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Naruto [ナルト] #30

Naruto, Vol. 30: Puppet Masters

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Sakura takes her place at the front of the fight to save Naruto. With Granny Chiyo at her side, she must battle Sasori, who can create golems from the undead. But Granny Chiyo is a puppet master too—only it could be Sakura's strings she's pulling!

190 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2005

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1991 people want to read

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto

1,202 books3,975 followers
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.

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5 stars
4,785 (57%)
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1,023 (12%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews
Profile Image for Nick Fagerlund.
345 reviews17 followers
November 23, 2008
My god, guys, Kishimoto treats his female characters so much better than Kubo treats his that it's not even funny.

Case in point: post-skip Sakura. She's physically and magically stronger, sure, but check out how much psychologically stronger she is. It's even reflected in her character design: watch the difference in how she carries her arms and shoulders now.
Profile Image for Ola G.
521 reviews52 followers
March 24, 2022
7/10 stars

That was better. Finally, Sakura is not entirely useless! Though, to be fair, she's puppeteered (is there even a passive verb like this?) by Granny Chiyo. Still, that fight is pretty cool. Well designed, well executed, with some fun surprises along the way.

Sasori, you nasty grandchild! Something must've been really wrong with your childhood, man!

As for Naruto, it looks like for Kishimoto the passage of those over 2 years was somewhat nominal, or abstract - in the last three volumes it looks like everyone matured but not Naruto. Either he's really thick, or Jiraya is a rotten teacher - or, wait! I know, it's because Kishimoto couldn't develop his main character even if his life depended on it! It's easier to keep Naruto as he was, because it's risk-free.

Well, I sure hope I can see some character development for Naruto soon.
Profile Image for Bianca.
315 reviews169 followers
January 29, 2021
This one has one of the coolest fights of the Shipuuden series that highlights Sakura and the one that really makes you fall in love with her character. It's a shame that there weren't any more Sakura fights like this one in the series where she simply shined as main. I don't know what Kishimoto was thinking - she's considered a main character, but all the time she's just on the side, crying or being weak. This is the breaking point from that character design, but in the end it remained underdeveloped.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 9 books4,873 followers
August 4, 2015
This volume satisfies. Sakura has become a badass, and fighting with granny Chiyo's help against Sasori is rather impressive, no matter how you look at it. We've already established that the Akatsuki are true badasses. Sakura has great fighting spirit, of course, but this situation is very, very dangerous.

What can I say? I'm very proud of her. It's a very fun fight.
Profile Image for Eärendilen.
209 reviews63 followers
September 10, 2019
عقده‌های بچگی فرزاندانتان را جدی بگیرید حرامیان.
Profile Image for Alexana.
140 reviews112 followers
April 30, 2024
It’s so nice to see how much Sakura has improved from the OG Naruto series 🥹
Profile Image for Lashaan Balasingam.
1,478 reviews4,622 followers
July 18, 2019
The tension continues to increase as the rescue mission comes closer to the end. The volume is essentially split into two different fights where Naruto and Sakura each get the chance to show their growth.

Unfortunately, Naruto’s end was disappointing as he only shows more of his lack of control on his powers while Sakura shows greater development with a layer of nervousness around her.

Sasori and Chiyo both demonstrate so much history with the very little interactions between them. How it’ll end will likely play a lot around emotions.


Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Profile Image for Cassandra.
115 reviews2 followers
March 31, 2023
It's great to see Sakura finally taking the spotlight, but I find that Kishimoto tends to contradict her strengths. So far, we've only gotten claims from other characters about what she's capable of doing now, but in Chapter 269, Sakura literally thinks to herself that all she can do is fight as a puppet. I get that she's a medic ninja, but seriously?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Blake the Book Eater.
1,273 reviews409 followers
June 8, 2022
Absolutely epic! Sakura really steps into her own here with her struggle with Sasori the puppet master. What an electrifying and exciting battle! Definitely the best in the entire series so far!
Profile Image for T.R. Preston.
Author 6 books187 followers
October 6, 2022
Granny Chiyo has always been an underrated character in this series. And her fight alongside Sakura vs Sasori is awesome. (It's also the best that Sakura is going to get. Goes real downhill from this point)
Profile Image for Lindsay.
3,050 reviews95 followers
April 5, 2021
Such good battle scenes. I like strategy that goes into this manga.
Profile Image for Dulce .
206 reviews
April 21, 2021
Le pondría 5 estrellas si no fuera porque Naruto me fastidio mucho sin embargo la pelea de Sakura y Chiyo contra Sasori me parece muy buena de las mejores que he leído
Profile Image for Soul.
253 reviews33 followers
July 5, 2011
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!!!
Profile Image for Alexis.
663 reviews329 followers
March 16, 2021
The Chiyo/Sakura vs. Sasori fight is still one of my favorites and it's no secret that I'm a big fan of the Akatsuki on the whole. But Sasori really is such a cool character. Kishimoto took his puppet master technique to a real cool (and disturbing) level.
Profile Image for Kulwinder Singh.
580 reviews101 followers
June 9, 2021
"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮."

While Naruto and Kakashi is chasing Deidara to take Gaara back, Granny Chiyo and Sakura is fighting against Sasori. The puppet fight was impressive!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Michael Sorbello.
Author 1 book316 followers
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.
Profile Image for Brandon.
2,837 reviews39 followers
June 19, 2021
Heck yeah, Sakura volume! While Naruto chases after Deidara and Gaara, Sakura and Chiyo team up against Sasori. Puppet master vs puppet master + punchy medic girl. Sakura is my favourite character and Naruto and this is one of the only times she really gets to shine! She spent years training under Tsunade so not only could she save Kankuro with a cure for poison, she can now... punch real hard. Heck yeah, girl. Do them punching!

Sasori is interesting, if a bit creepy. He and Deidara have this little exchange where you learn their duo is based on artistry- Sasori is the puppet master who builds immortal mechanisms that persist, while Deidara revels in the art of an explosion that exists for mere seconds before fading away. I wish we got to explore these further but the two split apart and most of the 'immortal mechanisms' thing doesn't affect how Sasori acts in this fight. It's a neat philosophy to see play out in how he approaches battle, though, and as our first new Akatsuki member he's a unique villain that leaves quite an impression. Kisame does sharky things but feels like he's just a better Zabuza, Itachi has his own connection to Sasuke, but now Sasori feels like an actual "boss" for characters like Kankuro whose abilities have barely been explored.
Profile Image for Natasa.
531 reviews3 followers
November 25, 2024
This is one of my favorite stories and a rare case where the protagonist is actually a character that I love, but I will be rating and reviewing it it arc by arc.

Kazekage Rescue

Chapters: 245-281
Volumes: 28-32

This a great arc and the anime did it quite a disservice because it made it quite long winded and repetitive.
Profile Image for Kaoyi .
266 reviews
February 19, 2019
Maravilloso , me ha encantado y aquí vemos como ha cambiado Sakura no solo en fuerza sino también en forma de ser y en comportarse, es mucho más madura. Un gran equipo ella y la abuela Chiyo y en cuanto a Sasori es un psicópata la verdad.

#TeamSAKURAYABUELACHIYO
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,204 followers
August 17, 2020
This was okay. Mostly Sakura and granny verse puppet master. The battle is fun because doesn't rely on big super attacks or anything and watching Sakura actually be useful is fun. But we all know how it's going to end, and Naruto story feels super slow in this volume. A 3 out of 5.
Profile Image for Hafeez.
694 reviews6 followers
May 15, 2023
Volume 30: Chapter 263-271
Arc 6: Kazekage Rescue Mission

- Team 7 and Team Guy split up to unseal the barrier of the cave.
- Team Guy fall into enemy's trap to fight with his own doppelgangers.
- Gaara is already dead. Deidara and Sasori kept Gaara's body.
- Deidara brought Gaara's body away; Naruto and Kakashi chase him up.
- Sakura and Chiyo stay to fight Sasori.
- Sakura destroyed Sasori's outer shell puppet; Hiruko.
- Sasori used puppeted Third Kazekage to fight them.
- Sakura managed to destroyed Third Kazekage and fight back Sasori's poisons.
- Sasori revealed himself as a fully human puppet.
Profile Image for Minotaurs.
92 reviews
Read
March 12, 2021
"When a woman is talking a man does well to listen" proceeds to beat the shit out of her grandson so Sakura can finish roasting him. Legends. (Also the last time any female character is going to have an actually meaningful character arc oops.)
Profile Image for Rockleese.
138 reviews21 followers
March 30, 2021
Really love Sakura in this volume. One of the few volumes where she truly is amazing, and actually shows her strength instead of yelling at Naruto for help 🥴
Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews

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