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)