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enstyledesign — 30-Days of Fandom: Day 2
Published: 2010-09-02 05:19:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 2203; Favourites: 8; Downloads: 181
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Thirty Days of FandomDay Two: Favorite Manga Series
Naruto
For information on this series you can visit the wiki-page here [link]
I actually use the Narutopedia a lot when I’m researching characters. So I highly recommend using it. There’s also a long ass article on Wikipedia [link] that’s just the basics. Narutopedia gives you a full article on all 568 characters and their moms’ dogs. I like to think that it’s a good source for all you budding Narutards out there.
Now, for those of you that know me, or have been to my main page and have seen the picture of the crazy white girl with a “Commissions” scroll, you know that 1.) I cosplay Sai, 2.) that crazy white girl is me and 3.) yes, I do take commissions, thanks for asking. Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know who my favorite character is. I love Sai, immensely and I just want to hug the little shit and tell him that he’s doing it wrong. Also, I know more than my fair share of Sais in real life, so it’s not hard for me to adopt his personality. And for those of you who are prone to psychoanalyzing characters like I am, you can appreciate Sai’s train of thought.
Sai is truly a character to be admire, and if there is something that Kishimoto-Sensei, the God of Naruto, is good at, it’s creating these wonderful and unique characters that you either love or hate or just don’t want to be alive anymore, like Gai-Sensei. Kishimoto-Sensei has this way of taking a character out of the primordial soup of creativity and building them into something that has personality, depth, history, family, emotions and just so much more. Before you know it, you’re not reading for the storyline, but because you want to know who these people are. Kishimoto takes you step-by-step through this amazing world and he does it by telling the story of why Gaara has “love” tattoed above his eye yet scorns all those around him; of what makes Shikamaru give up his lazy-ass ways and becomes the leader that everyone knows he is; of how Sasuke created a team all his own to rival both Team Kakashi and the Akatsuki; of where Minato made his final stand and sealed the demon Kyuubi inside of the body of his newborn son; of who was able to trick the Akatsuki and managed to escape both them and his older brother’s overprotective watch; of when Kabuto ate the Orchimaru Stone and evolved into Kabutops…
And these aren’t even a handful of the hundreds of powerful and inspiring stories that span over the course of more than five hundred chapters of dynamic artwork, captivating storyline and characters that make you believe in them. I have never been so enthralled in by a character like Naruto before. I will admit to cosplaying Sai before I ever started reading Naruto. I did. But I don’t regret it. Because if it wasn’t for the research that I did for Sai, I would never have any interest in it. Last year, after A-Kon 20(?), I picked up the first ten books of Naruto and started reading. Initially, I started reading with the goal of getting as far as where they introduce Sai, and if I didn’t like it, I could stop there. I was not expecting to be so enchanted. And especially not by Naruto himself. Reading these books from start to whatever the hell chapter I read last, I have watched a twelve-year-old boy grow up into a strong-willed, strong-hearted young man who can move mountains.
Watching him grow and become so powerful just through will power alone is just such a breathtaking test of character and fantastic storytelling. The different powers that Naruto is able to learn and master and perfect just dazzle me beyond comprehensive speech. I mean, there were literally times that I was completely speechless. Like when I read the part where Naruto made a Rasengan Shuriken and then THREW IT at Pein, I hopped on Facebook and updated my status. If I remember correctly, it was along the lines of “NARUTO JUST THREW HIS RASENGAN SHURIKEN! HE THREW IT! HETHREWITHETHREWITHETHREWIT! OMGSPAZDIE!” Okay, so that wasn’t really speechless, but you can see what happens.
I cannot begin to tell you everything about the Naruverse. It just spans to so many different dimension that I just cannot do it justice. I have been inspired beyond reason by something as simple as a single phrase. There is so much power, and not just in the words. I remember being mad at Shonen Jump (the company that publishes Naruto here in America) because they had edited out a cigarette just because it was a fifteen-year-old that was smoking it. That moment, the simplest motion of Shikamaru lighting that cigarette had so much energy and meaning behind it that editing out the cigarette and making Shikamaru look like some dumbass mime ruined the message behind the action. Shikamaru had taken up smoking because of Asuma, his teacher and team leader. When the Akatsuki duo of Hidan and Kakasakaasnkdasljdl (I can’t spell, shut up) attacked Asuma and killed him, Shikamaru vowed vengeance and justly brought upon their demise. Shikamaru cut Hidan into several pieces (Hidan can’t die, so it’s cool) then threw those pieces into a really big hole that was lined with bombs. Shikamaru stood at the top of the hole and as Hidan yelled that he would find some way to make it out of the hole, Shikamaru lit up a cigarette, then threw the liter into the hole catching one of the bombs on fire. The chain reaction of explosions made the hole implode, bury Hidan alive. Now, imagine that scene without the cigarette, but Shika-boy is still going through the motions of lighting up what is to be believed as an imaginary cigarette... Really SJ? Really?
But stupid editing aside, I think I’ve covered why this is my favorite manga series. Now, I know that Naruto is also an anime series. It’s also a videogame series which I’ve played. (And Jiraiya sucks by the way. Special attacks alone. Totally not button-masher friendly. Sakura, too.) The reason that I didn’t put Naruto as my favorite anime series as well as my favorite manga, is simply because I like the manga much more than the anime. When it comes to the anime, I’d rather watch MasakoX and Vegeta8639’s Naruto the Abridged Series, because it’s hilarious and I didn’t cry my eyes out when Haku died (like I did when I read that part in the manga on a plane ride from Los Angeles back home).
Anyway…
I should probably actually talk about making this thing… Instead of spazzing all over the awesome it’s based off of. Okay, well, this started simple enough. All lines are inked with black sharpie, just like my TTGL page. And yes, this is a coloring page that you are free to color to your heart’s content. Just post it with a link to my main page, ~enstyledesign and then send me a note with the link to the finished piece so I can feature it on in my favorites and add a link on this deviation for others to see.
For some reason, I cannot draw perfectly round heads like Sai’s. I don’t know why, and it’s kind of annoying, because this is like my third or fourth piece of Sai fanart and every time I’ve drawn him, I always get pissed off at his stupidly round head. I also can’t draw anime eyes (even closed) far enough apart to make them not look stupid. Naruto came out great. I love how Naruto turned out. Everything except for his hand. His hand was giving me so much trouble. So, I’m sorry that his hand is twice the size of his face. Keep in mind, that I wouldn’t be a true Sai cosplayer if I wasn’t making some rather crude and obscene penis jokes while drawing this.
Now, I’m not a big supporter of Sakura. Especially after she pulled that crap about not being in love with Sasuke anymore and wanting to marry Naruto because she’s suddenly in love with him because Sasuke is an evil douche now. She didn’t fool Sai, and she didn’t fool Naruto. But I must say, that I absolutely love how Sakura came out in this picture. She has the EXACT expression I was going for. THE EXACT EXPRESSION. And drawing her only made me realize how truly beautiful she is. I mean, this girl is gorgeous, but beauty is only skin deep on this bimbo. My intention was to capture Sakura in her true light. All the fanart I see of her is either her with this big goofy smile, bawling her eyes out or being raped by Sasuke. Sakura is not a happy person, nor would Sasuke touch that with a ten-foot-pole. Though she is constantly suffering from her own internal conflict, Sakura rarely, RARELY shows her true emotions. She’s one of those people (and I hate these people with a fiery burning passion of hate) who put on this fake smile to make everyone believe they’re fine, when they’re not. You have no idea how much this upsets me. I’ve punched close friends for doing this to me. But this was what I wanted to show for Sakura, because this simple little smile and those sad eyes just epitomize her character.
But my favorite part of this picture, not going to lie, is the Naruto logo. I love it. I loved freehanding that bastard, I loved inking it, and I LOVE how absolutely gorgeous it is. I really, honestly do. LOVE IT.
The List:
Day 1 – Favorite Anime Series
-- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann [link]
Day 2 – Favorite Manga Series
-- Naruto
Day 3 – Favorite Cartoon Series
Day 4 – Favorite Comic Book Series
Day 5 – Favorite Television Series
Day 6 – Favorite Book Series
Day 7 – Favorite Videogame (Series)
Day 8 – Favorite Webcomic Series
Day 9 – Favorite Movie
Day 10 – Favorite Guilty Pleasure Series
Day 11 – Favorite Character
Day 12 – Favorite Main Character
Day 13 – Favorite Villain
Day 14 – Favorite Canon Pairing
Day 15 – Favorite Non-Canon Pairing
Day 16 – Favorite Yaoi/Yuri Pairing
Day 17 – Favorite Crack Pairing
Day 18 – Favorite Bromance
Day 19 – Favorite Non-Romantic Trio
Day 20 – Favorite Romantic Trio
Day 21 – Favorite Dream Job
Day 22 – Favorite School Uniform
Day 23 – Favorite Fight Scene
Day 24 – Favorite Sad Scene
Day 25 – Favorite Series from Childhood
Day 26 – Favorite Artwork/Animation Style
Day 27 – Favorite Pokemon
Day 28 – Favorite Soundtrack
Day 29 – Favorite Opening Theme Song
Day 30 – Favorite Ending Theme Song
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Comments: 16
Lol reading all that was like a novel the art is nicee I love it!!
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Thank you ^_^ I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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Hmmmmmh nice pic ^^ (I can't draw Sai to save my life, his style just doesn't fit me... but he can still be funny as hell. Always makes me laugh...) xD Personaly I really used to love Naruto a lot (helped a lot with my self-esteem, will-power, way of thinking, etc. IRL, nuff said.) and I agree, all the characters are too comlicated to just label them as "good" or "bad" just take Itachi, Konan and Pein for example... they weren't half as bad as I thought they were at first, and Sasuke turned all bad (but I didn't really like Sasuke in a first place, so I don't really care). The fun thing about Naruto's story is that you always... eehm how to put it... need to wait before judging a character. It's the thing I love most in Naruto's story. It's just not "black-or-white" world. I thought I hated Pein. Thought I hated him with burning passion. By now, he's sharing my "top fave" place with Naruto -.-' Funny thing, huh? I like how you pointed that out in your description (yup, I read all of it 
My guess is either Madara wins the war and kills Naruto when extracting Kyuubi from him, or Naruto simply becomes Hokage and dies when saving the village in some crisis. In my point of view, he's probably going to die anyway you look at it. But it's all up to Kishimoto-san. I still read the chapters, because I want to know how it ends, but I think Naruto has had a lot of complications by now. When I read the chapter when Madara declared 4th ninja war I thought that they would probably send Naruto away and lock him up so he wouldn't be a part of it. Well that part came true but I thought he's at least know about what's happening, so I predicted him losing his mind when he'd find out his friends were dying for his sake or giving up to Akatsuki to stop the war ( but I also expected Pein to still be alive by then... didn't read all the chapters and went back to Pein VS Naruto later).
A part of Naruto I hate... the big fights usually get really...eeehmmm animation isn't what it's supposed to be. Yeah I know, animation of a big fight is usually showing off a lot of dynamics, facial expressions, blah blah blah, but you can't do that with a person who was completely emotionless to begin with. I really was looking forward to the big Pein VS Naruto arc finale and... eeeh I really was disapointed in episode 167's animation. I always skip it since the time I've seen it. Always.
Anyway I really really loved Naruto (even though I lost interest due to all the fillers these few months on Narutoverse) and since manga is becoming more and more complicated I just can't follow it with the same interest I used to. I mean I used to be a girl obsessed. OBSESSED. I still have my Naruto-like phylosophy though. I like to think about storyline a lot. Much more than is "healthy". I "waste" all my thoughts on analyzing Naruto characters/storyline/philosophy and then don't do so well in school when I need to think about something and state my points of view.
And don't worry about Naruto's hand being too big, practice makes perfect xD
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@_@ This.. is the longest comment I have ever gotten.. But I'm really flattered that you took the time to share your thoughts and opinions with me ^_^ (I read the whole thing <3)
I completely agree with you on Sakura. I was actually starting to like her, because she was becoming competent and did more than just stand there and scream for Sasuke to save her. But the moment she pulled that jackass stunt and using your wonderful analogy, gave Naruto the silver medal for actually loving her, all of my respect for her went down the drain.
It is hard thinking of these guys as fictional characters, believe me. Kishimoto-sensei does such a wonderful job of creating realistic personalities that it's inspired me to strive more for that kind of realism in my own writings. I stopped reading after they declared the 4th Ninja war, so I have no idea what's going on at the moment (and you might want to stop reading if you don't like spoilers and haven't seen/read that far), but the whole Kage Meeting/Killer Bee on a island thing was necessary filler. Though completely boring, I will admit, it had to happen. Even in an action movie, you have slow parts. But this downtime, so to speak was more of the "Calm Before the Storm." Pein was the final straw that drove the nations to this decision. The total destruction of Konoha forced the Kages into the realization that the Akatsuki could no longer go unopposed. And especially now that Madara has enlisted the help of Team Hawk and Kabutops, who now magically has the ability to bring people back from the dead... Serious happenings be going on.. And I'm a little afraid, to be honest.
My theory is that Sasuke and Naruto kill each other, which is stemmed from the fact that Naruto told him point blank that they were both going to die come their next encounter. I honestly don't believe that Kishimoto will be able to save Naruto. The boy has dug his own grave at this point. I just cannot see Naruto becoming the Hokage, unless after his death, the people of Konoha crave his face into the side of the mountain next to the other hokages. That, or Sakura saves his life, at the same time taking the fatal hit from Sasuke that was meant for him. But she's already tried that before, and she's still alive, so she obviously didn't do it right.
Pein confuses the hell out of me. First, he is hell bent on destroying everything, and then one motivational speech from Naruto and everyone gets brought back to life and we're good to go. Well, Nagato's not. But now he's a zombie like everyone else, so, yay? That whole battle itself was just... odd.. I really don't know how to explain it.. I had to reread it a couple of times just to figure out how some stuff happened. Like Kakashi being decidedly dead and then suddenly not dead and perfectly fine. I don't know.
The only thing I remember with any clarity was Konohamaru using the Rasengan and saving himself. I was very proud of that little boy. He's in my top ten, I think. He's been steadily growing favor with me, especially after his whole shadow doppelgangers of Sai and Sasuke. He's going to make his future spouse very happy. I love how this story isn't about Naruto, but about the people around him who made him who is. And Konohamaru is a prime example of that. Here is a little boy, who has little to no significance, until Naruto learns a new power. Konohamaru is Naruto's legacy, and through him Naruto will continuing living, even after his death.
When it comes to obessesion, I honestly believe that Naruto should be taught in literature classes. This is the kind of thing that literature is built on. The writing and story-development that goes on is so intricate and intense, that it would take you several months to completely go through the main storyline, much less the sub-plots that are absolutely everywhere. A lot of people don't realize how graphically detailed this story is, until you take a single character, say someone as insignificant as Tenten and start building a web of plot around her. And Tenten is the one character who has very little character development in the entire story. Even people without names have been given more to do and accomplish than she has, but she still has a deeply rooted part in this story.
It's been awhile since I given any thought to Naruto, actually, but it's nice to dive back into it and explore. I've been writing a lot more, which is wonderful because I hadn't been devoting any time to it. But Naruto is still my favorite manga because of how tightly woven it is. As you can see, I can go on forever about it. I've even gotten into deep discussion on Kisame, with a friend of mine, a month or so ago. He's just one of the many, many, many supposedly sidekicks that make such a supporting role. Man, I feel like writing an essay now. XD
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Yeah, surprised myself there... my comments are NEVER this long. We should really have Naruto in class, I'd make a great grades out of it (like you said at the end), bet I'd be 100% at it. Naruto is the only thing I think of this deep.
I started to like Sakura... uuhm I don't know anymore. Maybe I started liking her after she cut her hair short and stopped acting like a total umm... well damsel in distress or something. But after she did that to Naruto, I was all like "Either he refuses or he's going down my favourites list." Luckily he refused. Then I discussed it with my dad, mom said to stop whining over how "lame" Sakura was because she isn't real anyway, blah, blah, blah... anyway I really was afraid NaruSaku might happen after all. After she did that, I REALLY became a hardcore NaruHina supporter, seriously. I know NaruHina would be that... eeehm "America movie" romantic pairing, when girl meets a boy and falls for him and is afraid to tell but then realizes he loves her back and they kiss under the moonlight in the end, but I think Hinata deserves him WAY better than Sakura does. At least she always loved him, EVEN when he was "an idiot". I love both parts of him though xD Idiot or not, he has some morale... besides the idiot part is the part that makes him kinda cute. Sakura just failed to see that.
Eeeh nothing pretty much. (Spoiler) War going on and on, Madara and Kabuto(ps) are still somewhere safe when everyone ELSE is fighting their battles (they revived former Akatsuki and every strong ninja in history to fight in the war... woot, lucky me, I get to see Nagato again... as a zombie... yay 'sarcastic'...) Anyway, Naruto STILL doesn't know about the war and is currently in training. His supervisor Yamato has been captured. Otherwise every chapter is a separate battle of a separate division. Just one divison is going over three chapters now, I think. I've read every chapter ever since, but it's been dragging a bit. I never expected Pein to actually NOT be the real leader of the Akatsuki and so called "Tobi" to take over after his death. Sadly it wasn't a Killer-Bee" filler. I'd be glad to see that. I meant the filler named "Konoha's history arc" and it's a time-skip back. So you basicly get stories of characters being kids again. I really liked first three (aaaw little Naruto-kun, yay ^^) but after that they became more and more umm... unbelievable I think. What the hell is with Sasuke chasing cats to beat his big brother in collecting pawprints? And what the heck was with that Nekomata? And then an OSTRICH kicking jonin's ass? I dunno, but I really started HATING Thursdays because of that. Earlier I was (OMGWTFBBQ It's Thursday, gotta go home and watch Naruto." Now there was so many fillers and I slowly started to lose interest in it, but maybe the story will pick up (5 kage arc since today on.)
Sakura just doesn't seem that good at saving people I guess. Well I don't know, but maybe (just maybe if Tsunade really DIES in that war) Naruto might become the youngest hokage in Konoha history. (I really have forgotten about Sasuke promising they'll kill each other) so I guess it's either Naruto becomes the youngest Hokage (ever?) and then Sasuke kills him afterwards or he never becomes Hokage at all. Simply put Naruto (sadly) won't live. that's my theory.
Pein was a bit confusing, yup. What's more confusing is that Nagato-kun and Naruto-kun are supposedly both Uzumaki descendants ( 'coughcough' Iknewit 'cough' ). I only liked Yahiko's Tendo/Deva (Damn I hope it's gonna be Deva in english, it sounds better) looks anyway (nice piercings ho~ho~ho~). The rest of them were kinda... creepy? Even though he destroyed stuff a lot I still think he wasn't completely happy with the whole thing. You know how it is when you lose something and then you AVENGE it and then it doesn't make you any happier because you just have emptiness left? Guess that's Nagato's case. He seemed pretty much confused when Naruto told him Jiraiya actually WROTE in that book that Nagato was the person who inspired him anyway (meaning he didn't read it as a kid or he simply FORGOT, but I don't think that would be the case). I always knew killing Jiraiya wasn't as easy for him as it seemed. After that he simply revived everyone and died... eh... probably just couldn't bear the guilt of killing a person that ACTUALLY loved him. As for him deciding what he'll do after one of those Naruto-motivation-speeches... I dunno but I don't think it's that unbelievable like everyone say it is. I mean I get where that's coming from, just Naruto's PERSONALITY makes you want to do things his way. Or at least try for that matter. Anyway if there ever was a person I truly felt sorry for it was Nagato (or earlier Naruto-but he managed to get back on his feet- and Gaara.)
LOL. I really laughed hard at the part when Naruto tried to teach Rasengan to Konohamaru. Guess everyone who's ever been Jiraiya's student (or student of Jiraiya's ideas anyway) became a perv at some point. xD I love it how Jiraiya can be stupid/perverted sometimes, but when he needs to he can be really serious/responsible. Anyways he was an awesome sensei. Naruto just isn't a typical one-person thing, I guess. It's really nice to see a story that has a focus on lots of people. I didn't really like Konohamaru at the begining, but he started to grow closer to me also.
It's true about the storyline, whenever someone asks me to explain Naruto to them I simply DON'T know where to begin. With legendary sannin and the history repeating itself now, or with Minato sealig the Kyuubi and Madara attacking the village or with the actual plot? It's really hard to explain the plot and then go back to what happened to Sannin and WHY Orochimaru now wants Sasuke's body. xD Really really hard. I really like Tenten ^^ it's too bad she doesn't have more screen time xD
Writing an essay on Naruto... that would probably be my dream come true xD ^^
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I think I read this before... Sorry, I haven't commented back in like, what, a week? I've just been really busy. But, dude, I would teach that class. Definitely. And I hate teaching.
I like NaruHina. It's really cute and endearing. But I'm secretly rooting for the KibaHina team. But I am so proud of Naruto for turning down Sakura. I mean, sometimes he can be so dense that I just want to smack him, but at that moment I wanted to glomp him. My friends who read it religously actually told me about that scene, and how he turned her down, but they made it sound like Sakura truly did love him and he was just being the dense little prick that he is. But when I read it for myself, I wanted to drown Sakura. And poor Sai!! He was totally upstaged! Prats, all of them! But, you're right. Hinata does deserve Naruto way more than Sakura does. Sakura deserves to have her heart repeatedly broken by Sasuke. Quite honestly, I don't think I legitimately ship Naruto with anyone. I know I want him to end up with certain people, but when it comes down to it, I really don't see him with anyone.
Sakura has spent her entire life making herself believe that she was in love with Sasuke. She isn't going to just turn around and say that she now loves Naruto because Sai told her, too. Why she listened to Sai in the first place is beyond me. Sai is the proverbial voice of reason that no one listens to anyway.
O.o Your parents know Naruto? That's pretty cool.
Well, it sounds like everything is working up toward the finale, then. I acutally like Yamato until I broke up with my boyfriend (who cosplays him). And now I just associate them with each other. I know I shouldn't, but it's ruined Yamato for me. I still care about him as far as the storyline goes. He is rather important to the plot.
As for Tsunade dying, she would take half the opposing army with her. She's too stubborn to die. But I do see her giving it her all. Though I think they wouldn't choose the next Hokage until the war was over. As for the youngest Hokage, my votes on Shikamaru. Kishimoto-sensei has done everything but stamp a big I'M THE 7TH HOKAGE sign on his forehead to groom this kid for the ultimate seat of power. And now that he's the leader of his own division in the army? Yeah, this boy is destined for to become the Hokage.
Deva is actually the nickname of my universal RPG character... Cool. Pein was an interesting character, but it was just to hard for me to follow his story arc. There was just so much going. That and his back story actually made me life. I mean, it's the stereotypical formula for villians. A pinch of bullying + Terrible War X Dead Puppy = Your everyday super villian. After the puppy died, I knew there was no saving this child.
Jiraiya is one of those wonderful teachers who are really amazing teachers at the same time you really don't want him around children. But his love of teaching is so strong that it is passed down through his students. I would have loved to have him as my sensei.
I love storys like though. Ones that are so intricate that you just do not know where to begin when you start explain them. I mean, you could go volume by volume, but even then, when you're done you're still left with several hundred pages of analysis. Screw teaching this in literature classes. They should be teaching this in psychology. The simplest thing to do would be to describe it as a boy who wants to become a king and bring peace to the world, but even then that doesn't even begin to cover it.
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Naaah It's okay. I have lots of things to do myself these days. xD I probably just don't have the nerve to teach anything (I almost pass out before a simple presentation due to my fear of audience xD)
True enough, Naruto can be dense as hell. Really can be. But anytime he does that I just kinda smack my head and say "What an idiot." and laugh a bit. I think you're right about the pairing thing. I mean there are SO many pairing wars around the internet wether Naruto should end up with Sakura or he should end up with Hinata. Personally I don't really care anymore. It's stupid that people FIGHT and stress over pairings. Characters (no matter how realistic they are) sadly aren't real. And as for my opinion, I agree with you. I mean there are people we all want to see Naruto with, but I don't think it'll happen. Manga's really slowly going towards the end, and I don't think there's much time left for little pairing hints like in Pein VS Naruto fight when Hinata comes to the rescue (and gets her butt kicked, but the last part doesn't really matter, in anime it seemed awesome enough even though she lost.)
Heheh... poor Sai... the voice nobody listens to xD Heck wasn't that Naruto's place three years ago? As much as I remember Sakura and Sasuke just kept telling him what an idiot he is, LOL (except on a few occasions). xD
Nope, sadly my parents don't... ummm know Naruto as far as anime/manga goes, but I do discuss things happening in it with dad. I threw a tantrum over how lame Sakura was right after I read the chapter and then I told him how unfair it was to Hinata because she loved Naruto all these years and so on and so on... he said that girls like Sakura are the type that would probably be one night stands, but Hinata would probably be the one Naruto sticks with for real. My mom doesn't really like anime (says it's cliche because of the big sparkly eyes and faces that all look the same - I don't really agree with her there...) Also she said Naruto has some really nice teachings/life lessons, but is too idealistic and I should stop watching it, and then I tell her "Where the hell is idealism in good people dying?" I really can't say that Naruto himself isn't being idealistic with his "I will change the world" thinking though.
Yup... slowly it's ending... heck I'm still waiting for Nagato zombie and Naruto going face to face again... I have this idea that Madara will FINALLY reveal how they are related... come on, Kishimoto... you can't just start something and then drop it completely, if there was a thing I wanted to know about Naruto, this is it. I want to know just HOW Nagato and Naruto are related. Dammit, this is killing me...
I didn't think Yamato would end up being that importantin manga. xD Poor guy, he was kinda scaring me at the begining. Well... his "I-will-control-you-with-fear" technique anyway. But the reaction to it was just hilarious. I almost fell off the chair laughing when he did that...
I know, there aren't many chances of Tsunade dying. Maybe 5%, but if she did I'm pretty sure she'd do exactly what you say she will. Take down half the army before she does. I never thought Madara would use that ressurection tech. But right now I'm wondering if he can still control Kyuubi. If he really does, then I'm afraid he has a good chances of winning this war... just needs to make Naruto lose his temper. And that's not exactly hard thing to do... hopefully Naruto won't Kyuubi-shift again after that training of his. Woah... I didn't really think of Shikamaru much, but it really makes sense if you put it that way. If Naruto really does die before becoming Hokage, then Shika could get the position. But I still kinda do think Naruto might become Hokage for a really really short period of time. Like for a day maybe. But the way he is, he'd probably have the shortest Hokagedom in history (right after Kakashi, LOL poor guy, nominated to be Hokage and thrown off five minutes later by Danzo...)
Oh no, not the puppy TT.TT ANYTHING but puppy! Think of the little kids TT.TT
I think Nagato was just plain adorable when he was little. When he kept asking nicely for food and people kept saying that they don't have any (when they had a whole basket of bread in reality) I was all like "You damn liars..." It's so sad Nagato had to change from that... to what he was recently. I mean what fought Naruto was really... just a shadow of Nagato, nothing more. It's really sad how he simply forgot to believe in himself. But I do see why that is, I mean if my best friend... my IRL BEST friend who finaly made me realize that I'm worth something (and then connected me to new people so now I have a bunch of really good friends) STABBED herself with a knife in my hands... that would probably be the end of me too. And all those deaths one after another. No wonder he finally snapped, poor kid...
Yeah, adore him so much myself... (I really CRIED when Pein killed him, that's probably the only part of Pein I hate xD). I'd want all the teachers Naruto had. First Iruka, then Kakashi and then Jiraiya. They are all the best teachers in the world. But there was a trick to Jiraiya being a sensei... until I found out how he was when he was younger I kept wondering why Pein and Minato didn't end up being pervs xD Then everything was just clear and when I found out how awesome he used to be before he became a complete perv (and the little parts when he was serious) really made me appreciate him.
Yeahyeahyeah That's it, that's it!!! Naruto is a psychology thing isn't it? I really adore psychology. It's really awesome. The thing is that Naruto simply can't be explained to draw your attention. You have to see it for yourself and then decide wether you like it or not. I mean I know some of the people who really hate Naruto and tell me it's shit. At the same time they like Higurashi. I mean I have absolutely NOTHING against Higurashi, but I think it's just gorey and pointless. After 3 episodes, everyone gets killed.(They say second season explains it, but I simply don't care anymore.)
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I can't believe I just did that! Stupid awkwardly placed back button! I just wanted to switch tabs... and I wound up losing five hundred words worth of comparison to Nagato and Naruto's relationship! Grr... Now, I have to try to recreate it from memory... But the best I think I can do is to sum it up... Here, I go...
Though Nagato and Naruto with both born and raised in two different time periods with different circumstances, they were both given the same decision to make. Though they both chose to fight on for the betterment of the world, they both chose to do so in different ways. Driven by the lose of his best friend, through forced suicide, Nagato chose to seek revenge on the world and eradicate everyone in it so that no other child would grow up as he did and be forced to live as he did. In his way, he saw that all the pain and suffering that was caused on him, would be what would save this world from itself. In Naruto's case, he lost his best friend through the brainwashing of a malevolent pedophile. However, he chose to continue to seek Sasuke, and he chose that he would better the world through love and freedom, which what he had learned through his journeys and companionships. Each took a similar turning point in their lives and made two different decisions based on their experiences and the situation at that time.
I don't think Tsunade is going to die. She's comes close before, but protecting and healing an entire village from dying can take a lot out of you. As for Madara... I don't think he has any control over Kyuubi anymore. I think the whole purpose of Naruto being trapped on an island with Killer Bee was to teach him how to control Kyuubi and take that control way from Madara. With Naruto's mother, Madara had the advantage of her giving birth. With Naruto, Madara doesn't have that advantage because it is completely nonexistent. He does have the advantage of Naruto's temper, but even with that, Naruto is close (if he doesn't already have) total control over Kyuubi, which the whole purpose of him being on the island with Killer Bee in the first place.
I'm voting SHIKA FOR 7TH as soon as this war is over and done with.
I really hope they don't bring Jiraiya back as a zombie.. That's just not cool...
What's Higurashi?
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Aaaawh (sorry for the back button xD) I know how that is, it sucks like hell. Typing and thinking for over twenty minutes and then losing everything with just one click 
Agreed here, they both had the chance to choose the same path (I still think Naruto's path is the right path). I discussed whole Nagato and Naruto comparison with my dad too, and the said abou the same things as you did. Losing everything he had was like some kind of test of Nagato's willpower, but I really don't think anyone can have as much willpower as Naruto. When doing something completely impossible, Naruto would do it just because he's so damn stubborn (not saying that it's a bad thing, I love his stubborness xD). Nagato had some willpower since he managed to get back on his feet after he lost his parents, then again after he lost his puppy, but losing someone who was almost like his brother just brought him down completely. He had some will, but it simply wasn't enough I guess. He said it himself, he couldn't believe in Jiraiya, neither he could believe in himself. Yet he still does believe in Naruto. I think he kinda choose the right path at the end, but it cost him his life. Anyway it's sad Nagato never used the new chances he had in life. Jiraiya, Konan and Yahiko were probably like his new family. And I bet if he gave life another chance after fighting Naruto, they'd still make a nice family, since Naruto is hyper and idealistic and needs someone to look after him so he doesn't do something really stupid. Naruto has a habit of doing stupid things sometimes, but he always survives because of his sheer luck and determination. If they ever were to live together it wouldn't be bad for Nagato either. Probably he wouldn't be that emotionless anymore if he spend more time with Naruto. But at the point when Nagato killed Jiraiya, he simply screwed up that chance.
Hopefully that's true, I really don't wanna se Naruto fail just because he loses his temper again xD
Nope, Jiraiya was never brought back as a zombie. Kabuto couldn't find his DNA to use impure world ressurection (or whatever the jutsu is called) on him. Jiraiya couldn't be retrieved as a zombie (luckily).
Eeeehm it's anime. Full name Higurashi no naku Koro Ni. But I just call it Higurashi. But I never got the point of it. All that happens in first season is everyone dying/killing each other. I think it's kinda scary.
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TT_TT And it was really good too..
Well, Nagato died in order to bring the rest of Konoha back to life. Without his death, we would have lost a great many of the characters that we know and love. Kakashi died and through Nagato's death was brought back. In the end, Nagato's death was absolutely necessary. And it also pushed Konan to reach her ultimate power level. She was able to take on Madara, and hold him off. No one has that kind of power, except for maybe Naruto once he's done with the island thing.
In a way, Nagato had the same kind of transformation that Sasuke did. Sasuke/Nagato lost his family, had to raise himself, found a new family then through Orochimaru/War, lost that as well. Sasuke went onto to hone his skills so that he would be strong enough to fight Itachi, even though Itachi knew that he was not going to survive when next they fought. Nagato lost Yahiko and with Madara's help created the Akatsuki. Now that the Akatsuki are under Kabutops's control, and Kabutops is under Madara's control, as well as Sasuke's Team Hawk, and the enemy army is made up entirely of people who can't die because they're already dead.. Whoa.. I really got off track with that one.. What were we talking about? Right! Nagato... Uh... Hmm...
Kishimoto-sensei is a douche that likes destroying childhood dreams, but if Naruto fails because of soemthing as trivial as his temper, then he will have over a million people within ten miles of him that want to kill him. Not to mentions the billions of more people in the rest of Tokyo and the ones here in America. Also, Jiraiya needs to stay dead. I love him, but even zombified, he would make a powerful and deadly advesary. But the zombies still seem to retain some of their original personality, as we've witnessed from Deidara. So, maybe, they still retain a bit of free will as well. If that is the case, then certain zombies , like Zabuza and Haku, might actually be a hindrance rather than an advantage.
Sounds like Battle Royale to me..
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Konan needs some love yes xD I think all three Ame Orphans need love, I always fall for those "little kids" stories <3 I agree though, no matter how sad it seems to me that he died. Anyway you look at it, Nagato had to die. But regarding the chapter after Konan's death, whole Ame Orphans team is together again, along with Jiraiya (symbolically at least). At least they're happy where they are now <3
Oh crap,
Dammit Kishimoto-san don't do it D:
Anyway I don't think that will happen (hopefully.) After that Naruto might never end (like you said, Kishimoto will have a million of people who want to kill him in ten mile radius if Naruto loses over his temper). And don't worry about Jiraiya, I'm pretty sure he can't be zombified. For ressurection you need a person's DNA. According to manga, Kabutops (even after evolving xD) couldn't find Jiraiya's DNA. So no Jiraiya's zombie for Kabutops. I'm wondering what happens to Itachi and Nagato though... I'm pretty sure Madara just wants to pit them against their families. Sasuke might fight Itachi... and Naruto might fight Nagato again. Without rinnegan, Nagato can't do much anyway (Or can he...?), so why bring him back in the first place, unless Madara wants to force them to fight each other again. So I'm really expecting that big fight(hoping it doesn't get screwed when it gets to come to life through animation, but that's just empty hope and wishes...).
I have absolutely NO IDEA what Battle Royale is, but if you say it sounds like Higurashi, then I don't think I wanna know. xD I couldn't sleep for three days straight.
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Dude, I am so sorry for putting off replying to this for sooo long! I kept telling myself that I'd do it later, I never knew that later would be a month later... I'm soo sorry! I would blame on life, but it's more than that. I haven't really been wanting to think intelligently enough to reply. But now, I'm going to! Mhahaha!!
Yeah, Sasuke's always been pretty low on my favorites list. Itachi on the other hand is a far more interesting character. Here's a child that grows up with the greatest affections from his family, friends and teachers. He's the top of his class and becomes a member of the special forces at a very young age. He was groomed from the start to be great and powerful, and he just flowed with it. He became everything that was expected of him. His father expected him to become a great ninja. His mentors expected him to become their savior. He killed his best friend and gained the ultimate sharigan, then used it to kill his family AS HE WAS INSTRUCTED TO DO by the ANBU. Then after doing his duty, he accepted his "punishment" and was banished from the very village that he just saved from the Uchiha rebellion. Itachi has never lived his life for his own sake, but the sake of everyone else. Everything he does is benefit others. Even his last act was to give his sharigan to Sasuke, who was intended to have it in the first place. If anyone is a puppet in this whole story, it's Itachi. But despite the fact that no action he takes is ever his own, he accepts his fate with grace and dignity and humility. And this makes him infinitely better than Sasuke because Sasuke is a prissy little whiny child who never got his way and wouldn't accept the fact that he too is a puppet by the strings of fate. In a sense, that might make Sasuke more of a badass, but it actually makes him look like an spoiled brat.
Naruto is coming to end. I hate to see, because I want this to keep going. But there is just only so much you can do with a storyline as intricate as this one is. But quite honestly, it's time. And I'm sure Kishimoto-sensei is more than ready for all of this to be over and done with. I for one am really excited about seeing the end of this, not because it's ending, but because it is going to rival the last season of Avatar in epicness. A lot is riding on this thing, and Kishimoto-sensei has a big order to fill for this brain child of his. But I believe in him. He's gotten this far..
Battle Royale is a manga where these people kidnap a class of high schoolers and strand them on an island with nothing but guns and other weapons. Then they force the kids to kill each other until the last one survives. I never finished it, but it was pretty graphic and gruesome.
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Na-aah it's okay. I have my bad days too you have absoulte right to answer anytime you feel like. xD
Well I kinda can't say that I dunno a thing about Itachi, but he kinda creeped me out when his story was shown first. That's from Sasuke's point of view. "He turned evil and killed everybody." That's what Sasuke wants people to think or at least that's what he thought. He turned evil and killed everybody my a**, Sasuke. Anyway, I still think Nagato's tragedy was a bit worse than Itachi's, because as much as I remember, ANBU also gave Itachi a choice of not killing his clan if he wasn't up to it, and let them do the job. But he didn't let them do what was his responsibility I guess, it's true what you said, he accepted his fate (or job in this case) with dignity and humility. He definately is better than Sasuke. Way better. But in some ways Uchihas always seem kinda cold to me. I really should keep Itachi out of it because of his love to his little brother, but he kinda DID accept the job to kill his family. Which I couldn't possibly do in his place. I couldn't raise a hand to kill people close to me, be it friends, family or someone I like, even though I knew they were planning something wrong. I couldn't possibly choose between my homeland and those I care for. It's kind of too hard of a decidion to make. That's why I could probably never relate to Itachi. His story is too... not too complicated to understand, it's just I was never in a position of making hard decisions. I could relate to Naruto though. And later to Gaara. And then later to Nagato. Everybody standing in a damn circle around you and laughing at you, and pointing fingers... no, I really don't wanna bring that up, because I don't wanna be a sorry little victim forever. I've been there, but I also left it behind. Let's just say that I know the feeling. That's why I could relate to Naruto and Gaara easily. Before Nagato came in, those two were my top faves, along with Hinata, because I became very very shy after my experience in life, so I could relate to her too. I'm not sure what made me relate to Pein, but I guess it could be loss of a friend... well not a loss in such a bad way as his is, but my best friend left and lives in another country now. We don't see each other as much as we used to. I still love her very very much, but lots of things have changed since then. I miss her a lot. Back to Itachi and Nagato comparison - in a way I think Nagato's tragedy was a bit worse, because he really didn't have a choice wether he looses his family or not. Itachi did. He was prepared when the time came. Nagato was never ready. He didn't even see it coming. In that way, I think it's worse. As for Sasuke, that sorry little a**... "I'm an avenger, Naruto. Yes, I'm an avenger. He only let me live because he knew I was the only one who can stop him. I'm the only one powerful enough to avenge my clan, so don't get in my way, blah, blah, blah..." Shit did it EVER even cross his mind that Itachi let him live because he LOVED him? Maybe? Sasuke is way too self-centered for my liking and that's basicly it.
True enough. Latley a lot of people are letting go of Naruto, because it's dragging way too long. I can't say that for myself... well maybe I can, but it's not really manga's fault. It's mostly latest filler arc's fault. I mean Naruto's non-shippuden filler arc had pretty good stories, I was able to see more NaruHina fluff, it was kinda thrilling and tense here and there, but SHIPPUDEN filler arc? Noooo. They let Sasuke chase after some lame cat, called Nekomata (I don't even care what it was anymore...) and an ostrich kicking the crap out of highly trained ninjas? I mean I know ostriches can kick pretty hard, but this? KICKING two damn JONIN's asses? I don't think so. Well back to the point, I'm really looking forward to the final fight too. I wanna see what Madara's gonna do. I predicted a few things when he announced the fourth ninja war, but none of them came true by now. Or at least it doesn't seem to go in that direction. Right when he declared a war I knew Naruto isn't going to live through this. My first choice was: Hokage locking him up/hiding him somewhere and not telling him there was a war. That part really happened. How could it not, I always knew he was too much of a hothead to keep around when the battle starts. Like always he'd just jump into the fray, stubborn and reckless kid he is, even though the whole point of war is to protect him. So basicly that part wasn't that hard to figure out. My next prediction: Naruto just isn't the type who wants to stand around knowing people are dying for his sake. So he'll either turn himself in so Madara would leave the rest of the village alone, or he'd simply lose his mind when he found out how many of his friends died. But that doesn't seem to go in either direction. Or at least we don't know that yet. He still has to go back to that battlefield, he still just suspects there's something going on. And last Hanzo VS Mifune was kind of a mood killer for me, because I really wanted to know what the heck Naruto is doing at his place. Or if he's at least a little bit closer to finding out what's going on. But it was good to see Pein back on the scene, even if it was just one pannel or two. I knew EXACTLY that he's gonna show up in front of Hanzo with Yahiko's image and scare the living lights out of him and kill him after that. If someone who I thought was long dead showed up before me like that I'd probably crash down my wall when running away and screaming "OHMYGOOOOOOD!!!! PARANORMAL REALLY DOES HAPPEN!!!!!" (Yeah I do lots of stupid things when I'm alone or with my best friends... those I know they won't laugh at me...Lots and lots of stupid things. But it's always fun.) He still lives up to his reputation.
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Ugh, school is kicking my ass... Thank God it's only two more weeks... Then maybe I can finally get on with my life and have a summer to get ready for the Fall Semester...
It's interesting that you brought up the theme of victimization. That theme runs heavy throughout many of the sub-plots of the Naru-characters. We see it in Naruto as he grew up in Konoha village and being ostracized by many of the elders of the village. In a sense, they outcast Naruto subconsciously, which was something that their children inherited. In their need to blame someone for the loss of family and friends, their only outlet was Naruto, thus make him the central focus for their anger. With Gaara it was the same way, but to a more violent extent. Where the people of Konoha lived in tolerance of Naruto, the people of the... sand village... I forgot the name... but, anyway, they lived in fear of Gaara. To the point that even his father tried to kill him. Now in Pein's case, his victimization was different than either Naruto or Gaara's. For Nagato, he was the victim of war. Where Naruto and Gaara were outcast from their villages, everything that Nagato was made him a target by the enemy ninja nation. An entire nation of people was wiped from the earth, and what few survivors there were being picked off one by one, and not just from one army. Both opposing sides of the war were essentially using them as target practice. Nagato, Yahiko and Konan managed to survive by the hands of Jiraiya, and were then taught how to defend themselves and care for themselves and for each other. It was with this training that Yahiko created his own army and rose up against the dictatorship that their nation had become. Though their efforts proved in vain, it was through Yahiko's sacrifice that Nagato's inner strength was awakened.
Now, those three aren't the only ones who suffer from victimization. Far from it. Kishimoto-sensei has woven that theme into virtually ever single one of his characters, even going so far as to create a character who's sole purpose is to be used as a tool rather than being seen as a person. The only reason for Karin's existence is basically as an easy way to heal yourself, if you don't biting down hard enough on someone's flesh so that you leave a permanent mark. Not to mention that at least a hundred other people have done the same thing and God knows where else on her body. Now, I'm not a fan of Karin, believe me. She's self-centered and whiny. But she is a prime example of this constant theme that's strewn throughout the Naru-universe.
I really have been neglecting my reading. I've been so busy lately that the days just seem to go by like blurs. Or, I just don't want to start reading again because I know that the series is almost over and I know a lot of my favorite characters are going to die.
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Good for you. ^^ I still have 2 months to go xD ut after that... party time for the next month and a half.
Yeah, I noticed that too. There's so many people that had a rough time when they were little in Naruto, that you can barely count them all. First it was Naruto. Then it was also Sasuke, but not really the point of being the victim, more like the point of trying to surpass his brother and feeling neglected or something. Ino and Sakura were always a competition it seems. Neji lost his father, who died to protect the main branch of the family. Hinata was never able to show her true power due to her shyness, and her father was dissapointed in her. Lee had a hard time since he couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu in ninja world. Choji was never really liked by other kids, even though he was really kind-hearted. Gaara was almost killed by the person he trusted the most. Nagato lost his parents, a puppy and his best friend, same goes for Konan and Yahiko (also lost their parents in a war). Kakashi lost his best friends, also he felt responsible for it. And we could go on here. There's a lot of people in Naruto who have such-and-such sad backstory, that makes you think about yourself when you realize what they've been through and that you shouldn't be thinking of them as a regular douchebags. I really used to hate Gaara. I just thought he was some psycho. After his backstory I cried. same goes for Neji, I hated him for the way he was treating Hinata. But after his backstory came in, I thought things he did weren't right, but were pretty resonable since those things happened.
Hmmm I see. I never really liked Karin either, but after you put it this way, I think you're right about her. She IS like a tool, free for anyone to use just to heal themselves. Kishimoto-san really likes to use the theme of victimization and being a tool to someone else. As far as I remember there was also a ton of people who were there merely to be of use to someone else. Haku to Zabuza (even after we found out that Zabuza really cared for Haku later, but he never really showed him so Haku would know), Itachi to Orochimaru (but that Orochimaru's plan backfired, and that's when Sasuke to Orochimaru comes in), Pein to Madara and so on and so on... yup, there's a bunch of people, when you think about it.
I really still read just so I can find out how it all ends. I've been reading too long to leave it without a good conclusion. But I know what you mean when you say you're too busy, the school year's coming to an end here too, so I better do my best and not fail any of the upcoming tests I have. That, or I'm gonna have to do whole year over again. And I really don't want that. Besides, I need good grades, so I can go to the university I want to. xD
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