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Naruto: Omnibus #12
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 12
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!
A new ninja causes trouble among the ranks of Team Kakashi when they return from losing Granny Chiyo in the battle against Sasori. The secrets this stranger hides may be disastrous for Naruto. But Orochimaru may have bigger problems when the mysterious Akatsuki infiltrates his stronghold with a spy!
A new ninja causes trouble among the ranks of Team Kakashi when they return from losing Granny Chiyo in the battle against Sasori. The secrets this stranger hides may be disastrous for Naruto. But Orochimaru may have bigger problems when the mysterious Akatsuki infiltrates his stronghold with a spy!
576 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2015
4 people are currently reading
250 people want to read
About the author
Masashi Kishimoto
1,171 books3,939 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
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.
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.
March 3, 2018
The story continues at a rapid pace as team Kakashi gets a new (temporary) leader and a new memeber. Sai is unable to read emotions and quickly gets on both Naruto's and Sakura's nerves. However he's without a doubt strong. The team finds both Orochimaru and Sasuke, but lose them both, again. Naruto sets out to become much stronger so that he can catch up to Sasuke and bring him home. Captain Asuma's platoon sets out to find parts of the Akatsuki which are finding tail beasts. Things go terribly wrong and blood is shed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2024
Thanks to Uniqlo, I have a shirt of the scene on Page 150 when Sasuke is drawing his sword. I've had this shirt for a while, but only just now got to that part in the manga... (´-﹏-`；)
Kishimoto has been cribbing from Togashi since the early days of Naruto, but it takes until Volume 35 to copy the Nen water-divination thing with the Chakra paper test. Say what you will about Kishimoto, and honestly Togashi is one of my favorite mangaka and I prefer him over Kishimoto and I like HxH more than Naruto, but... I definitely love how the Chakra test doesn't have an "if the paper does anything else besides crinkle, rip, burn, get soggy, or crumble, then you get a bullshit Specialist power that can be literally anything regardless of rules." But that's less a knock against Togashi and more out of a feeling that Kishimoto would run too wild if he had a Specialist analogue for Chakra types. Thank goodness for the classical elements! Well, I guess the expanded explanation of Kekkei Genkai covers Specialist bullshittery, but here it just means combining two elements into a new type. Nothing terribly wild.
A good reason to continue hating VIZ: their typesetting and soulless font choices. The "Chidori Stream" text probably should not be so fucking boring for the first Jutsu we see Sasuke use post-timeskip!
I guess another good reason to hate VIZ is their inconsistency between preserving Japanese terms and forcing awkward English terms. We're saying "Jinchûriki" all the time, but we can't say "Seishitsu Henka"? Well, I guess maybe that's complicated for American children, but... we really can't just say "Nature Transformation"? We have to have everyone say "Change in Chakra Nature"? It's so cumbersome!
Volume 34: We take a really long time to actually see Sasuke, still. Sai meets him first, but he's in shadow. We learn more about Sai, and he becomes less aut*stic. Sasuke is finally shown, unobscured, and he fights off Naruto, Sai, and Yamato (Sakura tries to help, but Yamato gets in the way because Kishimoto hates women and also Sakura already had time to shine all last arc...). Apparently, the Sharingan can allow Sasuke to interfere with Naruto summoning the Kyūbi power? Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto fuck off at the end, but I guess technically the arc isn't quite done yet.
Volume 35: Sai decides to stick with Naruto and Sakura in pursuit of Sasuke. Two new Akatsuki are introduced: Hidan and Kakuzu. The two hunt the Two-Tails Jinchûriki. Tobi has been officially teamed with Deidara, and they hung the Three-Tails. Naruto starts training with Kakashi again, learning his inherent Chakra Nature is Wind Element. The two work with Yamato on a training plan that involves producing a shitload of Shadow Clones to make it easier to grind Nature Transformation practice. Meanwhile, Asuma keeps throwing up "death flags"...
Volume 36: Kakashi and Yamato start training Naruto on how to combine Wind Transformation with the Rasengan. Most of the volume is Asuma versus Hidan. The constant death flags continue, build up, and pay off. (Asuma's death is handled pretty well w/r/t pathos, but it also feels like... well, we didn't really know him all that much until just a moment ago...) The Akatsuki convene again to absorb the Three- and Two-Tails beasts, and Pain tells Hidan (and thus the reader) his master plan, which is basically just Ocelot's from Metal Gear Solid 4. Oh wait, this volume was 2006, so Kishimoto beat Kojima to the punch!?
Since this omnibus saw the conclusion of the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc (aka the "Sai and Sasuke Arc"), I use this time to write my thoughts on the arc as a whole. Basically, good shit. Maybe I liked it less than the Kazekage Rescue Mission, but so far post-timeskip is pretty great. Well, my only complaint is that this arc feels like it climaxed pretty early with the Orochimaru fight - you know, the actual Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance part...! - and the Sasuke stuff is kinda tacked on at the end. Or, like, Sasuke is nearby, but doesn't have too much to do with what Sasori hinted at at the end of the previous arc. Or it does, and I'm drawing a blank. But I'm quite sure it was "Sasori was trying to use Kabuto to spy on Orochimaru, but Kabuto and Orochimaru broke the Jutsu, so Kabuto is a triple agent, and coincidentally Naruto and the gang follow them to their hideout, where Sasuke lives." The beats within the arc are all good, but I just don't love how the Sasuke stuff doesn't quite flow from the Sasori-Kabuto stuff. But that's because I'm viewing the arc through the "Tenchi Bridge" name; if you think of it as "Sai and Sasuke" instead, it makes more sense / fits better. So whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
****
Sakura's thigh-gap when she's propping Sai's notebook on her lap in that large page-and-a-half panel in Chapter 300...!!!
The Two-Tails Biju is pretty hot! 🥵
Is this the first time we have Asuma acknowledge the Third Hokage was his father? I feel like that was glossed over with the Third actually died a while ago.
The two-page spread of Asuma decapitating Hidan is pretty dope!
Kishimoto has been cribbing from Togashi since the early days of Naruto, but it takes until Volume 35 to copy the Nen water-divination thing with the Chakra paper test. Say what you will about Kishimoto, and honestly Togashi is one of my favorite mangaka and I prefer him over Kishimoto and I like HxH more than Naruto, but... I definitely love how the Chakra test doesn't have an "if the paper does anything else besides crinkle, rip, burn, get soggy, or crumble, then you get a bullshit Specialist power that can be literally anything regardless of rules." But that's less a knock against Togashi and more out of a feeling that Kishimoto would run too wild if he had a Specialist analogue for Chakra types. Thank goodness for the classical elements! Well, I guess the expanded explanation of Kekkei Genkai covers Specialist bullshittery, but here it just means combining two elements into a new type. Nothing terribly wild.
A good reason to continue hating VIZ: their typesetting and soulless font choices. The "Chidori Stream" text probably should not be so fucking boring for the first Jutsu we see Sasuke use post-timeskip!
I guess another good reason to hate VIZ is their inconsistency between preserving Japanese terms and forcing awkward English terms. We're saying "Jinchûriki" all the time, but we can't say "Seishitsu Henka"? Well, I guess maybe that's complicated for American children, but... we really can't just say "Nature Transformation"? We have to have everyone say "Change in Chakra Nature"? It's so cumbersome!
Volume 34: We take a really long time to actually see Sasuke, still. Sai meets him first, but he's in shadow. We learn more about Sai, and he becomes less aut*stic. Sasuke is finally shown, unobscured, and he fights off Naruto, Sai, and Yamato (Sakura tries to help, but Yamato gets in the way because Kishimoto hates women and also Sakura already had time to shine all last arc...). Apparently, the Sharingan can allow Sasuke to interfere with Naruto summoning the Kyūbi power? Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto fuck off at the end, but I guess technically the arc isn't quite done yet.
Volume 35: Sai decides to stick with Naruto and Sakura in pursuit of Sasuke. Two new Akatsuki are introduced: Hidan and Kakuzu. The two hunt the Two-Tails Jinchûriki. Tobi has been officially teamed with Deidara, and they hung the Three-Tails. Naruto starts training with Kakashi again, learning his inherent Chakra Nature is Wind Element. The two work with Yamato on a training plan that involves producing a shitload of Shadow Clones to make it easier to grind Nature Transformation practice. Meanwhile, Asuma keeps throwing up "death flags"...
Volume 36: Kakashi and Yamato start training Naruto on how to combine Wind Transformation with the Rasengan. Most of the volume is Asuma versus Hidan. The constant death flags continue, build up, and pay off. (Asuma's death is handled pretty well w/r/t pathos, but it also feels like... well, we didn't really know him all that much until just a moment ago...) The Akatsuki convene again to absorb the Three- and Two-Tails beasts, and Pain tells Hidan (and thus the reader) his master plan, which is basically just Ocelot's from Metal Gear Solid 4. Oh wait, this volume was 2006, so Kishimoto beat Kojima to the punch!?
Since this omnibus saw the conclusion of the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc (aka the "Sai and Sasuke Arc"), I use this time to write my thoughts on the arc as a whole. Basically, good shit. Maybe I liked it less than the Kazekage Rescue Mission, but so far post-timeskip is pretty great. Well, my only complaint is that this arc feels like it climaxed pretty early with the Orochimaru fight - you know, the actual Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance part...! - and the Sasuke stuff is kinda tacked on at the end. Or, like, Sasuke is nearby, but doesn't have too much to do with what Sasori hinted at at the end of the previous arc. Or it does, and I'm drawing a blank. But I'm quite sure it was "Sasori was trying to use Kabuto to spy on Orochimaru, but Kabuto and Orochimaru broke the Jutsu, so Kabuto is a triple agent, and coincidentally Naruto and the gang follow them to their hideout, where Sasuke lives." The beats within the arc are all good, but I just don't love how the Sasuke stuff doesn't quite flow from the Sasori-Kabuto stuff. But that's because I'm viewing the arc through the "Tenchi Bridge" name; if you think of it as "Sai and Sasuke" instead, it makes more sense / fits better. So whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
****
Sakura's thigh-gap when she's propping Sai's notebook on her lap in that large page-and-a-half panel in Chapter 300...!!!
The Two-Tails Biju is pretty hot! 🥵
Is this the first time we have Asuma acknowledge the Third Hokage was his father? I feel like that was glossed over with the Third actually died a while ago.
The two-page spread of Asuma decapitating Hidan is pretty dope!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2021
3 and a half stars. Not one of my favourites but a great story nevertheless. We learn much more about the Akatsuki's intentions. Asuma dies in this omnibus and even not knowing much about him broke my heart as he's such a great shinobi. Naruto and Sakura try to retrieve Sasuke from Orochimaru along with a new group member Sai and a new team leader for team Kakashi, Yamato. They fail once more and Naruto puts his mind to the test when it comes to learning the next stage of learning how to manipulate the rasengan with help from Kakashi and Yamato. I don't get people who try to advocate that Sakura is useful to the team because she hardly ever does anything and when she does do something, it's irrelevant to the main storyline. I feel bad for Ino, Choji and Shikamaru, they deserve much better considering how loyal they were to their master and how much he helped them grow and develop as shinobi and people in general.
I hate Hidan although I am now curious to see and delve into why he's immortal. On the other hand, Deidara is perhaps my least favourite character and certainly the most annoying one. We haven't heard much about Itachi and Kisame over the course of these past few volumes. I miss Itachi to bits and want to understand why everybody loves him so much. Danzo on the other hand, I want killed for being such a manipulative traitor. You can smell his shit from miles away.
I hate Hidan although I am now curious to see and delve into why he's immortal. On the other hand, Deidara is perhaps my least favourite character and certainly the most annoying one. We haven't heard much about Itachi and Kisame over the course of these past few volumes. I miss Itachi to bits and want to understand why everybody loves him so much. Danzo on the other hand, I want killed for being such a manipulative traitor. You can smell his shit from miles away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2017
Wow so much happened in this one. A new team member a new leader.
We finally got to meet sasuke again. But he really has changed. He is so on the dark side now. It brakes my heart.
And most sadist is that asuma died.
We finally got to meet sasuke again. But he really has changed. He is so on the dark side now. It brakes my heart.
And most sadist is that asuma died.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2024
We finally got the much anticipated reunion between Sasuke and Naruto, and it didn't disappoint. We also meet new characters and lose some old ones as we learn about the true goal of Akatsuki ( world domination). Need to keep reading more.
April 24, 2025
Este tomo tiene todo lo necesario para ser el tomo superior.
Tiene la perra pelea de Hidan contra Asuma que va a desencadenar en la venganza más dulce.
Y aparte, aparece el bosquejo de lo que será la pelea más rompe corazones de todo el anime.
Tiene la perra pelea de Hidan contra Asuma que va a desencadenar en la venganza más dulce.
Y aparte, aparece el bosquejo de lo que será la pelea más rompe corazones de todo el anime.
September 1, 2025
"focus on what's ahead"
I feel like the plot is starting to smooth out and not feel as clunky with how much there was to explain and catch up on from the beginning of Part 2, but I don't like where it's going (I do, but it suuuuuucks emotionally)
Cry Counter: 1
I feel like the plot is starting to smooth out and not feel as clunky with how much there was to explain and catch up on from the beginning of Part 2, but I don't like where it's going (I do, but it suuuuuucks emotionally)
Cry Counter: 1
September 6, 2018
Too many feels :( it's all getting a bit too serious now.
November 26, 2020
100% crying my eyes out.
July 5, 2021
Moody Sasuke
Naruto learning new jutsu with wind
Asuma 😭
Akatsuki wants world domination... Original
But this volume was good!
Still not quite a sai fan, but it gets better
Naruto learning new jutsu with wind
Asuma 😭
Akatsuki wants world domination... Original
But this volume was good!
Still not quite a sai fan, but it gets better
August 18, 2024
It's okay it's just smoke in my eyes!
June 25, 2021
The stakes are getting higher! Awesome.
September 8, 2024
What a great volume. We get to know the new characters better, new villains show up, and we see a certain someone again but like 10 times more Emo now if that is even possible. I love Sai and Yamato even more now they have made such great additions to the cast, I can’t wait to see where their characters will go. The new Akatsuki members are really interesting and strong so I am excited for how our heroes will face them.
February 24, 2019
I’m sorry class. I’m on chp 309 and thus far i cannot deny that this shit slaps. I will live my truth. I think naruto is good. I know it doesnt stay good forever so i am just going to enjoy it while i still can. Like was he trying to write one of the most compelling love stories ever, gay or straight? because thats what happened. Thanks everyone
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.
January 2, 2016
:) :o BD XD soooooo goooood sai is annoying though
Read
December 22, 2022Killer
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