Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-12509038-20141124214040/@comment-12509038-20141227001301

@Rachin, Plane, Gemnist, Blaezej, and Elve- here are the responses! :D

Rachin: For the record, I'm not criticizing you at all. I'm just stating my opinion- I felt like there was a bit of animosity in your response. Anyways, one thing I will admit is that some characters got the shorter end of the stick than others. Its one thing to not develop any of your characters (like the majority of the Konoha 11), but its another to take a character that either had potential for development or was good in the past, and make them into an arguably bad character at the end. One example is Anko- who seemed like she could be an awesome female character and had a lot of room to grow; however, in the end, she became a fat lard solely used for comedic purposes. One other one that comes to mind is Kiba- he was a rather cool character in Part I, but come Part II, he was a whiny pathetic excuse for a shinobi. He should have just kept his mouth shut and remained in the background like everyone else. All this being taken into account, this is why fillers have never bothered me to such an extent that they do others. I like seeing other characters do something in the series- even if it's not canon. Also, as opposed to this Bolt mini-series, I'd almost like to see some sort of a spinoff/prequel mini-series, where he focuses on some of the characters that didn't get to shine in the core story.

For the record, what ninja are you talking about that "get stuff done?"

A lot of people consider their Part I final fight better than the Part II. In some elements, I agree, but in others, I disagree. So that taken into account, I still don't really know how you felt about the final battle.

So when you said the art was getting kind of bad, were you talking about the anime or the manga? I can agree with you (to a certain extent) that the anime got a little bad in some cases, but the manga was superb when it comes to the art.

Plane: Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is kind of tricky in my book. On one hand, I was almost certain they would end up together ever since I saw Hinata in the beginning of Part I. I could tell they were heading into the direction of having Naruto end up with Hinata, so Sakura being with Sasuke only made sense. However, I'm not sure if those two ending up together made any sort of logical sense. This series is not about romance or pairings, so I'm not going to focus on this for too long, but I just think Sasuke put Sakura through too much sh!t to justify her still being attracted to him. And for that matter, her initial attraction to Sasuke didn't have much basis other than the fact that "he's hot." Kind of a superficial reason to love someone. Granted, ten years have passed between 699 and 700, and so that's a lot of time for them to be together and work out their issues. Not to mention that Kishi mentioned in an interview that he's working on something that develops their relationship further, and so I'm hoping this might get developed further in either the mini-series, Bolt movie, or other extension that may come in the future.

Karin had her moments- her most standout moment was probably in the War when she managed to take out Tobi with help of Taka and Orochimaru. Other than that, she's not really a great character, mainly for the reasons I stated before. Like you said, it sucks how she and Taka didn't get any closure. Still, Kishi said Orochimaru will appear in the mini-series, and so they'll probably make an appearance as well.

You are so right when you say that the ending just felt so real. The last two chapters of the battle were probably my favorite. The first was of course their epic taijutsu bout, which was probably the most brutal chapter in the series. Then the second encompassed their final clash, Sasuke's self-reflection/redemption, and of course the shocking revelation that they both lost their dominant arms. You said it was a bit slow at the beginning- would you mind clarifying what you meant? At what point was it slow?

Gemnist: I have wondered the same thing for awhile. However, I think I've come up with an answer. If you remember, Samui and Atsui were sealed within those weapons by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and at the end of the battle, Darui promised to get them out. However, the weapons were sealed into the Gedo Statue, meaning there was no way for Samui and Atsui to get out. Overall, I think Kishi remembered that he needed to find some way to get them out (tbh, I'm impressed he remembered them- I thought for sure he would forget), and so he made it seem like the tools would serve a greater purpose than merely freeing them. In a way, it could be seen as a copout, but at the same time, I'm glad it ended up that way. It only feels proper that Naruto and Sasuke would be the ones to defeat the ultimate baddie- no one else. That almost reminds me of something that appeared in this week's episode, where we see that Hashirama gave Sasuke some sort of jutsu. What do you think that was? Also, why do you think that plot element was dropped?

Calling Sasuke a villain is sometimes very questionable in my opinion, though at the same time, it's very justifiable to call him one. I prefer to call him more of an antagonist to Naruto, the protagonist. To some people, they are one in the same, but in actuality, they are very different. A villain is someone who does wickedly evil things for the sake of doing them to cause chaos or to promote their own personal agenda or goal. An antagonist is someone who is a foil to the protagonist, who is Naruto, in this case; this is someone that the main characters conflicts with over the fact that they have two separate goals and desires. For a large majority of the series, Sasuke never did anything that could be considered actions of a "villain." The only real villainy things that he did was capturing Killer Bee, attacking the Five Kage Summit, and killing a few samurai during his assault. There's a lot to Sasuke's character that can be discussed and debated- in my opinion, he is one of the more interesting and thought-provoking characters in the entire series. That taken into account (along with the fact that he's my favorite character), I plan to do a Sasuke character analysis/discussion in the future. Will you partake in that discussion? Also, would you mind briefly telling me what you think about his character (I apologize if you've already done so in the past- got a bad memory!)? You don't need to go too in-depth, as that is the point of the Sasuke discussion- just as much as you see fit.

"NOT HINATA!"? What are you talking about when you say that? Once again, I must ask this- did you start to ramble again? xD If you did, I can't blame you- it's easy to do that! xD But once again, you basically explained how Naruto's journey evolved over the series. He started out as someone being ostracized, and then slowly he began receiving affection from those around him, starting with Iruka. From there, Naruto gave back, inspiring others to be the best they possibly can and spreading the idea camaraderie around the world.

In a way, I agree that I don't really want to see such a large conflict in the mini-series and Bolt series. There are a two reasons to this- the first is that there is no greater threat than Madara and later, (unfortunately) Kaguya. No one else can possibly hold a candle to these two, and at this point, Naruto and Sasuke are demigods that can eliminate any threat that may appear. The second reason to this is the fact that I think that Naruto vs. Sasuke should have been the final be all, end all battle. There can be a few skirmishes here and there (such as the Toneri fiasco in The Last), but as far as the major battles go, it ended with Naruto vs. Sasuke. Also, like you said, it seems like world peace has been established (though it's almost comical, as something like that will never happen in the real world), so I don't much see the point of shinobi even being in existence at this point anyways. However, despite all this, it is a Shonen, and so there is bound to be some kind of conflict/battle to entertain those fanboys who just want to see fighting. So with that taken into account, what sort of conflict do you want to see from the mini-series/Bolt movie? I have my own idea of what I want to see, but I want to see what you think before I write it out.

Regarding Naruto vs. Sasuke, you said one thing that most people argue, but I agree with entirely. People do say that Naruto straight out won the fight, but he didn't- he is literally in the exact same physical condition as Sasuke. Despite the fact that Sasuke is my favorite character and I prefer him to Naruto, I actually did want Naruto to win this fight fair and square. In my eyes, he won the conflict (since Sasuke finally changed for the better), but not the actual fight. The only redeemable quality of this fact is that it makes Sasuke look better because you can't say he actually lost the fight, despite admitting defeat. One of the greatest parts about this fight is the fact that there was no TnJ at the end of the battle. Instead, Sasuke came to the conclusion that he was wrong all on his own. Granted, this was due to the fact that he reflected on all of his encounters with Naruto over the course of the series (so in a sense, that could be seen as TnJ, but not really), and that's what changed him. I was very happy to see Sasuke reach this conclusion by himself instead of Naruto giving him a massive speech like he did with Obito. There was a point in time when Sasuke was tied with Kakashi and Itachi as my favorite character; following chapters 698 and 699, Sasuke bolted ahead of them and became my favorite character. Since I'm having a really great discussion with you Gemnist, there are a few things I'd like you to go more in-depth on concerning this battle (sorry, but this is just something I love talking about):
 * What did you think about this battle from an action/fighting standpoint?
 * What did you think about this battle from an emotional standpoint?
 * How does the length of the battle effect your overall opinion?
 * What was your favorite moment?
 * What did you think of the end?
 * In what ways are you hoping the anime improves upon this final clash?

Once again, you make a valid point- one that I had not thought of before. However, that still doesn't completely excuse Karin as nothing more than a Sasuke fangirl. When she was first introduced, she seemed like a cool chick who almost had a similar personality to Sasuke. At first, I even thought it was possible that Sasuke might fall for her, and we might have seen Sasuke trying to get someone's attention as opposed to the other way around. That was ruined when she locked Suigetsu out of the room and tried to get it in with Sasuke. From then on, she just made so many poor decisions that, IMO, justifies her as one of the worst characters in the series. Still, that being said, I do like your viewpoint on Taka, and it's one that I will apply to Suigetsu and definitely Jugo- just not Karin.

While I understand why it makes sense for Taka to travel with Sasuke, I like the idea of him traveling alone in seek of redemption more. While I do want closure of Taka and definitely Orochimaru's characters, Sasuke going on his journey alone made more sense. And while we're talking about the ending, what did you actually think about it, Gemnist? I can go more in-depth later if you'd like, but here is the skinny: I thought it was near perfect- I loved the majority of the conclusion. My one and only gripe is that Orochimaru (along with a few other characters, but mainly him more than anyone else) didn't get the proper conclusion to their stories. However, like I've said before, Kishi is going to do that in the mini-series, so I can't call a complete judgement until that is over.

That is probably my favorite Minato scene as well. Tbh, I wasn't completely satisfied with his appearance in the War. He had a lot of badass moments, but he also had his fair share of horrible ones as well. He did a lot of tripping near the end! xD Also, I wasn't completely impressed with his farewell to Naruto. It felt rushed, and Minato didn't say too much; also, I kind of wish he had his arms so he could embrace his son in one last hug or at least a handshake. :P

Well, that was a lot. But you're giving me a lot to ponder and talk about- looking forward to your next response, Gemnist! :D

Blaezej: I love the brutal honesty! xD I have until the 5th of January before I go back- that's plenty of time, so take your time! :D

Elve: Glad to see you here! You don't have to read the entire thread- only the original post is the important one. That basically summarizes what I'm looking for when you post your thoughts. But either way, I have a feeling this might be an entertaining response, as you have a sarcastic nature that leaves a lot to be admired- looking forward to it! xD