the revival of all of Konoha, Kaguya and the lack of use of the Edo Tenses.


I wished that it would have stayed to Ninja like things like sneaking around and seen more of the other countries and kages before the war. Less of bad guys who were good guys with intentions that took them in the wrong path.

I hope Naruto kills Sasuke and goes on to be Hokage.
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narutofan85
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Jounin
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Obviously the series has it's flaws, I can think of a few from the war that come to mind. Overall though I'm going to miss this series a lot. It's been a big part of my life for almost 10 years. Started watching it in 2005 on Toonami, from there I jumped into the subs and then the manga in 2007. There has been so many great fights, deaths, emotional moments, characters etc. When all this stuff in the manga gets to the anime, I know Pierrot will do a phenomenal job with it. And the movie is definitely 100% canon now. I thought their was a good chance, but to wrap up the series since it's over in 5 chapters it is definitely canon to answer everything that was left unanswered by the end of the manga. I'm going to watch a lot of the greatest moments of Naruto/Shippuden over the next month to celebrate the series as well as the end. It has definitely effected a lot of people's lives, it's still trending #1 worldwide on facebook right now. It's been a pleasure reading/watching this series, and these last 5 chapters will be very bittersweet. Thank you Masashi Kishimoto for this great journey.



Edited by narutofan85, Oct 7 2014, 05:00 AM.
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LinkinPark10362
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Bang!
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I started by watching the series when it came on Toonami back in 2005 and once it got to the Chunnin Exam Arc, I decided to start reading the manga. I didn't learn about finding the Japanese version online until it was at the very end of the Hidan/Kakuzu Arc, so I caught up from where I was in the english manga to there in like a week or two and had been reading the online versions every week since 2007.

Really, I had been fine with a lot of the mistakes Kishi had made during most of the manga's run, but the whole Kaguya thing really sours me still. Madara was the perfect villain for the series to end on and had been referenced constantly since the VotE battle and the Sasuke/Kurama dialogue in the beginning of Part 2, so why have a random villain come out of nowhere in a few chapters? It'd be nice if the anime just skipped her all together and just continued with Madara, but I know that's just wishful thinking.

I'm still not sure how the Naruto Vs Sasuke fight will be covered in 5 chapters, especially since a epilogue that isn't the movie would be nice in the actual manga. It would suck for the manga to not have a concrete ending and it just be "Oh, go watch The Last now for the rest of the story!" I've heard the last chapters will be extended page wise, but I haven't found a official confirmation on that, but it would be nice. Make them Attack On Titan length or something...
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hinata uzumaki
Ninja Academy Student
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I started watching the English-dubbed anime at the start of the Chunin Exam Arc, and when my parents gave up cable the Search for Tsunade Arc had just ended. I then found the manga online and read up to where it was at the time, about when Sasuke killed Orochimaru; I've been following it weekly ever since.

Since we no longer had cable, I had to find the Japanese anime on my own. The Snake in the Grass Arc (my name for it; it's listed on this site as Sasuke and Sai) had just begun by the time I caught up, looking only at the canon arcs; I picked up the "filler hell" later just for kicks. Like the manga, I've been following it weekly since then.

Looking back, the only things that really disappointed me were Kaguya, Sakura, and the whole "Curse of Hatred" thing, though that did help me accept Sasuke turning truly evil AFTER Hebi reminds him of Team 7. The manga could have been so much better with Madara as the final villain, Sakura growing up, and Sasuke remaining an antihero (or tragic villain) the whole way through. Come to think of it, why did Naruto turn out so playful and naive? He should have been more introversive and cynical. And who took care of him? Why didn't Yamato take him in? And why didn't Kakashi take Sasuke in after the Massacre? I'd rewrite the manga in a fanfiction if I actually had any writing skills...

I'm curious though how the manga will end in five chapters. Even if the last two chapters are several times longer than normal (the last two chapters of Fullmetal Alchemist were as long as six normal chapters, which were still forty pages each) we still have to get through this final fight. Unless Sasuke is TNJ'ed without a fight, which is EXTREMELY unlikely...
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The Guardian
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The God Of War
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I first heard of Naruto when the first Naruto episode (English version) was released on Cartoon Network (Toonami) about 4 years ago. It caught me off guard, I don't know why now, but I loved it. I love the idea that this boy had this "demon" fox inside him that, trying to become the "hokage" so that he can truly be acknowledged by his peers; i really fell in love. I did a bit research and quickly found out it was a Japanese Manga, so I decided that instead of watching these episodes, I'd read the manga.

Looking back now, what I really liked about Naruto was the strategies these characters used in fights; Shikamaru was always a highlight to watch, but so was Lee; both are similar to me in real life. I'm not the biggest guy, nor a genius, but I'm very athletic and I can think outside the box. So seeing Shikamaru do all these nice tactics and strategies when he is out-power and out gunned was amazing. Similarly, Lee showed us that a guy who doesn't have the ability to use Jutsu can still go toe-to-toe with the best of them. Again, it was...very nice. I have to say, every battle that Shikamaru and Lee were in back in Part 1 were the highlight for the manga for me. To name a few, Shikamaru vs Temari, Lee vs Kimimaro, Lee vs Gaara, Shikamaru vs Sound Village Ninja's. In retrospect, part 1 showed me that these cartoons can be more than, who has the stronger attack in terms of destruction.

And then part 2 start :FP: I don't know but, I never "clicked" with part 2 the way I did with Part 1. The characters remained mostly unchanged despite a time skip, but they just weren't there for character development. I disliked the idea that these characters be brought in as supporting cast for a small amount of chapters to showcase their advancement and them shunned off again. Whether it was the result of bad writing or me growing up, I just started to pick the manga apart. Gone were the tactics and strategies, came the over powered jutsus and unkillable characters. But when Kishi brought that stuff back, that's when I really liked the series again. Again, the highlights were characters like Gai/Lee, Shikamaru/Jiraiya.

One of my favorites moments was Jiraiya vs Pain fight and the aftermath of it. To me, this is Kishi pinnacle moment of good writing and fighting scenes. The fight itself was awesome, Jiraiya who contrast Naruto in more ways than one attempts to fix the mistake he made over 2 decades ago; it has plenty of tactics and enough action that reminded me of Part 1. Kishi gave us a semi-legend; this Pain character who is supposedly undefeatedable, but the underdog shows us it's possible; pains comments is a testament to that. The death of Jiraiya was handled very nicely; the ramifications was done nicely, shown from the view point of many characters.

Another good moment was Shikamaru vs Hidan; tactics, strategies, plot twist, huge character development, action, death handled nicely, and closure.

Lastly, there was the fight between Tobi(with mask) vs Naruto/Gai/Kakashi. Felt like Kishi was trying to put back some tactics and strategies; felt like Naruto Part 1 again, more emphasis on strategy rather than attacks that destroy continents. "A tiny crack in his overwhelming power" describes the fight very nicely

-------
I'm happy the manga is ending. The past 200 chapter or so, the plot has been moving in a ridiculous that I tend not to like it. I really didn't want Madara to be the the main villain, nor Kaguya. I would have preferred Obito take the credit. With only 5 chapters to go, I can only think :FP: :FP: How are you going to conclude 12+ years of manga in less than 5 chapters when you got a fight between Naruto/Sasuke happening. A bit....RUSHED
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RisenTerran
Akatsuki
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Like the above poster I first heard of Naruto on Toonami. I didn't watch it seriously until "Naruto Years Eve" >:)

I grew to love it. Didn't read the Manga until the Sasuke/Itachi fight, but I got hooked because of that fight. I remember I wanted to see them fight so bad and then realized that the manga would be way far ahead of the anime. Too my great joy the fight was just about to start in the manga and I was just loving it! So much fun!

Overall it was a great ride. Not sure how it stands VS Bleach, but it's one of the top anime/manga series that I've ever seen. Still, I quit the manga at various points when it was just too boring to read. Then I binge read. Always works, lol.

Loved:
-Sasuke and Itachi, especially their fights against and with each other.
-Kakashi, especially him VS Zabuza.
-OROCHIMARU, especially every scene which had him except when he is stuck in the tree :(

Hated:
-Pain/Nagato saga, seemed like the series derailed and was no longer about ninjas but DBZ lite.
-KAGUYA, worst main villain in any anime/manga I've ever seen. Buu is kingly writing compared to Kaguya.
-Tsunade, Just never liked her. Orochimaru was relevant till the end (revived kages, gave Kabs the power to run the war)
-Sakura, her last outburst proved that her character is brain damaged.

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Mangekyou Sharingan
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Jounin
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Even though we knew this was coming I still can't believe it.

I started watching the anime back in 2005 when Naruto premiered on Toonami. I watched it because of positive mentions of it by people in anime chat rooms. I eventually started watching the subs when I just couldn't wait to see the next episode. I watched Shippuden ever since it debuted in Japan and I have been watching it ever since. When it comes to the manga I started reading it in 2006. It was around Chapter 289 where Team 7 went to the Grass Country to meet up with Sasori's spy.

Some things that I liked:

There's a wide variety of interesting characters. It was nice to see some of the other characters (Outside of the main ones) shine at times throughout the series. The beginning of the Fourth Ninja War gave said characters the opportunity to show us their stuff.

The Akatsuki organization was a group that I really liked. The pairings of Hidan/Kakuzu, Deidara/Sasori and Deidara/Tobi brought along some enjoyable bickering. In my opinion characters like Itachi and Madara were nicely done. I thought Madara was an excellent villain and Itachi was a prime example of a tragic character. I was glad to see them revived during the Fourth Ninja War. In Madara's case we got to finally learn more about his character and in Itachi's case I got to see more of my favorite character in the series. Finally, it was a joy to watch Shikamaru throughout the series because he always thought with his head and used strategies to overcome situations where he looked to be down and out.

I enjoyed the flashback that showed all the details when the Kyuubi attacked the Hidden Leaf Village. As fans that was something we were really anticipating. I thought Minato was completely awesome all throughout the flashback. I also thought the death of Minato and Kushina was quite sad.

I thought it was cool how the series started out where stealth movements and strategy were implemented. As the series progressed and the amount of flashy techniques increased it was still a treat whenever we saw one or more characters use their mind over brute force.

With that said I was on the fence about the large power levels being thrown around. At times some awesome and epic battles went down. For example: Hasirama and Madara's battle at the Valley of the End. Or even the Edo Tensei Hokage helping out against Obito when he became the Ten-Tail Jinchuuriki. At other times things felt like they didn't belong. An example of this would be Kaguya's extreme dimension abilities.

Something I would tweak, not completely change:

Kishimoto shouldn't have made Tobi being Obito so obvious. Perhaps a different name other than "Tobi" would have been better. Tobi should have keep his longer hair style that we have seen him have at times. When it comes to the Sharingan revelation Kishimoto should have shown the other eye instead of the side where we knew Obito still had one before his supposed death. Also, I wish that Kishimoto toned down Obito's obsession with Rin. It was creepy at times.

Off the top of my head these are things I would completely change:

First and foremost Kaguya would not have taken over as the final villain. Her character completely came out of nowhere. Also, Black Zetsu would not be revealed as the one really pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Madara should have stayed as the final villain. He was properly built up since the start of part two.

Sakura's feelings for Sasuke should have changed after he tried to kill her. I find it ridiculous that she still "loves" him after all that he has done to her and her comrades. Sasuke said it right when he questioned what she ever saw in him. In my opinion her strong unwavering feelings for Sasuke hurt her character in a major way.

I would have made it so that not as many characters would have been revealed to have the Mangekyou Sharingan. For example: Shisui, Izuna and the hordes of unnamed Uchiha in the past that killed their friends in order to strengthen their Doujutsu. I thought this devalued the legendary Doujutsu.

I would have made Chouji and Neji die after the failed first attempt to bring Sasuke back to the village. Their deaths and the critical injuries to Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru would have made the whole Sasuke leaving the village situation more devastating. I feel even more strongly about this after Neji died shielding Naruto and Hinata from the Ten-Tails' attack. In the manga (I thought the anime did a better job here) it didn't feel as sad as if he would have died back at the end of part one.

During Pain's invasion of the Hidden Leaf Village I wouldn't have had Konohamaru land a Rasengan blow onto one of the Six Paths of Pain. Maybe it's because I don't like Konohmaru but I just couldn't stand this moment. I find it ridiculous that a bunch of Chuunin, Special Jounin and Jounin couldn't put a scratch on any of Pain's bodies but a mere Genin was able to. Note: I know that officially Naruto's a Genin but he's a special exception.

I could probably say more about the series but there's just so much I can't put it all in typing. The Naruto series might not be my top overall favorite series but it's a worthy mention. It will always have a special place in my heart. It's sad to see the series end after following it for so many years. Although it's like they say, everything must eventually come to an end. After the whole Kaguya debacle I feel like it is time to close the door on the series. Thank you for creating this series Kishimoto.
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narutofan85
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Jounin
[ *  *  *  * ]
The Guardian
 
With only 5 chapters to go, I can only think :FP: :FP: How are you going to conclude 12+ years of manga in less than 5 chapters when you got a fight between Naruto/Sasuke happening. A bit....RUSHED


The fight will be a lot more condensed, with not as much talking since all the talking has already happened. Also that's what the movie is for, to wrap up everything we have questions from the series. Also I wouldn't rule out another fight between the two in that movie, it's definitely 100% canon now.
Edited by narutofan85, Oct 8 2014, 01:55 PM.
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vectorsigma
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Jounin
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narutofan85
Oct 7 2014, 08:11 PM

The fight will be a lot more condensed, with not as much talking since all the talking has already happened. Also that's what the movie is for, to wrap up everything we have questions from the series. Also I wouldn't rule out another fight between the two in that movie, is definitely 100% canon now.
Maybe they'll show the whole battle in the movie as a flashback? A way to hype up the movie more. And if in the movie, it will have great animation.



As for my Naruto story, I started a little different than most of you guys. I started when a friend of mine gave me episodes up until the attack on Konoha by Orochimaru after the final rounds of the Chuunin exams. And I was hooked. This was just after college graduation. And after that, I sought the rest of the episodes where the latest during that time was the Sound 4 arc. And religiously followed it every week. Read the manga during the filler hell times and stopped when news of Shippuuden coming out was released. It was a real test of patience to wait for material that I havent read before in the manga. I even had arguments with some people in the anime section of this forum because of spouting spoilers.

Introduced it to my girlfriend, and we were also a new couple then. It became part of our weekly bonding habit. Then we discovered Bleach, One Piece and all other great anime that came. Had different jobs. We got married after 7 years. Had a child after another 3. And in spite of the circumstances we are still at it. So like you guys, it was a very BIG part of our lives.

Ridiculous power levels aside, I still stood by and loved it because it is Naruto. It's a bit ironic that I planned on completing all the DVDs a few weeks before this news broke out.

And like the series, this forums and website has been a part of the journey too. With a lot of naruto fan sites around, this is the only naruto forums that I am part of. I like it here because of the simplicity and the no-nonsense discussions (example, VS threads are not allowed). I witnessed the number of members bloom and the discussions get heated up. And I am still here, sad to say, witnessing it's graceful waning. So I thank Shikamaru for that.
Edited by vectorsigma, Oct 8 2014, 05:14 AM.
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henryuja
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BASTARD the Exploder Wizard
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i started reading Naruto in 2005 after a friend showed me a vid of the Orochimaru vs Sasuke forest of death fight, been here on Leafninja from the start with guys like Elyon and all before they became mods and stuff matter of fact joined before them I think. The series has had its ups and downs especially the Kakuzu fight which showcased Kishi at his best then at his worst but all in all it has stayed even keeled unlike mangas like bleach(which just sucks). Definitely gonna miss it but it has been a great ride. Hope shika keeps the site up till the end of Bleach and one piece(which may never happen in our lifetime God damn you Oda).

My Highlights:

- Chuunin Exams
- Sarutobi v. Orochi + Kage
- Sakura's fight with Sasori
- Minato stopping the Nine Tails from being awakened inside Naruto and their official meeting
- Madara against the Allied Shinobi ..
- Revenge on Kakuzu and Hidan for Asuma
- Shodaime and Madara's interaction as children

Dislikes:

- Sasuke's attitude the entire Shippuden series
- Itachi dying
- Jiraya dying
- NEJI dying
- KAGUYA
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Iga-chan
Ninja Academy Student
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My first post ever (though I have been folllowing Naruto for a good few years), who could have guessed it would be on such a sad thread.. Yes, I am very sad Naruto is ending, despite being a 30-sth grown up with stuff to do and three kids (!). I now have my sons hooked on Naruto, too, and perhaps I will re-live some of the moments when watching anime with them, they have a lot to catch up on luckily (though then again, eldest son just reached end of Pain arc... how do I tell him the best stuff is already behind him?)

The great:
- Itachi and Sasuke, the whole story
- Pain!
- Jiraya, Shikamaru, early scenes with Sai, Konoha founding flashback

the ugly:
Kaguya, Kaguya and one more time Kaguya. I can pretty much forgive all else. Hard to comprehend what on earth inspired Kishi to put this ridiculous character in. Oh, and getting rid of Madara just like that, and the ridiculous power-ups.

But all in all, Naruto speaks about a multi-dimensional morality, consequences of one's actions and so many other inspiring things, and does it with good graphics, too. I only wish Kishi ends it gracefully, which seems very unlikely in 5 chapters!
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Sardaukar
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Kishimoto is finally putting this diseased animal out of its misery. Good.
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Paladin Leeroy
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I started watching back in 2006 and ended up moving over to the manga while it was in the Hidan and Kakuzu arc (which I agree with Morhpheus when he says it's the best arc of the series).

I gave up watching the anime after Pain's invasion. Initially it was to allow the episodes to build up and to marathon them but ultimately the anime was stretched on a scale never before seen so I haven't watched it since (also I wasn't happy with how Pain arc was done in the anime), aside from the odd episode with high quality animation. So for the past 5 odd years I've strictly stuck to the manga.

I can only echo what Lunacy Divine has said. The series had a lot of potential but when we look back on it as a whole, it has failed to live up to its potential in many, many ways. Much was regurgitated beyond reason and much was undermined beyond comprehension. Having said that though there was a lot to love about it and I suppose it's greater than the sum of its parts. I doubt that the ending will give me anywhere near the level of closure I want, but at the very least something that has been a perennial aspect of my entire adult life so far is finally coming to an end.

Personally I will be rereading the entire manga again at some point. I've found that as I've grown older a lot of what I watched or read even say 4 years ago is quite unfamiliar to me. The major plot points are still there but I've realised that I didn't have much of an appreciation for the smaller details in stories as I do now. For example I reread FMA recently and I was completely taken aback at not only how much I forgot, but also how much I didn't fully comprehend or appreciate the first time. I was always focused on the destination rather than the journey that much got skimmed through. So it would be nice to revisit Naruto from the beginning and take the whole world in from a fresh angle.

But that will be that in one month's time. Which will leave me with only One Piece and Shingeki No Kyojin in terms of manga I'm reading that are still running. And props to Lunacy Divine for the One Piece mention, it's my personal favourite too! In fact One Piece is my favourite across all entertainment mediums. Once these two are finished I will not be following incomplete manga again! The suspension and waiting are too much for me.
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Twilight_Ninja
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SJ actually posted an official countdown to the end of the manga, complete with a series timeline.

http://www.naruto.com/j/countdown/


I will seriously be sad to see it go. :(

More detailed post next time I have some spare time to type it.
Edited by Twilight_Ninja, Oct 10 2014, 09:07 PM.
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vectorsigma
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Twilight_Ninja
Oct 10 2014, 09:05 PM
SJ actually posted an official countdown to the end of the manga, complete with a series timeline.

http://www.naruto.com/j/countdown/


I will seriously be sad to see it go. :(

More detailed post next time I have some spare time to type it.
Nice website.

By the way, anyone knows about this line at the bottom of the site:

"Huge project starting with Naruto complete"

I dont think that it will just be about the movie.
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Kankuro's Bro
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vectorsigma
Oct 11 2014, 05:04 AM
Twilight_Ninja
Oct 10 2014, 09:05 PM
SJ actually posted an official countdown to the end of the manga, complete with a series timeline.

http://www.naruto.com/j/countdown/


I will seriously be sad to see it go. :(

More detailed post next time I have some spare time to type it.
Nice website.

By the way, anyone knows about this line at the bottom of the site:

"Huge project starting with Naruto complete"

I dont think that it will just be about the movie.
Best guesses:

Massive, interactive guide to the whole series. I'm thinking like a super-fanbook of some sort.

RPG.

Theme park attraction of some kind.
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Lunacy Divine
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vectorsigma
Oct 11 2014, 07:03 PM
Why not part 3? I am hoping for this.

Because, unless you're referring to an anime-only "Naruto GT" of sorts, the manga was already confirmed by multiple official sources to end in a few weeks' time.

Besides, the upcoming Naruto Project is only known to contain one movie so far and is completely off-topic as a result. You're welcome to create another thread if you want to speculate about it.
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