Forum:Reorganising the Arcs

There has been some discussion about the last few arcs, so I believe it is due time for a proper revision of the way we are organising the plot of the story. There has been some discussion on this subject already.

I am proposing organising the plot into separate arcs and sub-arcs, similar to what we have now. I have gone over the entire manga and made a list of arcs and sub-arcs that I believe are most logical and useful.

Part I
 * Introduction Arc (1–8)
 * Naruto Introduction (1–2)
 * Team Kakashi Introduction (3–8)
 * Land of Waves Arc (9–33)
 * Mission Introduction/Onikyōdai (9–10)
 * First Zabuza Fight (11–16)
 * Tree Climbing Training (17–21)
 * Second Zabuza Fight (22–33)
 * Chūnin Exams Arc (34–138)
 * Introduction (34–39)
 * First Exam (40–44)
 * Second Exam (45–64)
 * Preliminary Exams (65–87)
 * Interlude/Summoning Training (88–97)
 * Third Exam (98–113)
 * Konoha Crash (114–138)
 * Search for Tsunade Arc (139–171)
 * Introduction (139–143)
 * Akatsuki Encounter/Beginning the Search (144–148)
 * Rasengan Training/Finding Tsunade (149–161)
 * Sannin Confrontation (162–171)
 * Sasuke Retrieval Arc (172–238)
 * Tsunade Returns/Sasuke Leaves (172–181)
 * Jirōbō/Kidōmaru (186–198)
 * Sakon & Ukon/Tayuya/Kimimaro Introduction (199–214)
 * Kimimaro's Final Battle (215–217)
 * The Battle at the Valley of the End (218–234)
 * Epilogue (235–238)

Kakashi Gaiden (239–244)

Part II
 * Rescuing the Kazekage Arc (245–280)
 * Reintroduction (245–246)
 * Capturing the Kazekage (247–249)
 * Going to the Rescue (250–254)
 * Fighting the Fakes (255–261)
 * Fighting the Real Akatsuki (262–278)
 * Gaara Revived (279–281)
 * Meeting the Spy Arc (282–310)
 * Preparing for the Mission (281–285)
 * The Mission Proper (286–296)
 * Sai Switches Sides (297–305)
 * Reunion with Sasuke/Epilogue (306–310)
 * Hidan and Kakuzu Arc (311–342)
 * The Opening Moves (311–322)
 * The Sacrificial Piece (323–330)
 * The Endgame (331–342)
 * Itachi Pursuit Arc (343–402)
 * Orochimaru's Demise and the Rise of Hebi (343–352)
 * Starting the Pursuit (353–355)
 * Meetings and Clashes (356–364)
 * Building up to Fated Battles (365–370)
 * Teacher Versus Students (371–383)
 * Battle Between Brothers (384–394)
 * The Hawk Born from a Kite (395–402)
 * Invasion of Pain Arc (403–449)
 * New Objectives and Cracking Codes (403–407)
 * Sages and Jinchūriki, Toads and Octopi (408–418)
 * The Invasion of Pain (419–429)
 * The Sage Versus the Six Paths (430–436)
 * The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki Versus the Deva Realm Pain (437–442)
 * Naruto Versus Nagato (443–449)
 * Preparing for the War Arc (450–486)
 * The Beginning of the Summit (450–459)
 * Interruptions (460–467)
 * Forming the Alliance and Tying up Loose Ends (468–474)
 * The End of Danzō and the Fall of Sasuke (475–481)
 * Comrades Versus Comrades (482–486)
 * Preparing for War (487–490)
 * Jinchūriki Training Part I: Of Eights and Nines (491–495)
 * Jinchūriki Training Part II: Of Mothers and Sons (496–504)
 * The End of Akatsuki: Sharks and Tigers and Angels, Oh My (505–511)
 * Final Preparations (512–516)

I know that any change to what we are using now would involve major work, but I kept true to the old arcs as much as I could. The only major changes are in the last few arcs, which I believe were organised in a terrible way. My list ends with chapter 516, where I believe a new arc has started. How this arc should be named and what sub-arcs it will have cannot be said with any certainty, so I am suggesting organising the plot developments under something like Current Developments.

I also think we should be far more careful with the coming arcs, to prevent further confusion and chaos. —ShounenSuki (talk 22:32, December 1, 2010 (UTC)

I assume the points with two bullets would be the sub-sections in the arc article, correct? I've expressed approval of this some talk page else, though I must say, I'm not very fond of the title for chapters 505-511, it could drop the "oh my" in my opinion. I also think that in the future, before we can make define an arc and sub-arc like this, "current developments" should be the default title for a sub-arc. Omnibender - Talk - Contributions 22:42, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yup, single bullet point = arc, double bullet point = sub-arc. I completely agree that we should be far more cautious with the arcs and wait until it is very clear what the arc and its sub-arcs are. I.e. usually until after the arc is finished.
 * I've been rather liberal in the titles, I agree. They are just there to give a general idea of the main plot of the (sub-)arc. Changing them to a more conservative title is fine by me. Also, just so you know, I based that title on a famous quote from the Wizard of Oz: "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" —ShounenSuki (talk 22:50, December 1, 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree with merging "Five Kage" and "Confining Jinchuriki"; I hadn't noticed that when you posted this at the other discussion. There's no satisfactory way of dividing the two, so combining is the easiest solution. I also agree with "Chunin Exam" absorbing "Konoha Invasion", though if there is to be one it's a much less forced division than 5K and ConJin. Also: while comparing your divisions to what is currently in use, I noticed 311-317 are missing.
 * 281 is my only point of disagreement; Sai's appearance gives support for that being the start of a new arc, but the occurrences that precede him in that chapter round off the previous arc. Assuming we aren't going to split 281 into two arcs, I think the services the chapter does to Gaara's rescue overshadow the start of Sai's journey. ~SnapperTo 00:09, December 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * The events of the Chūnin Exams and the Konoha Crash flow over into each other without a break. They are definitely the same arc. You're right about chapter 281, it belongs to the Kazekage arc. I prefer to keep each chapter to a single arc for convenience. The missing chapters 311–317 were the result of a type. I fixed it now. —ShounenSuki (talk 00:23, December 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * Just throwing this back into the mix Forum:Arc Titles, databook named arcs. S im A nt  04:56, December 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I tried to keep the databook names in mind while making this list. However, the databooks don't actually name the arcs but the various missions we've seen throughout the series. Also, nothing before the Sasuke Retrieval Arc was named, nor anything after the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc. Also, several named I considered unsuitable for arc names. Here's a list of all the names used in the databooks:
 * I used Sasuke Retrieval Arc.
 * I used Kakashi Gaiden.
 * I used Rescue the Kazekage Arc.
 * I used Meeting the Spy Arc.
 * I used Hidan and Kakuzu Arc.
 * I used Itachi Pursuit Arc.
 * —ShounenSuki (talk 11:58, December 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I used Meeting the Spy Arc.
 * I used Hidan and Kakuzu Arc.
 * I used Itachi Pursuit Arc.
 * —ShounenSuki (talk 11:58, December 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * I used Itachi Pursuit Arc.
 * —ShounenSuki (talk 11:58, December 2, 2010 (UTC)