Sunday, February 25, 2007

Naruto Chapter 342: The King...!

SnowyOwl Says:

Some logistics first. I finally realized that this blog has little value-add to the casual surfer. No translations, or summaries, or downloads, just a lot of random thoughts from two bloggers, with the occasional (actually, quite consistant) comments from our regular, Taterbird (thanks!). So, a slight change of format: Behold! I give you ... the 2 (+/- 1) sentence summary! Meh, I find the author's commentary more engaging then the summaries anyway, but at least now there's a little more context. Changes will be rolling out to previous posts in the future.

Now for the end of the first arc Mendokuse has covered. Since WitherWing is AWOL due to real life, I'll make my entry extra lengthy to make up for it.

Summary: The Hidan/Kukazu arc comes to a close with both Akatsuki members defeated. Kakashi and Shikamaru comes to the understanding that the next generation must be protected at all costs, for they are destined to surpass the generations before it.

Comments:
Lot's of random thoughts, so let's take them one by one:

1. Shikamaru's patronus. Um...what's with the deer? The vision of Asuma he saw, was it actually the deer coming as a surrogate for the surrogate father-figure? Just...weird.
2. Sai is still needs to work on people skills. And I quote: 'You must be much more capable than I was told." Compliment and insult all in one, what talent. Love that the comment was totally ignored.
3. The amazing Kakashi. How does Kakashi know what Sasuke looks like now? He's a gen-i-us, that's how.
4. The final blow. The kids still don't dirty their hands. Kakashi, the perfect shinobi, finishes the job. That's the second death he's taken from Naruto (see Haku). Shikamaru, of course, has now entered the realm of adulthood with his kill.
5. ZOMG Kuranai's actually pregnant! I was just joking back in chapter 330. Now the question is, were they actually married? Or just engaged? Asuma must have known, he was all contemplate-y and finally understanding his dad (that's Sandaime to us) and all. Which means he went to his death leaving behind a pregant woman?! Without saying goodbye?! Shika's still a chuvanist (he asked Kuranai if she should be walking when she's not even showing yet!) but you know, Shika? You're already cool in my book. You know he's going to end up the jounin sensei of Asuma Jr. in the epilogue (there goes my dream that he becomes Hokage).
6. Shogi lessons. So the next generation is king. Guess our predictions back in our first post (Ch. 316) did not come to fruition. Love that Shika Sr. totally whooped Shika Jr. in shogi. So maybe it wasn't that Shika was good at it, it was Asuma that was bad. But let's not disrespect the dead.
7. Sasuke makes a cameo. Oh yeah, he's still around. And he's still not up to Orochi's standards of ruthlessness. Which means he might be redeemable yet XD! But what's the point if Orochi's just going to take over the body anyway? It's got nothing to do with Sasuke's willingness to kill, does it?

Witherwing writes:

Oh man, real life stinks! But I take a break from it to update.

Kakashi's steal: Well from the looks of it, I don't think that Naruto was in the condition to deal the final blow. Though I think that Haku was an accident. And you can't possible know that Naruto had never killed anyone. I mean, his a ninja and sometimes they don't do very nice things to other ninjas. You just don't see it because the opponents aren't worth mentioning. Shikamaru too, he's done a lot of missions in his time. And technically, Hidan is still alive. :-p

Shika's coolness: I can just see him being one of the cool adults like Kakashi. There's still hope for his hokagedom. I mean the third was a sensei and hokage. Shikamaru can do it too..
Shika-dad: Maybe Shikamaru gets his smarts from his dad. (sidenote: did you notice that Shika-dad looks kinda like the third?)Saskuke's cameo: He's not killing people, there's still hope for him. I just can't help but have a Lord of the Rings moment here where Gimli was like 'he's got my axe imbedded in his nervous system!'

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Naruto Manga 341: The Training's Results!

**Updated: 2-28-07**

SnowyOwl Says:


Sweet Windy Ball of Doom. Naruto got him with the same trick he used on Neji, risking his own body for the feint. I guess bad guys are all selfish and self-preserving, so they can't fathom the opponent sacrificing themselves for a greater cause (Also see Ukon vs. Kiba, circa 204)

I love how Kakashi is trying to copy the jutsu. He's a practical that way. Cheater.


Yes, but is he dead?

Witherwing writes:

How does that guy possibly keep all that string...yarn...rope...in his body? That's just not normal.

I must say though, if bad guys weren't self preserving, then they wouldn't be very good bad guys. I think it works well for them. ^_^

And even though Naruto used his windy ball of doom, he still didn't manage to kill him. (Though I suppose we didn't know this until the next chapter.) What good is it if he almost kills himself and still lets the enemy escape? Well, I suppose it's just an incomplete jutsu right now. We'll give him time.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Naruto Manga 340: A Dangerous Bridge

SnowyOwl Says:

He missed! I was really amused and happy to see that. It's so...Naruto-ish. Fantastic characterization. But I am a little disappointed that he turned down an opportunity for teamwork to walk across the metaphoric bridge himself. Plot-wise, its another step towards a one-on-one showdown between him and Sasuke. Personally, I would really like to see Naruto embrace teamwork and in the end, everyone would rally behind Naruto to prove to Sasuke that there is more strength in bonds, faith, and trust than isolation. That was the first lesson after all and the theme should drive the story to the end.

Witherwing Writes:

Loved: The fact that Naruto completely missed. Then Kakashi had to do the stop-chop and Yamato had to hit him with his trunk-like arms.

Huh, I didn't think to relate that their first lesson was teamwork. It was so long ago. But seeing as Sasuke is now poopy, he would probably see several people fighting him as a sign of weakness in that Naruto alone couldn't defeat him. But you know in the end it is Naruto that must bring Sasuke back. (Not Ron. Not Hermione, but Harry--I mean--Naruto.)

Naruto Manga 339: New Jutsu

SnowyOwl Says:

In the Woods: Man, Shikamaru can be pretty brutal. Rather than 'sploding Hidan's head too, he left him conscious but buried for all eternity to suffer. And Hidan's just crazy. Crazy! Let me just say that I would have a serious heart-attack if I found his head creeping up on me while I slept. Constant vigilance, Shika. Constant vigilance.

In the clearing: Dude, I didn't think I'd say this, but Naruto's Wind Shuriken looks really, really awesome.

Witherwing writes:

Woodlands: Oh yeah, Hidan's really gone off the deep end now. I guess being severed from one's body and doomed to spend eterity in a hole can do that to a person. But you know, he could just eat all the dirt or something. He's got a lot of time on his hands. But maybe his head did get squiched though when Shika blew up those huge bolders. One can only hope. Hidan's like the knight in Monty Python. Only, a little more creepy.

But checkout Shikamaru's pride:

The Jutsu: So Naruto's new jutsu is the Kage bunshiin. But wait! There's more. He's going to use the clones to collect information about the bad guy. Something he just figured out. And Kakashi just told Yamato the same thing like two seconds later. What was he doing with ero-sennin for two years? I feel like he should have picked this up the first few times he used it.

I agree that the new jutsu looks promising but still not that impressive. I mean, what do the others see that makes them all go 'whoa'. What do they know that I don't?

SnowyOwl Says:

Just a thought, but where did all the dirt that use to be in the hole go? And then, where did all the dirt that buried Hidan come from? 'Cause if you notice, the filled hole is still at the same level as before, so it's not as if Shika collapsed part of the hole into itself. Physics, physics...