It Seems We're Approaching the End of the Naruto Series - A penny for your thoughts?

[hyper_megaman]

Hi everyone!

I want to make a public apologize to the owner of this thread, narutotheory-kun.

I didn't really mean to ruin or change the track of his thread, but I was just so excited about the interview and I want to share with you guys.

I'm really sorry, narutotheory-kun.

So now, everyone, let's just get back on track!

do you know what 'kun' means and how it's used?

君 is used to address a junior male member by a much higher ranked/aged senior.

people of close ranks/ages address each other as 'san' in formal settings

Kun is used much like the english word 'boy' or 'kid'

you basically came in this thread and called them M3J-boy/kid and narutotheory-boy/kid

---------- Post added at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 AM ----------

anyway i really hope this war finishes it all

kishi's already stretching it too far. any bit more and he's tite the second

It's unfair if naruto has to fight sasuke after fighting tobi though, so maybe a few days' rest for naruto tops, but no more delays/arcs imho!

[Jammin]

do you know what 'kun' means and how it's used?

君 is used to address a junior male member by a much higher ranked/aged senior.

people of close ranks/ages address each other as 'san' in formal settings

Kun is used much like the english word 'boy' or 'kid'

you basically came in this thread and called them M3J-boy/kid and narutotheory-boy/kid

While you may be correct in Japanese in English we have terms of endearment to show familiarity. They can literally be anything, English or otherwise, and turn it into something to show fondness and familiarity and that's what she was doing there. So actual usage doesn't really matter, English is pretty flexible like that.

anyway i really hope this war finishes it all

kishi's already stretching it too far. any bit more and he's tite the second

It's unfair if naruto has to fight sasuke after fighting tobi though, so maybe a few days' rest for naruto tops, but no more delays/arcs imho!

I don't want the war to be the end because this war is so.....bad. I want Naruto to go out on a high note instead of a low one.

[hyper_megaman]

While you may be correct in Japanese in English we have terms of endearment to show familiarity. They can literally be anything, English or otherwise, and turn it into something to show fondness and familiarity and that's what she was doing there. So actual usage doesn't really matter, English is pretty flexible like that.

I don't want the war to be the end because this war is so.....bad. I want Naruto to go out on a high note instead of a low one.

that's my point, actually

naruto has to go out on a high note, and the war, though messed up in some areas, is still a pretty good place to stop, considering how there is pretty much nowhere else the storyline can advance

there are so many ways naruto can be screwed up right now

if this drags on any more, it's very possible kishi will eventually dig his own grave by going the bleach route

[Jammin]

that's my point, actually

naruto has to go out on a high note, and the war, though messed up in some areas, is still a pretty good place to stop

if this drags on any more, it's very possible kishi will eventually dig his own grave by going the bleach route

We have a difference of opinion then because to me this war has had almost no real redeeming value.

I don't know what Kishimoto can or will do to going forward but over the last 2 arcs I have been absolutely stunned by how bad things have gotten. When I look at this war arc I see terrible writing, inconsistent characterization, and awful pacing all of which works to create a shallow and downright pathetic attempt at a war story arc. I don't say this for the sake of insulting Naruto just to give you a clear picture of what I see when I look at where Naruto is at right now.

I can't say why Naruto has been this way for the last 100ish chapters(some people blame an editorial switch but I don't know if that's true). What I can say is that Naruto spent nearly 500 chapters being consistently excellent. So there is plenty of reason to think that maybe Kishimoto can turn this around; but, if he can't, I honestly don't think things can get much worse than they already are so I'd at the very least like to see him try.

[narutotheory]

I feel like Kishimoto is killing Naruto one chapter at a time...

[ish3]

Well regardless if that was a new interview or not Kishimoto definitely said in an old interview a year or two ago that he was going to delve more into Kakashi's character which frankly he never did. So it's now or never in my eyes the war is coming to a close.

[narutotheory]

Can you all try to get back on track :/ ?



1) What's been some of the greatest moments so far in Naruto as a whole?

2) Who was your favorite character and why?

3) If Naruto was never made as a manga series or anime, what else would you have watched or read?

4) What are you going to read or watch when Naruto is over this year?

5) Feel free to add any additional stuff you want to get off your chest

We're all grown men here; and women.

[Giga_Gaia]

4) What are you going to read or watch when Naruto is over this year?

May not end as soon as you think. Not this year anyway ... and probably not the next. Believe me, soon can mean in a few years.

I mean look at bleach. They said already it's the final arc, but that final arc could obviously last a few years.

http://www.saiyanisland.com/2012/07/...urprises-left/

[narutotheory]

Can you all try to get back on track



1) What's been some of the greatest moments so far in Naruto as a whole?

2) Who was your favorite character and why?

3) If Naruto was never made as a manga series or anime, what else would you have watched or read?

4) Feel free to add any additional stuff you want to get off your chest

We're all grown men here; and women.

[Krina29]

hmmm...
1.valley of the end |sasuke vs itachi| itachi and sasuke vs kabuto| naruto meeting minato and kushina| naruto vs pain| jiraya vs pain | orochimaru vs the 3th hokage| minato vs tobi and much more but the best is ''I will love you forever''-Itachi to Sasuke chapter 590
2.definetly Sasuke and Itachi why?because they are both amazing I love their story and they are really hot then the uzumakis :X Kakashi, shikamaru and so on so far
3.dunno Naruto initiated me into the world of manga *crying I have watched Bleach but its like the whole manga after rescuing Rukia arc is fillers :S
4.one piece maybe fairytale?
5.i was disapointed by the war arc nothing exciting nobody dyed and seriously Choji with wings????

[Jessie]

5.i was disapointed by the war arc nothing exciting nobody dyed and seriously Choji with wings????

Yeah, that was over the top. The anime is going to cover this part of the manga tomorrow, so I am curious to how they handle it. I hope it isn't as cheesy as it was in the manga. Choji crying and freezing up over Asuma didn't make that much sense since he wasn't portrayed as that close to him. And while sensitive, Choji was never that big of a wuss.

I think Kishi really wanted Choji to become popular, but that is never going to happen. The fandom seemed to roll their eyes over Choji's powerup and went right back to ignoring him. He is always going to be in Shika and Ino's shadow because they are dynamic characters with large fanbases. And yes, looks also play a huge part in their popularity compared to Choji. Choji will always be the forgotten guy in the K12, wings and all.

[Uchiha_Blood]

Yeah, that was over the top. The anime is going to cover this part of the manga tomorrow, so I am curious to how they handle it. I hope it isn't as cheesy as it was in the manga. Choji crying and freezing up over Asuma didn't make that much sense since he wasn't portrayed as that close to him. And while sensitive, Choji was never that big of a wuss.

I think Kishi really wanted Choji to become popular, but that is never going to happen. The fandom seemed to roll their eyes over Choji's powerup and went right back to ignoring him. He is always going to be in Shika and Ino's shadow because they are dynamic characters with large fanbases. And yes, looks also play a huge part in their popularity compared to Choji. Choji will always be the forgotten guy in the K12, wings and all.

I actually think Kishi wanted to find a deus ex machina to end that boring beach battle, battle that existed because he had to introduce the Kin/Gin brothers and justify the Juubi's resurrection without extracting Kyuubi from Naruto.

You know it was pretty much thought on the spot by how it was handled, the remaining battles were off-paneled, character development was all but lost ( I mean Asuma spends time to talk about things he already said and didn't even asked Shikamaru how were Kurenai and their son? Really? ) in favour of ending things quickly and proceed with the plot.

What I hate of it is Chouji basically being borderline Kage level with such a retarded power-up, as it stands he would've crushed Hebi Sasuke and FRS Naruto at the same time by crushing them with his giant butt.
Good luck escaping that

[Franckie]

Naruto will remain one of those "what could have been" series. The author had a very interesting setting established at the start of the series, such as the various hints Kishimoto left in the background that something big was going on in the background of the Narutoworld (which was Konoha at the time). We had a nebulous organization going around making alliances with other villages and hunting the jinchuuriki scattered throughout the land.

Then Part II came.

Part II has been a sloppy follow-up from the foundation Part I established. In reality, Part II is a different story altogether that is independent from Part I. If I had to compare it to anything, it's like a spin-off of Tenchi Muyo! or Code Geass. Part II has been a total disaster with character development, consistent storytelling, plot pacing, the usage of plot devices, etc. Anything that could go wrong has gone wrong.

For example, this is one of the few pieces of literature that come to mind in regards to doing things like having a secondary character hijack the story; Naruto was retconned from main character to side character. His handling has been a disaster. With the uselessness of the timeskip, with him being repeatedly one-shotted for dozens of chapters, with his character regression regarding his f****** unrequited mancrush on Sasuke, with how he is credited for things despite having nothing to do with it (look how he "conquered" the "rampant" amount of "hatred" in the series!!!), etc. etc., words cannot describe how irritating the titular character has become. Other characters like Sakura, Sasuke, and Orochimaru are in the same boat.

A second example is the handling of Akatsuki. Akatsuki was originally presented as an organization of missing-nins all over the Narutoworld. None of the members who lacked direct affiliations with Konoha held any actual importance to the storyline. Even the founder and leader of the organization, Pein, was shelved in favor of yet another Sasuke-centric ninja hailing from Konoha who repeatedly flees from the main character and has Sasuke as his stated target (I'm looking at you Tobi!). The "twist" is entirely random, convoluted, and needlessly complicates the storyline. Worse of all it led to the conclusion of the Pein Arc, one of the worse moments of the manga. Words cannot describe how bad the series has fallen since then.

The only mildly interesting thing for the past few years is with the author flushing out some additional facets of the Narutoworld. But this "war" has been downright terrible thanks to certain developments like Orochimaru's return (). I'm honestly baffled when I read comments indicating Naruto's pros outweigh the cons, or how people who acknowledge the lackluster of the series suggest the series will reacquire its former glory. The series has been beyond salvaging before Part II, and that is a shame because Naruto would have been a legend had the author not abandoned the original premise.

[Sabot RND]

Can you all try to get back on track :/ ?

1) What's been some of the greatest moments so far in Naruto as a whole?
The introduction of jiraiya was so cool, with the whole awesome 'classic' clothing and one shot toad whipping of a jounin level ninja.
Itachi's first fight with Kakashi, with Itachi showing his speed, weapon skill and jutsu wiping out 3 top level ninja and commanding Kisame not to finish them off.
The entire chuunin exam arc culminating with naruto v gaara, the idea of dropping these 12-13 year olds into a war simulation and how emotionally and physically taxing that is in the ninja world was cool, throwing orochimaru in the mix added a visceral edge to an already tense atmosphere and ever slicing his way through that tension was your boy Naruto, brilliant.
Naruto v Pain that pose after being summoned in all his capey glory all saged up ready to save the day.
The evolution of the sharingan, just what the hell will be next?? many a contact lens has been produced because of that fascinating (and seemingly easily interchangable) eye.

2) Who was your favorite character and why?
there are a few (jiraiya, naruto or deidara) but if i had to pick one, Itachi. Always seems one step ahead of enemies and allies alike, and importantly knows when to call it a day unlike some cough*orochimaru*cough. If Itachi were truly evil, there would be a lot less good guys running about now, but it doesn't absolve Itachi of his actions. It was a weight that he decided only he should live and die with. Not a bad zombie too.

3) If Naruto was never made as a manga series or anime, what else would you have watched or read?
naruto was the first for me but iv since delved into berserk, blade of the immortal, gantz, historys strongest disciple kenichi, vagabond, zetman, and done with trigun, 666 satan. Anime wise, the usual suspects; bleach, one piece of which i have stopped watching coz i can't be asked anymore i need some more decent anime to watch

4) What are you going to read or watch when Naruto is over this year?
listed above

5) Feel free to add any additional stuff you want to get off your chest
i just hope the whole thing ends on a high. A relatively sane and logical high.

[Brill]

Naruto will remain one of those "what could have been" series. The author had a very interesting setting established at the start of the series, such as the various hints Kishimoto left in the background that something big was going on in the background of the Narutoworld (which was Konoha at the time). We had a nebulous organization going around making alliances with other villages and hunting the jinchuuriki scattered throughout the land.

Then Part II came.

Part II has been a sloppy follow-up from the foundation Part I established. In reality, Part II is a different story altogether that is independent from Part I. If I had to compare it to anything, it's like a spin-off of Tenchi Muyo! or Code Geass. Part II has been a total disaster with character development, consistent storytelling, plot pacing, the usage of plot devices, etc. Anything that could go wrong has gone wrong.

Well first off, you give Part 1 way too much credit and Part II too little. Whenever you start off a post with "what could have been" is basically saying "this isn't going the way I wanted it to go". Well you aren't Kishi and neither am I, so claiming where a show should be going or should be heading is useless since you don't know where Kishi is going with this. Once the story concludes you can then interject where things went awry. Until then you're just venting.

Naruto Part 2 is way better that Tenchi Muyo OVA 3. That was a train-wreck. Naruto Part 2, however, is not. While the storyteliing device switches from character-based story to plot-based story that doesn't make it crap. While the pacing has been erratic is certain transitional chapters, overall it's been pretty solid. The story has been fine, if it wasn't you'd would have stopped reading it years ago unless you only read Naruto for the fights. The characterizartion is probably the only thing you can truly gripe about. Kishi just focused only Naruto and Sasuke and forgot the rest. While it is regrettable, it's also understandable. You needed a big cast for the chunnin exams. Naruto and the others couldn't do stuff on their own, he and the others needed assistance to get things done. Part 2 has people more self-reliant. Naruto doesn't need Sakura and Sai to get things done. He can do it himself. You may not like the approach but this is a common development in shounen series. Lots of series start off as team efforts just to wind up being solved solely by the protagonist at the end. Nostalgia is fine, but just becuase things change doesn't destroy the work.

For example, this is one of the few pieces of literature that come to mind in regards to doing things like having a secondary character hijack the story; Naruto was retconned from main character to side character. His handling has been a disaster. With the uselessness of the timeskip, with him being repeatedly one-shotted for dozens of chapters, with his character regression regarding his f****** unrequited mancrush on Sasuke, with how he is credited for things despite having nothing to do with it (look how he "conquered" the "rampant" amount of "hatred" in the series!!!), etc. etc., words cannot describe how irritating the titular character has become. Other characters like Sakura, Sasuke, and Orochimaru are in the same boat.

Once again this is your expectations on what Naruto should be or become rather than what he is. Naruto is immutable because that is how he was desgined. He was always the non-conformist whether it was playing pranks to get attention or making his own nindo to change the ninja world after his battle with Haku and Zabuza. He devotionally focuses on his training and missions to pursue his dreams. He's still the idiot, still the non-conformist and the ideologue. For Naruto to "grow up" defeats the essence of Naruto being Naruto. As for Sasuke "hijacking" ths show that is just more misguided frustration of Sasuke having more "emotional" moments than Naruto has and some "cooler" fights. But it's all relative as the focus is still primarily on Naruto and not Sasuke.

A second example is the handling of Akatsuki. Akatsuki was originally presented as an organization of missing-nins all over the Narutoworld. None of the members who lacked direct affiliations with Konoha held any actual importance to the storyline. Even the founder and leader of the organization, Pein, was shelved in favor of yet another Sasuke-centric ninja hailing from Konoha who repeatedly flees from the main character and has Sasuke as his stated target (I'm looking at you Tobi!). The "twist" is entirely random, convoluted, and needlessly complicates the storyline. Worse of all it led to the conclusion of the Pein Arc, one of the worse moments of the manga. Words cannot describe how bad the series has fallen since then.

So? Do all the Akatsuki minions need 2-3 storyline arcs like Itachi to implement them into the story? No, They're minions, disposable characters for making cool fights and boring monologues about whatever Kishi feels like talking about. You were hoping for greater development of other counties aside from the Sand and Fire nation. Well we're not, but that doesn't destroy the story. You're dismayed that this story will be another battle between the Uchiha and the Senju. Well, it was foreshadowed over 400 chapters ago. You should have seen that coming and if you're upset because Kishi is acting upon his plot devices he placed in the story then your argument just fell on its face.

The only mildly interesting thing for the past few years is with the author flushing out some additional facets of the Narutoworld. But this "war" has been downright terrible thanks to certain developments like Orochimaru's return (). I'm honestly baffled when I read comments indicating Naruto's pros outweigh the cons, or how people who acknowledge the lackluster of the series suggest the series will reacquire its former glory. The series has been beyond salvaging before Part II, and that is a shame because Naruto would have been a legend had the author not abandoned the original premise.

Orochimaru's rerturn was also foreshadowed and precedented. You saw him pop out of Sasuke's shoulder after he "died' then you shouldn't be surprised that he pops out of Anko's. Besides you need a transition for Sasuke to see "them", right? Who's gonna guide Sasuke to learn his ultimate power? Tobi? He's gonna be dead in a few chapters. Madara? They've never met, that'd be even more akward. Maybe not the best plot device, but certainly not the worst.

Naruto's pros do outweigh it's cons. If Naruto is crap then it's pretty good crap. It does very well in Japan and it's the most popular manga in foreign countries like the US. So it has to be doing something right that you aren't seeing. You invoke glory and legend like it's something akin to Tolkein rewriting the frontiers of modern literature. It's not. It's a weekly Japenese comic strip. It will never win the Nobel Prize for literature or a Pulitzer for that matter. It's a piece of fiction that Kishimoto makes. It's fun, entertainging, and pretty solid. It really hasn't changed that much, only your expectations on what you want from it.