It's Deidara vs. Sasuke! Is even Deidara's Ultimate Art no match for the all-powerful new Sasuke? Plus, deep inside the Land of Rain lies a secret of the Akatsuki that sheds doubt on the mysterious organization's true intentions as well as their bizarre leader, Pain.
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.
Special Snowflake Sasuke gets to fight another Special Snowflake Deidara, the guy dabbling in explosive clay. As far as Akatsuki go, Deidara is the spoiled artsy brat of the family, totally useless and annoying but still around, mostly as a pet. Well, not anymore. I was so totally not invested in this fight that I was actually tempted to skip it altogether. I didn't care who would win. I just wanted it to end :P.
Have I already mentioned this weird tell of Kishimoto's to give more space and more thought to characters who are about to die? Waaaah, Jiraya, I fear for your life! Jiraya is one of the best characters of the series. Seeing him reminscing with Granny Tsunade was one of the more rewarding moments of the manga.
The stars are only for Jiraya. Sasuke gets negative stars for his persistent total lack of character.
I think Jiraiya is one of the best characters in the series at this point. In Part I he could be annoying, but now that everyone is more mature, he really starts to shine.
This one is by far the best manga volume in this series. This contained almost everything. The thrilling conclusion between Deidara and Sasuke's fight. Also, the terrifying Deidara attack. We finally see the hunt to get Sasuke intensified. The masked guy Toby's secret. Invitation to Sasuke from Itachi and finally, we will be able to see Akatsuki's main leader's powers. Next volume is set to be a thrilling ride. Even though I can see many plotholes in this whole series, it still amazes me because of the way this storyline turns and characters pick up the story nicely.
These two volumes are all about Sasuke’s vendetta and get wasted on him fighting Deidara, a guy he had no grudge against. The mangaka had no idea what to do with Deidara, so he wasted him for no good reason in this fight. And since Deidara was always shown to be the weakest of the Akatsuki and had spend most of his on-screen time in running away from Naruto, he never felt like much of a threat. This battle was bonkers, especially when immediately afterwards Sasuke goes to fight his brother. Since this takes place right after the fight with Deidara, when Sasuke is supposed to be somewhat injured and tired, means Deidara was so weak to the point Sasuke doesn’t even bother to heal or rest before facing Itachi.
This fight is pretty intense. Deidara outsmarted Gaara! Freaking GAARA guys. And now he's up against Sasuke...and he's getting a can o' whoop ass dealt to him. Still, it's really good.
Isn't it weird that we are all rooting for Sasuke even when he has turned evil? He is no longer the kid who is the protagonist's friend. He is a different person consumed by his need for revenge. He is a bad guy, just like Orochimaru and the members of Akatsuki.
Shouldn't we be indifferent to this battle? What does it matter whether Sasuke or Deidara wins? Yet, we want Sasuke to succeed. Maybe we want to see him turn good in the end because of Naruto. I guess that shows our own hope and optimism.
Este volumen marca el final de la batalla Sasuke y Deidara, y en vez de entrar de lleno al siguiente arco, como ya es costumbre en Naruto, nos da una especie de volumen introductorio a la siguiente etapa mostrándonos varias subtramas y distintos personajes haciendo varias cosas a la vez. De todos los volúmenes "introductorios" que he leído de Naruto, debo de admitir que este es el que más me ha gustado. Nos muestran que el conflicto entre Sasuke e Itachi parece cercano al fin, nos muestran un momento muy enternecedor de Jiraiya y Tsunade, nos muestran al que parece ser el miembro más poderoso de Akatsuki, Pain, y también nos muestran un giro muy interesante sobre otro personaje de Akatsuki. Las batallas de este volumen fueron muy emocionantes y me gustó como que aunque siempre hablaban de que Sasuke era muy poderoso por haber vencido a Orochimaru, no la tuvo nada fácil contra Deidara y el admite que si estuvo difícil. Ansioso por leer qué arco sigue en esta emocionante historia.
The battle between Sasuke and Deidara come to a close with Deidara eventually killing himself in an explosion to kill Sasuke. Sasuke manages to escape by using Manda, Orochimaru's familiar. Elsewhere Naruto and the Konoha ninjas tracking Sasuke come up short when Karin devises a plan to throw off Sasuke's scent. Back in the Leaf village, Jiraiya informs Tsunade that he has found the whereabouts of the Akatsuki leader and starts his infiltration mission. Also in this novel we find out who is pulling the strings of the Akatsuki, it is none other then Madara Uchiha!!!
The sasuke fight is fun but holy fuck do they need to explain to the other guy every time they outsmart them? Just fucking fight and let the audience enjoy it. I don't even mind if they're thinking it but to spout it out, really annoying at times and drags out what should be a better fight than just "fun".
On flipside we do have some cool showdowns, Naruto talking to Iatchi, Sasuke and Itachi talking, and our Frog master sneaking into Pain's base to find out what the guy is up to. Get a little history on Pain too...things aren't looking good for Jiraiya
This volume concludes the epic and stressful battle between Deidara and Sasuke. The back-to-back plot twists throughout their fight are incredible but outwitting the other was always the key here.
The story then shifts to the next big story arc as Itachi's character becomes even more important but also, most importantly, Pain is introduced.
Deidara planned to kill Sasuke with his greatest work of art,himself.He failed greatly,in the end he just ended up killing himself.Sasuke got away,and the appearance of Pein and Konan(Blue)are near the end of the book.I was caught dead crying due to Deidara's final words,I enjoyed it...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book is about Deidara vs. Sasuke. Deidara's Ultimate Art can not beat the new Sasuke Plus. But deep inside the Land of Rain lies a secret that can bring forth her new Ultimate power that can surpass Sasuke and win the battle.
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.
Madre mía, la batalla entre Sasuke y Deidara.. Una locura!!
Esto se está calentado mucho mucho, y se viene algo muy gordo, lo presiento.
Por un lado está Jiraya recopilando información sobre el líder de los Akatsuki, nada más y nada menos. Por otro lado Sasuke en busca de Itachi, por otro lado los Akatsuki buscando a Naruto y por último el grupo de la Villa Oculta de la Hoja en busca de Sasuke.
Así que a leer los siguientes tomos porque se viene algo importante...
Genuinely can't be bothered to write individual reviews for this series. I never watched this as a kid I don't have the childhood nostalgia or pull to it. It's another very popular/iconic manga series that whilst I can see why some people like it my feelings are very neutral and nothing I say is truly adding to it so....
I said it in the last volume when this fight began, and I'll say it again for the volume where it ends: Sasuke vs Deidara is one of the best fights in the series.