Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-12509038-20150101010213

I. Introduction:
This is it- the final year of the Naruto manga. That being said, this may also be my last "top 10 list" regarding the manga itself (it all depends on the length of the miniseries in April). Luckily, I am proud to say that this was also one of the best years of the entire manga, or at least in my opinion. The last time I remember the manga being this consistently good was back in 2012, and even then there were times when it had its issues. There were thirty-nine chapters (661-700) this year, and the majority of them were of very good content.

Since there were so many stellar chapters this year, I am forced to "cheat" a little bit in order to do this year of the Naruto manga justice. Therefore, instead of a regular top 10 list, I will be doing three separate lists- allow me to explain. The first will be all the chapters that I listed as 10+/10 in my chapter discussions (there are eight chapters that fit this category). Of these eight, anyone of them could take the #1 spot on an ordinary list, and so I decided to just rank them in their own separate list. The next one is the standard top 10 list that I would normally do, and these encompass the chapters that received a 10/10 or lower ranking during the year. Finally, since it was such a successful year for the manga in my eyes, the last list is just a few honorable mentions for those that didn't make the cut. With all of that situated, let's get started!

II. 1st List- Chapters Greater Than 10/10:

 * 1) Naruto and Sasuke, Part 5 (#698)- It's funny how a chapters that I initially wasn't a huge fan of after the first read became my very favorite chapter of the entire year upon reflection. Ultimately, there is just so much to love in this chapter alone. First, we have the end of Naruto and Sasuke's final battle, which concluded with their classic Rasengan and Chidori clash. Then we have Sasuke's self reflection, and we finally learn how he has felt about Naruto after all these years of knowing nothing. This was a very important moment for the development of the series and for Sasuke's character. Finally, we have that ending with both of their dominant arms being blown to smithereens. I probably haven't been this surprised by an ending to a Naruto chapter since we learned the truth about Itachi. All in all, an amazing chapter- one of the best ones in the entire series.
 * 2) Naruto and Sasuke, Part 4 (#697)- For an action junkie such as myself, this is one of the greatest chapters in the entire series! Whenever I envisioned Naruto and Sasuke's final battle in my head, this is exactly what I wanted to see. Starting off with Naruto and Sasuke's most powerful techniques clashing (which probably led to the biggest explosion we've ever seen in the series), they are then drained of their chakra and engage in a brutal taijutsu brawl. This better have stunning animation when it finally reaches the anime (it better be extended too). There's really not much I can elaborate on due to the fact that this is just an amazing battle chapter- one of the best battle-based chapters I've ever read!
 * 3) Revolution (#692)- There was a point in the manga where it felt like the quality was dwindling heavily when Kaguya took over the role as the final villain. This is the chapter that changed the game. This chapter is the definition of perfection, with Sasuke finally revealing his plans of how he plans to change the shinobi system- which is probably the most interesting villainous plot since the Eye of the Moon Plan. Ending with Sasuke using Chibaku Tensei to seal away all the Tailed Beasts, this was the beginning of one of the greatest battles in Naruto.
 * 4) The Infinite Dream (#676)- This was the climax of Team 7's battle with Madara, and it was one of the more interesting chapters this year. Every character got to do something, with Sakura activating her Strength of a Hundred Seal, Naruto blowing up a meteorite with a Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken, and Sasuke activating Perfect Susanoo for the first time and slicing through satellites. But don't even get me started on Madara- creating four Limbo Clones and many large Chibaku Tensei satellites! But the thing that made this chapter epic is when Madara awakened the Rinne Sharingan on his forehead and finally cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, finally achieving his goal after so long- amazing!
 * 5) We Will! (#673)- It's really nothing more than a build up chapter, but this is how build up chapters should be. This is when the tide of the battle began turning in favor of the Allied Shinobi Forces. I knew it would be an awesome chapter from the moment Naruto arrived and cut down the Shinju with a Four-Tails enhanced Rasenshuriken. Basically, all this chapter offered is showing off Naruto, Sasuke, and Madara's news powers, and even though the battle may not have turned out like most people want, this was still an incredibly exciting build up chapter with a lot to love.
 * 6) Naruto and Sasuke, Part 2 (#695)- This was the beginning of the really big action segment of Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. I loved the way it started out, with Sasuke using so many moves in unison to attack Naruto, while Naruto manages to counter each one. While I was hoping they would have started off a little slower, that's nothing the anime can't fix. With so many titanic clashes between the two most powerful characters in the series, it's almost impossible not to find any enjoyment with this chapter.
 * 7) Seal of Reconciliation (#699)- The penultimate chapter! The reason why this chapter is such a success is because it manages to tie up so many loose ends so quickly (even though a lot of these elements should have been spread over several chapters). Beginning with an amazing colorspread, this chapter sees the release of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Tailed Beasts freedom, the funeral of the fallen, Kakashi becoming the Sixth Hokage, and Sasuke departing from the village on good terms. My favorite element from this chapter is Sasuke's monologue- I won't get into it here, but it was surprising that Sasuke of all characters would be the one to give the final big speech; in my book, it was a success.
 * 8) Naruto and the Sage of Six Paths (#671)- The first chapter of the year that received the 10+/10 rating. This was yet another amazing chapter, even though the action was very nonexistent. In this chapter, we learned that both Naruto and Sasuke were the reincarnates of Hagoromo's sons, we learned more about the history of the shinobi world, and Naruto and Sasuke received the powers of the Sage of Six Paths. For a long time, we expected something like this to happen, and I was dreading it. However, Kishi managed to successfully pull it off to the point where I actually love this part of the story.

III. 2nd List- Top 10 Chapters 10/10 or Below:

 * 1) Eight Inner Gates Formation (#669)- This really put the character of Might Guy in the spotlight like he's never been before. Ultimately, this was mainly the highlight of Guy's battle against Madara, introducing the Evening Elephant- one of the coolest techniques in the series. I also loved the teamwork element of the chapter, as Kakashi, Minato, Gaara, and Lee managed to help Guy land a definitive hit on Madara. As far as action chapters go, this was one of the best ones of the year.
 * 2) Naruto and Sasuke, Part 3 (#696)- This was another action packed chapter concerning around Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. This was the chapter in which they were at their strongest, with Naruto absorbing massive amounts of nature energy and Sasuke using the Tailed Beasts' power to enhance his Susanoo. Ultimately, this was one of the chapters that had more to show off, with many massive explosions. It wasn't as entertaining as the other chapters from Naruto and Sasuke's final bout, but it was still a very solid chapter- one of 2014's best.
 * 3) Here, Once Again (#693)- A lot of people were disappointed by this chapter after the epic chapter that was 692 set up the fight to start, but I was not one of them. This chapter focused on Sasuke finally cutting ties with his former team (for the time being), specifically Sakura (you guys remember that awesome panel!). But what makes this chapter so amazing is when Naruto and Sasuke finally arrive back to the Valley of the End, ready to begin their final battle.
 * 4) A True Ending (#662)- Though the anime did a better job of encompassing this moment than the manga did, this is still a very important chapter that had to be on this list. This was the moment where Naruto and Sasuke were closest to death, and it was one of the most shocking moments in the entire series. This chapter also allowed us to focus on some of the other shinobi, as Tobi (Zetsu) returned to wreck havoc on the battlefield as well. All in all, one of the most suspenseful chapters of 2014.
 * 5) Sasuke's Rinnegan (#674)- Besides 673 and 676, this was the other chapter that featured Madara's final clash with Naruto and Sasuke; and boy was it exciting! Not only was the action on point, but I really appreciated the strategy that was incorporated into this battle, as many fights later on in the series lacked that element. It was also nice to see more of the new abilities that Naruto, Sasuke, and Madara had to offer. And of course we can't forget Madara ripping out Kakashi's eye and teleporting to the other dimension- brutal!
 * 6) We Ought To Kill Him (#684)- Many fans acknowledge that the Kaguya fight was extremely underwhelming, and it would've been better if Madara remained as the final villain. However, this was the best chapter of the Kaguya battle, if not only for the nostalgic purposes. The best parts of this chapter was Naruto finally bringing back the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Kaguya using the All-Killing Ash Bones, a technique very similar to Kimimaro's, one of the most interesting characters from Part I. This was easily the best chapter of the Kaguya fight.
 * 7) Naruto Uzumaki (#700)- The final chapter of the series! A lot of controversy surrounding this chapter, but I'm personally a big fan of it. There were some awkward moments, specifically surrounding the pairings, but overall it was nice seeing where everyone ended up. Of course, the most satisfying element of this chapter was seeing Naruto Uzumaki as the Seventh Hokage, finally achieving his dream that he was chasing after since the very first chapter.
 * 8) I Love You Guys (#689)- As a forewarning, I understand why some people might agree, and I admit that Kaguya kind of sucked in this chapter (as she's done in so many other chapters). However, what makes this chapter great is Team 7's final attack on the Rabbit Goddess. Not only was there a great amount of strategy to this final attack, but it was amazing to see them work together for one last time as a unit before the series ended. If Madara was in Kaguya's place, this chapter would probably be higher up on the list.
 * 9) Naruto and Sasuke, Part I (#694)- This was probably the slowest moment of Naruto and Sasuke's final conflict, but still a good chapter if only for the fact that it expanded upon Sasuke's plan of revolution a bit more. With this chapter being predominantly Sasuke talking about his intriguing plan of revolution, it was hard for me not to put it on the list. However, the greatest moment of this chapter was the final panel, with their final battle beginning with a taijutsu clash!
 * 10) You Better (#687)- If you know me, then you know I'm not a big fan of Obito (though the anime is making me enjoy him much more than the manga did). However, I would be lying if I said his death in this chapter didn't make me feel a bit emotional (even though it was kind of contradicted in the next chapter- let's not talk about that abomination). This was a satisfying end to Obito's character, and it was awesome seeing Naruto take charge by ripping off Kaguya's arm! And if you didn't enjoy the Obito dialogue, at least you had a cool scene with Sasuke taking on Kaguya in battle...

IV. 3rd List- Honorable Mentions (chronological order):

 * The Failed World (#661)- A decent chapter where Madara expands upon his ideaology and takes on Tobirama in battle. Sasuke is given a special technique by Hashirama (though I don't think we ever see it, unfortunately), only for him to be stabbed by Madara in the end... oh, damn!
 * Absolutely (#663)- I can already feel the hate for me not putting this on my top 10 list. If there was a "top 11" list, then this would have been #11- I just enjoyed all the chapters above this one a bit more. But anyways, this was an incredible chapter, with Orochimaru and Taka doing one more cool attack before the end of the series, one last moment for the NaruSaku tards, and a bunch of other interesting little moments. However, the best moment of the chapter was undoubtedly Madara becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki- the definition of bad ass!!!
 * The Incipient (#670)- Another chapter people are probably mad at me for not including. The best part about this chapter is just the fact that we finally got to see the Sage of Six Paths after hearing about him for so long. It was also funny seeing Naruto interact with someone of Hagoromo's intelligence level, and seeing how they interacted. It was a great chapter, but just didn't make the cut.
 * Night Guy (#672)- Guy's final attack! The Night Guy was absolutely awesome (though I do like the Evening Elephant more), and it was impressive to see just how much damage it could cause. Ultimately, many people had a problem with Naruto saving Guy at the end, but I wasn't one of them. Great chapter, but there were just a few more that were better.
 * Once More (#680)- This was actually another chapter from the Kaguya battle I enjoyed, and probably because of the fact that it was the first one and so there was still potential. It had an interesting Team 7 dynamic, and it was cool seeing some more powers from Naruto, Sasuke, and Kaguya. Another chapter that, in my eyes, made the Kaguya battle not as bad as it probably is.
 * Ninja History (#690)- The conclusion of the Kaguya fight! What made this chapter really special in my eyes was the beginning with Naruto and Sasuke sealing Kaguya away; it was just an epic way to finish this fight, even if Kaguya wasn't a worthy opponent. Naruto punching the Black Zetsu arm into the Chibaku Tensei also made me laugh pretty hard (look at Black Zetsu's face! xD). It's also impressive that Naruto and Sasuke managed to create a freaking moon! Great conclusion to an okay fight (which could've been a lot better if Madara stayed around).

V. Conclusion:
A lot of stuff happened this year in the Naruto manga! It started out with Kurama and Gyuki being extracted from Naruto and Bee, leaving both of them on the verge of death. They, along with the rest of the Tailed Beasts were then sealed into the Gedo Statue. Sasuke tried to stop Madara as well, but he failed and was also left in critical condition. With the Ten-Tails revived, Madara immediately absorbed it and became the next Jinchuriki (looking beast as hell!). Arriving to Obito's location to retrieve his other Rinnegan eye, Madara encountered his former apprentice in battle, which resulted in Obito extracting the chakra of the Shukaku and Gyuki, before retreating into the Kamui dimension to save Naruto. Meanwhile, Kabuto awakened from the Izanami and began saving Sasuke. Back on the battlefield, Guy arrived, and with no other option, opened up the Eighth Gate and engaged Madara in battle, along with the help of Kakashi, Gaara, Minato, and Lee. While this is happening, Naruto and Sasuke meet Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, in their subconscious, and he bestows them special powers, as they finally awake. Guy finishes his battle with Madara, and before he can die as a result of using the Eighth Gate, Naruto arrives and saves him from death. After engaging Naruto in a brief scuffle, Madara absorbs the rest of the Shinju, as Sasuke arrives on the battlefield. With their new powers, Naruto and Sasuke engage Madara in an epic confrontation. In the middle of the fight, Madara steals Kakashi's Sharingan eye and goes to the Kamui dimension, where he retrieves his other Rinnegan eye from Obito. Returning to the real world, Madara engages Team 7 in battle once more, before awakening the Rinne Sharingan on his forehead and finally casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi upon the world. Sasuke saves Team 7 from the effects of the Infinite Tsukuyomi while everyone else is caught in the ultimate genjutsu. Eventually, they confront Madara once again, only for Black Zetsu to reveal that he is the manifestation of Kaguya's, the mother of Hagoromo, will. Taking the opportunity, Black Zetsu overwhelms Madara and Kaguya is revived. Transporting Team 7 into her personal dimensions, a struggle ensues between Naruto, Sasuke, and Kaguya. Realizing that the duo have the potential to seal her away, Kaguya traps Sasuke in a desert dimension, separating the two. This leads to Sakura and Obito traveling to different dimensions in search of Sasuke, while Naruto engages Kaguya in battle. Finally finding Sasuke, the three return to the battle, and in an effort to save Naruto and Sasuke, Obito is killed in action. However, his spirit manages to return to the real world and he gives his power to Kakashi, allowing him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan in both eyes (ugh!). Finally, Team 7 combines their power and launches a final attack against Kaguya, resulting in Naruto and Sasuke touching her with their seals. Using the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei, Naruto and Sasuke seal Kaguya and Black Zetsu into a new moon in Kaguya's dimension, while also freeing the Tailed Beasts. Hagoromo, along with the help of the revived Gokage, summon Team 7 and the Tailed Beasts back to the real world. The Hokage say their goodbyes and Hagoromo releases them from the Edo Tensei. Thinking the battle was over, Sasuke shocks everyone with his plans of revolution and seals the Tailed Beasts within his own Chibaku Tensei satellites. Neutralizing Sakura with a genjutsu, Naruto and Sasuke return to the Valley of the End, where they begin their final battle. After an epic struggle, Naruto and Sasuke clash one final time, blowing off each of their dominant arms. Upon self reflection, Sasuke declares himself the loser of the fight and Sakura arrives to heal the two of them, with Team 7 finally being reunited once and for all. Naruto and Sasuke release the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the world celebrates. Back in Konoha, after Kakashi becomes the Sixth Hokage, Sasuke leaves to go on a journey of self-reflection, promising Sakura he would return for her. Meeting Naruto on his way out of the village, he accepts his former Konoha headband as a sign of reconciliation. Ten years later, we see the future of all of our favorite characters and a glimpse of their children. Finally, Naruto is the Seventh Hokage and a new Gokage Summit convenes in Konohagakure.

So as you can see, a lot of stuff went down in 2014! xD I personally thought all of this was great (even the Kaguya stuff... to a certain extent). In my opinion, this was one of the best years in the entire series. I can go on and on, but it's New Year's Eve, and I've had my say (I'll go more in-depth in the comments later). As the final year of the Naruto manga, I think this was a great way to end the series.

What are your top 10 favorite chapters (if you need to cheat like me, go ahead)? What did you think of the Naruto manga in 2014? Let me know in the comment section below!

P.S. talk about long posts, eh Windy? xD 