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Series Conclusion - Your Thoughts
Topic Started: Oct 6 2014, 06:28 AM (9,309 Views)
vectorsigma
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I'm not going to repeat myself. Also, read the rules. Come back when you've learned how to behave civilly.
Edited by Lunacy Divine, Oct 12 2014, 03:04 PM.
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sayinprince
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There's a lot of things that can be said but most have been touch upon by many here..

I want to talk about Neji..

I started the series with Neji being my favorite character because I love his attitude and jutsu.. But he was one of the many characters that was forgotten.. Besides from rank, Neji progress less than any other character IMO.. He started off as a genius that I thought for sure he would surpass his sensei, but was nerfed... He never got the Lang range or over power jutsu like some of the others and his 64 palms wasn't utilize enough.. He was bad mistreated by kish and had more potential than any other character.
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Paladin Leeroy
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sayinprince
Oct 13 2014, 05:22 PM
There's a lot of things that can be said but most have been touch upon by many here..

I want to talk about Neji..

I started the series with Neji being my favorite character because I love his attitude and jutsu.. But he was one of the many characters that was forgotten.. Besides from rank, Neji progress less than any other character IMO.. He started off as a genius that I thought for sure he would surpass his sensei, but was nerfed... He never got the Lang range or over power jutsu like some of the others and his 64 palms wasn't utilize enough.. He was bad mistreated by kish and had more potential than any other character.
Spare a thought for Rock Lee too. After his fight with Gaara we were briefly teased with a glimpse of his true potential when he unwittingly used Drunken Fist against Kimimaro. Since the time skip his shining moment was throwing a kunai at Madara.
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sayinprince
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Paladin Leeroy
Oct 14 2014, 05:15 PM
sayinprince
Oct 13 2014, 05:22 PM
There's a lot of things that can be said but most have been touch upon by many here..

I want to talk about Neji..

I started the series with Neji being my favorite character because I love his attitude and jutsu.. But he was one of the many characters that was forgotten.. Besides from rank, Neji progress less than any other character IMO.. He started off as a genius that I thought for sure he would surpass his sensei, but was nerfed... He never got the Lang range or over power jutsu like some of the others and his 64 palms wasn't utilize enough.. He was bad mistreated by kish and had more potential than any other character.
Spare a thought for Rock Lee too. After his fight with Gaara we were briefly teased with a glimpse of his true potential when he unwittingly used Drunken Fist against Kimimaro. Since the time skip his shining moment was throwing a kunai at Madara.
I don't see rock lee and Neji in the same light. At the end of the day rock lee is a ninja that is limited to Taijutsu only.. Neji was limitless and so advance for his age..
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Paladin Leeroy
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Rock Lee was limited to Taijutsu but so was Gai for the most part. And we saw he was stronger than SotSP Madara. Which, to me, says that a Taijutsu user should have more potential than someone who relies mainly on Byakugan. It's all well and good being able to see through attacks but if your body can't keep up then it's pretty useless.

Most of the younger generation had moments where they showed that they've surpassed the previous one. Naruto's was when he defeated Pain, Shikamaru when he avenged Asuma and so on.

But Lee was by far the strongest physically of his generation. Surely he deserved a special moment displaying his full potential outside of opening the eighth gate? We at least saw the full potential of the eight gates, which was a highlight of the series, but I just feel Lee deserved a crowning moment to be remembered for. Because as it stands his most meaningful contribution has been throwing that single kunai at Madara.
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sayinprince
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Rock lee was limited, Gai chose to use mostly taijutsu. I disagree, gai wasn't stronger than Jj madara. He attempted a suicide jutsu with help and it fail to get the job done... With that being said, it was the most powerful Hutus I've seen in the manga. Lee could ONLY use taijutsu, neji could use taijutsu and ninjutsu. Remember the gates is a double edge sword, gai was a prime example of that...

Maputo or neji didn't hace the reputation or skills as menu had in the beginning.. He learn his clan's jutsu without being taught.

Lee fight against garra should've proved that one needs more than just taijutsu alone to be great. Again, if your ultimate weapon ends your life, maybe you need a back up plan lol. Quite frankly, I don't think lee was good enough to have a shinning moment.

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Naruto no Kitsune
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Tenten is the character who has shown the absolute least in battle. I had a slight hope that she would become more useful after that chapter where she picked up the Cloud villages sacred weapons. I had a thought that maybe she would do something cool like seal Madara or the Juubi (if only temporary) or something but nope. Next time we see her she's half dead in a comedic way.

I have to agree with sayinprince that Lee didn't really have a shining moment in part 2, though neither did Neji really other than his death scene.

It was great seeing the Rookie 9 develop throughout the series though. Team 10's famous team work, Team 8's individual skills (I really enjoyed seeing Kiba's 3 headed dog transformation) and of course Team 7 (cough except Sakura cough).
Edited by Naruto no Kitsune, Oct 15 2014, 03:09 PM.
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Kankuro's Bro
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I think Rock Lee's crowning achievement is that, despite a complete lack of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, he fought at or above the level of the rest of the shinobi who had both of those in addition to Taijutsu. He also did a lot more than throw a kunai at Madara. He kicked Madara in half. Using no ninjutsu, he used a blunt instrument - his own leg - to tear one of the most powerful shinobi in history in freaking half. He may never get the glory of others, but he did that after being told, at two different times, and for two different reasons, that he couldn't be a shinobi at all.

It is oddly fitting that everyone is forgetting to bring up Shino.
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Naruto no Kitsune
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I thought about Shino but I think he's already shown himself in Part 2 of being a strong shinobi such as when he and his clan were able to fight off Konan (who wasn't very impressive on screen but was still considered an S-Class ninja).

Do you guys think Tsunade or Kakashi will be the hokage in the movie? Kakashi has been built up as the next hokage since the end of the Invasion of Pain and Obito brought it up again right before his death.
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GokakyuNoJutsu
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My first experience with the Naruto series began in 2006 when I had watched one of the Naruto anime episodes on the Cartoon Network. I did not know anything about Naruto at that time, but I had previously been a fan of Dragon Ball Z, and so watching Naruto had immediately resonated with me. I believe the first Naruto episode I had seen was Episode No. 25: The Tenth Question: All or Nothing! Thinking back on that episode -- my first time being exposed to the Naruto series -- it makes me want to re-watch that episode.

The ninja world that Kishimoto Masashi had created was gripping. He had built a narrative that was deeply entrenched in generations of hard-core ninja history. He established a colorful cast of characters that really brought the story to life. Simply put, the foundation the Naruto series was built on was absolutely brilliant. Uzumaki Naruto seemed annoyingly clumsy yet innocent, but his resolve to become Hokage was commendable and very likeable. I found myself wanting to know more about the Naruto series after watching that "Tenth Question" episode, because it struck me as a thorough and deep narrative of the shonen variety. The whole ninja universe and the richness of the dialogue, I felt that Naruto was an anime that had the potential to be the greatest anime of all time. DBZ was my favorite anime up until the end of the Cell Saga. I thought DBZ went downhill from there with the big time skip and Gohan's regression and the various renditions of the Buu character, who I had found lackluster and uninspiring in all of his villainous forms.

So for me, when I had first watched Naruto, I felt it had a great foundation and all of the workings to satisfy my urge for a high-quality, action-intense anime that could deliver where DBZ failed. Now, of course, I see that the manga artists who inspire anime have difficulty maintaining a high-quality work the longer they prolong the series. For DBZ, it really should have ended after the Cell Saga. For Naruto, the problem is that Kishimoto dragged the series out too long and fell into too many pits along the way.... To avoid further digression and in the spirit of staying on point, I will get back to the topic at hand of my history with the Naruto series.

After I had watched Episode No. 25 of Naruto, I was hooked on the series. I had regularly watched the anime after that. Eventually I had watched all of the English dubbed episodes when the Cartoon Network had aired them in a marathon showing. Later on I had started watching the Japanese versions of the filler episodes with English subtitles. Those filler episodes after Sasuke left the Leaf Village were a mixed bag, but it was nice to see Naruto in action with his Nine Tail Fox powers, in the few instances when he used his Jinchuriki power in those fillers...

I had a positive impression of Naruto's Part I portion. It was very good. The filler episodes after Sasuke left the Leaf Village were uninspiring, but the core part of the anime that mirrored the manga was very good. I had absolutely loved Orochimaru as a villain. He was portrayed absolutely perfectly in Part I, and he stole the show, as far as I was concerned. I loved Orochimaru's motivation to learn all forms of jutsu. I loved how Uzumaki Naruto began to learn how to tap into his Nine Tails power and use the summoning jutsu. Jiraiya was excellent for comic relief with his perverted ways, and I loved how he was this powerhouse ninja who declined the role of Hokage. I didn't like Tsunade at first, but I came to respect her when she saw Naruto's potential back when he mastered Rasengan in an unorthodox way of using shadow clones.

I did not particularly like Sasuke too much in Part I, but I had warmed up to him when Uchiha Itachi surfaced with Kisame after the Third Hokage's death. I loved the Sharingan as it was originally demonstrated by Kakashi, but I had never really liked Kakashi that much due to the fact that for all his skills, he had terrible stamina. I thought Kakashi's low chakra pool for a Jounin was such a bad weakness and went against Kakashi's "cool-demeanor." I also thought Kakashi did a poor job managing the personalities of his Team 7 subordinates. Kakashi taught Sasuke well, but he failed to guide Sasuke away from the path of revenge. Kakashi also should have been more keen to teach Naruto how to control his chakra. I also disliked how Kakashi failed to properly train Sakura in the ninja arts.

I began watching the English subtitled episodes of Naruto: Shippuden since they premiered in Japan in February 2007, but I had eventually stopped watching Shippuden as I started losing interest in the declining quality of the series from a story-telling, narrative point of view. I had watched all of the Shippuden episodes up to the point where Sasuke and Team Taka had failed to capture Killer Bee.

I believe I first started reading the Naruto manga in April 2008 to get up-to-date with the series. That was around the time when the anime had aired the episode of Orochimaru stopping Sasuke from using a powerful jutsu against Naruto. The anime was going into a filler period, and I wanted to go to the manga to find out what happened next in the core, canonical story. I had read the manga at a relatively brisk pace over the course of days (maybe a few weeks) to get to the conclusion of the fight between Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi. I know some fans have been critical of how Kishimoto managed the fight between Sasuke and Itachi, particularly in the Orochimaru intervention and nullification, but I totally loved how it all came together. This is probably the appropriate place for me to say that Uchiha Itachi is my favorite character in the whole series. He was one of the few characters who was properly presented during the entirety of the series. Kishimoto disappointed me with most of the significant cast of characters, but I am very satisfied with his writing as it pertained to the character of Itachi.

The best part of the Naruto series is Part I, and the best part of Part I was the fight between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru while Naruto was fighting Gaara. I just loved how Orochimaru resurrected the First and Second Hokage and used them in battle against the Third. I loved how Naruto made good use of his Kyuubi chakra to beat some sense into Gaara. That was the absolute best part of the series for me. Orochimaru in true ninja fashion had killed the Fourth Kazekage and duped the entire Sand Village into helping him invade the Leaf Village. Orochimaru really did steal the show.

Unfortunately, Part II has been a huge disappointment for a multitude of reasons. I don't even know where to begin... Part II has been a mixed bag. Some of the good points are really good, but the bad points are really bad, and the bad points outweigh the good points. The most frustrating aspect was that Kishimoto would build the anticipation with doses of good writing and then he would do something so bad to make the previous hints of good writing irrelevant. The series had potential to be the greatest manga/anime of all time, but it failed to reach that status as far as I'm concerned. Naruto is a series that should have been better than Dragon Ball, but with the series in its final stretch, I can say with confidence that it is clearly an inferior product compared with the Dragon Ball series. (To let it be known, my personal favorite anime series was Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, because I loved it in its entirety 49-episode run.)

With respect to the Naruto series, let's look at where Kishimoto dropped the ball:

Kishimoto was wise to have Sakura become an impressive shinobi under the Fifth Hokage's direction, but then Kishimoto dropped the ball by having Sakura look as if she was a civilian during her clashes with Cloud Village shinobi Omoi and Karui of Team Samui. Kishimoto seemed to correct Sakura's shortcomings when Sakura proved to be a powerhouse during her clash against Uchiha Madara, but then Sakura looked entirely pitiful when she showed extreme weakness to Sasuke before Sasuke appropriately used his genjutsu on her during these final manga chapters. I am totally disappointed with Kishimoto's handling of Sakura.

Kishimoto has appropriately established Uzumaki Naruto as a super-powerhouse, but I cannot overlook how Kishimoto unacceptably made Uzumaki Naruto too weak during the early portion of Part II. It is unacceptable that Jiraiya never taught Naruto about the chakra mechanics of nature manipulation versus shape manipulation. Naruto should have known long ago that he had a wind-based chakra affinity. It is unacceptable that Kakashi had to teach Naruto about that during Part II. That writing also exposes just how much Kakashi failed Naruto in Part I. If Kakashi was going to be the one to teach Naruto about nature transformation, why didn't Kakashi teach nature manipulation to Naruto in Part I? It was unacceptable how weak and pathetic Uzumaki Naruto looked during his first encounter with Sasuke in Part II. I can accept Uzumaki Naruto's current status as a super-powerhouse, but the path that Kishimoto took to get Uzumaki Naruto to that super-high level was poorly conceived. Uzumaki Naruto should have been taught more things in Part I, and he should have learned more over the time skip, meaning he should have been better and more advanced than what he was when Part II began.

I dislike Kishimoto's decision to have Sasuke summon a hawk during his fight against Danzo in Chapter 477. I equally dislike how an eyeless Uchiha Madara summoned Susano'o in Chapter 658. Kishimoto should have built a narrative documenting how Sasuke gained a hawk summons buddy. A non-retcon flashback of Sasuke signing a contract with the hawk would have sufficed for me. In going back in the manga, I found in Chapter 408, Page 7, that Kishimoto depicted what appears to be a hawk flying in the Cloud Village during the time when Team Taka was hunting Killer Bee... That in and of itself is not enough the firmly establish Sasuke's mysteriously learned ability to summon a hawk. In terms of Madara being able to use Susano'o without having eyes, I just find that ridiculous. Kishimoto should have never written that eyeless Susano'o feat into the story. Kishimoto did not give the reader any reason to expect that Susano'o can be summoned by someone who has no eyeballs.

Sometimes it seems as if Kishimoto writes ridiculous twists and turns for the shock value rather than the literary value.

I liked how Naruto learned Sage Mode in Part II, but that in and of itself also showed how much Kishimoto dropped the ball in Naruto's development. Uzumaki Naruto should have been familiar with the concept of Sage Mode well before Pain's invasion of Konoha. Again, Jiraiya should have at least informed Naruto about the power of Sage Mode derived from natural energy, and Jiraiya should have demonstrated it to Naruto. Naruto's training during the time skip resulted in Naruto gaining slightly more control over his Nine Tails chakra and learning how to free himself if he was caught in a weak genjutsu technique. Naruto should have mastered his wind-based affinity during the time skip. I'm not saying that he should have mastered RasenShuriken during the time skip, but Naruto should have at least learned how to do a basic wind technique during the time-skip period. Later in Part II Naruto could have learned how to combine nature manipulation with his Rasengan. In Part I, Kakashi should have at least informed Naruto that his affinity is wind. Kishimoto should have done a much better job in his writing on his titular character Uzumaki Naruto.

A major low point in the series was how Nagato used his Rinnegan to resurrect all of the Leaf shinobi whom he had killed during his invasion of Konoha. It was too cheap. I had described it as a cop-out. I have supported Kishimoto's decision to allow Neji and Choji to survive their critical injuries and conditions in Part I. That highlighted the genius of Tsunade as a medical ninja. But the legacy of Nagato's deadly rampage should have been kept intact. Tsunade did her best to protect the Leaf Village during Pain's invasion. I've really come to love the Fifth Hokage as a character, as Kishimoto portrayed her as a bold leader with a heart bigger than her physical strength. Tsunade was dealt a bad hand: She had to correct the systemic failures of the Third Hokage (for example, his failure to kill Orochimaru; his failure to punish Danzo with a sanction commensurate with Danzo's transgressions; his failure to provide proper grief counseling to Sasuke, including disclosing to Sasuke the truth about Itachi; and his failure to persuade Tsunade to stay in the Leaf Village as an elite shinobi to help train the younger generations of Leaf shinobi in the art of high-level medical ninjutsu). Tsunade is nowhere near the level of her grandfather Hashirama, but she did an admirable job as Hokage during Pain's invasion of Konoha. The fact that Nagato resurrected all of the people he killed during his invasion served as a backhanded nullification of Tsunade's bravery during the conflict. Kishimoto made a very poor decision to have Nagato perform a mass resurrection...

As bad as the mass resurrection was, the lowest point of the manga was the physical resurgence of Kaguya in a poorly conceived twist that Black Zetsu was pulling the strings all along to re-empower his mother. Kishimoto has stumbled a great deal during Part II of his manga, but he managed to get on a short-lived roll once Uchiha Madara entered the battlefield during the the Fourth Shinobi World War... The truth of the matter is that Kishimoto did an excellent job throughout his story of building up Madara as a fearsome shinobi. It was fitting for Madara to serve as the final villain of the series .... But for inexplicable reasons, Kishimoto decided that it was more appropriate and fitting for Kaguya to serve as the final villain before the anticipated battle between Naruto and Sasuke for the title of Hokage. That decision did not enhance the story in any way ... It ruined the story, as far as I'm concerned...

The idea that Madara was played for a fool by Black Zetsu ... I just have a hard time accepting that. Uchiha Madara was highly intelligent and insightful. Madara had the ability to see betrayal before it happened, proven by the fact that he knew Tobirama would be a harsh Hokage toward the Uchiha clan and that he knew his puppet Obito would become disobedient. If anybody can foresee betrayal, then it is Uchiha Madara. It just made no sense how Madara erroneously believed that Black Zetsu was created by his will. Of all of the characters in the series, Madara is the one who should have been absolutely immune to being played for a fool. It was a very, very poor twist to have the Kaguya-Black Zetsu mess trump and usurp Madara. Kishimoto's mistake was that he tried to fix something that was not broken. Madara played his cards so well that he ended up obtaining three Rinnegans and achieved his goal of activating Infinite Tsukuyomi. That was perfect for the storyline and didn't need to be fixed. Indeed, it would have been great to see a fully powered Madara fight against the newly super-empowered duo of Naruto and Sasuke, but Kishimoto unfortunately deprived us from seeing that battle. Instead, he replaced the fully powered Madara with an uninspiring and narratively underdeveloped Kaguya.

With the manga in its final chapters, I cannot get excited about the latest battle between Naruto and Sasuke. Ever since Madara was sidelined in favor of Kaguya, I have been indifferent with the manga. I was hopeful that Kishimoto would have had Madara regain control over Kaguya, which could have been a literary mechanism to show that Madara even foreseen Kaguya's attempted takeover, but Kishimoto declined to go in that direction...

With Naruto and Sasuke working together to defeat Kaguya with the help of Sakura and Kakashi, that was the point where Kishimoto should have wrapped the series up. I like the fact that Madara ultimately died unrepentant for his ninja way, which showed that Kishimoto cared enough to give Madara a proper demise after the whole Kaguya fiasco. Sasuke had stated he wanted to be Hokage, and Naruto has told anyone who was willing to listen that he wanted to be Hokage, so it is believable that those two would eventually fight over the title. However, I don't like the way Kishimoto has handled it. I would have preferred for the iconic Valley of the End rematch battle to occur not in the manga but in The Last: Naruto The Movie.

I'm just not feeling the manga anymore, so I am happy that Kishimoto is wrapping up the manga on Nov. 10. This is long overdue. The series has suffered by being prolonged. I've enjoyed the Naruto series for the most part, with Part I being well-crafted and Part II having glimpses of excellence, but the series in the end has left me bitterly disappointed. The universe that Kishimoto crafted was so dynamic ... the Naruto series really should have been better, but it did not live up to its full potential, and that is unfortunate.

Part II of the manga was crippled from the beginning due to Kishimoto making ineffective use of the time skip, but there were components that I've enjoyed in all of the canon arcs. The best arc in Part II is the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc. Overlooking how Kishimoto was forced to haphazardly give Uzumaki Naruto a quick mastery over his wind-nature affinity, the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc shows Kishimoto at his best. I've also enjoyed Sasuke's battles against Deidara, Itachi, and Killer Bee. I did not like Sasuke's fight against Danzo, because I did not like how Sasuke had mysteriously gained a hawk summons, and I thought it was totally ridiculous how Danzo literally had Sharingan eyeballs embedded into his right arm. I can accept Sasuke defeating Danzo, but Kishimoto gave Danzo an unsatisfactory demise.

The Rinnegan has received ample hype for much of Part II, and after seeing multiple characters make use of the Rinnegan, I still feel as if the Rinnegan has not lived up to the original hype that Kishimoto gave it in Chapter 373, when Jiraiya talked about the Rinnegan being superior to the Byakugan and Sharingan. The Rinnegan was stated in Chapter 375 to provide the user with all six elemental chakra, and in Chapter 425 it was stated that the Sage of the Six Paths could use any and all ninjutsu techniques due to his Rinnegan. I feel as if none of the Rinnegan users in the manga has been shown using the Rinnegan to its fullest potential. Perhaps Kishimoto tried to sidestep that issue by establishing that Indra's Arrow is Sasuke's most powerful attacking jutsu, which implies Sasuke was using the full extent of his super-eye powers by using Indra's Arrow. If Indra's Arrow is the most powerful technique in Sasuke's offensive repertoire, then any other Rinnegan-based moves would have been inferior in scale and scope. Even with seeing the impressiveness of Indra's Arrow, I still feel as if the Rinnegan has not been shown to live up to its hype.

The Byakugan was hyped up early in the series, but as the Sharingan advanced and with the Rinnegan being introduced, the Byakugan lost its special luster. It would have been nice if the Byakugan had higher levels of evolution like the Sharingan. In the very least, Kaguya's Byakugan should have been far more advanced than Neji's, but in the end, there was nothing special about Kaguya's Byakugan ... Considering Obito and Shisui had a special Sharingan, it would have been appropriate for Kaguya to have a special Byakugan, but that was not the case. Her Byakugan was no different than Neji's.

The Fourth Shinobi World War was a mixed bag of high and low points, but I did like getting more insight on the previous Kage from the various villages.

After being disappointed so much with the Naruto series, I'm hoping Kishimoto concludes the manga in a satisfactory way but at the same time I'm indifferent to what happens. Kishimoto botched things so badly that I'm not sure he can end the series in a way that is satisfactory to me. I'm happy that Kishimoto used his talents to come up with an interesting story that had lots of potential, but I'm disappointed that he fell short of realizing that full potential.

I'm done with watching the Naruto anime, but I am very interested in the upcoming movie that is supposed to be canon. I've been following the Naruto series since 2006, so even though I no longer have a passion for the series the way I used to, I am still interested in seeing how the story ultimately ends.

Having invested so much time over the years into the Naruto series, the least I could do was take the few hours here to write this lengthy post on my thoughts of the series reaching its conclusion. I love to write, so it was fun to recollect and put my thoughts into text. I became a member on this forum when it appeared as if Pain had killed Hinata in Chapter 437. I had to give my input in that chapter's thread, because that was such a powerful moment in the series. I really love how Kishimoto handled and developed Hinata throughout the series. She would absolutely be the perfect mate for Uzumaki Naruto.

I suppose we all have to thank Kishimoto, because this forum would not exist if the Naruto series was never created. The forum was established in large part because the Naruto series was deep and engaging, which made it popular and fun. Over time, things changed to the point where I now like this forum better than I do the Naruto series. I enjoy reading the information here and reading people's thoughts on the series here more than I enjoy reading the actual manga. Very few chapters are fun to read nowadays ... Kishimoto put the fun back into it when he brought Uchiha Madara back into the mix during the Fourth Shinobi World War, but that fun was washed away when the Kaguya-Black Zetsu mess was introduced.

I would rate Part I of the series a 9/10 and Part II a 3/10, and the overall series I'd rate a 5/10.
Edited by GokakyuNoJutsu, Oct 26 2014, 11:39 PM.
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The Guardian
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@GokakyuNoJutsu, I didn't want to quote the entire post but I think the Rinne'gan looked really superior to the Sharingan or any other eye. You have all elements, all jutsu (Aside from bloodline), can absorb jutsu, absorb anything you touch, bring the dead back, repel anything tangible, can see chakra, summoning Gedo Mazo, real space time jutsu, limbo, and a bunch other things
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narutofan85
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I think you're being a little to harsh with your rating Gokakyu. I would agree with you that part 1 has the edge, it's definitely more consistent. Giving Shippuden a 3/10 though is way to low. I know it's your opinion, but you're basically saying there is nothing of value with a score like that. The war could have been done better, but there was some good fights, as well as the introduction to on one of the best characters of the series Madara Uchiha. Also you made many great fights along the way in part 2, with many deaths as well. And two of the best episodes/chapters was the Kushina flashback, some of the best material of the series. I also enjoyed the more serious/mature tone compared to part 1, as well as seeing more of the world as part 1 took place in Konoha mostly. Also the fight going on now is very good, and the anime will only make it better. I would give Shippuden more around the range of a 7/10, and the series overall an 8/10.
Edited by narutofan85, Oct 28 2014, 02:05 PM.
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Mohrpheus
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Part 1 has the benefit of being about half the length of Part 2. Makes internal consistency a little easier to pull off. But personally I've always thought that Part 1 really petered off after the Chunin Exams ended.

Likewise, I thought Part 2 really jumped the shark once it hit the Pain arc.
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Naruto no Kitsune
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@GokakyuNoJutsu: I actually agree with much of what you said. In particular I was also disappointed with Naruto's little progress after the time skip. He should have learned his chakra affinity and been able to perform at least basic Wind jutsu. Sure Naruto learned how to summon shuriken from scrolls and a bigger Rasengan (which wasn't that necessary seeing as how much damage it did to Kabuto (who was only able to move since he had already started healing himself before the attack connected)) and a limited ability to escape genjutsu. Sure using 3 tails of the Kyuubi's chakra cloak was impressive but Jiraiya really focused on the wrong things. All of the training sequences in part 2 (with the exception of the training with Killer B) were poor attempts to give Naruto the power he should have attained during the time skip. Heck Sage mode and the RasenShuriken didn't need to be complete but he should have at least been taught the true purpose of the Rasengan from Jiraiya and what senjutsu was. So like I asked many times in the past... What the heck took Jiraiya 2 and a half years to teach Naruto?

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I thought Kakashi's low chakra pool for a Jounin was such a bad weakness and went against Kakashi's "cool-demeanor."

I have to disagree about Kakashi having low chakra though. He has plenty of chakra but the Sharingan drains most of it since he is not an Uchiha, which is why he keeps it covered. I think at one point he told Naruto that his own chakra was about half of his so it is by no means low. Though I do agree that he was a poor teacher in part 1 to Naruto and Sakura but he didn't completely neglect Naruto. He did assign him the closet pervert to work on Naruto's basic skills (which he desperately needed).

Other than Naruto's slow progress and the significant portion of the manga that was focused on Sasuke, I have enjoyed the series and will miss reading it weekly. I had become indifferent to the manga for quite a while but this final arc (starting from the Shinobi World War) has really reignited my interest in the series.
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GokakyuNoJutsu
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Oct 27 2014, 10:29 PM
@GokakyuNoJutsu, I didn't want to quote the entire post but I think the Rinne'gan looked really superior to the Sharingan or any other eye. You have all elements, all jutsu (Aside from bloodline), can absorb jutsu, absorb anything you touch, bring the dead back, repel anything tangible, can see chakra, summoning Gedo Mazo, real space time jutsu, limbo, and a bunch other things
@The Guardian: The Rinnegan is superior to the Byakugan and the Sharingan ... I understand that and accept it as a fact. I just feel as if the Rinnegan was never shown to be as superior as the dialogue made it out to be. The Rinnegan does have amazing abilities, most of which have been seen, but Kishimoto never had one person truly demonstrate the whole package of the Rinnegan's capabilities.

I feel Kishimoto has shown us everything that the Byakugan and Sharingan can do, but I don't feel he did that with the Rinnegan. Every character who had the Rinnegan all used it in different ways. The way Nagato used the Rinnegan was different than how Obito used it, and the way Obito used it is different than how Madara used it, and the way Madara used it is different than how Sasuke used it, and the way Sasuke used it is different than the way Kaguya used her "Rinnesharingan".

None of the Rinnegan wielders truly showed how the Rinnegan opens the door for the user to use all forms of non-bloodline ninjutsu. I suppose that could be related to the fact that Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Lightning-based elemental attacks are seemingly inferior to top-rank attacks that use Yin/Yang release. Furthermore, the basic elemental ninjutsu are certainly inferior to attacks that are laced with natural energy, so that could also explain why all Rinnegan users seem to avoid wasting time using the lower-level classes of jutsu when they have access to hyper-powerful, Rinnegan-exclusive jutsu.
narutofan85
 

I think you're being a little to harsh with your rating Gokakyu.

@narutofan85: I was hasty in giving the series a rating prior to its conclusion, so while my rating was perhaps premature, I don't think it was harsh. But that being said, I was surprised with how well Kishimoto concluded the epic Valley of the End rematch battle between Naruto and Sasuke, so I am hopeful that the manga ends on a high note. If the manga ends on a high note, it would be enough for me to rate the overall series a 6/10. That would be a one-point boost from me, which I think will be a fair rating if the series ends on a high note. If the series ends on a bad note, then I would stick with my 5/10 overall rating.

There are many things to say about the manga ... it is 15 years of writing, after all. There's so much to say that even one long post is not enough to convey all of my thoughts about the series. I do like the more mature vibe of Part II of the manga compared with Part I, but Part II had too many troubling developments to outshine the polished Part I product.

*edited for clarity
Edited by GokakyuNoJutsu, Nov 1 2014, 12:24 AM.
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bahalanaman
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Imagine Naruto + Hinata, their offspring can be as powerful as Kaguya or same with the offspring of Sasuke + Karin. I say after Naruto story ends... lets fast forward to this generation. It will be an awesome new story.
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basukiaje
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Edited by Lunacy Divine, Nov 3 2014, 06:28 AM.
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saan
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been awhile :)
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Aw man I haven't posted here in forever, but with the last chapter coming out I remembered this forum as the place where I really got into manga so I checked through some old email accounts to finally log in again.

As much as I was disappointed with a lot of part 2, I feel like Kishimoto is at least tying things up fairly nicely all things considered. The last few chapters were a pretty fair resolution even if I am still less than impressed with events that led to it. All in all Naruto was the first manga I really got into and is still special to me for that even over a decade after I started reading it.

Sup, to anyone who remembers me way back when I was active on these forums.
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Syndacite
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Yep its back.
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Since the series is ending this week I figured now is a good enough time for me to share my thoughts.

I'm sure anybody who has been on this forum long enough knows how vocal I have been about part II's decline in quality after the Rescue Gaara arc but I really want to take things back to more about where I got started with this series. My start was when Naruto first aired on cartoon network back when I just finished my sophomore year of high school and starting my junior year. Didn't really know much about the series and this was way back in the early days of youtube and wiki pages. I instantly got hooked on the anime and right after the Zabuza arc I wanted to see just how far ahead the japanese anime was as well as the manga. Of course at this point I realize just how far behind I was and how far ahead the manga was as well as the anime. Back then if you wanted to find out more about episodes you had to go on either tv guide or episode guide sites or some other archaic site. If you wanted to watch episodes you had to hop on some weird site with a realplayer stream. So yeah prior this I was never watched subbed anime, nor have a read manga so I played catch and found material online but before that I stumbled upon this site which I found to be the best site dedicated to this series and thus I joined the forum. Then I began following the manga weekly as this site uploaded and I watched episodes on youtube(while you still could and while youtube was still awesome).

I was pretty much that newbie on the forum, prior to this forum I never really active on other various forums so I was surprised I chose to remain and stay active on this site. The more active I got with the series the more active I was on this forum and in a way this series got me into roleplaying and into writing again as well as got me to meet a lot of people from pretty much everywhere who all had a this same interest in the series. Between the randomness that was the blackhole, to the random naruto parody videos by fioriparty, or omnistrife, to my christmas avators, or even the chatrooms we had that came and went. But of course by this point the series started to take downward spiral after the rescue gaara arc ended and slowly the series began to spiral down in quality. We had the introduction of Sasuke again misuse of Hidan and Kakuzu and just so much crap that I'm sure that if I dub around I could post a link to each post I made about the subjects so it wont be necessary.

Even though the series had gone to s*** I was still enjoying this series but from a different angle. I found another way to enjoy outside of the material and that was through RPing, fanfictions, and interacting with the community on this site and the sister site Animanga Vortex which was founded by members of this forum which has fairly crazy and interesting history in its own right but that is another story altogether. Overall even though I became one of Kishimoto's biggest critics and have been one of the more aggressive mods on this site I do thank Kishimoto for creating this series. It was because of this series I was able to meet so many great people and discover a whole different world and find a great creative outlook for a lot of things and it has inspired me and helped me improve my writing, debating as well get me through some rough patches in my own life.

Even though I have been vocal about how I hope the series ends already, I'm kind of sad that it is ending now because it came with almost little warning and it was just a sudden announcement and a deadline that was next month. This was the moment I could say I have been honestly curious about and waiting for since I first got into the series and always wanted to know how it will end. But I guess almost 9 years later I guess I will finally get to see. I just wished this series could have ended on better terms with me but at least there will be some closure with this. Despite all that has happened I did gain a lot of good memories from this series that I am always going to look back on and hopefully if this forum and site still exists all the memories will still remain that I can reread again.

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Jashin
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About time, really.

Part 1, I loved. I don't have much bad to say about it at all. Naruto fought loneliness and demanded to be acknowledged. He believed in hard work over privilege, he backed the underdog and for the most part, was the underdog himself.

Part 2/Shippuden... man, where to begin? Akatsuki was a joke. The ten most feared ninja on the planet, mostly killed by teenagers. A majority of the villains had flashbacks where something bad happened to them, trying to force sympathy, as an excuse for them to turn out as absolute sociopaths. The number of people who were being manipulated by someone else was ridiculous. Kaguya manipulated Black Zetsu manipulated Madara manipulated Obito manipulated Pain manipulated Akatsuki. Kaguya, as the main, main, MAIN antagonist probably lasted as long as Zabuza. And by the end of it, the mainstay villains of part 1 ended up as good guys in the end. Orochimaru and Kabuto's fates aren't revealed, and while Itachi is presumably still known as a mass-murderer and the whole Uchiha conspiracy remains a secret, he was portrayed as near-saintly to the readers.

Speaking of Pain, what a terrible arc. Six months of real world time, only to lead to a reset. And the only one that ultimately stayed dead was Pain himself. It also forcefully injected the strangely hypocritical concept of peace. Jiraiya, Itachi, the 4th Hokage, all suddenly champions and pioneers of peace despite being mercenaries for most of their lives. And how is Pain convinced to commit suicide and restore all of those people he killed in that invasion? Naruto promises him peace. No plan, no concept of how. But Pain accepts it anyway. Oddly, it was Pain's original plan - the collection of the bijuu to make a weapon strong enough to deter war by mere existence - ended up working when the 10-tails was reborn.

Then there's the all-singing, all-dancing, miracle cure: Hashirama's cells. What can't they do? Use them to grow faces on a creepy old man's torso! Comes in chest and shoulder variations! Implant them into children and watch them inherit his unique Wood Release! Feed Hashirama's cells to a clone of him stuck in a giant plant and watch your white Zetsu army turn into a white Zetsu army who can dance and play basketball! Lost an arm? Ditch that lame puppet prosthetic and make a new one from Hashirama's cells! It's like Powerthirst, only without birds all over your body.

Seriously though, Hashirama's DNA seems to be easily accessible. Danzou had it for unknown reasons, presumed to be for controlling the 9-tails, but Danzou was also a character who was cheapened by collaborating with so many villains. Orochimaru modified his arm, and he was in cahoots with the oppressive Hanzo. I liked him more when he was a subversive character that did good things through "bad" methods. But that was too much for this series, so he was moved out of the grey and fully into the black by the end of it.

The whoe "generation xerox" effect was also annoying. Everyone is like those who came before them. You have the team concept, a 2:1 male-female ratio. One guy is a goofball, the other is serious and the girl will be lucky to get a personality at all. And their fights and relations will be mirrored throughout history. From Indra and Ashura down, history will repeat itself in a never-ending cycle. And for no real reason, either. Naruto himself defaced the Hokage monument because he was lonely and hungry for attention, lacking family or anything like it. The villagers were also short-sighted enough to look upon him as the incarnation of the 9-tails, even though he never exhibited any malice like Gaara did. Considering who his parents were, it seems stupid in retrospect. So along comes Bolt, with a full family, two parents plus the 2.5 children, and he does the same thing. Did Minato do this too?

And that was the biggest spit on part 1. Naruto believes hard work, not blood-born privilege, makes a person. He feels anger towards "geniuses" like Sasuke and Neji. But as the series goes on, Naruto's privilege couldn't be checked if he had all of tumblr demanding him to do it. First, he's the son of the 4th Hokage. His mother is from the Uzumaki clan, a respected group that were themselves offshoots of the Senjuu. The Senjuu were born of one of the sons of the Sage of the Six Paths and to top it all off, Naruto himself is a reincarnation of that son. So much for that whole bird in the cage thing, huh, Neji?

And like many others, the pairings at the end of it all seemed quite ham-fisted. Yeah, there's 15 years for things to develop. Some pairings are out of left field, like Chouji and Karui. Some, we were expecting like Temari and Shikamaru. But the two main characters end up with girls that they have shown little to no interest in. In fact, it was only a few chapters (a day or less in manga time) before that Sasuke used genjutsu to convince Sakura he was gutting her with his bare hands. From the look of Sakura's daughter, I'm beginning to wonder if Sasuke, Sakura, Sarado and Karin are going to end up on some kind of talk show in the future...

It's been a wild ride, for sure. The series definitely declined with Shippuden and my faith never recovered after the Pain invasion arc. Still kinda sad to see it go, but even sadder that this series never lived up to what it could have been.

So long, and thanks for all the filler.
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Twilight_Ninja
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I found this interview. Pretty curious. It's actually from not long after Kishimoto finished the final chapter.


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Although the best-selling “Naruto” saga ended its 15-year run in the Weekly Shonen Jump comic magazine on Nov. 10, the main character will soon make a temporary comeback, creator Masashi Kishimoto said.

Kishimoto, who writes and illustrates the manga series that started in 1999, discussed his future plans for “Naruto” in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, just hours after he completed the last episode.

“I will continue creating manga,” he said. “I will release extra ‘Naruto’ episodes next spring.”

He also mentioned a film adaptation of the manga series, titled “The Last: Naruto the Movie.” It is scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 6.

“The latest film is a love story,” Kishimoto said. “It will depict what happened between the 699th and 700th manga episodes. I designed the characters and helped make the story.

“Although I wanted to write about the romances of Naruto and his friends in the manga series, it was too difficult,” he continued. “I am not good at writing romances because I feel embarrassed when trying to do so.”

A musical adaptation of “Naruto” and an exhibition featuring the manga work are also planned for next year.

“I am looking forward to all of those adaptations,” Kishimoto said. “The planned exhibition will be a huge one. ‘Naruto’ fans will be able to be immersed in its worldview, while those who do not know much about ‘Naruto’ will look forward to reading the manga.”

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Ninja manga series “Naruto” on Nov. 10 marked the grand finale of its phenomenal 15-year run that gained international fame and surprised even its creator.

The manga work, written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, appeared in Shueisha Inc.’s Weekly Shonen Jump comic anthology.

The story centers around the eponymous character who cooperates with friends, rises above his rivals and mentally and physically grows to become the greatest ninja.

The ninja saga, along with Eiichiro Oda’s “One Piece” pirate manga series, has been the driving force behind the popularity of Jump magazine.

Spanning 71 volumes, “Naruto” was also a big hit overseas, with global sales topping 200 million copies as of September.

Fifteen years after the adventurous story of Naruto first appeared in the magazine in 1999, the young ninja, who used to be seen as a dropout, finally saves the world from destruction and completes his long, difficult path in the manga’s 700th episode.

The Asahi Shimbun conducted an exclusive interview with reclusive manga artist Kishimoto just hours after he completed Naruto’s journey. Excerpts from the interview follow:

Question: What are you feeling now?

Kishimoto: Because I just completed the last episode less than 12 hours ago, I do not have any real feeling (that “Naruto” has ended). I have had to meet a deadline every week for 15 years, so I feel that there’s a deadline for next week. I thought of many things to do after (“Naruto”) ends, but I do not know where to begin. I want to do something other than manga. Don’t worry, I will continue creating manga.

Q: When did you decide how to end “Naruto”?

A: Since the work was first serialized, I have been determined to end the manga series with the battle between protagonist Naruto and Sasuke, who has been his rival since the start of the story. I later decided on the details, little by little, such as whether they would fight each other as friends or enemies, their feelings and dialogues, while I was drawing the series. Around two years ago, I began to feel the story was approaching the finale.

When the series started, the editor responsible for my work told me, “Continue the series for at least five years.” The tough work of continuing to draw “Naruto” for the weekly magazine occasionally made me think that I would like to finish the series. I did not think “Naruto” would last for 15 years.

The story lasted for such a long period because the characters “stuck it out.” When I attempted to quickly offer an answer (to issues raised in the story), the characters did not allow me to do so. If I had made them act as I wished, the reality would have been lost.

Because manga artists are always working inside rooms, it is difficult for us to see firsthand if our works are really popular. It was not until I received many fan letters from overseas that I realized (“Naruto” is) popular outside Japan. Some of those letters are written in languages I do not know, so I understand that my work is read by people in various countries.

One fan mail contained a photograph of a small child dressed as Naruto striking a pose. Such attachments make me happy.

Q: Were you conscious of “One Piece”?

A: It is impossible to be unconscious. (Both “Naruto” and “One Piece”) are serialized in the same magazine, and “One Piece” has always been running ahead of the pack. I have been able to work so hard writing “Naruto” thanks to “One Piece.”

Q: You will turn 40 years old on Nov. 8. How do you feel about that?

A: I remain a child in terms of mentality. Nothing has changed from age 25, when the series started. I just worked at the desk to create high-quality, interesting manga, and 15 years passed before I knew it.

Q: What would you want to tell your old self?

A: I hope to tell my 23- or 24-year-old self, who painted Naruto and other characters on copy paper just as I wanted on the veranda of my family’s home: “Cherish him. You will write a serial manga for 15 years using the character.”
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ryukitsune
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I agree with pretty much everyone else here about the quality of Part Two, but I will also say, that despite being a fan of Sasuke's character, I'm quite disappointed that Kishi allowed his story to overtake the series. Naruto, despite being the "hero", was treated as less of a protagonist then Sasuke, of who we got a mass of background from and had his history connect to pretty much every event in the series. Naruto's family history is still a big mystery and ended up being only a byproduct of the Uchiha plot. I really feel that Kishi should have kept the two storylines separate, having the Bijuu plot have nothing to do with the revenge plot, and keeping the Rinnegan separate from the Sharingan with Nagato remaining the big bad instead of Obito. But that aside, I still enjoyed it fondly.
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Chuffy
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Shut up Naruto
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It's a few months too late and I haven't posted in here in years. Plus I've written far too much about Naruto in general so I'll just leave a quick opinion:

At it's base, Naruto started out as a coming of age story. He signed up to be a soldier for hire, without really knowing what that meant. The world was supposed to be big and relatively cruel for a shounen, and he had to grow up to meet it halfway.

But he didn't grow up. The world shrank to meet him. He became the child of destiny, his village was made to be the only one with any importance, he had powers thrown at him without having to actually learn anything or play according to the system everyone else was subject to, and his hard decisions were reduced to "but it'll just work out!" and the villains accepting that. He fell so far from the source concept of stealth and pseudo strategy that part 2 became unsalvageable.

Kishimoto never had to make the series smart; he just had to make it feel smart. Somewhere along the line he gave up on even that, and it shows.
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