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Naruto [ナルト] #55
Naruto, Vol. 55: The Great War Begins
Evil masterminds Kabuto and Madara instigate a skirmish with Naruto and friends on Turtle Island. The Allied Shinobi Forces prepare to attack, but are they ready for Kabuto's horde of reanimated dead ninja?!
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2011
132 people are currently reading
1403 people want to read
About the author
Masashi Kishimoto
1,202 books3,968 followersMasashi 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
October 20, 2022
What I liked the most about this volume is how little we focus on Naruto, Sasuke, Tobi and all the obnoxious plot points. Instead, supporting and even background characters got their chance to shine. The tactical battle carried out by Kankuro's division was an especially superb choice to start the War Arc!
June 23, 2022
The first real big conflict in the war! A LOT of characters are on both sides (a lot of whom we know) and so this is now a frantic end-of-the-series conflict! Can’t wait to see how this develops! (Particularly excited to meet the Seven Swordsman!)
October 3, 2022
5/10 stars
Eh, meh. A filler volume, and even a live turtle island can't save it for me. Kabuto doesn't disappoint, and there is a nice little twist growing like a mushroom in the dark - so I'm waiting for that Madara-shaped shoe to drop.
Eh, meh. A filler volume, and even a live turtle island can't save it for me. Kabuto doesn't disappoint, and there is a nice little twist growing like a mushroom in the dark - so I'm waiting for that Madara-shaped shoe to drop.
October 25, 2022
And . . . here we go with the Bullshit. This final war arc is a dumpster fire. Many series have final war arcs. It's really its own trope. Kishimoto decided the final war arc to one of the best works of fiction ever made was going to be our good guys fighting against a bunch of clone zombies and old characters who had impactful deaths and are now being resurrected to be used as puppets.
Worst idea to build the foundation of a final arc I have ever seen. Ever.
Have actual nations with actual people fight each other. Have a few of the villages actually support Tobi and Kabuto in their goal, bringing about some kind of 'Schism of the Kages'. That would've been so much more narratively interesting than this resurrection hogwash. It makes me so sad, man.
There are only stakes on one side this way. Only the good guys stand to lose anything, because they are fighting an army of zombies. There is no weight to this war or the tragedy that usually comes with war. The good guys don't have to feel bad about the enemy they are killing, therefore eliminating any kind of moral complexity to the war. It feels like a filler arc. They're fighting Zetsus, for God's sake.
Worst idea to build the foundation of a final arc I have ever seen. Ever.
Have actual nations with actual people fight each other. Have a few of the villages actually support Tobi and Kabuto in their goal, bringing about some kind of 'Schism of the Kages'. That would've been so much more narratively interesting than this resurrection hogwash. It makes me so sad, man.
There are only stakes on one side this way. Only the good guys stand to lose anything, because they are fighting an army of zombies. There is no weight to this war or the tragedy that usually comes with war. The good guys don't have to feel bad about the enemy they are killing, therefore eliminating any kind of moral complexity to the war. It feels like a filler arc. They're fighting Zetsus, for God's sake.
August 14, 2015
The great Ninja war has begun, and all the old and dead masters of the art is under Kabuto's control. He's actually one of my favorite necromancers in any series, but he has to grow into it first. These are just the opening salvos, but what really stands out is the return of Zabuza and Haku.
I'm meh about the return of the 7 great swordsmen.
I'm meh about the return of the 7 great swordsmen.
October 13, 2020
My god, that was intense
August 3, 2020
Will always be my all time favorite manga
February 25, 2022
Once the pandemic started, I resolved to finish reading Naruto so if I suddenly died I could at least say I went out having read all of Naruto. Anyway, I got sidetracked but I’m back and I will finish this series, I owe that much to my 7th grade self.
But yeah, might just be blinded by nostalgia but I’m enjoying myself. Regardless of the narrative, I do think Kishimoto is one of the best Jump artists, in terms of keeping his work legible and not overly reliant on screen tones.
But yeah, might just be blinded by nostalgia but I’m enjoying myself. Regardless of the narrative, I do think Kishimoto is one of the best Jump artists, in terms of keeping his work legible and not overly reliant on screen tones.
May 31, 2022
seeing haku and zabuza again brings back memories :'( i agree w kakashi that hes glad that they were naruto's first enemies hfhfhf they rlly taught him a lot esp haku!
December 7, 2022
Throwback volume.
Many familiar faces return as Kabuto unleashes the Edo Tensei on the Allied Shinobi forces and the Fourth Great Shinobi War begins.
It starts with one of the greatest speeches ever made. The chapter itself is named "Gaara's Speech." It was meant to be THE MOMENT. Gaara brings everyone together by evoking his love for Naruto, the friend from a rival village who saved him. It's time to stop whining, put your differences aside and fight your common enemy. Gaara's speech has me in tears every time. It's powerfully moving and gets you ready for a volume that's gonna make you remember all the sad things we already experienced.
All the flashbacks and memories we see in this volume really show you how far Kishimoto's art has come. Over 500 chapters and several years in, his art is a lot cleaner and crisper around the edges. But I kind of like the old roughness to it. It had a lot of character. Maybe I just feel nostalgic about it. He redrew some scenes between Kakashi and Naruto set in the past and they look so different to how they actually were drawn at the time in his younger style. Naruto's still as cute as ever. Especially his little look of uncertainty about whether it was odd of him to like Zabuza and Haku. Adorable!
An interesting thing about the reanimation jutsu is that the souls can be freed if they are not strongly bound. Which happens with Sai's brother who finally gets to see the end of his story in the form of Sai's art. Then Sasori, who gets to witness the eternity of his art, passed down to new puppet masters who will carry his flame. A pretty happy ending for these two. Sai shows a lot of emotion in this volume. Sadness and tears at his brother's fulfilment and departure. Anger at Kabuto and Deidara using his beloved brother as a tool and having his anger insulted by a dead man. And uncertainty about his own skills. Poor kid. One of the many fighting this war.
Kankuro, one such young man leading the war effort, has levelled up. I love puppet jutsu and it's great to see it again. He's really grown from that bully he was in the beginning. Omoi is a personal favourite of mine. The overthinking is very relatable. They are all kids after all. He's also dramatic and almost a poet with it. At least he pulls himself together when he needs to.
We are reunited with Zabuza and Haku. Forced to re-experience the pain of their gloriously tragic deaths and what it meant for the story. How far we've come and how close we're getting to the end. There's still the whole big-ass war arc to get through, but the final days of Naruto are beginning and it's time to reminisce. Even in death Haku wants to protect Zabuza and in death he finally learns what he means to him. They also learn all that they've done for our hero, laying foundations for who he is today. That scene in the snow, in that bridge, the bridge they named for the hero who saved it. The tears in the monster's eyes as he held Haku, dreaming of reuniting in the next life. They did, but not how they wanted. I love how great that scene was and how touching and I'm glad we got to experience it again. The blood dripping down mirror-image-Zabuza's face? A work of art. The same blood on Haku? Perfect. And Kakshi's absolute rage? Hallelujah. It really is on now.
Those seven random-ass ninja swordsmen aren't gonna know what's hit them. Some of those "blades" are not swords. I'm no expert, but one of those was basically a giant hammer. Large sewing needles are just that, large sewing needles. The wallpaper roll of exploding tags; does that even have a sharp edge?
We also get to watch Naruto train with Bee and I love this dynamic. Gaara is a sombre guy and his relationship with Naruto is very emotional and has great depth, but Bee really is on his wavelength. Same kind of kid but Bees had a couple years to settle and he can teach Naruto from true experience. And Naruto always wants to learn. This neglected and shunned kid just wants to be acknowledged. He'll push himself as much as he needs to and way more than he needs to. It's just so sweet seeing them two train together even if they're actually two very loud, brash, annoying individuals. Bee really knew how to motivate Naruto. That the rasengan was made, fated, for Naruto to wield? He didn't even know he was telling Naruto that he was his father's son. That his father left him a gift.
"I want to go home to Konoha and wait for Sasuke." How did he think this battle was gonna go? Like they'd made a booking?
Many familiar faces return as Kabuto unleashes the Edo Tensei on the Allied Shinobi forces and the Fourth Great Shinobi War begins.
It starts with one of the greatest speeches ever made. The chapter itself is named "Gaara's Speech." It was meant to be THE MOMENT. Gaara brings everyone together by evoking his love for Naruto, the friend from a rival village who saved him. It's time to stop whining, put your differences aside and fight your common enemy. Gaara's speech has me in tears every time. It's powerfully moving and gets you ready for a volume that's gonna make you remember all the sad things we already experienced.
All the flashbacks and memories we see in this volume really show you how far Kishimoto's art has come. Over 500 chapters and several years in, his art is a lot cleaner and crisper around the edges. But I kind of like the old roughness to it. It had a lot of character. Maybe I just feel nostalgic about it. He redrew some scenes between Kakashi and Naruto set in the past and they look so different to how they actually were drawn at the time in his younger style. Naruto's still as cute as ever. Especially his little look of uncertainty about whether it was odd of him to like Zabuza and Haku. Adorable!
An interesting thing about the reanimation jutsu is that the souls can be freed if they are not strongly bound. Which happens with Sai's brother who finally gets to see the end of his story in the form of Sai's art. Then Sasori, who gets to witness the eternity of his art, passed down to new puppet masters who will carry his flame. A pretty happy ending for these two. Sai shows a lot of emotion in this volume. Sadness and tears at his brother's fulfilment and departure. Anger at Kabuto and Deidara using his beloved brother as a tool and having his anger insulted by a dead man. And uncertainty about his own skills. Poor kid. One of the many fighting this war.
Kankuro, one such young man leading the war effort, has levelled up. I love puppet jutsu and it's great to see it again. He's really grown from that bully he was in the beginning. Omoi is a personal favourite of mine. The overthinking is very relatable. They are all kids after all. He's also dramatic and almost a poet with it. At least he pulls himself together when he needs to.
We are reunited with Zabuza and Haku. Forced to re-experience the pain of their gloriously tragic deaths and what it meant for the story. How far we've come and how close we're getting to the end. There's still the whole big-ass war arc to get through, but the final days of Naruto are beginning and it's time to reminisce. Even in death Haku wants to protect Zabuza and in death he finally learns what he means to him. They also learn all that they've done for our hero, laying foundations for who he is today. That scene in the snow, in that bridge, the bridge they named for the hero who saved it. The tears in the monster's eyes as he held Haku, dreaming of reuniting in the next life. They did, but not how they wanted. I love how great that scene was and how touching and I'm glad we got to experience it again. The blood dripping down mirror-image-Zabuza's face? A work of art. The same blood on Haku? Perfect. And Kakshi's absolute rage? Hallelujah. It really is on now.
Those seven random-ass ninja swordsmen aren't gonna know what's hit them. Some of those "blades" are not swords. I'm no expert, but one of those was basically a giant hammer. Large sewing needles are just that, large sewing needles. The wallpaper roll of exploding tags; does that even have a sharp edge?
We also get to watch Naruto train with Bee and I love this dynamic. Gaara is a sombre guy and his relationship with Naruto is very emotional and has great depth, but Bee really is on his wavelength. Same kind of kid but Bees had a couple years to settle and he can teach Naruto from true experience. And Naruto always wants to learn. This neglected and shunned kid just wants to be acknowledged. He'll push himself as much as he needs to and way more than he needs to. It's just so sweet seeing them two train together even if they're actually two very loud, brash, annoying individuals. Bee really knew how to motivate Naruto. That the rasengan was made, fated, for Naruto to wield? He didn't even know he was telling Naruto that he was his father's son. That his father left him a gift.
"I want to go home to Konoha and wait for Sasuke." How did he think this battle was gonna go? Like they'd made a booking?
August 11, 2025
Ça y est, tout devient plus sérieux et haletant. Dans ce tome-ci, la grande guerre des Shinobis se prépare. Les ninjas de chaque pays se retrouvent sous la même bannière, enfin le même bandeau frontal.
Du côté de Madara, et Kabuto qui prépare la première offensive. Et quel enfoiré! Monsieur a pu avoir une technique de nécromancie, et ramener quelques personnages emblématiques du manga. Et je sens que ça va mettre une sacrée pagaille au sein des Shinobis qui auront connu certains de ces personnages. D'un autre côté, j'ai beaucoup aimé le fait que certains "zombies" n'apprécient pas de revenir et d'être contrôlé.
D'ailleurs, parmi les premiers à entrer en scène il y a Haku et Zabuza. Et ça donne un sacré duel! J'ai hâte de savoir comment ça va se terminer car il y a d'autres ninjas avec eux qui semblent très puissants.
Du côté de Madara, et Kabuto qui prépare la première offensive. Et quel enfoiré! Monsieur a pu avoir une technique de nécromancie, et ramener quelques personnages emblématiques du manga. Et je sens que ça va mettre une sacrée pagaille au sein des Shinobis qui auront connu certains de ces personnages. D'un autre côté, j'ai beaucoup aimé le fait que certains "zombies" n'apprécient pas de revenir et d'être contrôlé.
D'ailleurs, parmi les premiers à entrer en scène il y a Haku et Zabuza. Et ça donne un sacré duel! J'ai hâte de savoir comment ça va se terminer car il y a d'autres ninjas avec eux qui semblent très puissants.
June 30, 2021
The Fourth Great Ninja war has started and the enemy has launched their first attack using Edotensei forbidden jutsu. The legendary shinobi resurrected, ranging from Seven Swordsmen of the Mist to previous Gokage heads are all fighting for the enemy side while the Allied Shinobi Force is trying to stop them with everything they have. Things are looking really bad. And the war always is, bad that is.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2017
The Fourth Great Ninja War has finally begun. The Five great nations have come together to form the Great Shinobi Alliance under the direct command of Gaara. Kabuto revives past villains and heroes to fight alongside Madara and throw off the Shinobi Alliance. This volume of the war kind of starts off slow but really ends with a punch, Kakashi and his 4th Ninja Unit facing off against the revived Seven Ninja Swordsmen!!!
August 4, 2021
Kakasji's boiling point.
August 13, 2025
Yeah I'm still scared. I love how every time something "bad" is happening in Konoha, Naruto is always somewhere learning a new jutsu.🤣
September 15, 2020
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.
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.
December 16, 2016
Love love love, and I just hope non of my favorites get hurt!' <3<3
July 12, 2021
The war begins! Everyone splits into groups and goes to fight- except Naruto who sits around trying to learn new techniques and become stronger. You might ask... didn't he do that already? Isn't he already stronger than he was a dozen chapters ago? And a dozen chapters ago wasn't he already strong than he was a dozen chapters before that? Yes, he was! And no, he hasn't actually fought yet. He already eclipsed everyone else in power but continues to sit around becoming more strongerer because Kishimoto has made him so powerful he cannot actually participate in the war less he trivialize the whole thing. So he sits around growing stronger while everyone else has pointless battles.
Many nameless ninja die! People we have never met, don't care about, and are told not to care about because it's a war and ninja die in war. So any hope of this war making us consider the loss of human life is negligible, the characters in the manga are telling us not to care. We get to see reanimated corpses of past characters, which is neat I guess. Like Zabuza! And Dan! And... the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, with generic and forgettable character designs! Hurray! Oh but don't worry, every ninja is wearing the standard chunin/jonin battle vest thing, so there are no longer any memorable character designs on the protagonists' side either. We get to see swarm of white Zetsu who are identical fight dozens of ninja who also look identical except for maybe their hair styles. Hurray!
All the main characters we actually care about are being deliberately left out of the fight as we retread already completed character arcs as we now have to fight Sasori again, and Zabuza again, and all these characters who got their ending again. Sasori got his ending, it was sad but it was good, his character arc ended in a satisfactory way. So why bother spending a few chapters reiterating why it was good? We know it was good! We get it! If you're not going to do anything new with him, why bother?
This whole war is going to be a mess as it immediately starts out underwhelming. We get retreads of old plots, bad character designs that make the action hard to follow, our main characters off doing nothing, more and more superfluous lore, and the manga directly telling us not to care about the stakes of this massive battle.
Many nameless ninja die! People we have never met, don't care about, and are told not to care about because it's a war and ninja die in war. So any hope of this war making us consider the loss of human life is negligible, the characters in the manga are telling us not to care. We get to see reanimated corpses of past characters, which is neat I guess. Like Zabuza! And Dan! And... the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, with generic and forgettable character designs! Hurray! Oh but don't worry, every ninja is wearing the standard chunin/jonin battle vest thing, so there are no longer any memorable character designs on the protagonists' side either. We get to see swarm of white Zetsu who are identical fight dozens of ninja who also look identical except for maybe their hair styles. Hurray!
All the main characters we actually care about are being deliberately left out of the fight as we retread already completed character arcs as we now have to fight Sasori again, and Zabuza again, and all these characters who got their ending again. Sasori got his ending, it was sad but it was good, his character arc ended in a satisfactory way. So why bother spending a few chapters reiterating why it was good? We know it was good! We get it! If you're not going to do anything new with him, why bother?
This whole war is going to be a mess as it immediately starts out underwhelming. We get retreads of old plots, bad character designs that make the action hard to follow, our main characters off doing nothing, more and more superfluous lore, and the manga directly telling us not to care about the stakes of this massive battle.
July 30, 2023
Volume 55: Chapter 515-524
Arc 14: Fourth Shinobi World War - Countdown
Arc 15: Fourth Shinobi World War - Confrontation
- Preparation for the war is almost complete.
- Kankuro appointed as the Ambush Squad Leader, Shizune appointed as the Medic Squad Leader, Yamanaka Inoichi is appointed as the Intel Squad Leader and Ao is appointed as the Sensor Squad Leader.
- Gaara is the Ninja Alliance Commander General.
- The Ninja Alliance was divided into 5 squads. Squad 1: Mid Range Fighter Division led by Darui, Squad 2: Close Range Fighter Division led by Kitsuchi, Squad 3: Close/Mid Range Fighter Division led by Hatake Kakashi, Squad 4: Long Range Fighter Division led by Gaara and Squad 5: Special Ops Division led by Mifune.
- The Akatsuki's side consists of mainly 100,000 White Zetsu soldiers. It is also composed of Edo Tensei shinobis such as the former Akatsuki members, the former Jinchuuriki, the previous kages and various other master ninjas.
- The Ambush Squad for both sides were clashed. They clashed with Edo Tensei Deidara, Sasori and Sai brother, Shin. The Ninja Alliance Ambush Squad won the battle.
- Kabuto tells Tobi the secret of the Edo Tensei. He needs some DNA from someone in order to revive them. He cannot find Uchiha Shisui and Jiraiya's DNA.
- The souls that have been sealed cannot be revived such as the First Hokage, the Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage.
- The 2nd Squad is the first division to face the White Zetsu soldiers.
- The Ambush Squad come across with Edo Tensei-ed Zabuza, Haku, Pakura of Sunagakure and Gari of Iwagakure whose three of them have Kekkei Genkai.
- Kabuto summoned the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure. Now the deadly Seven Swordsmen have assembled; Momochi Zabuza, Kuriarare Kushimaru, Ringo Ameyuri, Munashi Jinpachi, Hozuki Mangetsu, Akebino Jinin and Suikazan Fuguki.
- Kakashi fights again with Zabuza. They managed to seal Zabuza and Haku.
Arc 14: Fourth Shinobi World War - Countdown
Arc 15: Fourth Shinobi World War - Confrontation
- Preparation for the war is almost complete.
- Kankuro appointed as the Ambush Squad Leader, Shizune appointed as the Medic Squad Leader, Yamanaka Inoichi is appointed as the Intel Squad Leader and Ao is appointed as the Sensor Squad Leader.
- Gaara is the Ninja Alliance Commander General.
- The Ninja Alliance was divided into 5 squads. Squad 1: Mid Range Fighter Division led by Darui, Squad 2: Close Range Fighter Division led by Kitsuchi, Squad 3: Close/Mid Range Fighter Division led by Hatake Kakashi, Squad 4: Long Range Fighter Division led by Gaara and Squad 5: Special Ops Division led by Mifune.
- The Akatsuki's side consists of mainly 100,000 White Zetsu soldiers. It is also composed of Edo Tensei shinobis such as the former Akatsuki members, the former Jinchuuriki, the previous kages and various other master ninjas.
- The Ambush Squad for both sides were clashed. They clashed with Edo Tensei Deidara, Sasori and Sai brother, Shin. The Ninja Alliance Ambush Squad won the battle.
- Kabuto tells Tobi the secret of the Edo Tensei. He needs some DNA from someone in order to revive them. He cannot find Uchiha Shisui and Jiraiya's DNA.
- The souls that have been sealed cannot be revived such as the First Hokage, the Second Hokage and the Fourth Hokage.
- The 2nd Squad is the first division to face the White Zetsu soldiers.
- The Ambush Squad come across with Edo Tensei-ed Zabuza, Haku, Pakura of Sunagakure and Gari of Iwagakure whose three of them have Kekkei Genkai.
- Kabuto summoned the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure. Now the deadly Seven Swordsmen have assembled; Momochi Zabuza, Kuriarare Kushimaru, Ringo Ameyuri, Munashi Jinpachi, Hozuki Mangetsu, Akebino Jinin and Suikazan Fuguki.
- Kakashi fights again with Zabuza. They managed to seal Zabuza and Haku.
June 15, 2019
La guerra arranca en este tomo sin más frenos. Desde la primera página tenemos un volumen cargado de emociones, crecimiento de personajes y mucha acción.
Por un lado tenemos a Tobi y a Kabuto alistando su ejército, el cuál está conformado por muchos enemigos resucitados, entre ellos Zabuza, Haru, todo Akatsuki, algunos enemigos destacables, etc. Y un montón de Zetsus inmortales hechos como de arcilla. Por otro lado podemos ver a las fuerzas unidas Shinobi y un bellísimo discurso proporcionado por Gaara para arrancar las maniobras.
Vemos batallas por varios frentes, unas de las que más me gustaron fue Kankuro contra Sasori. Una batalla que me habría gustado ver antes, finalmente la tenemos y es maravillosa. También tenemos a Sai enfrentándose con "su hermano" de raíz. El cuál vimos en su libreta de notas y de nuevo es bastante emotivo.
Vemos a Naruto entrenarse en usar la bestia de colas y aprende un secreto muy interesante sobre el Rasengan.
Otra batalla emotiva es la de Haru y Zabuza resucitados contra Kakashi. Es interesante que los muertos resucitados por el Edo Tensei, mantengan sus personalidades y sentimientos y aunque están controlados, son derrotados por esas debilidades y por cómo sus enfrentamientos contra Naruto y sus aliados y sus muertes, los cambiaron definitivamente.
Un tomo increíble, seguiré leyendo la guerra shinobi sin reparos.
Por un lado tenemos a Tobi y a Kabuto alistando su ejército, el cuál está conformado por muchos enemigos resucitados, entre ellos Zabuza, Haru, todo Akatsuki, algunos enemigos destacables, etc. Y un montón de Zetsus inmortales hechos como de arcilla. Por otro lado podemos ver a las fuerzas unidas Shinobi y un bellísimo discurso proporcionado por Gaara para arrancar las maniobras.
Vemos batallas por varios frentes, unas de las que más me gustaron fue Kankuro contra Sasori. Una batalla que me habría gustado ver antes, finalmente la tenemos y es maravillosa. También tenemos a Sai enfrentándose con "su hermano" de raíz. El cuál vimos en su libreta de notas y de nuevo es bastante emotivo.
Vemos a Naruto entrenarse en usar la bestia de colas y aprende un secreto muy interesante sobre el Rasengan.
Otra batalla emotiva es la de Haru y Zabuza resucitados contra Kakashi. Es interesante que los muertos resucitados por el Edo Tensei, mantengan sus personalidades y sentimientos y aunque están controlados, son derrotados por esas debilidades y por cómo sus enfrentamientos contra Naruto y sus aliados y sus muertes, los cambiaron definitivamente.
Un tomo increíble, seguiré leyendo la guerra shinobi sin reparos.
June 8, 2018
Otro tomo de Naruto que sigue con algunos de los problemas que ya comenté en el anterior, un exceso de texto para lo que al final te cuentan, y eso pese a que supuestamente pasan muchas cosas.
El efecto es algo más sangrante en éste tomo 55, más que nada por la cantidad de Ninjas morralla contra los que combatir que se van presentando (dejando claro que pueden llegar a ser hasta infinitos). Que si los siete espadachines, que si viejos conocidos, que si los Akatsuki... los típicos boses intermedios antes de llegar a los combates que realmente interesan.
Además, entiendo que lo hacen para dar visibilidad a la gran coalición Ninja y dar la sensación de estar ante una guerra con todas las de la ley, con movimientos de tropas, miles de efectivos por bando, grandes personajes participando... y debería funcionar, más con la cantidad de personajes secundarios que la serie ha ido dando con el tiempo y que parece van a tener sus momentos en ésta Gran Guerra.
No es un mal tomo, ojo, simplemente huele a relleno por los cuatro costados y no es un relleno ágil de leer.
El efecto es algo más sangrante en éste tomo 55, más que nada por la cantidad de Ninjas morralla contra los que combatir que se van presentando (dejando claro que pueden llegar a ser hasta infinitos). Que si los siete espadachines, que si viejos conocidos, que si los Akatsuki... los típicos boses intermedios antes de llegar a los combates que realmente interesan.
Además, entiendo que lo hacen para dar visibilidad a la gran coalición Ninja y dar la sensación de estar ante una guerra con todas las de la ley, con movimientos de tropas, miles de efectivos por bando, grandes personajes participando... y debería funcionar, más con la cantidad de personajes secundarios que la serie ha ido dando con el tiempo y que parece van a tener sus momentos en ésta Gran Guerra.
No es un mal tomo, ojo, simplemente huele a relleno por los cuatro costados y no es un relleno ágil de leer.
September 24, 2023
I rate this volume 3.5 stars.
I’m glad that it’s not as common for people to write long running series anymore because while some I really love (Bleach), others like this series feel like they have some unnecessary volumes. Some of this volume was interesting but most of it was kind of boring.
There are survey results at the end of this volume of popular characters and somehow Sasuke is second place. I’m sorry, what!? Who in their right minds would vote for him!? He’s one of the worst characters in this series and very spoiled and unlikable. I actually don’t even agree with Naruto being number 1 but he’s the main character so that’s to be expected. I can’t believe that Kakashi lost to those two. I don’t hate Naruto but his obsession with Sasuke has gotten annoying and creepy. He just can’t take no for an answer. My top favourite characters from this series are: Shikamaru, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kushina and Minato.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
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I’m glad that it’s not as common for people to write long running series anymore because while some I really love (Bleach), others like this series feel like they have some unnecessary volumes. Some of this volume was interesting but most of it was kind of boring.
There are survey results at the end of this volume of popular characters and somehow Sasuke is second place. I’m sorry, what!? Who in their right minds would vote for him!? He’s one of the worst characters in this series and very spoiled and unlikable. I actually don’t even agree with Naruto being number 1 but he’s the main character so that’s to be expected. I can’t believe that Kakashi lost to those two. I don’t hate Naruto but his obsession with Sasuke has gotten annoying and creepy. He just can’t take no for an answer. My top favourite characters from this series are: Shikamaru, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kushina and Minato.
Blog: nazreads.ca
Twitter: Naz_readsanime
Instagram: nazreads01, nazcosplay, nradesigns, charmedanimegirl01
June 2, 2019
I was ready to give this volume 3 stars. War, for me, is almost always boring. I have to divide my attention between too many characters, and while many of them do really cool things, they don’t have very much emotional impact. Also, Naruto’s sections in this volume are nearly pointless and serve only as a reminder that he’s still a dunce. BUT then we got to the Haku/Zabuza/ Kakashi fight. And it just got me. It was a lovely epilogue that expressed so much about the ninja community- how cruel it is, but also how deep feelings run between people, friends and enemies. The reiteration of the theme that we become strong when we fight for the people we love (and the reminder that we saw this theme expressed by our trio’s first real enemy) is powerful.
November 26, 2020
The great war finally begins and it has so any great moments, Naruto continues his training with Killer Bee to become the Bijuu and harness its power and despite failing he tries, the brunt of this volume focuses on the great war thats taking place, at first we have the ambush team led by Kankuro vs Muta and Sasori and Deidara and its fun and we see the effects of "Impure world ressurection" being used by Kabuto to bring back the dead to fight for Akatsuki, its fun but good moments for Sasori and Sai's brother. Zabuza and Haku return too kinda and their fight happens with Kakashi and its another emotional moment with them and Kakashi is angry and he is gonna unleash his full might on Akatsuki. Its a fun volume and has a couple of good moments and just shows how big this war is!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2021
The highlights here were (at least for me) a) Gaara's speech, which was both emotional when he talked about Naruto and powerful with the whole There is only shinobi!! and b) , that was sweet.
For the rest, sure, the war is gonna be cool and all that.
One small complaint I could have is that the erotensei, while cool and a good guy to either a) expand the world by showing us "known" persons (as in the kages and the seven swordsmen of the mist) or completely unknown people and b) further explore some characters already seemed; is kind of a cheap trick? idk it might just be a me thing.
For the rest, sure, the war is gonna be cool and all that.
One small complaint I could have is that the erotensei, while cool and a good guy to either a) expand the world by showing us "known" persons (as in the kages and the seven swordsmen of the mist) or completely unknown people and b) further explore some characters already seemed; is kind of a cheap trick? idk it might just be a me thing.
June 30, 2023
Kiba: "¡Sí hago un buen trabajo en esta guerraz incluso podría llegar a ser Hokage!..."
"Solo concéntrate en el éxito. Eso sí quieres proteger a tu familia y a tus seres queridos..."
"En una guerra ni siquiera hay tiempo de lamentar la muerte de los compañeros..."
"El alma de lo que creé permanece ...es verdad...Kankuro, dejo en tus manos las marionetas de papá y mamá, y cuando mueras quiero que se las entregues a alguien más..."
"Ninguno de los cuatro Hokages puede ser resucitado con el Edo Tensei..."
"¿Qué...? Pero si son solo niños..."
"...pero cuando me di cuenta estaba en el mismo lugar que Haku..."
"Ese tal Haku dijo que la gente saca su verdadera fuerza cuando tiene que proteger algo importante..."
"Solo concéntrate en el éxito. Eso sí quieres proteger a tu familia y a tus seres queridos..."
"En una guerra ni siquiera hay tiempo de lamentar la muerte de los compañeros..."
"El alma de lo que creé permanece ...es verdad...Kankuro, dejo en tus manos las marionetas de papá y mamá, y cuando mueras quiero que se las entregues a alguien más..."
"Ninguno de los cuatro Hokages puede ser resucitado con el Edo Tensei..."
"¿Qué...? Pero si son solo niños..."
"...pero cuando me di cuenta estaba en el mismo lugar que Haku..."
"Ese tal Haku dijo que la gente saca su verdadera fuerza cuando tiene que proteger algo importante..."
September 3, 2020
“Quiero protegerle a él y al mundo, pero soy demasiado joven”.
El discurso de Gaara fue brutal. Una vez más, confirmo porque me gusta tanto Naruto.
Bien, este tomo ha sido increíble y demasiado emocional con la aparición de ciertos personajes, pero ahora más inestables y rotos de lo que fueron en vida y eso me cala en el corazón de maneras que no puedo entender; la técnica que utilizó Kabuto es horrible.
Todo el volumen me la pase llorando, desde las palabras de Gaara a sus compañeros, cuando Sai pudo mostrarle su dibujo a su hermano y cuando aparecieron Haku y Zabuza y más recuerdos de Naruto. Aún NO SUPERO ese arco y esto me vino fatal.
El discurso de Gaara fue brutal. Una vez más, confirmo porque me gusta tanto Naruto.
Bien, este tomo ha sido increíble y demasiado emocional con la aparición de ciertos personajes, pero ahora más inestables y rotos de lo que fueron en vida y eso me cala en el corazón de maneras que no puedo entender; la técnica que utilizó Kabuto es horrible.
Todo el volumen me la pase llorando, desde las palabras de Gaara a sus compañeros, cuando Sai pudo mostrarle su dibujo a su hermano y cuando aparecieron Haku y Zabuza y más recuerdos de Naruto. Aún NO SUPERO ese arco y esto me vino fatal.
August 20, 2023
Edo tensei adalah jutsu yang jahat. Rata-rata yang di edo tensei sama Kabuto meninggalnya tragis. Tiba-tiba hidup lagi tidak bisa mengendalikan tubuhnya. Digerakkan menyerang orang yang beberapa dia kenal. Bahkan ada beberapa edo tensei yang sudah berdamai sebelum kematian seperti Nagato. Untung fiksi ya.
Sasori sih lucu,
“You wanna die too, Deidara?”
“I’m dead! Both of us are!”
Latihan terakhir Naruto ternyata panjang juga durasinya. Setiap Naruto latihan, bumi lagi gonjang-ganjing hahaha. Seluruh shinobi bersatu. Saya jadi kurang fokus membaca karena terlalu banyak edo tensei. Durasi pertarungan masing-masing juga tidak terlalu di sorot panjang kecuali Zabuza dan Haku.
Sasori sih lucu,
“You wanna die too, Deidara?”
“I’m dead! Both of us are!”
Latihan terakhir Naruto ternyata panjang juga durasinya. Setiap Naruto latihan, bumi lagi gonjang-ganjing hahaha. Seluruh shinobi bersatu. Saya jadi kurang fokus membaca karena terlalu banyak edo tensei. Durasi pertarungan masing-masing juga tidak terlalu di sorot panjang kecuali Zabuza dan Haku.
April 11, 2024
the start of the 4th ninja war!!!! i’m super excited for this, not only have there been very good moments in this volume but it looks like there will be even more to come. firstly, i am so so so happy that gaara has the most important job / senior position in the army - i love to see my man get the appropriate role. i also really liked his speech, he’s the perfect one to have done it. i always like the callbacks to haku and zambuza, although at first i thought they were just the preliminary story to the actual main story, they still prove their relevance to this volume. and kakashi!!! excited for his contribution
June 1, 2023
Por fin empezó la guerra. Se venía anunciando hace varios tomos y creo que ha empezado bien.
Quizás esperaba algo más de pelea por parte de Sasori porque creo que fue muy rápida la "muerte" y muy poética. (No sé cómo referirme a eso porque ya están muertos._.)
La verdad Zabuza y Haku no me causaron ninguna nostalgia y es porque ese arco no me gustó mucho.
Lo que se ve interesante son los siete espadachines. Quiero ver la pelea de todos ellos, ahora solo fue una pequeña introducción así que espero que en el siguiente tomo se luzcan. Son legendarios así que debería ser así.
Quizás esperaba algo más de pelea por parte de Sasori porque creo que fue muy rápida la "muerte" y muy poética. (No sé cómo referirme a eso porque ya están muertos._.)
La verdad Zabuza y Haku no me causaron ninguna nostalgia y es porque ese arco no me gustó mucho.
Lo que se ve interesante son los siete espadachines. Quiero ver la pelea de todos ellos, ahora solo fue una pequeña introducción así que espero que en el siguiente tomo se luzcan. Son legendarios así que debería ser así.
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