Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-12509038-20141124214040/@comment-12509038-20141228215933

@Everyone involved in the discussion-

Rachin: I completely agree- there have been a lot of times where I actually enjoy fillers. While I enjoy seeing the manga translated into the anime much more, it is a nice change to get something new every once in awhile. And like you said, sometimes they help expand upon the characters who don't get enough attention in the manga (even if it's not canon). Tbh, I think fillers were done much better in Part I than Part II. There weren't too many fillers I didn't enjoy after the main content was animated (I'm probably one of the few people that feel that way). While there are a few good filler arcs in Part II (specifically the Three-Tails Arc, the Chikara Arc, and the Kakashi ANBU Arc), most of them aren't that good (especially the Six Tails Arc and Paradise Island Arc).

You do bring up a good point. It seems like that idea of ruthlessness among the shinobi was lost at some point in the series. I clearly remember when Hiruzen explained to Naruto that some missions revolve around ninja having to assassinate someone or something else that is somewhat cruel. It would have been interesting to see Naruto have to deal with the fact that he may have to blatantly murder someone in order to accomplish a mission. However, at the same time, I understand why they couldn't do this. Despite the fact that it is about ninjas, it is primarily targeted towards a younger demographic (or at least thats how it started out- as the series progressed, it became much more mature and serious). For that reason alone the theme/tone it transformed into later in the series makes sense for what Kishimoto was going for.

I'm not gonna lie- I 100% understand where you're coming (despite the fact that I enjoyed the fight very much). It had its issues, but for the most part, I was pretty satisfied with the final battle. Granted, I do still need to see it in the anime- usually the anime can make or break the quality of a fight. My biggest complaint is the length- had it been a few chapters longer, I think it would have been perfect. Now, let me ask this- what would have to be changed that would've made you like it more?

Its ultimately a shame that you feel this way, but like before, I can understand where you're coming from, even if I don't entirely disagree. While I'm not sure I would do a better job at writing the story, there are definitely certain elements that I feel like others could have done better than Kishi did (one example is Kaguya- I would be smart enough not to write her in, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't be able to come up with a better layout for the final fight against Madara, nor would I know how to properly defeat him).

Gemnist (and Eric, I suppose): Certain lengths of a post are just indicators of a good conversation! xD

You are definitely right that Kishi using those panels for irrelevant characters like Samui and Atsui is a shame when he could've used them for someone more important (like Orochimaru), at the same time, then others would bitch that he completely forgot about them. That's the ultimate problem with the ending- it was a bit too rushed. That said, given the time he was given to write the ending, I do think he did the best job he possibly could. It's just that he ended up skipping over a lot of important elements to meet the deadline. In a sense, that is kind of what I'm hoping the main objective of the mini series is- to expand upon certain elements that are still considered "loose ends."

Now we come to Sasuke... like I said before, I don't want to go too in-depth into this now, as I have a lot to say about this stuff when I finally get to the character analysis/discussion. However, once again, a lot of your examples are not wrong. There was a point in Sasuke's life when he absolutely deserved to be called "a villainous man." However, for the majority of the series, while he was still an antagonist to Naruto, the protagonist, he could also be seen as a protagonist in his own sense as well. During his battle with Deidara, who was the villain and who was the hero in that fight? Obviously Deidara was the villain, as he wanted to kill Sasuke just for the hell of it; obviously Sasuke was the hero, as he was simply trying to find out information about his brother. During the battle with Danzo, who was the villain and who was the hero? Danzo was the villain, as despite the fact that he was the Hokage candidate at the time, he was a corrupt leader who was responsible for the genocide of Sasuke's clan; Sasuke was the hero of that fight, as people were rooting for him to finally achieve vengeance for his clan's massacre (that, and the fact that everyone hated Danzo). There are just a lot of instances where the readers were rooting for Sasuke to succeed in his endeavors. Normally that doesn't happen if the character is a straight out villain (unless he's Madara Uchiha). The point is that I just think its more appropriate to consider Sasuke the main antagonist as opposed to a hardcore villain. Its very similar, but at the same time, there is a distinct difference.

And as Gemnist said when addressing Eric, I also liked when Sasuke was going through his "batsh!t insane" phase during the Five Kage Summit Arc- after all he's been through, I think he was extremely justified in his actions. Overall, while the claim that Sasuke is a flip-floppy character is true to an extent, in a way, his development and progression was handled very well in my eyes. But again, that's for another discussion.

And while I'm addressing both of you, I'll touch on Jugo and Suigetsu- it is a bit strange about how their fates are left up in the air. I would've imagined that Jugo would still be by Sasuke's side in order to contain himself, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I'd like to hope that we'll see what happens to him in the mini-series. Regarding Suigetsu, I'd like to think he ultimately accomplished his goal of mastering all seven swords and reestablishing the Sevens Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Interestingly enough, we never saw who Chojuro's personal guard was during chapter 700, and a lot of people suggested it was Suigetsu. Though if that was the case, I don't know why Kishi wouldn't have shown him in 700.

The talking in 694 actually didn't bother me at all. While some felt it was repetitive (and it was in some places, such as the Itachi flashbacks- they weren't necessary) for the most part, it gave us more information on what Sasuke was planning with his revolution. And honestly, I was extremely interested in Sasuke's new goal that I liked reading how he planned on changing the shinobi system- it was interesting than a lot of the other antagonist plots that have come in the series before. If I had one complaint at all, it was that I would've liked it to have been longer. Initially, I was hoping for at least 10 chapters, but in the end, we only got about 7 chapters (which is even debatable among the community). In the anime, besides the absolutely stellar animation, my only other request is to make it much longer. Right now, it might be around two or three episodes long. I'd like the anime to extend it so it is at least somewhere between five and seven episodes long. Your favorite moment is a bit surprising- not many people pick that one; but I know where you're coming from. My favorite was probably their final clash, leading up to the reveal that they both lost their arms. A runner-up would be the entire taijutsu sequence in 697- that is one of the best chapters in the entire damn series!

Really quickly, I want to point out that I always wanted Sasuke to restore the Uchiha Clan, which he did at the end of the series. I didn't care who with, just as long as the Sharingan Spammers made their return in some way.

As you get to know me, just know that I don't really care about the pairings at all. I've just never had any reason to get involved in them when its a series about ninjas. I'm satisfied with how it ended up. I mean screw it- Choji and Karui are probably the best pairing when you really think about it! xD

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it takes place 10 years after the manga. I forget where I read that though. And yeah, Orochimaru is coming back (which probably means Taka and Kabuto will appear in one way or another as well). What do you want to see from him in the mini series?

AsianReaper: Glad to see you join in our conversation! Looking forward to reading more from you in the future!

Chidori/Raikiri are definitely awesome techniques! I like pretty much anything that has to do with lightning release. And you summed up the whole theme of this series perfectly. The overall lesson is the fact that camaraderie is the key to success.