Naruto: Shikamaru's Story--A Cloud Drifting in the Silent Dark

NARUTO -ナルト- 秘伝 [Naruto Hiden] #2

by Masashi Kishimoto (Original Creator, Illustrator), Takashi Yano (Writer), Jocelyne Allen (Translation)

Shikamaru Nara, ninja clave de la recién formada Alianza Shinobi, decide salir en una misión acompañado de dos miembros de Anbu. Sus ambiciones son pocas, pero claras: trabajar para que Naruto consiga alzarse como el Séptimo Hokage, convertirse en su consejero y lograr que las siguientes generaciones no vivan en un mundo dividido y plagado de conflictos bélicos. Pero para labrar ese futuro, primero deberá eliminar ciertos obstáculos y hay uno muy grande en el Reino del Silencio.

Genres: Manga, Light Novel, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Novels, Anime

160 pages, Paperback

Published February 2, 2016

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

[Lisichka · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Naruto was the sun. In his body, he housed an inexhaustible flame, a blinding, shining sun. Anyone bathed in that passion opened their heart and became his friend." To put it straight, this is what the whole anime and manga is about.

I'm so glad that there are Light Novels of characters from Naruto. This book captured Shikamaru's complexity and growth well. Even though he is not my favourite character, I think of him as brilliant.
Nevertheless, it made me a little bit sad to see how violent Sakura is potrayed because in my eyes she isn't like that when a friend comes to here to talk about important things. Sigh.

"What does it mean to be an adult?"- Kakashi to Shikamaru. This question hit me hard. Twice.

[Aja: The Narcoleptic Ninja · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason I have been convinced that I already wrote a review for this book… and I just realized that I haven’t. So whoops.

I love books that fill in gaps after a story ends, especially with a series like this because I’ve been reading it for so long that it just feels wrong for it to suddenly be over. So these books have been an amazing way to continue the series and I’m already super impatient for more.

So, as the title suggests, this story revolves around Shikamaru. If you’re an InoShikaCho fan though, this is probably going to be a disappointment because his teammates aren’t really in it. Instead, Shikamaru is working with two Anbu on another mission. The girl (who’s name I have already blocked from my mind) was so incredibly annoying that I was actually longing for Ino. I know there’s always some changes and things when it comes to translations, and I get verbal tics, but this girl said ‘like’ at least once per sentence. I wish that was an exaggeration, but it’s not. If she spoke she said it, and yes, there were instances where she said it more than once in a sentence. So points to Shikamaru for telling her to shut it.

Overall though it was a fun and entertaining read and I’m excited to read more about the characters that I’ve come to love.

[Avery (ThePagemaster) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shikamaru is my favorite character in the Naruto universe, and probably in anime, period. I've been curious about these novels--especially Shikamaru's--since I've heard about them. And, despite my bias towards my favorite anime character, I will say this is still a quick and fun read. It's like a filler episode, but the story didn't feel nonsensical or unnecessary. Though, I will admit, it is exposition heavy in the beginning. But, regardless, I did have casual fun reading this, and if you're a avid or casual Naruto fan, this is worth the read.

[Aeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars! I absolutely loved it. We didn't get to see much of Shikamaru's inner conflic in the anime and more so after the anime ended, thats given ofc. But both the mission and how the story progressed kept me engrossed enough to forget the time.

I also loved the TemaShika interaction, we even got to read a little , teeeeny bit, about InoSai too! Amd the ending! Even though it wasn't something unexpected, it caught me offgaurd!

Cant wait to read Sakura Hiden now.



P.S. I wish the other Hidens get translated too! ☹

[marcjannas · Rating 1 out of 5]

bon objectivement c’était nul et super mal écrit mais j’aime trop Shikamaru donc c’était quand même fun

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

La historia que nos relata la novela es mucho más interesante que la relatada en la adaptación al anime; ya que nos plantea cuestiones que todos nos hemos hecho en el momento en el que dejamos al niñez para convertimos en adultos.
¿Qué es ser un adulto? En un mundo donde aún quedan vestigios de guerra y donde, sin proponérselo, Shikamaru se ha vuelto indispensable para el mundo, él no sabe qué es ser un adulto ni tiene una motivación real.
A pesar de la aventura y la lucha personal que se presenta, no hay una conclusión final. Nunca vemos que shikamaru descubra una respuesta a las múltiples preguntas que se plantea, sólo vemos que ahora tiene una meta.

Adentrarnos en la psicología de uno de los mejores personajes creados por Kishimoto fue, sin duda, interesante. Pero no está del todo logrado, y sin una conclusión real, no puedo darle a este libro una calificación más alta.

[Téyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shikamaru purée quel grand monsieur

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

is this a 5 star because I'm biased because I love Shikamaru as well as whenever he and Temari interact? Hell yeah.

I don't really touch Naruto much anymore but I really wanted to read this book since it focuses on Shikamaru more with a little side story.

[Claudia ✨ (_Skyream) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo único que puedo decir es que me encantó. <3

[Mirai · Rating 4 out of 5]

"ขี้บ่นจังแฮะ น่ารำคาญชะมัด"

เล่มนี้ตัวละครเอกเป็นนินจาหนุ่มขี้เบื่อโลกอย่างนารา ชิกามารุค่ะ มุมมองการเล่าเรื่องต่างๆ ก็จะผ่านความรู้สึกนึกคิดของชิกามารุ คนที่ติดตามมังงะนารูโตะจะรู้จักตัวละครตัวนี้ดีว่าเป็นตัวละครที่ขี้บ่นขี้เบื่อขนาดไหน.. ใช่ค่ะ เล่มนี้ นางเล่นบ่นตลอดทั้งเรื่องเลย 5555555 (บ่นให้ตายกันไปข้างหนึ่ง) บ่นอย่างเดียวไม่พอนะ ยังชอบตั้งคำถามเชิงปรัญชากับตัวเองอีก เช่น การเป็นผู้ใหญ่คืออะไร ชีวิตคืออะไร บลาๆ ที่สุดแห่งความปวดขมองเลยนายคนนี้! 555555

และด้วยความที่ชิกามารุเป็นคนเนือยๆ ใช้ชีวิตเหมือนจะชิลๆ เรื่อยๆ แต่เคร่งเครียดและเคร่งครัด เนื้อเรื่องก็จะเอื่อยๆ ตามตัวละครเอก แม้จะมีฉากต่อปากต่อคำกับโซกุ นินจาเด็กน้อยจากหน่วยลับบ้างเป็นบางฉาก หรือมีฉากซีนคู่ชวนจิ้นระหว่างชิกามารุกับเทมาริ กิ๊กสาวต่างแคว้นแทรกอยู่บ้างประปราย แต่บรรยากาศโดยรวมก็ยังอึดอัดและตึงเครียดไปกับสถานการณ์คดีนินจาหายอยู่ดี

ในช่วงแรกลากยาวไปถึงกลางๆ ค่อนไปท้ายเรื่องจะมีแต่ความเครียดอันเกิดจากการสืบคดีจริงจังและการพยายามแทรกตัวเข้าไปในแคว้นชิจิมะโนะคุนิ แต่ช่วงท้ายเรื่องจะเต็มไปด้วยความมันส์ เพราะเป็นฉากต่อสู้บู๊ล้างผลาญแบบตะลุมบอนวุ่นวายสุดๆ ซึ่งก็สนุกใช้ได้ ลืมความน่าเบื่อในช่วงแรกของเรื่องไปได้เลย

ในเรื่องของภาษา.. ก็ตามสไตล์วรรณกรรมญี่ปุ่นอ่ะนะ กระชับ สั้น ไม่เยิ่นเย้อ เดินเรื่องเร็ว ขอแค่มีสติ.. ก็จะเข้าใจว่าใครทำอะไรที่ไหนและพูดบทพูดไหน เล่มนี้มีมุกเกี่ยวกับภาษาด้วย คือมันไม่เชิงมุกหรอก ออกแนวเอกลักษณ์ในการพูดของตัวละครมากกว่า ซึ่งผู้แปลก็แปลให้คนอ่านชาวไทยเข้าใจมุกทางภาษาญี่ปุ่นได้ดีระดับนึงทีเดียว อันนี้ขอชื่นชม

สรุปแล้ว.. ชิกามารุ.. นายเครียดเกินไปเปล่าวะ?!
การเดินเรื่องเลยพลอยเครียดไปด้วย พอมันเครียดมากๆ ความสนุกมันก็หาย ทั้งที่คดีนินจาหายจะน่าสนใจระดับนึงก็เถอะ แต่จุดหักมุมของเรื่องใช้ได้อยู่นะ แถมฉากแอคชั่นท้ายเรื่องก็สนุกอยู่ มีฉากชวนจิ้นหลายฉากสำหรับคู่ชิกามารุ-เทมาริให้พอหอมปากหอมคอ (แถมยังมีฉากตัวละครอีกคู่ที่โผล่มาเซอร์ไพร์สให้เราได้จิ้นในตอนจบด้วย แต่เราไม่อยากสปอยยยยยล์!) ที่สำคัญสุด.. เราดีใจกับนายด้วยนะ ชิกามารุ ที่ค้นหาคำตอบเชิงปรัชญาของนายได้น่ะ 555555

[Farah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terlepas dari kenyataan bahwa Shikamaru sangat dikenal dengan sifat pemalasnya dan paling tidak mau susah dalam "Naruto", tanpa disadari seiring dengan berjalannya cerita Shikamaru justru menjadi salah satu karakter dengan posisi sentral di Konoha. Fakta ini tentu sangat berbeda dari impian Shikamaru yang hanya ingin menjalani kehidupan biasa-biasa saja (menikahi wanita biasa, memiliki anak biasa, sampai akhirnya pensiun dengan biasa). Dua tahun pasca Perang Dunia Shinobi ke-4 Shikamaru mulai menyadari perubahan dalam dirinya. Dari seseorang yang paling tidak mau repot dengan berbagai urusan, Shikamaru malah menduduki peran penting penuh tanggung jawab di Konoha dan Aliansi Shinobi. Ketika sebuah gerakan mencurigakan terdeteksi di Land of Silence yang konon dipenuhi ninja hilang pasca perang dan Sai tidak kunjung kembali dari misi ini, Shikamaru pun akhirnya mengajukan diri untuk menjalani misi yang sangat membebani pikirannya ini.

Secara keseluruhan, aku lebih menyukai novel ini daripada novel Sakura Hiden. Meskipun keduanya sama-sama memiliki premis menarik, aku rasa kisah dalam Shikamaru Hiden mampu dieksekusi lebih rapi oleh penulis. Dialog dalam novel ini juga terasa lebih natural dan tidak ada kesalahan membingungkan yang aku temukan. Alasan lain kenapa aku lebih menyukai Shikamaru Hiden bisa jadi juga karena aku dapat bersimpati dengan dilema yang dialami Shikamaru secara pribadi di dalam novel ini. Aku bisa bersimpati dengan karakter Shikamaru yang merasa tidak tenang dan seolah memikul beban berat di awal cerita. Untunglah masalah ini akhirnya dapat dipecahkan dengan cukup memuaskan di akhir cerita. Kalau berbicara tentang bagian favorit, bagian penutup Shikamaru Hiden adalah bagian favoritku karena di bagian ini kita bisa melihat kilasan keluarga bahagia yang dibangun oleh Shikamaru dan Temari. Penutup yang tepat dan tenang menurutku setelah novel ini dibuka dengan dilema seorang Shikamaru.

Kalau kau merupakan penggemar "Naruto", aku benar-benar merekomendasikan rangkaian novel ini sebagai materi nostalgia.
Ulasan lengkapku terkait buku ini juga dapat ditemukan (di sini)

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shikamaru is one of my favorite characters from Naruto and when I read the blurb it sounded interesting. Unfortunately the plot, the villain are really weak. If that wasn't enough they need to add forced romance with Temari (she just comes up as violent and plain annoying in this book) and his way to adulthood. That part was like reading fanfiction. If you like Shikamaru, avoid this book. The only positive thing about this book is the interaction with Naruto which was good.

[Shyames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tak czułam, że to będzie historia, którą wrzucili pod sam koniec anime.
Jednak co książka to książka - i w przypadku takich dosyć mocnych konfliktów wewnętrznych bohaterów to wypada zdecydowanie lepiej.

[Adam Gower · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Much better than the Kakashi book with some interesting themes explored.

[jana ☆]

ino + neji mentioned :3

[Prakhar Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few chapters in, you'll realise this story is covered in Shippuden. But there are always extra stuff and little details in books that you can't deny enjoying, and so you have little things and extra stuff here as well that are really nice to read. You're also able to see Shikamaru's growth in much more detail than in anime. For that reason, it's definitely a must read for all you Naruto fans.

[Klara Woodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

QUESTO, questo, questo! Questo era esattamente quello che i fan di Naruto desideravano, quello che si meritavano! Finalmente, dopo tantissimi anni, possiamo dire che almeno uno dei romanzi sia riuscito laddove tutti gli altri hanno fallito. E la deliziosa ironia che il romanzo sia dedicato proprio a Shikamaru mi riempie il cuore di gioia.

Purtroppo, i romanzi della serie spesso e volentieri non sono altro che delle eleganti fanfiction o scuse per inserire gli annesimi epidosi filler nell'anime. Gli autori non fanno abbastanza ricerche, i personaggi sono brutte copie di quelli dell'opera originale, le storie sono noiose e previdibili, quando non un semplice copia e incolla dalla trama di uno dei film. Solo l'ennesimo espediente per fare qualche soldo in più da una serie che ormai (soprattutto con l'introduzione di Boruto) sopravvive solo a stento alle pesanti e tristemente giustificate critiche di essere caduto nella commercialata più totale. A pagine e pagine di noiosisssimi combattimenti seguono in genere uno o due paragrafi dedicati ai sentimenti di personaggi secondari (come Lee, Kakashi o Gaara), che pure rappresentano la vera ricchezza di questa serie. In generale, gli autori dei romanzi di Naruto falliscono miseramente nel trasmettere quello spirito e quell'atmosfera che rendevano il manga e l'anime originali tanto speciali.

Pensavo che fosse una specie di maledizione dalla quale non saremmo mai usciti.
E poi ho letto questo libro.

"Shikamaru, una Nuvola alla Deriva del Silenzio" fa tutto quello che un romanzo di Naruto dovrebbe fare. Per prima cosa, hanno avuto l'idea geniale di dedicare uno dei romanzi Hiden a Shikamaru, che probabilmente è il personaggio che si presta meglio a questo tipo di opera. Il suo carattere pigro, riflessivo e desideroso di vivere una vita semplice e tranquilla nasconde sì la mente di un genio calcolatore, ma serve anche a rendere estremamente facile e divertente identificarsi con lui. Per questo, quando si legge un libro che richiede più concentrazione e attenzione rispetto ad un manga, è preferibile farlo dal punto di vista di un personaggio come Shikamaru piuttosto che uno come Kakashi o Gaara. Non fraintendetemi, questi sono tutti personaggi che adoro e di cui sono una grande fan, ma nei loro romanzi Hiden ci si sofferma soprattutto sulle loro gesta o sul loro passato, oppure su un unico aspetto della loro personalità. E questo va benissimo, perché sono personaggi che ci attraggono proprio per il fascino del loro mito. Ma questi miti, per quanto interessanti, si distaccano dalla quotidianità dell'essere, che invece in Shikamaru è molto presente: è questo l'elemento, unito alla sua incredibile abilità ninja, che ci spinge ad identificarci con lui. Questo rende più facile rimanere concentrati durante la lettura, a cui le riflessioni di Shikamaru (non forzate perché tipiche del personaggio) si prestano benissimo.

L'autore inoltre ha fatto la scelta giustissima di dare importanza anche ad altri personaggi. Di nuovo, la cosa che rendeva tanto speciale Naruto era questo mosaico di personaggi con cui entrava in contatto, tanti individui alla ricerca del proprio modo di essere ninja, ognuno con le proprie caratteristiche e i propri sogni. E la lezione più importante della serie era quella di vedere l'Altro non come un nemico, ma come un compagno. Togliere importanza ai personaggi secondari è un piccolo grande peccato in cui tutta la serie è caduta, a cominciare dalle saghe inoltrate dello Shippuden.
Questo romanzo, tuttavia, NON commette quell'errore. Troviamo personaggi come Sai, Kakashi, Gaara, Sakura, Naruto, Ino, Choji e Temari. E tutti, ma dico tutti, hanno il loro momento di gloria, si dimostrano essenziali per la trama e non si limitano ad agire secondo la versione più stereotipata di se stessi, ma sono pienamente coerenti con la complessità del loro personaggio. Anzi, in certi punti troviamo delle splendide evoluzioni, alcune delle quali talmente ben fatte e descritte che mi sarebbe piaciuto vederle nel manga. Oserei persino dire che mi hanno ricordato i primissimi episodi di Naruto, quelli che per primi mi hanno fatto innamorare della serie.

Altra importantissima caratteristica di Naruto era il modo in cui tesseva uno stretto rapporto tra il passato dei personaggi e il loro futuro, anticipandone l'evoluzione e gli ostacoli che avrebbero dovuto superare per raggiungere la maturità e il loro posto nel mondo. La struttura stessa di questo romanzo opera in maniera tale da ricordare in maniera quasi commovente quella della serie originale. Si inizia con un pigro lembo di nuvola che vaga nel cielo (elemento che nella mente di qualsiasi fan di Shikamaru scatenerà immediatamente una pioggia di ricordi), per terminare con uno sguardo rassegnato, ma sorridente, al futuro.

E ora, parliamo di uno degli elementi più piccanti del romanzo:

La ShikaTema.
Piccola premessa: devo restare fedele ai miei ideali di fujoshi, ammettendo che questa è una delle pochissime coppie etero che shippo e ho sempre shippato in Naruto. E c'è un buon motivo per cui continuo a farlo.
Ecco, a volte tendiamo a dimenticare che questo é un universo di ninja. E quando penso ai ninja io NON penso a Hinata che lava i piatti o a Sakura che prepara il pranzo per Sasuke.

Penso invece a Shikamaru e Temari che arrivano a conoscersi davvero solo sul campo di battaglia, che si aiutano a vicenda in missione, che si allenano insieme e che lavorano per rafforzare l'alleanza tra i loro paesi. Il loro rapporto non nasce da un'improvvisa infatuazione, dall'ossessione o dall'insicurezza: nasce dalla stima reciproca. Perchè Shikamaru è uno shinobi incredibile e Temari è una kunoichi coi controcazzi.
E non smettono mai di esserlo.
Anche dopo la nascita di Shikadai, Shikamaru continua a lavorare per il villaggio e Temari continua ad andare in missione. Non lascia il suo ventaglio a prendere polvere in un angolo mentre lei prepara la cena. Lo tiene a portata di mano. Questi due hanno sacrificato tanto l'uno per l'altra, entrambi si sono messi in gioco per migliorare come coppia e come shinobi. Per quanto mi riguarda, non smetterò mai di adorarli.

E sinceramente, trovo che l'autore del romanzo si sia dimostrano ancora una volta molto abile nel rendere questo elemento realistico e simpatico insieme, con diversi riferimenti ai primi episodi che fanno capire come dietro la macchina da scrivere non ci sia l'ennesima sanguisuga pronta a fare soldi, ma un autentico appasionato della serie che ha fatto tante ricerche e si è sforzato fino all'ultimo per trasmette quell'atmosfera e quei sentimenti che rendevano Naruto tanto speciale.

[Thomas Maluck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like giving a Shikamaru-centric book two stars. He's one of my favorite characters in the Naruto series, and the opening chapters where he struggles to find his place as a pseudo-leader in Konoha had me hooked. If this book gave Shikamaru the same treatment as Kakashi in his light novel, peppering character moments and "where are they now?" spotlights into some action setpieces, I would be satisfied.

Instead, the Land of Silence is the Land of Tameness. The villain starting his own army to correct society's mistakes blah blah blah... the fights where limb position and move-by-move reactions are spelled out in detail... it became a slog. This is a short book, but I had to keep putting it down and delaying finishing because everything in Silence was so boring. Newcomers Ro and Soku aren't worth being tacked into the cast, serving as walking superpowers instead of fleshed out characters. Shikamaru's moments of "adulthood" near the end read like fanfiction. Maybe I'm too old to appreciate what happened there, or maybe Shikamaru should've had something more original/insightful to say about his growth across the series.

And that's without getting into the rushed romance and flash-forward marriage/parenthood with Temari.

[Nayade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primer libro que leo de esta colección y, sin ninguna duda, ha superado mis expectativas al 100%. He podido saber más de mi personaje favorito, acompañarle en una nueva misión, y encima me ha dado un contenido fan que deseaba y ansiaba. Un verdadero regalo para mi gusto friki. Podéis tener por seguro que leeré, cuando pueda, el resto de libros de la misma colección.

Reseña completa en: http://elmundodenaya.blogspot.com/201...

[Fernanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una historia con el final que todos esperamos, no destaca tanto pero se le agradecen esos detalles hacia la pareja de ShikaTema. Aparte que lleva un poco de la historia de otra pareja, que no adelantare pero igualmente disfrute.
Un libro que fácilmente se lee en un par de horas.

[Ting Z. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the themes in this hiden: friendship, trust, true self, etc. Also, the Shikatema and SaIno moments were simply precious. <3

[Harrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only one so far worth reading I have found.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story!

[Shiva Sakthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the right life ❤️

[Rina Ayra Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What does it mean being an adult?

In which Shikamaru replied...

“ he let the words that popped into his head come out as is. Honest. “Giving up on something and finding something more important… Maybe something like that. Although I’m not totally sure.”

Some guys are like Naruto; they’re totally focused on one thing from the time they’re kids. But most guys are lost and they give up on a thing, but they still keep on walking, and then finally, they find something important, and maybe they live toward that.”

This is the third light and dark novel I've read and so far and it still has not disappointed me. The focus in this novel this time is my all-time favorite character, Shikamaru Nara. Here we are guided through his thought process on how he suddenly went from being a lazy kid to shouldering one of the heaviest duties as one of the most powerful seat's right-hand man as well as a huge asset in the alliance. The main conflict wasn't very difficult to follow as well and was one of the things that I've argued mentally what happens to shinobis when the war was over. So Basically, since conflicts and fights have decreased significantly, the number of missions for shinobis to carry out decreased significantly as well. Thus, a huge number of shinobi went into a silent revolution and went to become rogue ninjas.

The story starts with Shikamaru daydreaming on how his world was once peaceful, with no obligations and worries, contemplating when did he change his perception in life. With the looming conflict, he decided to take care of things himself before it erupts into a much bigger problem. Personally, the main conflict wasn't the main thing that drew me to keep on reading. It was the relatability of Shikamaru's thoughts in the real world: the way he was only able to see his friends every once in a while with the need to set up a date just for them to hang out because everyone has work to do, the piling of obligations that he didn't want but have no choice but to accept because people relied on him, etc. Because admittedly, let's all be honest that Shikamaru's the only character that most of us can relate to. The way the author wrote down his thoughts was something that can be applied on a smaller scale regarding daily tasks and obligations.

What I meant to say is that it's just about growing up, being an adult, taking responsibility.

Shikamaru didn't expect himself to have a life he was living. He wanted a regular life, a regular job, a regular girl to marry and he was dumped with something much much greater. He didn't want any hassle, which I still find very alluring about his character.

So in the end, after the combat, he found himself in terms with his inner conflict--- accepting the obligations ahead of him and not forgetting who he was at the same time. We can see this when he finally had the courage to ask Temari on a date regardless of how he exactly didn't understand how he feels for her at the beginning. We even get a short glimpse of their son(Shikadai) at the very end of the novel, even acknowledging that he looked a lot like him (except for the eyes).

"Only someone like him could understand the feelings of those who longed for ordinary lives without dreams. What was wrong with being happy with just right? Dreams weren’t all about aiming for the sky, for some lofty goal or objective."

Anyway, this review is a bit messy. I *might clean this up later ( I'm at work so can't really put my thoughts down properly. But definitely a good read.

Will I read this again? Maybe, yes.
Will I recommend this book? To the fans, absolutely.

[Kristijan Lončarić · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift from my brother since he knows that Naruto is my favorite anime series of all time and a big part of my childhood all the way into my teen years.

I’ve never read anything in paper format about the world of Naruto, so I didn’t have any expectations going in. Even just two chapters in, I had multiple problems, and my rating reflects this pretty well.

What I liked:

- A new story involving characters I’m interested in, set after the Fourth Ninja War and before Boruto. Boruto is boring to me, but that’s a whole other topic.

- A tiny bit more expansion on Shikamaru and Temari’s relationship.

Some of the things I didn’t like:

- The book heavily references past events, relationships, and characters every chance it gets. I never thought I’d be getting flashbacks in a book too. It feels odd since this book is clearly for people who’ve already watched or read Naruto. Why would a book need to flashback to explain who Naruto is and what he did during the war? Imagine Tolkien publishing a book set in Shire a couple of years later after the ring was destroyed, Frodo pops in the scene and then there is a page dedicated to explaining how he destroyed the ring. And do this again for each character that had some role during that time and was present in this book.

- The main plot, mission, or story (whatever you want to call it) feels like a side quest. It’s presented as a major issue that will affect everything, but by the end, it felt like a C-rank mission.

- I’m not super technical when it comes to writing and prose, but the scenes were sometimes hard to follow, especially during fights.

- The English translation, on 2-3 occasions, felt completely off. I remember one character asking a question, and I reread it five time and still had no idea what they were saying.

- As for Shikamaru, the overall growth he showed in this book felt like a rehash of the growth he already had ages ago, especially during the Hidan/Kakuzu arc.

- I think that’s enough, but I could add a few more if I wanted to nitpick.

If this were a 500 page book, I probably would’ve dropped it after about 50 pages.

[Rebekah · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a drag...

It feels so wrong to give this two stars. Shikamaru is one of my favorite characters in the Naruto franchise, hence why it was his sequel story I decided to pick up. Unfortunately, after an okay start and decent setup, this got really boring. The action scenes were kind of dry, in my opinion, and I kept thinking that this should have been in a manga format. I know Kishimoto didn't write these, and I don't really know under what circumstances these did get written in (because they also got animated later) but I wish this had just been a manga because the novel format really wasn't working.

There is a truly egregious amount of exposition in this very short book and I don't really know why - these are sequels to the manga series; they're post-canon - because would someone who wasn't familiar with the Naruto series really pick these books up and be so lost there needed to be a super long winded introduction to main characters? Also, this author got the reason why Shikamaru got promoted to chunin wrong... it wasn't because he was a gracious loser... it was because he proved he was a tactical genius... but go off...

I will say I was happy to read all of Shikamaru and Temari's interactions. I've shipped them since I was like nine years old and them being canon was like the greatest thing ever. So I really appreciated lines like this: "[Temari's] smile, glittering like the fire of the desert sun, cleared Shikamaru's heart." Nine year old me sends her regards for this line and this line only.

Also, one quip about the tiny epilogue thing - why is it suddenly in first person? editor not catch that? translation issue?

Overall disappointing but it had a few good lines.

[Niculae Alexandru · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a bit conflicted on how to write my thoughts of it as concisely and succinctly as possible. Best way, possibly, to do it would be by saying that I didn't recognize the character I liked when I was a child. I understood the inner strugglings of the main character in the book and his relationship with everyone else involved, but (and maybe) because I knew the main story and how the character evolved during it, it's quite contrasting and baffling for me to see him acting so different from his past self. And I don't mean this by his inner conundrums, but about his actions, his planning skills and overall demeanor on the things he had to do - severly lacking and uncharacteristic of him. The entire reason for why he has enough time (and the chance) to find a somewhat lackluster (or poorly portrayed, in my perception) direction to take for his path is because he went on with his mission without any actual planning or strategy. He didn't even properly analyse his friend's message that was solidly filled with hints at what he was going to face there. Maybe I remember wrong, but the Shikamaru I knew and liked as a kid would'nt have made any such mistake.

The resolution of the book and how it came to an end would've had a far more meaningful impact if the problematic struggle he faced in his mission was of a nature that he couldn't have had a chance to predict, analyse or deduct, no matter how much he would've tried. Something that intellect alone couldn't have solved the situation and, thus, help would've really been warranted.

In shorter words, the story dissapointed me. It made the character feel...cheap, I suppose.

[Shafiqahsamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time.

And i still love it.

What a drag..

This story is all about Shikamaru who didn't want to be a child forever and he starting to take all the burden by himself. He felt like he is needed always, always, and always. Yet he didn't want to share what he felt with his friends. He don't want to be needed but yet there he is, the leader of the alliance. The right hand of the Hokage.

Of course, we can see his intelligence in carried out his mission. Its his strength anyway. Although he did fell and almost turn into ..... (read or watch anime), but he did a great job.

When Temari come in rescue and blow him until he got nosebleed, and Temari was like, 'what the hell is this Shikamaru?? You are a person who thinks that everything is drag.', i am soooo agree with Temari. Even i fell into Gengo words actually.

Kakashi had asked,

What does it mean to be an adult?

And Shikamaru replied honestly,

Giving up something and find something more important

At the end, he gave up his dreams of being moderate, of having a lazy life, and found another dream of creating the world where people who wants to have a simple, just right, lazy, moderate life can achieve their dreams.

p/s: His relationship with Temari is so cute. "What a drag"

[Ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been two years since the ending of Naruto and it's Shikamaru's turn to take the spotlight in this light novel where he's tasked with a mission to investigate happenings in the mysterious Land of Silence. (This is actually the first of two Shikamaru-centric novels, but I think I'll only be reading this one as the other looks like it's set later, in the Boruto era of the timeline.)

Shikamaru is a character that I've never been a big fan of, for all that I recognize his development in canon is well-written, so I probably would only recommend this book to someone who particularly likes him. There are some good moments featuring his relationship with Temari, but the main plot and original villain of this story are nothing special. The author also introduces two mildly annoying Anbu OCs who act as Shikamaru's sidekicks here (they each have a quirky way of speaking and no other development); I think I'd rather have seen their parts in the story go to preexisting characters instead.

I couldn't help but notice that the translation was weirdly stilted at times -- it probably could have used some punching up to make the dialogue more natural. (I never found Viz's translation of the manga to have the same problem, so it stuck out to me.)