Kishimoto Masashi - Naruto, vol. 21-27

[oyceter]

So I tried to take notes, but my computer crashed and erased them, so instead, you all get the normal, completely haphazard, ramblings.

Spoilers up till vol. 27/ch. 242!

Eeeeee! The ninja keep getting cooler and cooler! I was rather irked that Sakura ended up staying behind, waiting for Naruto to get Sasuke back, though. rachelmanija had a nifty idea in which Ino, Sakura and Hinata end up going instead of some of the guys, which would have been really nifty.

Oh well.

But! So much backstory! This makes me very happy indeed. I never quite got Chouji before, but he made me sniffle because he tries so hard. And I adore Shikamaru. Adore. I love that his ninja powers aren't necessarily the strongest or the best, like Sasuke, or Gaara, but he's smart, and he strategizes, and it shows. I also got sniffly when he had qualms about being a leader at the very end, because they didn't get Sasuke back and so many people got injured. I think Shikamaru will make a really good team leader.

And I even felt sorry for Neji! Just a little, because I continue to root for Hinata getting a larger role, but I actually felt sorry for him, which is really saying something.

Also: EEEEEEEEEE!!!! Rock Lee! He is back! He has recovered from surgery! He does Drunken Taijutsu! He stops a fight just to take medicine! I love my bushy-eyed, stick-lashed ninja so much!

Also also: Sand sibs! Temari and Shikamaru! Gaara and Rock Lee! I love the Temari-Shikamaru interaction, particularly after the fight, when she yells at him for being a wimp. And oh, I love that Gaara shows up to help out Lee. Kishimoto is very, very good at keeping storylines going.

And, of course, the totally emo-licious battle between Sasuke and Naruto. To be honest, I sort of flipped past the big explosions and battles, but I love the bits in between, in which Naruto remembers looking up to Sasuke and tells him that Iruka and Sakura and Sasuke are like his family.

I even felt sorry for wee!Sasuke, who is so cute and tries so hard and is not yet so emo. And Itachi, ouch! The forehead poking!

And, of course, the famous "I am more special than you!" scene, hee!

But I really wish Sakura had been there, because it felt a little one-sided. Team 7 is a family, and it shouldn't have cut her out from there and left her waiting at home.

Still, I love how she and Naruto reconcile when he comes back without Sasuke, despite giving her his thumbs-up-Guy-style promise. And Jiraiya! Training for three years!

And... Sakura becomes Tsunade's apprentice OMG SO COOL she will finally get something to do!!!!

I love Kakashi's pictures near his bed, of his old team right next to him and Team 7.

I'm just so impressed by how Kishimoto's been managing the gigantic cast and making me care about all of them, gradually. Shikamaru hadn't impressed me that much until his fight with Temari, then he seemed to fade out a bit. But now, he's back, and he's so smart. I love that there are different types of strength among the ninja -- there's the cool genjutsu/ninjutsu that Sasuke and Gaara and Neji have, then there's Lee's taijutsu, which are normal. But then, there are other things, like Chouji and Hinata's determination, or Tsunade's medicine, or Shikamaru's strategy. I really like that it isn't about who has the bestest ninjutsu or the biggest muscles.

I was also really surprised when they ended up coming back without Sasuke! I really like where Kishimoto is taking this, and how all his characters are really growing, not just Naruto. I suspect Sakura is going to regret sitting out, and oh, I hope she's on the next rescue mission with kickass medicine skills!

Again, somewhat annoyed that the female characters end up with the more traditionally nurturing roles, but I have faith that Tsunade will teach Sakura to kick ass as well. My disclaimer is that I don't want all the female characters to have to have traditionally male strength (the ganbaru, ninja-skills type strength of the manga), but I think there should be some sort of distribution across the female characters as well.

No comments on Kakashi Gaiden so far; I'm waiting till I finish.

I'm really looking forward to what happens when the three years comes up and they have to go after Sasuke again. Especially how Sasuke will have changed, being with Orochimaru all this time!

Comments

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really dig the giant cast ensemble he has going on, plus the fact that I never thought I'd feel bad for Gaara. That really impressed me, getting me to feel empathy for him. On the other hand, I am irked about the women not getting more spotlight.

[oyceter]

Yes! The Gaara backstory was amazing. I am still hoping that the women will get more spotlight, particularly with Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage (love!).

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Gaara is very significant in the next arc. So is Sakura.

[oyceter]

Whoo! I am so glad he gets even more time!

And am so very, very excited about Sakura getting a larger role (finally).

[rilina.livejournal.com]

I too was irked by the lack of kunoichi on the team that went after Sasuke. You can't really blame Shikamaru for picking who was best, but you sure can blame Kishimoto for not making any of the kunoichi one of those best.

Like you, I didn't pay a huge amount of attention to Chouji until this arc; I love his friendship with Shikamaru, and how it changes how the reader perceives both of them.

I just loved the arrival of Rock Lee, followed by the arrival of the sand siblings. Both twists were so unexpected and awesome. Temari and Shikamaru are the closest thing I have to an OTP in Naruto; they zing off each other so well.

I love Kakashi's pictures near his bed, of his old team right next to him and Team 7.
The cool thing is that Kishimoto actually first showed us that picture way back in the splash page to some chapter in vol. 1 or 2. Which gives us an idea of how long he's had certain things planned.

[oyceter]

You can't really blame Shikamaru for picking who was best, but you sure can blame Kishimoto for not making any of the kunoichi one of those best.

Exactly!

I love that the series focuses on friendships to the extent it does; it reads as such a gen series to me, but it still hits me emotionally because of all the familial relationships, the team relationships, and the very strong friendships.

I am going to hunt through your fic and read stuff now!

I really want to reread Naruto now that I've got a better idea of who the characters are!

[rilina.livejournal.com]

Just a warning: a lot of my fic has spoilers for the last chapters of vol. 28 (that is, the opening chapters of the post-timeskip stuff). So make sure you've read that far before clicking on the links.

I also see Naruto as a very gen series--partly because the principal characters are so young, and partly because the friendships and partnerships are what's so transformative.

Rereading Naruto is fun; you catch a lot of neat foreshadowing. And the less interesting parts tend to be better the second time around becuase of all fondness you have developed for the characters.

[oyceter]

Ooo, ok, thanks. I'll watch for that.

I want to read all the Shikamaru-Ino-Chouji bits again, because I was completely ignoring them before, along with the Hinata bits, and, of course, Lee.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

You can't really blame Shikamaru for picking who was best, but you sure can blame Kishimoto for not making any of the kunoichi one of those best.

Yes, absolutely. And much as I love the team that did go, I am convinced that Kishimoto could have made me love any team just as much, because I sure didn't care about Chouji before.

However, I have an AU version which could have taken some kunoichi along even with the way they were all set up from before the mission left:

Neji and Tenten are off on a solo mission, so they're not available, and Rock Lee is already depressed about being left out even before Team Shikamaru assembles without him. Kiba's gone with them as a stand-in for Rock Lee, and Shino is on a mission with his dad.

Since Neji isn't available, Hinata comes along, and Shikamaru takes both Ino and Chouji. We now have Hinata instead of Neji, and Ino instead of Kiba. The team dynamic is a bit different, since Ino has a personal attachment to Sasuke, which she'll lose during the mission; Hinata has a personal attachment to Naruto; and Shikamaru's whole team is present.

Since everyone else got a big power-up after or right before the chuunin exams, Hinata can now have Neji's fight with the spider-guy, to a similar conclusion but with a different emotional texture, since it's Hinata. Ino gets to fight Sakon and Ukon: her power to get inside people's heads vs. their power to get inside people's bodies.

I think Sakura would still stay behind-- she's completely distraught, so it makes sense that they wouldn't take her, and the later pay-off makes her absence worthwhile, especially since other kunoichi now get a chance to shine, in my alternate world. Except for Tenten. Poor Tenten.

[oyceter]

Wriiiiiite iiiiitttttt!

*sends subliminal messages*

[evil-kat.livejournal.com]

Where do you get all the scanlations? I feel like I am so far behind in Naruto, it's almost not worth catching up, but it IS, GOSH.

[oyceter]

Um... from a website somewhere, except I don't remember the URL =(.