Naruto, Vol. 18: Tsunade's Choice

Naruto [ナルト] #18

by Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto's training with Jiraiya intensifies, while Orochimaru uses threats to coerce a legendary kunoichi into helping him. But will her tragic past play a part in destroying Naruto's future?

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2003

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

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naruto's training with Jiraiya continues to progress at a phenomenal speed although a lot of pages are dedicated to it in this volume. It's upon the introduction of one of the three legendary ninjas (Tsunade) that things get particularly dramatic with a tragic origin story.

The suspense around her decision regarding her future remains the main focus of this volume and it might seem a bit obvious, it was still interesting how hard Masashi Kishimoto was trying to sell the struggle.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

How far will Tsunande go? Will she become the fifth hokoge? Or will she aid her old comrade Orochimaru get his arms back?

Okay, it's a freaking false dichotomy, because even the first time I read it I saw through it, but at least her wager with Naruto gave him the impetus to succeed with his new Jutsu as soon as possible.

Tsunande is okay as a character. She's never been my favorite, but she's got pathos and lots of flaws and a nice mean streak that's pretty endearing.

All I can say is that this volume gives us a little conflict where there could easily have been none, and it at least sets us up for the nice little battle that's on its way. The fight of the three Sages. Woot, woot! Let's see the elites battle it out. (But not yet. That's coming.)

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lesson: Keep your enemies closer.

[Autum · Rating 5 out of 5]

No fuckin way bruh

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars *may change
i wish naruto had 0 female characters because holy shit they are so poorly written in every way

[Ola G · Rating 3 out of 5]

7.5/10 stars

A solid volume, with a bit of Tsunade's backstory and a nice little conflict - or two. Naruto continues to grow into his powers with the speed worth of Goku ;) and Jiraya continues to be a worthy teacher. Orochimaru is suitably menacing, though Kabuto seems way more interesting than him as an ambivalent and rather down-to-earth villain compared with Orochimaru's totally unhinged state of mind. The really frothing-at-mouth mad never make as big an impression as those apparently sane and adjusted, and I'm sure Hannibal Lecter would agree ;).

I'm waiting for Naruto's rasengan. Where's the next volume?

[Aleina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tsunade. Holy Boob. XD Tsunade is pretty cool, but her past is so sad! I can't believe how much her little brother is like Naruto...and how much her lover reminds me of Legolas. XD

[T.R. Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing Orochimaru fight without his arms was always badass. I miss these old days. Not that the Shippuden era isn't also fantastic, but these genin days had a specific charm to them.

(Still nothing below five stars, if you've noticed)

[Angela Auten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahh...nostalgic for me. I loved this volume! Eventually a full review will come!

[Nonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soo it's in he middle of the night and I can't sleep.. what do I do? Read Naruto xD<3 I love this soo much and it's definitely one of my favorites!!

Love Naruto, Gaara, Shikamaru, Kakashi, Jiraya, Sakura and Sasuke <3

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, in volume 18 we get to know Tsunade's story in detail as the story revolves predominantly around her and her past. It is emotional and deep, a trademark of Kishimoto's genius. I've also noted that he is getting better and better at leaving the end in a potent cliffhanger and I am curious and will keep track of his future progress.

Orochimaru and Jiraya equally pursue her - Jiraya so she can become the next Hokage and Orochimaru so he can heal his arms and continue operation Destroy Konoha. She is left torn between the two options.
Meanwhile Naruto clears the second state of Rasengan and Tsunade wagers her necklace against him completing the technique in one week - the due date coincides with her upcoming decision.
The plot is tricky and full of details. The most notable thing is that she is the First Hokage's granddaughter and the necklace was a present from him.
Towards the end she starts losing hope, drugs Jiraya, knocks out her partner Shizune and with Naruto passed out from training she sneaks to a meeting with Orochimaru to change the deal: healing his arms in exchange for him abandoning his mission. He accepts, but of course cannot be trusted.

[Kaoyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo que estoy amando esta historia por la buena construcción de los personajes, todos tienen su historia y en muchos definen porque actúan en la realidad como lo hacen. Tsunade ha pasado por mucho y ha sufrido muchas pérdidas , ha visto demasiada veces la muerte pero es lo que tienes que enfrentar cuando está tu país en guerra. Me gusta la idea de que haya medicos ninja en cada equipo , uno de los requisitos parece que es un buen control del chakra y algo me dice que sé quien puede ser su aprendiz.

[Goatllama · Rating 3 out of 5]

And thus the Weekly Shonen Jump editor spake, and sayeth, "Kishimoto, in your manga there is not enough boob" and Kishimoto said "uhhh okay" and Tsunade was created, and there was much rejoicing, but then everyone realized that her character is just as wasted as every other female character in Naruto and yawned, biggethly. And her tragic backstory is worse than Kaien's, except that at least there there's rationale for why him and Ichigo look alike.

Recommended review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Denise (deesbooknook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.75

[Dulce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Que cruel tsunade pero la entendemos

[Riki (˶˃⤙˂˶) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 💫

Love seeing Naruto develop!

[Davy · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, Naruto holds such a special place in reading. After getting caught up in crazy long omnibuses or more serious content, Naruto is there for me to fall back on. I can crush a couple of volumes that I know will be top notch. Providing both lighthearted fun and excitement/action. This volume is no exception. Thank you Naruto.

(Not that I read much serious, it’s still mainly just comics ha)

[Dalle parole a Luly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Gustavo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume of Naruto continues where it last left of Naruto is continuing his training to be able to use an extremely powerful jutso. At the same time Naruto is traveling with his master Jiraya who is looking for a female kunoichi named Tsunade. The reason master Jiraya and Naruto are looking for her is because she is known all over the shinobi world as the best medical ninja and they want her to heal their friends who were badly injured in the chunin exams. But not only is Jiraya looking for her but another more evil being is looking for her, Orochimaru of the Sound, and he wants her to heal his arms that have been sealed away by the third Hokage. But the person who found Tsunade was Orochimaru who offered her an exchange for her services if she would heal his arms Orochimaru gave her time to think it over before meeting with her later.
I strongly recommend this manga it is one of the very first I ever read and is still ongoing. This manga is heart warming,action packed, and funny when its suppose to be. You should read because it also has a very flowing story line as well that its easy on the yes compared t some manga. You will fall in love with the characters unless they're evil pricks who just get on your nerves but its not likely each character has their own personalities who are just as great. The scenes in this manga are very powerful at the right time so that you can feel all the emotions that the character in that scene is feeling.
In the end this is a great manga if you like action this is good manga for you. I've read a lot of manga but this is still the best so far. This manga is very entertaining and touching. I also recommend the anime well because its in color and the action is better understood. if you are going to read the manga tar from volume one because you will probably get lost if you star from this volume.

[Mauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

My relationship with the Naruto manga is a little roundabout - bought the magazine it was in for something else, got into the manga, watched the fan-subbed anime, stopped buying the manga because I knew what happened, started having Naruto dreams about six months ago, got into Shippuden and am now filling in the gaps in my collection. I'll say this - the world-building and characters in Naruto are probably in my top five for fantasy/sci-fi (though I'm not sure it's either), right behind Fullmetal Alchemist and the Diana Wynne Jones multiverse.

I was interested in how my favorites had changed when I returned to the series. Before, Kakashi was my number one, followed closely by Sakura. Now, Sakura is still up there, but joined by such unlikelies as Kankuro. Kankuro! He of the of-the-sand-trio-he's-probably-actually-evil, cat ears hood and facial make-up!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

We finally get a meet up between the "great 3": Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Former comrades in their youth, just like Naruto-Sasuke-Sakura, they are now considered three of the greatest ninjas in the world. Orochimaru wants Tsunade to heal him, but Jiraiya wants her to come back to the Village of Leaves and become the new Hokage. Tsunade is conflicted, especially since Naruto reminds her of her dead brother. Tsunade and Naruto enter a foolish bet, and time is ticking as Tsunade's deadline for answering Orochimaru comes closer...

[Soul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say it is and it will forever be(fingers crossed) my favorite Manga novel read.

the way Masashi Kishimoto described the characters is just awesome, you get to see them growing up, becoming responsible... powerful...

and it is not just characters,

The plot itself is so much bigger... u simply can't get enough of it. and add to that,

u get more than just entertainment, you learn...
what is
responsibility,
respect,
kindness,
friendship...

so it is not just a manga it is a way of living... The sprite of never giving up!!!

NARUTO!!!

[Mit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting that I would love this volume this much. During Anime this was not my favorite part but while reading this, I just realized how brilliantly this story is organized. There is a new character in the manga now.

Orochimaru tries to make a deal with Tsunade to heal his arms in return to fix her tragic past. It really is impossible choice to make for her and when Tsunade meets Naruto things get really interesting and more depressing for her. What will she do?

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

We finally catch up with Lady Tsunade but things don't go as planned because Orochimaru showed up first with an offer so deep to Tsunade's heart. Also Naruto continues trying to perfect the special jutsu with some help from Lady Tsunade who wagers a bet Naruto won't take lying down.

[Arafel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm burning through these as fast as I can get my grubby little mitts on them. They are are absorbing, consuming, and awesome.

[Vendea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jiraiya občas vážně válí :D

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orochimaru is so creeppyyyy

[Kulwinder Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

"𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮... 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮... 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡'𝙨 𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙."

Tsunade's backstory was very sad and heartwarming. It brought me to tears. 😭

[India♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cliffhanger! Orochimaru makes it to Tsunade before Jiraiya can and offers her a deal—If she fixes his arms, he'll reanimate her dead lover and brother. We get flashbacks of her time with both of them and you can tell their deaths impacted her deeply. I find her offer to Naruto very intriguing because she knows it's nearly impossible but also, that he has crazy potential.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently there's a LARGE section of the fan base who think Jiraiya should've adopted Naruto after Minato and Kushina died, and while I think some parenting is better than none he's definitely not my first choice (but also fuck the third for completely abandoning the kid.) Anyways I adore Tsunade, she deserves the world.