Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2

Naruto: Omnibus #2

by Masashi Kishimoto

Reads R to L (Japanese Style), rated for teen audiences.

Containing volumes 4, 5 and 6 of Naruto! In the Land of Waves, Naruto and his teammates Sakura and Sasuke, along with their sensei Kakashi, struggle to protect the bridge builder Tazuna and his family from Gato's hired thugs. When one of Naruto's friends falls in battle, Naruto is faced with the most difficult choice of his life. How far will he go to protect his friends? And does he have what it takes to be a hero?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Adventure, Fiction, Comics, Young Adult

545 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2011

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.

Reviews

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember watching the scene when Sakura cuts her hair in the anime and being like omgg yay character development! and then it never amounts to anything. feelsbad :(

Chapters 28-54

[Nicolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, it’s Naruto. I had to give it five stars

[Alexis]

Neji Hyuga is strong and never stops trying and he passes the forest of death and even tho almost 50% of people die from it.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

Historia: 4*
Arte: 3*

El cuarto tomo es excelente. Lleno de batallas y un drama bien construido, es la conclusión perfecta para el primer arco argumental de este manga, relativo a Zabuza Momochi.

Inmediatamente después comienza el siguiente arco, respecto de los exámenes Chunin. La primer prueba es muy aburrida, y no ocurre nada relevante. Al contrario, es más un cúmulo de discursos que una prueba.
La segunda prueba empieza bien, a secas. Pero la última parte del tomo seis es excelente: mucho drama, del bueno, y unas batallas bastante intensas.

En general se introducen nuevos personajes que servirán de apoyo para la narrativa. Y realmente hacían mucha falta, ya que el POV de Naruto comenzaba a cansar, al ser el único.

Lo Mejor: El final te deja con ganas de más.

Lo Peor: Seguimos con cantidades exageradas de texto que no son más que discursos o monólogos de ciertos personajes. Lo anterior crea una sensación de redundancia y nos deja la impresión de que se desperdician viñetas que podrían ser usadas para explayar ciertos aspectos de mayor importancia.


Aclaración: Leí los volúmenes por separado, en la edición digital publicada por Panini Manga México.
Estoy reseñando ésta versión 3-en-1 por una cuestión de formato y practicidad.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Cole Dyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sakura SUCKS

[Leeann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great manga. I love how reading this bring back memories. Naruto and his team meet up to take an exam with other ninjas. And oh boy its really fun.

[Cageyblahblah]

The forest of death is great

[Esar ايثار · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant say how many times I’ve watched this arc but reading it still manages to pull all my attention.

Is sakura kind of moronic bc of her infatuation with Sasuke, yes, but I blame Kishi for the lost potential. She was building towards something so great here :/

[TheBookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Erin Bookishness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finishes the bridge story arc, contains the first part of the chunin exam and the first day of the second part of the exam.

[Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 4:
Starting off with Chapter 28: Nine Tails!!
Thrown into the middle of the battle of Naruto vs. Haku. At the end of the last volume we are assaulted with the semi-death of Sasuke. This brings on an emergence of the Demon fox. Unknown to Naruto's generation is that the Nine Tails is sealed into Naruto. This trauma sends Naruto over the edge to fight Haku on a serious scale.
Meanwhile Kakashi battles it out with Headhunter Zabuza of the Mist. This is a brilliant battle, and still to this day I stare with amazement.
I hope that you enjoy the manga that had me hooked from the beginning.
Cheers and Happy Reading!

Volume 5:
We start this volume with Chapter 37: The Worst Match-up..!!
In the last chapter rookie 9 has been entered into the Chuunin Exams. Starting off on in this chapter Team 7 meet Rock, Lee. Who is a member of team Guy. Lee challenges Sasuke out of unrequited affection for Sakura.
My favorite scene in a good majority of this manga is when Sasuke gets his ass handed to him by a secondary character. I don't know where the effing appeal of Sasuke comes from. I hate everything about him, and I don't know why the Sandaime didn't have him in an insane ward after the obliteration of his family. Sakura and any chick who fangirls over him have absolutely no self respect. You effing sheep!
Okay with my rant over, I will now continue with the review. After Lee is reprimanded by Guy-sensei, Team 7 make their way to the examination room. Turns out we meet a good majority of the cast of characters in this middle chapter. I enjoyed this greatly. To find out how they overcome some of the scariest ninjas in the settings world; you'll have to read for yourself.
Cheers and Happy Reading!

Volume 6:
This volume starts off with Chapter 46: The Codeword Is...?!
The Forest of Death, teams are scattered about. Very soon we discover the many dangers. Team against team to reach the Central Tower. Kakashi's Team 7 are pitted against a team from the village hidden in the Rain. After being fooled by a transformation jutsu, Sasuke comes up with a long winded pass code, they fend off the team. They are ambushed yet again. This time by a more deadly enemy. Come and meet the big bad of the series.
Cheers and Happy Readings!

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Once upon a time, the spirit of an evil Nine Tailed Fox wreaked havoc on Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves, killing hundreds of honorable ninja in the skirmish and leaving many children without homes or parents. The Fourth Hokage (leader of the village) unleashes a forbidden jutsu (magic spell/ninja ability) to seal the spirit of the evil fox into the body of a newborn baby named Naruto at the cost of his own life. He did this in the hopes that the boy could one day learn to master the power of the demonic spirit and use it to protect the village and become a great hero of the people.

Unknown to the citizens of the Leaf, the Nine Tailed Fox was being controlled by an even more powerful adversary, a legendary rogue ninja that plans to wage war against the entire world from the shadows. The identity of the mysterious ninja that attacked the Leaf Village using the Nine Tails died with the Fourth Hokage, and he used what remained of his life to gift Naruto with the power of one day being able to stop this evil ninja and a clan of outlawed S-rank criminals called the Akatsuki from committing mass genocide against the many hidden villages and clans of the world.

Because of the evil spirit sealed inside him, Naruto grew up hated by the other children of the village because they believe him and the Nine Tails to be one and the same. They believe he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them all just like the Nine Tails killed their parents and families. Shunned, dehumanized and treated like dirt, Naruto vows to become the greatest hokage the world has ever seen so that he can receive the love and acknowledgement he never got as a child.

On top of the Nine Tails power and the will to never quit, Naruto also possesses the uncanny ability to turn everyone he meets into a potential comrade. He brings out the best in his peers and tries his hardest to make his enemies see the errors of their ways. He disobeys the rules and ignores cultural traditions to try and make changes to the world and break the eternal cycle of war and hatred through his own methods. His determination is infectious to friend and foe alike. He earns himself the respect he deserves by overcoming one impossible obstacle at a time.

Naruto encounters many fascinating and terrifying ninja over the course of his journey to become hokage. Among them are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s best friend and rival who is driven by the vengeful lust to murder his elder brother after he wiped out their own clan in cold blood. Sasuke warms up to Naruto, but his hatred and trauma are dangerous forces that threaten to break his moral code as a ninja and destroy his reputation among his peers.

Kakashi Hatake is a notorious copycat ninja that survived one of the most brutal and devastating wars in history as well as the Nine Tails attack on the Leaf Village. He becomes Naruto and Sasuke’s mentor and teaches them a great number of valuable lessons about surviving in the dangerous world of rogue ninja, bloodthirsty assassins and clans ruled by corruption.

Jiraiya is a perverted yet wise sage who taught the Fourth Hokage everything he knew and he’s regarded as a god among shinobi that’s famous for his heroic actions in the second great ninja war. He takes an interest in Naruto and raises him as a father figure to carry on the legacy of the Fourth Hokage to prepare him for the many dangerous people that want to use his power for their own nefarious purposes.

The Akatsuki is one such group of wicked ninja. Among them are Sasuke’s brother Itachi who murdered his clan and possesses many dangerous techniques involving illusions, psychological torture and elemental manipulation. Sasori who controls poisonous puppets with magical threads, Orochimaru who mastered the forbidden arts of reanimation and quasi-immortality, Deidara who fights from afar using detonating clay and many other deadly foes.

The entire series chronicles Naruto and his fellow ninja comrades growing through countless trials and tragedies. There are hundreds of unique jutsus, clans, and techniques which lead to some very intense, creative and strategic battles between skilled ninja with diverse abilities that don’t always match up evenly. There are clan based abilities such as the Aburame clan’s ability to control insects, the Yamanaka clan’s ability to jump into other people’s minds and control their bodies and the Inuzuka clan’s ability to bond with wolves that learn to mimic their master’s battle skills. Then there’s ocular genetic abilities such as the sharingan which allows the user to create psychological illusions, copy their enemy’s abilities and manipulate elemental energy. The byakugan allows the user to read their enemies vital points and detect their spiritual energy from faraway. The rinnegan grants control over space and gravity and so on.

On top of having countless unique abilities, nearly every character has a tragic backstory that makes them sympathetic and relatable, even the nastiest of the villains have well-explored reasons for following the paths they do and becoming the way they are. One of my favorite aspects of the series is how well it explores the physical, emotional and psychological effects war can have on society and culture as well as the survivors and future generations that are forced to live in them. How it breeds racism and cultural disputes, how it inspires hatred in orphaned children and war veterans robbed of their homes toward foreign nations, as well as how this eventually leads to further death, war, poverty and destruction. Learning to forgive the ones you hate to prevent further conflict and damaging the world for future generations even further is a major theme throughout the story.

Being a massive 700 chapter series, it’s not too surprising that there’s some plot holes and consistency issues. A rule might be stated regarding the requirements and usage of a certain jutsu or ability only for that rule to be repeatedly broken 400 chapters later. Sometimes the characters and rules contradict themselves, sometimes the chronology of certain events and historical facts don’t match up perfectly, the lore and general backstory go through several retcons that change the philosophy and power scaling of the characters and the scope of world-building; the final arc especially drags on and breaks a lot of the logic and rules that the story spent the whole series setting up, etc...

Naruto’s far from perfect, but I remember it very fondly for being one of the first series that introduced me to things like manga and Japanese entertainment in general. It was one of those childhood classics like Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin. The series grew up with me and I can’t help but feel grateful to it for introducing me to hundreds of other franchises that I’m still a huge fan of to this day and I continue to find many new ones on the regular. Naruto's journey from a clownish, disrespected outcast into a talented, well-loved and admired hero is a memorable one.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm tempted to rate these volumes separately because 4 ends the Land of Waves arc and 5 begins the Chunin Exams arc and they deviate drastically in how I'd rate them...

Volume 4 - five stars!
Volume 5 - two stars
Volume 6 - three stars

The culmination of the Land of Waves arc is really amazing, and Zabuza and Haku really overtake the narrative, even over the protagonists. The action was really compelling and I felt like there weren't any wasted panels. Each moment landed and it was a great ending to an arc that I tend to skip over otherwise. I actually think the anime took some of the bite out of the ending of the arc, which is too bad.

Unfortunately, once we get back to the Hidden Leaf things revert to the same slog from before. My main issue with the beginning of the Chunin Exams arc is that there is so much info dumping done and there is so much text to slog through. Even for me, who knew all the information already, it was difficult to get through it all without losing interest.

What saves the end of this omnibus is actually the very end when Sakura comes roaring into her own. I remember watching that scene in the anime when I was younger and how great it was. Reading it here again so many years later, it still resonates. For a character who up until that point had been tit useless, it feels really vindicating to see Sakura come into her own and set her own character development arc in motion.

[Robert Kirwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh!! This just keeps getting better!!! Can't get over how much I love this manga!! The fight scenes are amazing, I LOVE the characters!! I need mooooore!!! Thankfully, I already bought them XD

[Es · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobody could ever make me hate you Sakura Haruno <3

[M.D. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alright, so I just finished the colossal 700 chapters of Naruto and here is how this is going to go. I will be breaking down my review for each, and yes, each arc of Naruto throughout it's run. I will be ignoring what volumes and I will be speaking with spoilers. So If you're at all interested in this story that ended six years ago. Please keep aware of this and only read the arcs you have finished.

That being said, this is a reread for me. I actually decided to reread them as the 3-in-1 volumes as they're much cheaper. I probably had 10 volumes already of the story so I didn't repurchase so my collection is a little incomplete. However, this reread was a lot of fun and I enjoyed a lot. I'll be doing this in a certain bullet point style because there's so much story to cover I really just want to point out my like's and Dislikes for each Arc. As well as Individual ratings.

Part One
Prologue - Land of Waves Arc - Chapter 1-33: Rating: 7/10
-So I love the land of waves arc. Anyone who says they weren't instantly hooked once they reached this point has got to be full of themselves. This arc does so much to set up the world, the themes, everything that Naruto would become.
-Unfortunately, what prequels this is absolute hot garbage.
-Now, I didn't think this when I began the reread because it has been over a decade since I've explored this section of the story. But let me tell you, these first 5 chapters are probably some of the worst in any shonen I've ever seen. To be fair, most first chapters in shonen usually aren't stand out. I've often expressed how they're really edited and refined to express the exact image that the magazine wants them to be. Once they actually get a chance to strut their stuff (if they sell well) then that's when we see most shonens come into their own.
-However, you would have to be younger than 5 to enjoy and find the slapstick comedy in the first five chapters to be digestible whatsoever. It's so cringeworthy I can't believe I ever was okay with it. Konohamaru is the worst character in creation. Most of the Naruto characters are pervs. Sasuke and Sakura's introductions are laughable at best. Well, they're not laughable. I WISH they had been, but nope.
-I love Naruto's power system. I may even go so far as to express I think it's actually my favorite power system pre-final arc. I love how thought out and detersive it is.
-Zabuza is a great antagonist. Gato is very easily hateable and Haku is great too.
-I really just am blown away how fast the pacing is. The tactics are clever and fun.
-Overall, the prologue really pulled this arc down for me. If you'd separate them. The prologue chapters would be a 4/10 and the Land of waves would be 10/10
Chunin Exams Arc - Chapter 34-114: Rating: 10/10
-10/10 arc. Nothing for me to say. Except that I personally would have liked to have seen the finale of the tournament. We didn't even get past the first round before everything kinda went haywire.
Konoha Invasion Arc - Chapter 115-138: Rating: 9/10
-I don't have a lot of bad to say outside of the sense that a lot of ninja's didn't really show their stuff. Primarily Kakashi, Jiraiya, etc. Because of this, the invasion really never felt like it would succeed. Sure, the Hokage's death was very expected and a tragedy. However, no one else we knew was wounded. The plan itself just really fell flat.
Search for Tsunade arc - Chapter 139-171: Rating: 7/10
-Yeah, this one surprised me.
-I remember this one being the most painful arc in part one. Not only is long, but it's also mostly a glorified training arc.
-With new eyes and a better appreciation for story and characters I have come away enjoying this arc much more.
-Tsunade is a phenomenal character and probably one of the only female characters in Naruto I can say that about.
-Naruto's journey to learning the Rasengan was also a lot more comprehensive now that I'm an adult. (and not reading scans)
-Also, Itachi was introduced in this arc and HOT DAMN THIS GUY WAS COOL
Sasuke Retrieval Arc - Chapter 172-238: Rating: 10/10
What can I say? 10/10 once again. Perhaps the Neji fight was a bit too long, but it never felt that way.
-The fights were all great. The themes were spot on and holy lawrd the emotion. *Chef's kiss.
Kakashi Gaiden - Chapter 239-244: Rating: 6/10
-Meh, I don't like this arc that much. I don't have a great reason. It's a flashback arc. But it came at such a weird point in the story. Like, no one was asking for it in this particular moment.
Part Two
Kazekage Rescue Arc - Chapter 245-281: Rating: 8/10
-This was another arc, like the Tsunade arc that I didn't enjoy. At this point, I was a weekly reader and It is a nearly 40 chapter arc. Maybe as a kid I felt like there was just too much talking and too much establishing what they were doing. Another key factor was that Naruto's growth, despite it only being roughly two and a half years was still rather unimpressive. I mean, he could do a big rasengan.
-What I neglected to understand was that this was mostly a reference point to show us just how much the kids have grown in less than 3 years time. The kids actually went from not being able to land a single attack on base Kakashi with no Sharingan, to with one less member, defeating Kakashi and completing the bell exam. That's tremendous progress. Another thing I neglected was just how much focus was put on Naruto mastering the nine-tails power. It was a pretty small feat as i read this as a teenager, but having reread the material back to back I noticed that far more emphasis was put on Naruto's lack of control. His ability to bring out some of Kurama's chakra was only enough to give him a short boost that put him above Neji. When facing Sasuke and he got a one tailed cloak, he actually succumbed to the 9 tails and lost himself. Now he's able to call upon three tails all by himself.
-The sasori fight is legendary. I love Chiyo as a character which before I just kinda was indifferent to her. This would also feature Team Guy and that was exciting as we hadn't seen those characters in some time. Though, really they didn't have much to do besides fight themselves in this.
-Overall, the arc loses points for me because of how centered around the Sasori fight it seemed. Yet, half the other events of the arc felt secondary when I compared them. Gaara's emotional climax and revelation was great. Naruto's growth was great. Learning about the sand was great. But this arc had to establish a lot and I just remember those chapters of them running through the forest and just text filling the pages from panel to panel. Not saying action was vital, just that we spent too much time talking about Jinchurki. It was clear that Kishimoto was now ready to establish these terms he set up. But I felt he could have presented it in a more organic fashion then just an info dump.
Sasuke and Sai Arc - Chapter 282-310: Rating: 6/10
-This arc is really conflicting. On one hand, it has probably one of the most hype conflicts in the entire series to this point. Naruto 4 tails vs Orochimaru was absolutley insane and it still holds up. The emotional tension of Naruto losing himself and not caring because it's orochimaru and he's spent so long hating this guy was fantastic.
-On the other hand...this arc also heavily features Sai. And et's just cut to the chase. Sai is probably my least favorite character in all of Naruto. I think he's just a really poorly written character. I understand his purpose. I understand what he was meant to imply and communicate with the reader, but I just really thought it was done in the most generic and boring way. I am not a fan of Sai. He really, really dragged this arc down for me.
Hidan and Kakuzu Arc - Chapter 311-342: Rating: 7.5/10
-Yet again another arc I thought I'd hate. Mainly because when I read them when they came out, I realized just how awful the scans were. Hidan and Kakuzu probably cussed more than any two characters in the scanlations. Not that it was awful, I just thought it didn't properly convey the information.
-I do think this is kind of the arc that kind of made me realize why I didn't love part 2 my first time around. Well, not as much as part 1 I should say. The expansion of the world and the lore take a heavy backseat in the last arc and this arc. We barely learn about the world in which these ninjas fight in. We don't even learn anything about the villages of our antagonists. Which I felt was a huge misstep.
-This was a training arc I really enjoyed as well. I felt like maybe I just didn't enjoy training arcs when I was younger because DBZ used them so heavily but this was done very well. Shikamaru's character growth in this was also fantastic.
-This arc loses points for not making Hidan and Kakuzu even remotely interesting characters as well as not expanding on the world. It DID expand on the power system which was great but still. This Arc had 3 beats. Battle where Asuma dies. Naruto's training. Battle where they beat the akatsuki. No other nuisance.
Itachi Pursuit Arc - Chapter 343-402: Rating: 9/10
-What can I say? fans were waiting for this conflict forever. And it did not disappoint.
-The reveal at the end was also fantastic.
-Where this arc loses points is everything to do with Naruto. Naruto's role, his mission with the other team to track Sasuke was...really not needed here. It felt extra. I would have rather had naruto be exempt or perhaps do something else. This was just a lot of wasted pages. I understand Itachi had to interact with Naruto to give him the crow, but this could have been done earlier in one of the previous arcs. Perhaps Kazekage when they actually fought his clone.
Pain Invasion Arc - Chapter 403-449: Rating: 10/10
-I gave this a 10/10 but I am still salty about the reviving everyone who died jutsu. I get it. I just personally would have preferred if the story didn't make that decision. It felt like Konoha just didn't really try hard to fight Pain. The anime made this feel coherent which is why I gave the arc in the manga a pass.
Five Kage Summit - Chapter 450-488: Rating: 5/10
-Well, that's a weird deal ain't it? This is probably my least favorite arc. Danzo is a poor villain. The Gokage are silly and at the end of the day this is just one big set up for the next arc. I felt like we should have met all the kage beforehand. I felt that the country of random not mentioned Samurai was weird. Why are Suigetsu and Jugo still around? It just really fell flat. the end was kinda cool, and it has probably my fabvorite moment where Sasuke goes coocoo banana's and stabs Karin, but still. It also teased another Naruto/Sasuke fight and didn't deliver. So boo.
Fourth Shinobi World War Arc - Chapter 489-700: Rating: 7/10
-Okay! Okay Okay! This arc has so many highs and so many lows.
-The ending is perfect imo. Everything after the seal Kaguya and have their final battle, the conclusion. all of it brought tears to my eyes. Loved it. Love love loved it.
-The first half of the war felt like a series of battles where no one died and no consequences were met outside of 40k random shinobi we never knew. This could have been done better.
-Naruto's training arc with Bee was painful. Taming the 9 tails was cool. I understand why it had to happen. But It just drags. I wish it would have been condensed.
-Naruto vs Obito is great.
-Madara arriving and fighting the Kage was great.
-God the Kabuto fight is too long. This fight is nearly two volumes long and Kabuto is just trash.
-So many things didn't make sense in this arc. Madara uses Susano'o with no eyes? Obito never dies? Kakashi's ghost double Mangekyo w/ perfect Susano'o????
-7/10 is probably really high for how many bad things. But so many good things happened I just gave it the general average. It could have been a lot better.

This was a really good time. I never looked at Naruto as a poorly written series like I did with Bleach so this was a blast from the past. Also, revisiting some of the older arcs I didn't enjoy as much and finding new enjoyment in them was really endearing.

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

***read via MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA (app on tablet)***
When I discovered anime I preferred Bleach over Naruto. Naruto is very cool and all but from what I can remember I hated Sasuke and (pink haired girl). Naruto with all his teachers were where my interest lied...

In this one I think I did liked the emotional moments whenever Naruto had them.

Volume 4: The Hero's Bridge!!, Chapters list:
028. "Nine-Tails...!! (九尾...!!", "Kyūbi...!!")
029. "Important People...!!" (大切な人...!! "Taisetsu-na hito...!!")
030. "Your Future is...!!" (お前の未来は...!! "Omae no mirai wa...!!")
031. "Everyone's Respective Battles...!!" (それぞれの戦い...!! "Sorezore no tatakai...!!")
032. "The Tool Named Shinobi" (忍という名の道具 "Shinobi to iu na no dōgu")
033. "The Hero's Bridge!!" (英雄の橋!! "Eiyū no hashi!!")
034. "Intruders?" (侵入者!? "Shinnyūsha!?")
035. "Iruka vs. Kakashi?!" (イルカVSカカシ!?)
036. "Sakura's Depression!!" (サクラの憂鬱!! "Sakura no Yūutsu")

I can remember rolling my eyes so hard every time Sakura was doing things on page. The mangaka could not have fitted any better on the menwritingwomen subreddit.

Volume 5: The Challengers!!, Chapters list:
037. "The Worst Compatibility...!!!" (最悪の相性...!!, "Saiaku no aishō...!!")
038. "Start...!!" ("START...!!")
039. "The Challengers!!" (挑戦者たち!! "Chōsensha-tachi!!")
040. "The First Exam" (第一の試験!! "Daiichi no shiken!!")
041. "The Whisper of Demons...!?" (悪魔の囁き...!? "Akuma no sasayaki...!?")
042. "Everyone's Respective Battles...!!" (それぞれの闘い...!! "Sorezore no tatakai...!!")
043. "The Tenth Question...!!" (第10問目...!! "Daijū monme...!!")
044. "The Natures Tested for...!!" (試された資質...!! "Tamesareta shishitsu...!!")
045. "The Second Exam" (第二の試験!! "Daini no shiken!!")

Volume 6: Predator, Chapters list:
046. "The Password is..." (合言葉は...!!, "Aikotoba wa...!!")
047. "Predator!!" (捕食者!! "Hoshokusha!!")
048. "The Target is...!!" (その目的は...!! "Sono mokuteki wa...!!")
049. "Coward...!!" (臆病者...!! "Okubyōmono...!!")
050. "I've Got to...!!" (私が...!! "Watashi ga...!!")
051. "Beauty is the Beast!!" (美しき野獣...!! "Utsukushiki yajū...!!")
052. "The Principles of Use!!" (使用の条件!! "Shō no jōken!!")
053. "Sakura's Decision!!" (サクラの決意!! "Sakura no ketsui!!")
054. "Sakura and Ino" (サクラといの "Sakura to Ino")

More eyerolling when Sakura and Ino started to fight. Maybe as a teenager I would think that was palatable but dude... I'm too old for that shit. They are ninjas but the fight felt more like a catfight. Also Ino is a more interesting character? Shame that's all I can remember of these chapters...

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last volume left off on an awesome cliffhanger, I couldn't wait to see what we go. It was a solid start but much like the first volume it just turns into nonsense for no reason. So you have a life threatening battle, yet it stops partway and they decide to talk each other to death. With some nonsense at the end, which involved the big bad crying because someone died, he gave this epic speech just before about how he cared for no one and he was just like the cutthroat mafia. Then he starts balling up, he also takes the massive group of mafia out single handily and dies. It like having Frieza start balling up while fighting Goku because he's henchmen died ages ago, it just feels so out of place.

I hope that's not going to be an ongoing problem, I like emotional moments but they need to fit the story. I think this series works the best in the teacher training setting, it's easily the best part of these 2 volumes so far. The stakes feel a lot more real, as you don't have these fake out deaths.

[Andrew Sammut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book very much. in the first book, Momochi Zabuza was killed and we learn more about Haku who died for him as his servant. Sasuke was also in some danger but he managed to survive in the end. during the second book, the ninjas go through the first part of their chunin examinations and Naruto manages to answer the tenth question correctly. this was whether to accept or reject the last question and Naruto accepts the tenth question which shows that he is determined and persuasive and just this helped hi pass the exam. in the third book, the main characters and many other teams have to try to pass the second part of the exam. this gave me many hunger games thoughts as the teams had to go through a challenge where they had to steal the opposing teams scroll. Mitarashi Anko, the examiner notices that there is a sound group in the arena and they were not supposed to be there. these try to steal the powers of others and they had already killed the grass group!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I can’t believe how the story to the Haku/Zabuza arc ended, heartbreaking. Great and unforgettable characters. Now with the chunin exam the series has really taken some creative and much needed cast expansions. A huge rooster of new characters have appear which are intriguing and unique. I already have favorites. The curse of this new villain Orochimaru and how this will affect Sasuke has made the overall story imaginatively better. Sakura has also gotten the chance to show off a lot more, I wish she could have something more special about her however. The sand ninjas all look cool and scary, especially Gaara. Rock lee is so cool with his big eyebrows haha. Overall this book really did a great job in introducing a ton of new characters, setting up a creepy villain, and continuing the overall story.

[PJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how I feel about this one, I absolutely love Naruto it's fantastic but some characters are well I can't say or type word I wouldn't want to get banned.

Sakura why the heck are you even in these? Perhaps just a naff background character imo, they do the tests in this one and they end up passing but then going too test two outside and I feel all you did Sakura while Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious and what's the Bruce Lee kid called who looks like he's part of the Beatles with that hair cut, any way I digress all Sakura has done is cut her hair right at the end after fighting some dude and it's like could you be anymore of a pointless character!

[Kät · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it’s funny how Naruto went completely over my head when I was a kid and now I am in love with the manga. I‘m surprised how nice the art is and how distinct and familiar all the characters feel already. When you see glimpses of the anime, the art seems mediocre and you have trouble to figure out what’s happening. Reading the manga is very different. This story arc was already so emotional and extremly lovable. It pulled me in more than any shojo I’ve seen before. Also, the fighting scenes are 10/10. Lots of ass-kickery. Lots of passionate screaming on Naruto‘s side.

[Chloé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 5 Stars

I loved this so much! The first one, though good, was hard to get into, but now that the story has progressed, I am really getting into it. I love the characters, love the art style, and I love Naruto's spirit. His positivity and arrogant strength is admirable - well, in a way. Sasuke can be your generic brooding bad boy, but he's also fighting for a cause. Sakura can be even more annoying, but she's slowly growing a backbone and redeeming herself.

[Kimana McCallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was really great. I like the fact that they address Sakura's role in the last three volumes as just being this smart, pretty girl that everyone liked, but not really being as physical as other shinobi were in the series. Plus, when she finally does step up, it's not JUST for Sasuke. So far the tests have been really intense and I'm sure it's just going to get worse from there. I think out of the characters we've been introduced to, I find Hinata the most interesting.

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a tense filled volume that introduces a whole bunch of colourful characters that had a variety of reasons to take the Chunin Exam. Yet it start out with such a bittersweet start with an end of one story and the begining of another.
I found that the state that the first proctor's head way more shocking rather than in the animé. Yet I love how the animé presented Orochimaru better. Yet this did well in setting up the mystery of what he wanted more.

[ANTHONY FLORES · Rating 4 out of 5]

En estos tomos empieza y termina la primera prueba y nos quedamos a la mitad de la segunda para ser Chunin.

Aparece los ninjas de la aldea de la arena, los 11 de Konoha, 3 ninjas del sonido y Kabuto. A medida que pasa el primer examen vemos cuales son sus poderes y como es Ibiki, el primer examinador.

En el segundo, Anko es la examinadora de la segunda prueba y alguien está tratando de colarse y Anko tiene que investigarlo, junto con la muerte de 3 ninjas...

[Tim Luckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am rereading all the Naurto manga -- for reasons. I remember this is when the series starts to really pick up with the Chunin exam. The previous arc was an excellent character and world building arc, but needed to advance the overall plot. This one starts to move it and have consequences that set up the entire series, introducing the amazing character of Orochimaru and his unique personality. Only gets better from here with the series.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where the series starts really expanding its world and cast. Very confident, sets the standard of every character having vastly different techniques and begins establishing the overarching plot of the series. The chunin exams are the last arc of this series I remember well but contrary to last volume, it still works really well!

[Lavaier]

I really liked this book because of it being the manga instead of the show. To me it shows originality and it seems more intense, yet funny compared to the show. I like how it has little stories that is either based on Missashi's life or other cool looking manga. Overall the manga is really cool, and I recommend reading it.