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Naruto: Omnibus #11
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 11
The epic ninja adventure that became a global phenomenon!
Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja!
Stakes are high as Naruto, Sakura, Granny Chiyo and Kakashi engage in deadly conflict with Sasori and Deidara. One wrong decision, and one of Naruto’s closest friends could pay the ultimate price. Upon returning from battle, Team Kakashi is rankled by new member Sai, whose secrets may be disastrous for Naruto. Meanwhile, Orochimaru has bigger problems of his own—his stronghold may be infiltrated by a spy!
Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He’s got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world’s greatest ninja!
Stakes are high as Naruto, Sakura, Granny Chiyo and Kakashi engage in deadly conflict with Sasori and Deidara. One wrong decision, and one of Naruto’s closest friends could pay the ultimate price. Upon returning from battle, Team Kakashi is rankled by new member Sai, whose secrets may be disastrous for Naruto. Meanwhile, Orochimaru has bigger problems of his own—his stronghold may be infiltrated by a spy!
576 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2015
5 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
About the author
Masashi Kishimoto
1,171 books3,938 followersMasashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.
Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.
Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 31, 2024
I took off work for my birthday, as I always do. I hadn't had Japanese curry in months, so I was looking forward to it. It's something I treat myself to when I take PTO, but I hadn't had it in a while because most of my days off were calling out "sick," in which cases I'd feel like maybe it would be "going to far" to take advantage of the brief window of freedom to go for a curry run. So my birthday was special, because I was going through curry withdrawal. I guess it's actually supposed to be special because I turned thirty, but that's not a big deal to me; birthdays are more an "excuse" to get out of work. So, anyway, I actually got curry udon rather than curry rice. I don't know if it's necessarily related, but I ended up having some pretty extreme diarrhea about eight or ten hours later. So it's funny because my "illness" now can kinda-sorta make up for dubious claims of illness in previous days off. Oh, and I also got ramen to-go from another nearby restaurant, which is honestly more relevant to Naruto, but I haven't eaten it yet, so I don't have an anecdote about pooping for it.
With this omnibus, we finish the Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc and enter the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc. I wrote quite a bit about the Kazekage Rescue last volume, I think, so I'll try not to waste too much space doing it again. The main thing to note is it's jumped pretty much immediately to the space of my second-favorite arc in the manga so far, after the Chūnin Exams. Kishimoto wastes no time jumping into the action after Naruto returns to Konoha from the timeskip. Part 1 introduced Itachi and Kisame wanting to capture Naruto for reasons, and we see Zetsu in the shadows near the end, I think other Akatsuki a bit later, and now we have the Big Idea: the next chunk of the manga will be about the Akatsuki plan to siphon the Biju from all the Jinchûriki in order to manufacture a new super-Biju. Seen from the opposite angle, our heroes will be functionally hunting Akatsuki for a good while. We're introduced pretty immediately to Sasori and Deidara, and the arc ends with Sasori getting killed. Deidara seems incapacitated, but he's still alive, so we'll see what happens there. Near the end of the arc, we see a mysterious masked figure Tobi as an associate of Zetsu, and we can imagine he'll play a big role in the future (spoiler: he does). The apparent Akatsuki leader appears to have some kind of Dōjutsu going on, so that will probably be important later as well (spoiler: it is). Probably the thing I like most about this arc is that Sakura is officially an actual fighter now.
So far, the Tenchi Bridge Arc doesn't seem to have Akatsuki at its heart, unless you want to count Orochimaru. So presumably not every arc will be about fighting the "Akatsuki of the week." What we've seen so far is a series of introductions to the other major Leaf kids from outside Team Kakashi and Team Guy. We are then introduced to series newcomers Danzo, Sai, and Yamato, who will all be important. Sai and Yamato replace Sasuke and Kakashi (respectively) for the new iteration of Team 7 (Kakashi is recovering from the battle against Deidara), and near the end of this omnibus we get an idea that Danzo and Sai are possible enemies of Konoha, or at least certainly enemies of Lady Fifth. Anyway, Orochimaru and Kabuto are back as well, and we have hints that Sasuke will reappear shortly (by "hint," I mean the next-volume preview outright says it...). Perhaps most significantly, we see an overt example of Naruto's new power with the Nine-Tailed Fox Chakra, as his rage against Orochimaru triggers a Four Tail Form which Naruto cannot control at all, and which shows just how fucking strong a Jinchûriki can be, especially since Naruto has less than half his Tails unlocked so far.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
I said last omnibus that it looks like Naruto is doing clone-less Rasengan, but throughout Volume 31 he uses clones to weave the Chakra. So I don't know.
Naruto starts unlocking more advanced forms of his Biju release, beginning with a Two Tail Form against Deidara.
Cried a bit when Gaara was having his Evangelion "Omedetou!" moment.
Because I hate VIZ so much and just automatically assume they've fucked something up, I thought there was an ink smudge in Chapter 281. It was actually Gaara using his sand to make Naruto shake his hand. So that was actually pretty cute. Still hate VIZ, though.
Ikemoto's illustration adjacent to the cover of Chapter 283 signals pretty overtly how Boruto will eventually lapse from imitation of Kishimoto's style to almost purely Ikemoto's own.
Of course VIZ censors the thing about Sai saying Naruto has a little penis, or whatever.
Tsunade's giant fucking boobies on the cover of Chapter 282...! 👀
You can tell by her silhouette that Hinata got them thangs, but I also kind of appreciate how her baggy jacket makes her look a little chubby in general 🤷🏼
Post-timeskip Ino is one of the most erotic manga character designs of all time 🥵
Also, Tenten is pretty cute, but this bitch just isn't ever gonna do shit in this manga, is she!?
By the way, you can definitely tell the wannabe Akatsuki at the end of Volume 31 is . At least change the hair, if you want to be sneaky about it!
With this omnibus, we finish the Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc and enter the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc. I wrote quite a bit about the Kazekage Rescue last volume, I think, so I'll try not to waste too much space doing it again. The main thing to note is it's jumped pretty much immediately to the space of my second-favorite arc in the manga so far, after the Chūnin Exams. Kishimoto wastes no time jumping into the action after Naruto returns to Konoha from the timeskip. Part 1 introduced Itachi and Kisame wanting to capture Naruto for reasons, and we see Zetsu in the shadows near the end, I think other Akatsuki a bit later, and now we have the Big Idea: the next chunk of the manga will be about the Akatsuki plan to siphon the Biju from all the Jinchûriki in order to manufacture a new super-Biju. Seen from the opposite angle, our heroes will be functionally hunting Akatsuki for a good while. We're introduced pretty immediately to Sasori and Deidara, and the arc ends with Sasori getting killed. Deidara seems incapacitated, but he's still alive, so we'll see what happens there. Near the end of the arc, we see a mysterious masked figure Tobi as an associate of Zetsu, and we can imagine he'll play a big role in the future (spoiler: he does). The apparent Akatsuki leader appears to have some kind of Dōjutsu going on, so that will probably be important later as well (spoiler: it is). Probably the thing I like most about this arc is that Sakura is officially an actual fighter now.
So far, the Tenchi Bridge Arc doesn't seem to have Akatsuki at its heart, unless you want to count Orochimaru. So presumably not every arc will be about fighting the "Akatsuki of the week." What we've seen so far is a series of introductions to the other major Leaf kids from outside Team Kakashi and Team Guy. We are then introduced to series newcomers Danzo, Sai, and Yamato, who will all be important. Sai and Yamato replace Sasuke and Kakashi (respectively) for the new iteration of Team 7 (Kakashi is recovering from the battle against Deidara), and near the end of this omnibus we get an idea that Danzo and Sai are possible enemies of Konoha, or at least certainly enemies of Lady Fifth. Anyway, Orochimaru and Kabuto are back as well, and we have hints that Sasuke will reappear shortly (by "hint," I mean the next-volume preview outright says it...). Perhaps most significantly, we see an overt example of Naruto's new power with the Nine-Tailed Fox Chakra, as his rage against Orochimaru triggers a Four Tail Form which Naruto cannot control at all, and which shows just how fucking strong a Jinchûriki can be, especially since Naruto has less than half his Tails unlocked so far.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
I said last omnibus that it looks like Naruto is doing clone-less Rasengan, but throughout Volume 31 he uses clones to weave the Chakra. So I don't know.
Naruto starts unlocking more advanced forms of his Biju release, beginning with a Two Tail Form against Deidara.
Cried a bit when Gaara was having his Evangelion "Omedetou!" moment.
Because I hate VIZ so much and just automatically assume they've fucked something up, I thought there was an ink smudge in Chapter 281. It was actually Gaara using his sand to make Naruto shake his hand. So that was actually pretty cute. Still hate VIZ, though.
Ikemoto's illustration adjacent to the cover of Chapter 283 signals pretty overtly how Boruto will eventually lapse from imitation of Kishimoto's style to almost purely Ikemoto's own.
Of course VIZ censors the thing about Sai saying Naruto has a little penis, or whatever.
Tsunade's giant fucking boobies on the cover of Chapter 282...! 👀
You can tell by her silhouette that Hinata got them thangs, but I also kind of appreciate how her baggy jacket makes her look a little chubby in general 🤷🏼
Post-timeskip Ino is one of the most erotic manga character designs of all time 🥵
Also, Tenten is pretty cute, but this bitch just isn't ever gonna do shit in this manga, is she!?
By the way, you can definitely tell the wannabe Akatsuki at the end of Volume 31 is . At least change the hair, if you want to be sneaky about it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2021
This book is just so good at keep the pacing while still continuing the character development and overall plot. Naruto is so loveable despite being such a rash child. Wonderful, simply wonderful.
August 27, 2025
"in this shinobi world created by frivolous old people...I'm glad new souls like you have come along"
I hate Sai. I hate Orochimaru. I hate Deidara. I hate Sasori. I hate Kabuto. Kishimoto really knows how to make a VILLAIN
I hate Sai. I hate Orochimaru. I hate Deidara. I hate Sasori. I hate Kabuto. Kishimoto really knows how to make a VILLAIN
September 15, 2020
This is a review of the entire series.
Once upon a time, the spirit of an evil Nine Tailed Fox wreaked havoc on Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves, killing hundreds of honorable ninja in the skirmish and leaving many children without homes or parents. The Fourth Hokage (leader of the village) unleashes a forbidden jutsu (magic spell/ninja ability) to seal the spirit of the evil fox into the body of a newborn baby named Naruto at the cost of his own life. He did this in the hopes that the boy could one day learn to master the power of the demonic spirit and use it to protect the village and become a great hero of the people.
Unknown to the citizens of the Leaf, the Nine Tailed Fox was being controlled by an even more powerful adversary, a legendary rogue ninja that plans to wage war against the entire world from the shadows. The identity of the mysterious ninja that attacked the Leaf Village using the Nine Tails died with the Fourth Hokage, and he used what remained of his life to gift Naruto with the power of one day being able to stop this evil ninja and a clan of outlawed S-rank criminals called the Akatsuki from committing mass genocide against the many hidden villages and clans of the world.
Because of the evil spirit sealed inside him, Naruto grew up hated by the other children of the village because they believe him and the Nine Tails to be one and the same. They believe he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them all just like the Nine Tails killed their parents and families. Shunned, dehumanized and treated like dirt, Naruto vows to become the greatest hokage the world has ever seen so that he can receive the love and acknowledgement he never got as a child.
On top of the Nine Tails power and the will to never quit, Naruto also possesses the uncanny ability to turn everyone he meets into a potential comrade. He brings out the best in his peers and tries his hardest to make his enemies see the errors of their ways. He disobeys the rules and ignores cultural traditions to try and make changes to the world and break the eternal cycle of war and hatred through his own methods. His determination is infectious to friend and foe alike. He earns himself the respect he deserves by overcoming one impossible obstacle at a time.
Naruto encounters many fascinating and terrifying ninja over the course of his journey to become hokage. Among them are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s best friend and rival who is driven by the vengeful lust to murder his elder brother after he wiped out their own clan in cold blood. Sasuke warms up to Naruto, but his hatred and trauma are dangerous forces that threaten to break his moral code as a ninja and destroy his reputation among his peers.
Kakashi Hatake is a notorious copycat ninja that survived one of the most brutal and devastating wars in history as well as the Nine Tails attack on the Leaf Village. He becomes Naruto and Sasuke’s mentor and teaches them a great number of valuable lessons about surviving in the dangerous world of rogue ninja, bloodthirsty assassins and clans ruled by corruption.
Jiraiya is a perverted yet wise sage who taught the Fourth Hokage everything he knew and he’s regarded as a god among shinobi that’s famous for his heroic actions in the second great ninja war. He takes an interest in Naruto and raises him as a father figure to carry on the legacy of the Fourth Hokage to prepare him for the many dangerous people that want to use his power for their own nefarious purposes.
The Akatsuki is one such group of wicked ninja. Among them are Sasuke’s brother Itachi who murdered his clan and possesses many dangerous techniques involving illusions, psychological torture and elemental manipulation. Sasori who controls poisonous puppets with magical threads, Orochimaru who mastered the forbidden arts of reanimation and quasi-immortality, Deidara who fights from afar using detonating clay and many other deadly foes.
The entire series chronicles Naruto and his fellow ninja comrades growing through countless trials and tragedies. There are hundreds of unique jutsus, clans, and techniques which lead to some very intense, creative and strategic battles between skilled ninja with diverse abilities that don’t always match up evenly. There are clan based abilities such as the Aburame clan’s ability to control insects, the Yamanaka clan’s ability to jump into other people’s minds and control their bodies and the Inuzuka clan’s ability to bond with wolves that learn to mimic their master’s battle skills. Then there’s ocular genetic abilities such as the sharingan which allows the user to create psychological illusions, copy their enemy’s abilities and manipulate elemental energy. The byakugan allows the user to read their enemies vital points and detect their spiritual energy from faraway. The rinnegan grants control over space and gravity and so on.
On top of having countless unique abilities, nearly every character has a tragic backstory that makes them sympathetic and relatable, even the nastiest of the villains have well-explored reasons for following the paths they do and becoming the way they are. One of my favorite aspects of the series is how well it explores the physical, emotional and psychological effects war can have on society and culture as well as the survivors and future generations that are forced to live in them. How it breeds racism and cultural disputes, how it inspires hatred in orphaned children and war veterans robbed of their homes toward foreign nations, as well as how this eventually leads to further death, war, poverty and destruction. Learning to forgive the ones you hate to prevent further conflict and damaging the world for future generations even further is a major theme throughout the story.
Being a massive 700 chapter series, it’s not too surprising that there’s some plot holes and consistency issues. A rule might be stated regarding the requirements and usage of a certain jutsu or ability only for that rule to be repeatedly broken 400 chapters later. Sometimes the characters and rules contradict themselves, sometimes the chronology of certain events and historical facts don’t match up perfectly, the lore and general backstory go through several retcons that change the philosophy and power scaling of the characters and the scope of world-building; the final arc especially drags on and breaks a lot of the logic and rules that the story spent the whole series setting up, etc...
Naruto’s far from perfect, but I remember it very fondly for being one of the first series that introduced me to things like manga and Japanese entertainment in general. It was one of those childhood classics like Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin. The series grew up with me and I can’t help but feel grateful to it for introducing me to hundreds of other franchises that I’m still a huge fan of to this day and I continue to find many new ones on the regular. Naruto's journey from a clownish, disrespected outcast into a talented, well-loved and admired hero is a memorable one.
Once upon a time, the spirit of an evil Nine Tailed Fox wreaked havoc on Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves, killing hundreds of honorable ninja in the skirmish and leaving many children without homes or parents. The Fourth Hokage (leader of the village) unleashes a forbidden jutsu (magic spell/ninja ability) to seal the spirit of the evil fox into the body of a newborn baby named Naruto at the cost of his own life. He did this in the hopes that the boy could one day learn to master the power of the demonic spirit and use it to protect the village and become a great hero of the people.
Unknown to the citizens of the Leaf, the Nine Tailed Fox was being controlled by an even more powerful adversary, a legendary rogue ninja that plans to wage war against the entire world from the shadows. The identity of the mysterious ninja that attacked the Leaf Village using the Nine Tails died with the Fourth Hokage, and he used what remained of his life to gift Naruto with the power of one day being able to stop this evil ninja and a clan of outlawed S-rank criminals called the Akatsuki from committing mass genocide against the many hidden villages and clans of the world.
Because of the evil spirit sealed inside him, Naruto grew up hated by the other children of the village because they believe him and the Nine Tails to be one and the same. They believe he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them all just like the Nine Tails killed their parents and families. Shunned, dehumanized and treated like dirt, Naruto vows to become the greatest hokage the world has ever seen so that he can receive the love and acknowledgement he never got as a child.
On top of the Nine Tails power and the will to never quit, Naruto also possesses the uncanny ability to turn everyone he meets into a potential comrade. He brings out the best in his peers and tries his hardest to make his enemies see the errors of their ways. He disobeys the rules and ignores cultural traditions to try and make changes to the world and break the eternal cycle of war and hatred through his own methods. His determination is infectious to friend and foe alike. He earns himself the respect he deserves by overcoming one impossible obstacle at a time.
Naruto encounters many fascinating and terrifying ninja over the course of his journey to become hokage. Among them are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s best friend and rival who is driven by the vengeful lust to murder his elder brother after he wiped out their own clan in cold blood. Sasuke warms up to Naruto, but his hatred and trauma are dangerous forces that threaten to break his moral code as a ninja and destroy his reputation among his peers.
Kakashi Hatake is a notorious copycat ninja that survived one of the most brutal and devastating wars in history as well as the Nine Tails attack on the Leaf Village. He becomes Naruto and Sasuke’s mentor and teaches them a great number of valuable lessons about surviving in the dangerous world of rogue ninja, bloodthirsty assassins and clans ruled by corruption.
Jiraiya is a perverted yet wise sage who taught the Fourth Hokage everything he knew and he’s regarded as a god among shinobi that’s famous for his heroic actions in the second great ninja war. He takes an interest in Naruto and raises him as a father figure to carry on the legacy of the Fourth Hokage to prepare him for the many dangerous people that want to use his power for their own nefarious purposes.
The Akatsuki is one such group of wicked ninja. Among them are Sasuke’s brother Itachi who murdered his clan and possesses many dangerous techniques involving illusions, psychological torture and elemental manipulation. Sasori who controls poisonous puppets with magical threads, Orochimaru who mastered the forbidden arts of reanimation and quasi-immortality, Deidara who fights from afar using detonating clay and many other deadly foes.
The entire series chronicles Naruto and his fellow ninja comrades growing through countless trials and tragedies. There are hundreds of unique jutsus, clans, and techniques which lead to some very intense, creative and strategic battles between skilled ninja with diverse abilities that don’t always match up evenly. There are clan based abilities such as the Aburame clan’s ability to control insects, the Yamanaka clan’s ability to jump into other people’s minds and control their bodies and the Inuzuka clan’s ability to bond with wolves that learn to mimic their master’s battle skills. Then there’s ocular genetic abilities such as the sharingan which allows the user to create psychological illusions, copy their enemy’s abilities and manipulate elemental energy. The byakugan allows the user to read their enemies vital points and detect their spiritual energy from faraway. The rinnegan grants control over space and gravity and so on.
On top of having countless unique abilities, nearly every character has a tragic backstory that makes them sympathetic and relatable, even the nastiest of the villains have well-explored reasons for following the paths they do and becoming the way they are. One of my favorite aspects of the series is how well it explores the physical, emotional and psychological effects war can have on society and culture as well as the survivors and future generations that are forced to live in them. How it breeds racism and cultural disputes, how it inspires hatred in orphaned children and war veterans robbed of their homes toward foreign nations, as well as how this eventually leads to further death, war, poverty and destruction. Learning to forgive the ones you hate to prevent further conflict and damaging the world for future generations even further is a major theme throughout the story.
Being a massive 700 chapter series, it’s not too surprising that there’s some plot holes and consistency issues. A rule might be stated regarding the requirements and usage of a certain jutsu or ability only for that rule to be repeatedly broken 400 chapters later. Sometimes the characters and rules contradict themselves, sometimes the chronology of certain events and historical facts don’t match up perfectly, the lore and general backstory go through several retcons that change the philosophy and power scaling of the characters and the scope of world-building; the final arc especially drags on and breaks a lot of the logic and rules that the story spent the whole series setting up, etc...
Naruto’s far from perfect, but I remember it very fondly for being one of the first series that introduced me to things like manga and Japanese entertainment in general. It was one of those childhood classics like Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin. The series grew up with me and I can’t help but feel grateful to it for introducing me to hundreds of other franchises that I’m still a huge fan of to this day and I continue to find many new ones on the regular. Naruto's journey from a clownish, disrespected outcast into a talented, well-loved and admired hero is a memorable one.
February 5, 2018
Granny Chiyo and Sakura finish off Sasori, Gaara returns, a new Kakashi cell is formed (without Sasuke and Kakashi), Oroshimaru reappears and another Konohagakure spy is uncovered (probably too late). The art and story all keep the perfect pace and flow. A masterpiece that everyone and anyone should read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2017
This was really good. We actually got to meet some new characters who's really amazing. Poor naruto and sakura. They are going through so much right now.
May 28, 2021
Alright, so I just finished the colossal 700 chapters of Naruto and here is how this is going to go. I will be breaking down my review for each, and yes, each arc of Naruto throughout it's run. I will be ignoring what volumes and I will be speaking with spoilers. So If you're at all interested in this story that ended six years ago. Please keep aware of this and only read the arcs you have finished.
That being said, this is a reread for me. I actually decided to reread them as the 3-in-1 volumes as they're much cheaper. I probably had 10 volumes already of the story so I didn't repurchase so my collection is a little incomplete. However, this reread was a lot of fun and I enjoyed a lot. I'll be doing this in a certain bullet point style because there's so much story to cover I really just want to point out my like's and Dislikes for each Arc. As well as Individual ratings.
Part One
Prologue - Land of Waves Arc - Chapter 1-33: Rating: 7/10
-So I love the land of waves arc. Anyone who says they weren't instantly hooked once they reached this point has got to be full of themselves. This arc does so much to set up the world, the themes, everything that Naruto would become.
-Unfortunately, what prequels this is absolute hot garbage.
-Now, I didn't think this when I began the reread because it has been over a decade since I've explored this section of the story. But let me tell you, these first 5 chapters are probably some of the worst in any shonen I've ever seen. To be fair, most first chapters in shonen usually aren't stand out. I've often expressed how they're really edited and refined to express the exact image that the magazine wants them to be. Once they actually get a chance to strut their stuff (if they sell well) then that's when we see most shonens come into their own.
-However, you would have to be younger than 5 to enjoy and find the slapstick comedy in the first five chapters to be digestible whatsoever. It's so cringeworthy I can't believe I ever was okay with it. Konohamaru is the worst character in creation. Most of the Naruto characters are pervs. Sasuke and Sakura's introductions are laughable at best. Well, they're not laughable. I WISH they had been, but nope.
-I love Naruto's power system. I may even go so far as to express I think it's actually my favorite power system pre-final arc. I love how thought out and detersive it is.
-Zabuza is a great antagonist. Gato is very easily hateable and Haku is great too.
-I really just am blown away how fast the pacing is. The tactics are clever and fun.
-Overall, the prologue really pulled this arc down for me. If you'd separate them. The prologue chapters would be a 4/10 and the Land of waves would be 10/10
Chunin Exams Arc - Chapter 34-114: Rating: 10/10
-10/10 arc. Nothing for me to say. Except that I personally would have liked to have seen the finale of the tournament. We didn't even get past the first round before everything kinda went haywire.
Konoha Invasion Arc - Chapter 115-138: Rating: 9/10
-I don't have a lot of bad to say outside of the sense that a lot of ninja's didn't really show their stuff. Primarily Kakashi, Jiraiya, etc. Because of this, the invasion really never felt like it would succeed. Sure, the Hokage's death was very expected and a tragedy. However, no one else we knew was wounded. The plan itself just really fell flat.
Search for Tsunade arc - Chapter 139-171: Rating: 7/10
-Yeah, this one surprised me.
-I remember this one being the most painful arc in part one. Not only is long, but it's also mostly a glorified training arc.
-With new eyes and a better appreciation for story and characters I have come away enjoying this arc much more.
-Tsunade is a phenomenal character and probably one of the only female characters in Naruto I can say that about.
-Naruto's journey to learning the Rasengan was also a lot more comprehensive now that I'm an adult. (and not reading scans)
-Also, Itachi was introduced in this arc and HOT DAMN THIS GUY WAS COOL
Sasuke Retrieval Arc - Chapter 172-238: Rating: 10/10
What can I say? 10/10 once again. Perhaps the Neji fight was a bit too long, but it never felt that way.
-The fights were all great. The themes were spot on and holy lawrd the emotion. *Chef's kiss.
Kakashi Gaiden - Chapter 239-244: Rating: 6/10
-Meh, I don't like this arc that much. I don't have a great reason. It's a flashback arc. But it came at such a weird point in the story. Like, no one was asking for it in this particular moment.
Part Two
Kazekage Rescue Arc - Chapter 245-281: Rating: 8/10
-This was another arc, like the Tsunade arc that I didn't enjoy. At this point, I was a weekly reader and It is a nearly 40 chapter arc. Maybe as a kid I felt like there was just too much talking and too much establishing what they were doing. Another key factor was that Naruto's growth, despite it only being roughly two and a half years was still rather unimpressive. I mean, he could do a big rasengan.
-What I neglected to understand was that this was mostly a reference point to show us just how much the kids have grown in less than 3 years time. The kids actually went from not being able to land a single attack on base Kakashi with no Sharingan, to with one less member, defeating Kakashi and completing the bell exam. That's tremendous progress. Another thing I neglected was just how much focus was put on Naruto mastering the nine-tails power. It was a pretty small feat as i read this as a teenager, but having reread the material back to back I noticed that far more emphasis was put on Naruto's lack of control. His ability to bring out some of Kurama's chakra was only enough to give him a short boost that put him above Neji. When facing Sasuke and he got a one tailed cloak, he actually succumbed to the 9 tails and lost himself. Now he's able to call upon three tails all by himself.
-The sasori fight is legendary. I love Chiyo as a character which before I just kinda was indifferent to her. This would also feature Team Guy and that was exciting as we hadn't seen those characters in some time. Though, really they didn't have much to do besides fight themselves in this.
-Overall, the arc loses points for me because of how centered around the Sasori fight it seemed. Yet, half the other events of the arc felt secondary when I compared them. Gaara's emotional climax and revelation was great. Naruto's growth was great. Learning about the sand was great. But this arc had to establish a lot and I just remember those chapters of them running through the forest and just text filling the pages from panel to panel. Not saying action was vital, just that we spent too much time talking about Jinchurki. It was clear that Kishimoto was now ready to establish these terms he set up. But I felt he could have presented it in a more organic fashion then just an info dump.
Sasuke and Sai Arc - Chapter 282-310: Rating: 6/10
-This arc is really conflicting. On one hand, it has probably one of the most hype conflicts in the entire series to this point. Naruto 4 tails vs Orochimaru was absolutley insane and it still holds up. The emotional tension of Naruto losing himself and not caring because it's orochimaru and he's spent so long hating this guy was fantastic.
-On the other hand...this arc also heavily features Sai. And et's just cut to the chase. Sai is probably my least favorite character in all of Naruto. I think he's just a really poorly written character. I understand his purpose. I understand what he was meant to imply and communicate with the reader, but I just really thought it was done in the most generic and boring way. I am not a fan of Sai. He really, really dragged this arc down for me.
Hidan and Kakuzu Arc - Chapter 311-342: Rating: 7.5/10
-Yet again another arc I thought I'd hate. Mainly because when I read them when they came out, I realized just how awful the scans were. Hidan and Kakuzu probably cussed more than any two characters in the scanlations. Not that it was awful, I just thought it didn't properly convey the information.
-I do think this is kind of the arc that kind of made me realize why I didn't love part 2 my first time around. Well, not as much as part 1 I should say. The expansion of the world and the lore take a heavy backseat in the last arc and this arc. We barely learn about the world in which these ninjas fight in. We don't even learn anything about the villages of our antagonists. Which I felt was a huge misstep.
-This was a training arc I really enjoyed as well. I felt like maybe I just didn't enjoy training arcs when I was younger because DBZ used them so heavily but this was done very well. Shikamaru's character growth in this was also fantastic.
-This arc loses points for not making Hidan and Kakuzu even remotely interesting characters as well as not expanding on the world. It DID expand on the power system which was great but still. This Arc had 3 beats. Battle where Asuma dies. Naruto's training. Battle where they beat the akatsuki. No other nuisance.
Itachi Pursuit Arc - Chapter 343-402: Rating: 9/10
-What can I say? fans were waiting for this conflict forever. And it did not disappoint.
-The reveal at the end was also fantastic.
-Where this arc loses points is everything to do with Naruto. Naruto's role, his mission with the other team to track Sasuke was...really not needed here. It felt extra. I would have rather had naruto be exempt or perhaps do something else. This was just a lot of wasted pages. I understand Itachi had to interact with Naruto to give him the crow, but this could have been done earlier in one of the previous arcs. Perhaps Kazekage when they actually fought his clone.
Pain Invasion Arc - Chapter 403-449: Rating: 10/10
-I gave this a 10/10 but I am still salty about the reviving everyone who died jutsu. I get it. I just personally would have preferred if the story didn't make that decision. It felt like Konoha just didn't really try hard to fight Pain. The anime made this feel coherent which is why I gave the arc in the manga a pass.
Five Kage Summit - Chapter 450-488: Rating: 5/10
-Well, that's a weird deal ain't it? This is probably my least favorite arc. Danzo is a poor villain. The Gokage are silly and at the end of the day this is just one big set up for the next arc. I felt like we should have met all the kage beforehand. I felt that the country of random not mentioned Samurai was weird. Why are Suigetsu and Jugo still around? It just really fell flat. the end was kinda cool, and it has probably my fabvorite moment where Sasuke goes coocoo banana's and stabs Karin, but still. It also teased another Naruto/Sasuke fight and didn't deliver. So boo.
Fourth Shinobi World War Arc - Chapter 489-700: Rating: 7/10
-Okay! Okay Okay! This arc has so many highs and so many lows.
-The ending is perfect imo. Everything after the seal Kaguya and have their final battle, the conclusion. all of it brought tears to my eyes. Loved it. Love love loved it.
-The first half of the war felt like a series of battles where no one died and no consequences were met outside of 40k random shinobi we never knew. This could have been done better.
-Naruto's training arc with Bee was painful. Taming the 9 tails was cool. I understand why it had to happen. But It just drags. I wish it would have been condensed.
-Naruto vs Obito is great.
-Madara arriving and fighting the Kage was great.
-God the Kabuto fight is too long. This fight is nearly two volumes long and Kabuto is just trash.
-So many things didn't make sense in this arc. Madara uses Susano'o with no eyes? Obito never dies? Kakashi's ghost double Mangekyo w/ perfect Susano'o????
-7/10 is probably really high for how many bad things. But so many good things happened I just gave it the general average. It could have been a lot better.
This was a really good time. I never looked at Naruto as a poorly written series like I did with Bleach so this was a blast from the past. Also, revisiting some of the older arcs I didn't enjoy as much and finding new enjoyment in them was really endearing.
That being said, this is a reread for me. I actually decided to reread them as the 3-in-1 volumes as they're much cheaper. I probably had 10 volumes already of the story so I didn't repurchase so my collection is a little incomplete. However, this reread was a lot of fun and I enjoyed a lot. I'll be doing this in a certain bullet point style because there's so much story to cover I really just want to point out my like's and Dislikes for each Arc. As well as Individual ratings.
Part One
Prologue - Land of Waves Arc - Chapter 1-33: Rating: 7/10
-So I love the land of waves arc. Anyone who says they weren't instantly hooked once they reached this point has got to be full of themselves. This arc does so much to set up the world, the themes, everything that Naruto would become.
-Unfortunately, what prequels this is absolute hot garbage.
-Now, I didn't think this when I began the reread because it has been over a decade since I've explored this section of the story. But let me tell you, these first 5 chapters are probably some of the worst in any shonen I've ever seen. To be fair, most first chapters in shonen usually aren't stand out. I've often expressed how they're really edited and refined to express the exact image that the magazine wants them to be. Once they actually get a chance to strut their stuff (if they sell well) then that's when we see most shonens come into their own.
-However, you would have to be younger than 5 to enjoy and find the slapstick comedy in the first five chapters to be digestible whatsoever. It's so cringeworthy I can't believe I ever was okay with it. Konohamaru is the worst character in creation. Most of the Naruto characters are pervs. Sasuke and Sakura's introductions are laughable at best. Well, they're not laughable. I WISH they had been, but nope.
-I love Naruto's power system. I may even go so far as to express I think it's actually my favorite power system pre-final arc. I love how thought out and detersive it is.
-Zabuza is a great antagonist. Gato is very easily hateable and Haku is great too.
-I really just am blown away how fast the pacing is. The tactics are clever and fun.
-Overall, the prologue really pulled this arc down for me. If you'd separate them. The prologue chapters would be a 4/10 and the Land of waves would be 10/10
Chunin Exams Arc - Chapter 34-114: Rating: 10/10
-10/10 arc. Nothing for me to say. Except that I personally would have liked to have seen the finale of the tournament. We didn't even get past the first round before everything kinda went haywire.
Konoha Invasion Arc - Chapter 115-138: Rating: 9/10
-I don't have a lot of bad to say outside of the sense that a lot of ninja's didn't really show their stuff. Primarily Kakashi, Jiraiya, etc. Because of this, the invasion really never felt like it would succeed. Sure, the Hokage's death was very expected and a tragedy. However, no one else we knew was wounded. The plan itself just really fell flat.
Search for Tsunade arc - Chapter 139-171: Rating: 7/10
-Yeah, this one surprised me.
-I remember this one being the most painful arc in part one. Not only is long, but it's also mostly a glorified training arc.
-With new eyes and a better appreciation for story and characters I have come away enjoying this arc much more.
-Tsunade is a phenomenal character and probably one of the only female characters in Naruto I can say that about.
-Naruto's journey to learning the Rasengan was also a lot more comprehensive now that I'm an adult. (and not reading scans)
-Also, Itachi was introduced in this arc and HOT DAMN THIS GUY WAS COOL
Sasuke Retrieval Arc - Chapter 172-238: Rating: 10/10
What can I say? 10/10 once again. Perhaps the Neji fight was a bit too long, but it never felt that way.
-The fights were all great. The themes were spot on and holy lawrd the emotion. *Chef's kiss.
Kakashi Gaiden - Chapter 239-244: Rating: 6/10
-Meh, I don't like this arc that much. I don't have a great reason. It's a flashback arc. But it came at such a weird point in the story. Like, no one was asking for it in this particular moment.
Part Two
Kazekage Rescue Arc - Chapter 245-281: Rating: 8/10
-This was another arc, like the Tsunade arc that I didn't enjoy. At this point, I was a weekly reader and It is a nearly 40 chapter arc. Maybe as a kid I felt like there was just too much talking and too much establishing what they were doing. Another key factor was that Naruto's growth, despite it only being roughly two and a half years was still rather unimpressive. I mean, he could do a big rasengan.
-What I neglected to understand was that this was mostly a reference point to show us just how much the kids have grown in less than 3 years time. The kids actually went from not being able to land a single attack on base Kakashi with no Sharingan, to with one less member, defeating Kakashi and completing the bell exam. That's tremendous progress. Another thing I neglected was just how much focus was put on Naruto mastering the nine-tails power. It was a pretty small feat as i read this as a teenager, but having reread the material back to back I noticed that far more emphasis was put on Naruto's lack of control. His ability to bring out some of Kurama's chakra was only enough to give him a short boost that put him above Neji. When facing Sasuke and he got a one tailed cloak, he actually succumbed to the 9 tails and lost himself. Now he's able to call upon three tails all by himself.
-The sasori fight is legendary. I love Chiyo as a character which before I just kinda was indifferent to her. This would also feature Team Guy and that was exciting as we hadn't seen those characters in some time. Though, really they didn't have much to do besides fight themselves in this.
-Overall, the arc loses points for me because of how centered around the Sasori fight it seemed. Yet, half the other events of the arc felt secondary when I compared them. Gaara's emotional climax and revelation was great. Naruto's growth was great. Learning about the sand was great. But this arc had to establish a lot and I just remember those chapters of them running through the forest and just text filling the pages from panel to panel. Not saying action was vital, just that we spent too much time talking about Jinchurki. It was clear that Kishimoto was now ready to establish these terms he set up. But I felt he could have presented it in a more organic fashion then just an info dump.
Sasuke and Sai Arc - Chapter 282-310: Rating: 6/10
-This arc is really conflicting. On one hand, it has probably one of the most hype conflicts in the entire series to this point. Naruto 4 tails vs Orochimaru was absolutley insane and it still holds up. The emotional tension of Naruto losing himself and not caring because it's orochimaru and he's spent so long hating this guy was fantastic.
-On the other hand...this arc also heavily features Sai. And et's just cut to the chase. Sai is probably my least favorite character in all of Naruto. I think he's just a really poorly written character. I understand his purpose. I understand what he was meant to imply and communicate with the reader, but I just really thought it was done in the most generic and boring way. I am not a fan of Sai. He really, really dragged this arc down for me.
Hidan and Kakuzu Arc - Chapter 311-342: Rating: 7.5/10
-Yet again another arc I thought I'd hate. Mainly because when I read them when they came out, I realized just how awful the scans were. Hidan and Kakuzu probably cussed more than any two characters in the scanlations. Not that it was awful, I just thought it didn't properly convey the information.
-I do think this is kind of the arc that kind of made me realize why I didn't love part 2 my first time around. Well, not as much as part 1 I should say. The expansion of the world and the lore take a heavy backseat in the last arc and this arc. We barely learn about the world in which these ninjas fight in. We don't even learn anything about the villages of our antagonists. Which I felt was a huge misstep.
-This was a training arc I really enjoyed as well. I felt like maybe I just didn't enjoy training arcs when I was younger because DBZ used them so heavily but this was done very well. Shikamaru's character growth in this was also fantastic.
-This arc loses points for not making Hidan and Kakuzu even remotely interesting characters as well as not expanding on the world. It DID expand on the power system which was great but still. This Arc had 3 beats. Battle where Asuma dies. Naruto's training. Battle where they beat the akatsuki. No other nuisance.
Itachi Pursuit Arc - Chapter 343-402: Rating: 9/10
-What can I say? fans were waiting for this conflict forever. And it did not disappoint.
-The reveal at the end was also fantastic.
-Where this arc loses points is everything to do with Naruto. Naruto's role, his mission with the other team to track Sasuke was...really not needed here. It felt extra. I would have rather had naruto be exempt or perhaps do something else. This was just a lot of wasted pages. I understand Itachi had to interact with Naruto to give him the crow, but this could have been done earlier in one of the previous arcs. Perhaps Kazekage when they actually fought his clone.
Pain Invasion Arc - Chapter 403-449: Rating: 10/10
-I gave this a 10/10 but I am still salty about the reviving everyone who died jutsu. I get it. I just personally would have preferred if the story didn't make that decision. It felt like Konoha just didn't really try hard to fight Pain. The anime made this feel coherent which is why I gave the arc in the manga a pass.
Five Kage Summit - Chapter 450-488: Rating: 5/10
-Well, that's a weird deal ain't it? This is probably my least favorite arc. Danzo is a poor villain. The Gokage are silly and at the end of the day this is just one big set up for the next arc. I felt like we should have met all the kage beforehand. I felt that the country of random not mentioned Samurai was weird. Why are Suigetsu and Jugo still around? It just really fell flat. the end was kinda cool, and it has probably my fabvorite moment where Sasuke goes coocoo banana's and stabs Karin, but still. It also teased another Naruto/Sasuke fight and didn't deliver. So boo.
Fourth Shinobi World War Arc - Chapter 489-700: Rating: 7/10
-Okay! Okay Okay! This arc has so many highs and so many lows.
-The ending is perfect imo. Everything after the seal Kaguya and have their final battle, the conclusion. all of it brought tears to my eyes. Loved it. Love love loved it.
-The first half of the war felt like a series of battles where no one died and no consequences were met outside of 40k random shinobi we never knew. This could have been done better.
-Naruto's training arc with Bee was painful. Taming the 9 tails was cool. I understand why it had to happen. But It just drags. I wish it would have been condensed.
-Naruto vs Obito is great.
-Madara arriving and fighting the Kage was great.
-God the Kabuto fight is too long. This fight is nearly two volumes long and Kabuto is just trash.
-So many things didn't make sense in this arc. Madara uses Susano'o with no eyes? Obito never dies? Kakashi's ghost double Mangekyo w/ perfect Susano'o????
-7/10 is probably really high for how many bad things. But so many good things happened I just gave it the general average. It could have been a lot better.
This was a really good time. I never looked at Naruto as a poorly written series like I did with Bleach so this was a blast from the past. Also, revisiting some of the older arcs I didn't enjoy as much and finding new enjoyment in them was really endearing.
October 31, 2021
There isn't much to complain about the story in general, it's solid plotline and well developed characters always peak my interest. Naruto grows stronger exponentially as more tails delve from his body although he is yet trying to keep Kurama, the nine tailed beast under control. Sai and Danzo where introduced in this omnibus. Unfortunately, Sasori died, I loved his evil and twisted personality. Granny Chito died too after using a transference technique to give her life to the fallen kazekage, Gaara. Naruto and Sakura train under Yamato who is a replacement for Kakashi as the latter was exhausted after using the mangekyou sharingan to oppose Deidara. Yamato seems to be quite good in how he trains his students and after an experiment conducted on him by Orochimaru, he even ended up with DNA from the first Hokage rendering him strong enough to conduct the same techniques as the fallen hokage.
Kabuto makes another appearance as a spy for Orochimaru, nothing we didn't know already however tricks Yamato into thinking he didn't realise it wasn't Sasori he was speaking to. Danzo wants to collaborate with Orochimaru to destroy Konohagakure and use Sai as a messenger. The Akatsuki are in danger as many entities seem to want to destroy them and get rid of them once and for all... I want the story to be more fast paced though and have less filler, pages which only have pictures and utterances that really don't add much to it but some mediocre and repetitive action. I find it funny that Sasuke is the character we've seen the least of and yet he was rated the highest in the character favourite survey. Perhaps because this entire arc is about him.
Kabuto makes another appearance as a spy for Orochimaru, nothing we didn't know already however tricks Yamato into thinking he didn't realise it wasn't Sasori he was speaking to. Danzo wants to collaborate with Orochimaru to destroy Konohagakure and use Sai as a messenger. The Akatsuki are in danger as many entities seem to want to destroy them and get rid of them once and for all... I want the story to be more fast paced though and have less filler, pages which only have pictures and utterances that really don't add much to it but some mediocre and repetitive action. I find it funny that Sasuke is the character we've seen the least of and yet he was rated the highest in the character favourite survey. Perhaps because this entire arc is about him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2025
Este tomo abarca desde el termino de la pelea contra Sasori y Deidara hasta que encuentran a Orochimaru y sale el 4 colas de poder de Naruto.
En este tomo me gustan dos cosas, la aparición de Yamato que se me hace lo mejor de Naruto shippuden y adicional, como Chiyo habla de la nueva generación.
Todo me tripea bien en este punto de la historia pese a que ahora, con la aparición de Yamato también aparece Sai y ahora él está con Orochimaru.
Veamos que sorpresa tiene ahora el manga para nosotros. Y me incluyo porque ahora hasta a mi me tiene en ascuas porque no sé que pueda salir de aquí.
En este tomo me gustan dos cosas, la aparición de Yamato que se me hace lo mejor de Naruto shippuden y adicional, como Chiyo habla de la nueva generación.
Todo me tripea bien en este punto de la historia pese a que ahora, con la aparición de Yamato también aparece Sai y ahora él está con Orochimaru.
Veamos que sorpresa tiene ahora el manga para nosotros. Y me incluyo porque ahora hasta a mi me tiene en ascuas porque no sé que pueda salir de aquí.
June 6, 2024
In this volume, we conclude the rescue Garra arc with a touching sacrifice, and Naruto and Co are told to go on a new mission with a new teamate called Sai. Their goal is to capture a spy that has information about Orochimaru and his organisation. One thing leads to another, and Naruto loses control of himself and fully becomes the nine tail fox spirit.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2025
Thos was a good volume that brought the end to one arc that was deeply meaningful. Yet I now know why Orochimaru knew to go to the Tensi Bridge. Yet I can't help but love how they were able to bring in Sai and Yamato. Yet when we get to the Tensi Bridge and Orochimaru shows up it becomes completely gripping.
July 30, 2017
I love this series.
October 22, 2018
3.5 stars
July 2, 2021
And shipudden has started. This was good! But hate danzo and sai!
October 27, 2022
good story and plot
July 15, 2024
Sai questioning naruto's obsession with Sasuke aka me.
September 8, 2024
Talk about good action with dramatic character payoffs. We’ve had a taste of the Akatsuki and I can only imagine how crazier things will get. Sasori and Deidara were great antagonist! It seems the story is going to refocus on some old villains we have not seen in a while, excited to see where that will go next volume! Oh almost forgot I like Sai and Yamato, cool we are meeting new shinobi still!
November 13, 2018
La trama de Naruto crece exponencialmente al crecer sus personajes, hay muchos momentos donde sinceramente no tengo ninguna idea de cómo se va a desarrollar o solucionar los conflictos en los que se presentan. Hay muchas sorpresas y la historia se vuelve imprescindible.
August 28, 2015
Action packed suspense filled naruto add on ! Very exciting and interesting at times. Would highly recommend to anyone that has read the naruto series and is looking to read the next addition!
January 2, 2016
:) :o BD XD soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ggoooooooooooooooooood duuuuuuuuuuuuuude
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