Naruto Chapter 349: That Place...
**Updated 4-17-07**
Summary: We learn that the Northern Base was the center of Orochimaru's human experimentation and that the curse seal was derived from Juugo's blood.
SnowyOwl Says:
The plot thickens! Mostly exposition, but I was super energized by this chapter. Sorry for the long post, and sorry WitherWings if I took all your topics. Team Sasuke is turning out to be pretty interesting, at least as it stands. I don't know what throwing Juugo/Gollum into the mix will do.
Suigetsu: It's official. Me likes. He's laid back, and for the Naruto world, pretty 'normal' for a teen. Love the characterization that he's the one struggling to keep up and dehydrated because he isn't use to ... land. Heh, he's totally me in a group outing (see pic)
And check out the squatting skills. Even though he tires easily, he can still squat all cool like. Maybe I'm reacting to the jumbo sword strapped to his back. Very Cloud-like, and Cloud it also cool-looking.Can't help but think that Suigy will get on well with Sai. Sui will make some comment that he thinks is clever and Sai would just look at him, not getting the joke at all. I hope they meet!
Finally, I just have to replicate some dialogue here:
Sui: I heard he [Juugo] came to Orochimaru of his own will, which says a lot about how crazy he was.
Karin: Well, think about it. Why would he have come to Orochimaru on his own?
Sui: I dunno. Because he's retarded?
Sasuke: ...
Ha! Take that, Sasuke! Yes, Water-boy is on my thumbs-up list. Wait, one more:
Sui: Aw crap. He died.
Right up there with Sai's deadpan "Oh. That's me" (see ch.147) when he saw bunshin-him and bunshin-Sasuke get it on. I look forward to more of him.
Karin: The beauty mark is distracting. Everytime there's a close-up, my brain is jibbering 'Moley-moley-moley-moley!' a la Austin Powers. But that said, she actually had some substance here. Karin might not like having Juugo join, but she's has empathy for him and defends him by taking the time to educate the guys. And she totally has thing for Sasuke, but slightly different in that she's embarrassed to be open about it, unlike Sakura and Ino.
Sasuke: He killed fake-Juugo in one panel! You know, I bet Kishimoto gave Sasuke eye-attacks and super-speed so that he wouldn't have to draw fights. Creativity born of laziness!
Juugo: Doesn't he remind you of a crazed Hitsuguya?
Oh. Yeah. That's what Hitsu should do to Hinomori, but I digress ... I'm really looking forward to this guy too. If Kishimoto doesn't make him some sort of Igor/animal who has trouble using big words, I can foresee angst coming from him. A lost soul struggling to maintain a stable identity, an lonely, feared boy who wants to lose his 'power' and be normal. Like Gaara, without the demon to blame.Team Evil Arc: Actually, they're not so evil. The switch to this new arc was a bit jarring at first, with the sudden defeat of Orochimaru and hero-Sasuke, but with all the new characters (who aren't 2-D) and revelations, I wouldn't mind hanging with them instead of the folks in Konoha for a while. I think I was a bit resistant to the new arc because we had almost 2 years in the fandom to villify Sasuke. Plus, speculation of the Sound focused on Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke (occasionally the Sound 5), making the Sound very flat (no music pun intended). It's interesting that Kishimoto is now fleshing out the other side. Sound nin weren't all power hungry, in fact, it sounds like most were kept against their will. Plus, it seems as if Sasuke didn't breed contempt amongst the others that I thought would have been the case since he had been a favorite and seemed solely focused on his training. Remember what a jerk he was with Sai and Naruto? Perhaps there's more to him...?
Witherwing writes:
Just a few quick notes:
Juugo the retarded- I agree with cool Mizu-kun. I mean, who would look at Orochimaru and think that that was the cure to killing urges? Did he even SEE Orochi? Well at least he was trying to change...and got experimented on instead. Sasuke's shunpo was so fast, they couldn't even catch in on still panels.
Karin- She might be embarassed to be open about her crush on Sasuke but she's certainly not against making a move on him (after she's locked the door) when she thinks their alone. That is one scary person.
I wonder if Saskuke's ever met Juugo before. How did he know that that wasn't him?
Well that's all I have to say about that.
posted by SnowyOwl @ 8:41 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
Nope. Still don't like Sasuke. I don't deny that he's a developed character or anything, but he's a royal pain. Mr. My-Vengeance-Supercedes-All-Other-Causes is an annoying, arrogant little munchkin (even if he does have superpowers). His character is more stagnant than even Sakura. He's still on a vengeance kick, even though it'll get him nowhere- he's still an incredibly bloody-minded 12 year old. I'd like to take this moment to point out that as of current information, Orochimaru and Kabuto saved the remnants of Team 7. Super Sasuke was about to kill them. Why? Because they were getting in his way. He still has only one idea. But hey, at least his new meat shields are cool.
However, Suigetsu is high on the list of awesome, along with Chouji and Sai. It's a pity he's evil. Or, at least, as evil as a 15 year old can be. But, considering the Superfriends' ...evil...ish... plan, it wouldn't be all that hard to out-evil them. A troop of Girl Scouts could do it. And don't you think that dear little Sui unofficially called Sasuke a retard? After all, he's the only other one who voluntarily sought out Orochimaru. HA! Yeah, Sui's okay. Along with Kabuto, I officially begin to hope that he wins.
On a side note- creepy. How long has mini-Hitsugaya been hanging with Orochimaru? How long has anyone ACTUALLY had that curse seal? Was Orochimaru twiddling his thumbs and wishing upon a star when Deus-Ex-Hitsugaya showed up with his Scary Blood? Did he just control his minions with his Freaky Snake Powers and Stupid Tongue of Doom without that curse seal? At least now we know that Sasuke wasn't drawing on Orochimaru's powers when he fought him (I know you follow the pronouns). He was maybe using this poor Juugo like a battery. Jeez, no wonder he's insane.
Yo taterbird! Oh yeah, Sui totally inadvertantly called Sasuke a retard, which is the beauty of that scene. And you're right, I had forgotten that Sasuke was about to blow up Team Kakashi and it was Orochi of all people that spared them. Maybe Orochi was trying to save Sasuke from damaging his new body, but Sasuke's intent was there nevertheless. We may find that there's more to Sasuke's character in the future (::crosses fingers::) but I don't think that will absolve him from that.
We don't know that team evil actually has evil plans. Maybe we should rename them.
And good point about Crazy Hitsuguya. He looks a little younger than Sasuke & co, but even Anko had the seal. So either he was a rampaging baby that crawled to Orochi on his own, or he's got some sort of extended-life property in his DNA too. (Gosh, no wonder Orochi wanted him). Or Orochi did something to keep him preserved for long-term blood-letting? Ew.
Great post! I've got nothing to add! :D
Suigetsu is awesome...the first time i saw him, i fell in lust with him.
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