@THE:
Haha! … Bullshit.
starts stopwatch
@THE:
Haha! … Bullshit.
starts stopwatch
@THE:
Aye! Who side are you on my N-Word?!
Isn't it obvious he is on my side~? >:P
Hell nah! We are N-Words!
Gekko is a force of nature. He is like a living hurricane of currency. You cannot expect him to take sides!
That ain't my N-Word.
Me and him are tight.
Like Japanese women.
@THE:
That ain't my N-Word.
Me and him are tight.
Like Japanese women.
I see what you did there.
I bet you did~ ;)
@K-I: I'll be sure to take my scissors to your story.
You gonna' write about us, you gonna' do it right.
So, Sarus is back again, eh?
…
That's nice.
you guys don't need to fight over me
Well folks, it's not on-topic with your conversation; but with no chapter, I've decided to use my extra energy churning something out for you. This isn't a service, it's a fact that needs to be brought up, if we want to save manga like Bleach and improve manga like Naruto. So, without further delay, I present:
! Hats
! by Herodadotus
! As you all know, I love hats. In fact, here’s a diagram of my reaction when I wear a hat.
! >!
! Even though my love of hats has been considered . . . “illegal” or “disgusting” by some naysayers (Hats can't say no, man), my hat addiction has led me to a strange new discovery in the recent days. I have realized that hats make manga characters better. Not convinced? Of course you aren’t, but allow me to explain, with three different points.
! >! Point 1. Hats make you stronger.
Lets look at the Marineford war in One Piece. If you look at this chart, which I call the “Chart of Spats”:
!
! You’ll see that all of the big fights are between people with hats or people who have owned hats. Chart of Spats? More like Chart of Hats.
! Also, here’s a list of all the people who didn’t get hurt in the war:
1. Mihawk (hat wearer)
2. Vista (hat wearer)
3. Doflamingo
4. Hancock
5. Kuma (hat wearer)
6. Buggy (hat wearer)
7. Sengoku (hat wearer)
! And in the war, the people who lost their hats got hit the hardest:
1. Ace (dead)
2. Whitebeard (dead)
3. Luffy (messed up pretty fuckin bad)
4. Blackbeard (has a face for radio)
! >! Point 2. Hats give you superpowers
I’ll be giving you a visual presentation for this section.
See that guy? He looks pretty damn smug, don’t he? But he’s wearing a sexy hat, so I’ll let him-
! Did you guys see that shit? He blows shit up!
!
! Well, how about this smug asshole? With his fine-ass hat-
!
! And his goddamn fire body!
!
! How about miss sexy here? She’s sporting a nice hat, and she’s piledriving a guy with arms she created out of thin air. Hell yeah.
!
! How about Clint Eastwood over here? He looks pretty tough-
!
! And he’s made out of magma.
! >! Point 3. Hats make you look good.
! More visuals for you haters.
!
! Look at that sexy hat, and the best part: Only the leaders get to wear that.
!
! Classic Pirate hat, gives him the “Devil may care” look, which gets all the ladies.
!
! Another Pirate hat! And this one’s the shit! He’s even admitting where most of his power comes from.
!
! And those two mean business when they walk up wearing hats like that.
! Also, notice that I’ve only been using Naruto and One Piece in this essay? Well, there is a good reason for that. Do you know any characters in Bleach that wear hats? Maybe one or two? Well, you would be wrong! Only Captain Kyoraku wears a hat in Bleach, which describes why it sucks. Imagine Aizen wearing this baby:
!
! Hell yeah.
! In conclusion, hats give you powers you could only dream of. Hell, it seems that the only thing they can’t do is turn you into an animal!
! >!
! HOLY SHIT!
Did you know that hats instantly make you a better TF2 player? When I got my first Pyro Beanie and Hustler's Hallmark, my skills with the respective characters improved tenfold!
Did you know that hats instantly make you a better TF2 player? When I got my first Pyro Beanie and Hustler's Hallmark, my skills with the respective characters improved tenfold!
This man knows what I'm talking about!
@Cuddles:
So, Sarus is back again, eh?
…
That's nice.
Ehhhhh… something like that.
you guys don't need to fight over me
You tell her Gekko!
No competition!
someone in naruto forums started wandering what will happen if kubo write naruto :blink::
! @Nikushimi:
! > Nah, it would be more like this:-Minato is the real Akatsuki leader. Pain was just a red herring. Madara was just a red herring. Minato planned it all from the start, and even manipulated Madara into instigating the Kyuubi attack on the village 16 years ago so that he could fake his own death. He becomes the Juubi host, grows butterfly wings and a mullet, etc.
-Naruto is a Senju. Sakura is a Senju. They are brother and sister, seperated at birth.
-Sai is an Uchiha.
-Who said the number of Akatsuki goes from 1-10?
-Kisame's "Cero Bijuu" form has a second release when he hits the peak of rage. Samehada is actually the Juubi's body, reanimated by Kisame's chakra, who went to
Hueco Mundothe moon viaGargantaZetsu's mothership (yes, he's an alien, at least in Kubo's manga) to retrieve it.-The women would be more attractive.
-When were you under the impression Kubo WASN'T writing the manga? :lolkubo
-There would be Spanish names for EVERYTHING.
-Gaara would crush Sasuke with Sabaku Sousou when they met at the Kage Summit. Everyone would cheer, except Kankurou, who looks horrified and says "Guys…guys! What the hell are you doing?!" Turns out Sasuke used Genjutsu and made him crush Temari instead. Gaara flips out. :hurr
-Raikage and Bee would both die shameful, irrelevant deaths. Why? Because they're Black. :zaru
-Deplorable, for something has already happened!-Jinchuuriki would grow mullets in their tailed forms.
-Pain would ask Jiraiya what happened to his arm. Jiraiya would reply, "I gave it to you." Pain would then dissolve away into nothingness from the inside-out. Just because.
-There would be
an epica boring ONE-MILLION-chapter war between the Shinobi Alliance and Konoha's forces. Random factions from other villages would continually pop in for a "Big Damn Heroes" moment only to prove totally ineffectual (if not detrimental) to the situation. Side characters nobody cares about would get all the screentime and spam generic energy attacks. The Akatsuki would fall one-by-one, repeatedly ending up getting their asses kicked while Minato (remember, he's the real final villain) just sits back and says "Just as planned."-Minato would lead like
halfall of Akatsuki to their deaths and even personally kill one of them himself (Konan).-Everyone and their grandmother can use Sennin Moodo.
-Naruto repeatedly fights his true self and the Kyuubi in an inner world that defies explanation. When he goes there in Sennin Moodo, the Kyuubi is younger, five feet tall, and a woman. And purple. Just because.
-Funny moments with the main characters would actually be funny.
-!MALA SUERTE!
-Chakra would have a more noticeable ambient effect.
-Characters would be able to craft their own power into technology that is centuries ahead of what is commonplace in their society. One of Sasuke's Mangekyou techniques would be a fucking nuclear missile that he can only use once every three days, OOPS HA HA HA SORRY I LIED HE CAN USE IT TWICE A DAY.
-Tsunade would actually be hot instead of just a creepy "IT'S A TRAP!" She would also take the form of a slug for the beginning of the series and speak in a male voice while in that form.
-Didn't you know? Uchihas only use bows and arrows.
-When Bee is defeated and captured, he screams "BANZAI! BANZAI, SABU-CHANSENSEI! BANZAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!!"
-Kushina is the Kyuubi's true form.
-Iruka and Kakashi would do nothing for most of the series and suddenly show up at the war with Akatsuki and start casually wailing on Minato.
Kind of like Urahara and Yoruichi did to Aizen.-Zetsu would transform into a look-alike of Neji's father due to consuming his dead corpse and gaining his powers/memories, then fight Neji, own on him for the entire fight, and suddenly get killed by an extended Jyuuken sword through the head. Making a low-tier side character effectively Akatsuki-level. You know what I'm referring to.
-People die when they are killed? BULLSHIT.
-Backgrounds? FUCK 'EM.
-Remember Tenten? I DON'T.
-Training Arc is over? RESCUE ARC.
-Rescue arc is over? TRAINING ARC.
-Editors? FUCK 'EM.
-Enemy is strong? NUKE HIM.
-Need attacks? DRAW PARALLEL LINES.
-Spilled Ink? AMATERASU.
-Disregard plot. ACQUIRE CURRENCY.
-Foreget plot. IMPROVISE.
-Write canon. WORSE THAN FILLER.
-Design fashion. IGNORE STORY.
-Popularity dropping? DRAW HALF-NAKED CHICKS.
-Not interesting? ADD A NEW CHARACTER.
-Yeah, you know the rest…
No art all over the place.
though to be fair, no one would be complaining about the secondary characters getting left in teh background in naruto if kubo was in charge of it.
maybe they should join forces and make a joint manga next
Haha! Look who is trying to be cool…
you guys don't need to fight over me
Ok then! I'll just stick to my dear SHR~ Boss-employee relationships always turn bad anw =(
@THE:
Haha! Look who is trying to be cool…
Lol, looks like his worst fear came true. :ninja:
Ok then! I'll just stick to my dear SHR~ Boss-employee relationships always turn bad anw =(
Do not make me get the mushroom soup! D8<
@THE:
Do not make me get the mushroom soup! D8<
With mushroom chunks in it? =)
YES! Big ones too!
Did you know that hats instantly make you a better TF2 player? When I got my first Pyro Beanie and Hustler's Hallmark, my skills with the respective characters improved tenfold!
You play tf2?
Coool.
Got my own Hustler's hallmark yesterday
@THE:
YES! Big ones too!
Eeeeew~!
Hats are awesome. I'm wearing a hat right now.
I can't get the fucking Eyelander.
@THE:
Haha! Look who is trying to be cool…
What did he do to get banned?
Say "derp" one too many times?
You play tf2?
Coool.
Got my own Hustler's hallmark yesterday
By the way, my gamertag's Hungryfreak if you wish to befriend me, haha.
I've loved TF2 for a while, though, even though I had been restricted to the console version until the Mac update came out. I think I'm fairly decent as a Pyro and Soldier.
@Kairouseki:
I can't get the fucking Eyelander.
I kind of achievement whored the milestones for all of the basic weapons, haha. I don't like the Eyelander much, except in melee only matches, though. I'm pretty terrible at melee, haha.
I might be able to get it if I could get the hang of sticky jumping.
The Eyelander's only Milestone 2. You can just go to an achievement server and get them done fairly quickly.
@THE:
Oh, you know you like it~ :wub:
Sure I like it~ Just not the one you make.
What did he do to get banned?
Say "derp" one too many times?
Got trampled by a new hero unleashed by Greg. Bucephalus suffered the same fate.
Read from this page if you care enough:
http://apforums.net/showthread.php?t=27680&page=59
Pretty interesting. Jerk Disease got "defeated".
@Sea:
Read from this page if you care enough:
http://apforums.net/showthread.php?t=27680&page=59
Pretty interesting. Jerk Disease got "defeated".
This was the funniest thread of the day.
[qimg]http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/7600/narutoa.jpg[/qimg]
Alright then, when the series is called Naruto, and the main character is called Naruto, you know for a fact that it's not referencing a common addition to ramen.
Please, don't remind me what he eats.
Spoiler'd because Jumping Jesus it's long.
! Let us start with his youth. Naruto is a brash young punk, who's hobbies include defacing monuments, crossing genders, and being an all around ass. That's not to say he's friendless, just that his circle of friends is very, very small.
! [qimg]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6900/resolution.jpg[/qimg]
! Namely to the guy that buys him ramen. Also note the Yondaime's face sculpted into the mountain, and how it looks. But that's an issue for another time and place. Now, this is from the first chapter, often used as a firm ground to get exposition off and relay information to the audience. Kishimoto succeeds at this, and establishes the motive behind the yellow brat. I'm not sure whether it's a scan issue or not, but it's important to note that Naruto says he's going to 'surpass' all the previous Hokages. It also shows how he's a disrespectful little brat, with no reason for defacing monuments other than to prove that he'd wind up better than them in the future. and on the next page:
! [qimg]http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1250/comingofage.jpg[/qimg]
! Have the village recognize his strength. If this is a scan issue, correct me, but Naruto's resolution won't necessarily be unfulfilled if he at least manages to become at least some incredibly important figurehead. What this last scene also implies, however, is that going through the prerequisite of being a ninja in the first place is a sign of maturation. Obviously what's required for this is going to vary by culture - graduating from school, taking responsibility for yourself, fucking your first time, taking a shit without crying - but for the purposes of Naruto, let's think of it as manhood.
! Generally you could say it means, as mentioned before, being responsible, as well as taking needed action for new events in your life, and being able to cope with those events in an appropriate manner. There's more to it obviously, but this isn't the place on an essay for adulthood. We'll get back to this, shortly.
! Later on in the first chapter, after Mizuki makes his ploy to get the scroll containing the Shadow Clone technique:
! [qimg]http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6991/sacrificed.jpg[/qimg]
! Despite what Shonen manga may tell you, having a giant blade in your back right by your spine really fucking hurts, and is going to cause some bleeding_._ Seeing something like that happen to the only friend you've had throughout your miserable life that is actively out to hate you and ostracize you because you were the unfortunate toddler filled with a nasty orange fox while being painted in his blood is not exactly what someone would call a pleasant experience. And I should mention Naruto only learns about this little problem inside him after being derided for it by someone who'd been trying his best to seem like he was interested in helping out, something which likely reinforces Naruto's belief that the village hates him, especially after he'd stolen a forbidden object.
! When someone's thirteen or fourteen, I'd say that's a whole lot of monkey you've gotta sponge in. In today's world, shit like this more than likely fucks you up. Of course, Naruto's world isn't ours, even though it often feels like it at times.
! I'm rambling, though. He reacts to all this by running, though not very far. He then gets depressed and doubtful until Iruka, in one clean swoop, disposes of all anxieties and fears Naruto believed he might have held about him.
! [qimg]http://dl01.mangashare.com/manga/Naruto/001/045.jpg[/qimg]
! Tears of joy? You certainly can't say they're melancholic, but I digress. The page speaks for itself, and it's understandable where he's coming from with his reaction, in hearing something truly, characteristically positive from another human being.
! He then becomes the boy with the toys like the soldiers into Troy, and beats the shit out of Mizuki. Even after listening to Iruka, it would take a hell of a lot of bravado to muster the response that he did with:
! [qimg]http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/6351/payback.jpg[/qimg]
! And then Naruto's life turns, just a little bit for the brighter. Why was all this important? Mostly because it's the sort of event in your life you remember, remember, and never forget. It has a much bigger impact than simply lessons learned and things discovered, almost to the point of being a paradigm shift. And not like the kind where an author suddenly decides to shift themes (yes, this is a big deal), the kind that comes from hazardous moments like this, that we can clearly see serve to bolster someone's state of mind. How it might have ended up is not an issue. What matters is that it was resolved as it was, and that there should be some consistency with that part of Naruto's life. Because what we've just seen here is someone who can take the fact that he's an aberration and persevere through that, the murderous loathing able to be felt by nearly every villager, and what all that amounted to in the past, and will in the future.
! How well this has been accomplished will actually be demonstrated later. Like Kishimoto, I decided to use this as a grounds for establishing future installments. So then… a little over five hundred chapters to go.[qimg]http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7642/ohnoz.jpg[/qimg]
Holy goats on pogo sticks, Deidara and Temari are Leaf Ninjas!
And Neji's gay!
Why did you just give us a summary of chapter 1?
@THE:
But, like vegetables, it's good for you.
So… open up~!
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="
"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src=" " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>Sure I like it~ Just not the one you make.
I thought those things just sprout on their own. :wassat:
Hey, guys! I need some ideas for the next Day in the Studio.
The network wants to pull the plug. :O
I thought those things just sprout on their own. :wassat:
Mushroom soup sprouts on its own? 0.0
@Sea:
Read from this page if you care enough:
http://apforums.net/showthread.php?t=27680&page=59
Pretty interesting. Jerk Disease got "defeated".
You know, Chickmagnet is a special kind of person. The type of person who can condescend to others as if they don't understand the arguments that he makes without understanding them in the first place.
Alright then, where was I? Oh yes…
Time to continue character examination, part 2 of part 1.
! We get the Waves arc about 'protecting what's precious to you', and how it would be the last one to hold any semblance of ninjas going around doing things in this manga. Then there's the exam arc, where Naruto makes it clear that he isn't going to pussy, while under extreme pressure. Afterward, everyone passes because Naruto bothered to answer the 10th question with his resolution, and Ibiki has this to say:
!
! I can't wait to see Naruto's future as a ninja. Can you?
! Then it's Forest, Sakura shit, Orochimaru stuff, Kiba fight, Lee stuff, AND THEN WE GET TO THIS:
!
! Yep. Fourth Hokage if you didn't notice by the spiky hair, bangs, and lean face. You look pretty different when your face isn't just chiseled rock on a mountainside, huh? While this doesn't have anything to do with Naruto growing as a character, at the same time, it has everything to do with Naruto as a character. It was at this point that we all should have started worrying about the author drawing him for the first time right under a panel of an exhausted Naruto being carried away.
! This training arc shows off a few things about Naruto. He has a determination that continues on despite constant failure, has loads of chakra (now who could've guessed?), and is still the energetic doofus as ever, despite any events during the Wave arc. Now, a part of this training was due to Neji's dickish behavior towards Hinata. Speaking of which:
!
! Yeah, more of that whole 'promise' thing. When you live in a world of black and white, it's impossible to tell that this should come around to bite you in the ass. More than once.
! Then we get to Neji who, because of his upbringing, has nothing but coldness in his beliefs that destiny dictates the victor. This is where we get a major theme of part 1, where adversity can be overcome by drive and tenacity, and is not bound to the shackles of genetics and class. Again, this is a story element that plays into the character of our orange-clad fool. To say that this should affect his growth as a person is an understatement, which was clear since the first chapter of the manga.
! As irony would have it, Lee still got his ass beat. In any event, Naruto proves Neji wrong.
!
! After tapping into the secret demon power only he has.
!
! "Hi ho, hi ho, your face now has a hole."
! Now then, moving on past all the other stuff to Gaara and Naruto. Gaara is currently morphing into the Shukaku, and Naruto is faced with saving his teammates. There's a little bit of enlightenment here - Naruto understands and sympathizes with Gaara, for the fact he (generally) experienced the same sort of loneliness and loathing as a child. Then there's the standard 'fighting to protect something' jibe that writers can't seem to get away from, and we get to Gamabunta being Gamabunta in a way which reminds you how more people are trying to experiment with somewhat more organic versions of giant robots.
!
! We also learn that the Shukaku host tends to be a tad loony due to a lack of sleep, resulting from a fear of being overtaken by the oversized sand-badger within. After an intervention with Orochimaru and the Third, we come back to see that the fight is finished. Both are exhausted, and Naruto has a few things to say to Gaara.
!
!
! (Yeah, the scanning sucks, but fuck it. You get the point.)
! While he does feel pity and relates to Gaara, he's also made it clear he isn't willing to let him go rampant and get away with murdering others, especially those closest to him. This is out of gratitude he feels towards them, the people who recognized him, as something other than a vessel for death and terror. He fought Gaara to save the lives of these others, who gave him a chance at life. If that wasn't obvious enough, of course.
! So we end with the Sandaime's funeral, featuring 'the nature of life', 'dying for a cause', 'pointless killing', all that. Next up is the last arc of part 1, and then the absolutely, 100% best arc of the series bar none.
"Every Emo's Nightmare."
@Sea:
Got trampled by a new hero unleashed by Greg. Bucephalus suffered the same fate.
The co-creator of "Livin With Aizen" has been banned?
:sad:
Mushroom soup sprouts on its own? 0.0
Oh its soup. My bad, my bad.
Mouthfuls. Mushroom. Mmmm.
I am buying a new laptop. Bit confused betweeni3, i5, i7, core 2 or dual core. Guys any suggestion (for a tech dummy like me in simple words, which is(& y) better, faster also good for games & graphics)?
I am buying a new laptop. Bit confused betweeni3, i5, i7, core 2 or dual core. Guys any suggestion (for a tech dummy like me in simple words, which is(& y) better, faster also good for games & graphics)?
well i'm more knowledgeable on desktops, but the basic rules on those are
don't waste money on i7, no benefit to gamers at all. stick to i5 or whatever.
somewhere around 3GHz in your core 2, or dual core. (desktops quad core)
basically whatever graphic cards are the most recently oudated. whatever was brand new last year, or before the newest models came out. Will be perfectly fine to run any game and will be very very cheap. around $100
and have at least 4 gig of ram.
Alright then, where was I? Oh yes…
[qimg]http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/7670/narutouzumaki.jpg[/qimg]
Time to continue character examination, part 2 of part 1.
! We get the Waves arc about 'protecting what's precious to you', and how it would be the last one to hold any semblance of ninjas going around doing things in this manga. Then there's the exam arc, where Naruto makes it clear that he isn't going to pussy, while under extreme pressure. Afterward, everyone passes because Naruto bothered to answer the 10th question with his resolution, and Ibiki has this to say:
! [qimg]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/491/toughenup.jpg[/qimg]
! I can't wait to see Naruto's future as a ninja. Can you?
! Then it's Forest, Sakura shit, Orochimaru stuff, Kiba fight, Lee stuff, AND THEN WE GET TO THIS:
! [qimg]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/876/ohboyherewego.jpg[/qimg]
! Yep. Fourth Hokage if you didn't notice by the spiky hair, bangs, and lean face. You look pretty different when your face isn't just chiseled rock on a mountainside, huh? While this doesn't have anything to do with Naruto growing as a character, at the same time, it has everything to do with Naruto as a character. It was at this point that we all should have started worrying about the author drawing him for the first time right under a panel of an exhausted Naruto being carried away.
! This training arc shows off a few things about Naruto. He has a determination that continues on despite constant failure, has loads of chakra (now who could've guessed?), and is still the energetic doofus as ever, despite any events during the Wave arc. Now, a part of this training was due to Neji's dickish behavior towards Hinata. Speaking of which:
! [qimg]http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/7224/nobacksies.jpg[/qimg]
! Yeah, more of that whole 'promise' thing. When you live in a world of black and white, it's impossible to tell that this should come around to bite you in the ass. More than once.
! Then we get to Neji who, because of his upbringing, has nothing but coldness in his beliefs that destiny dictates the victor. This is where we get a major theme of part 1, where adversity can be overcome by drive and tenacity, and is not bound to the shackles of genetics and class. Again, this is a story element that plays into the character of our orange-clad fool. To say that this should affect his growth as a person is an understatement, which was clear since the first chapter of the manga.
! As irony would have it, Lee still got his ass beat. In any event, Naruto proves Neji wrong.
! [qimg]http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3858/hopeandchange.jpg[/qimg]
! After tapping into the secret demon power only he has.
! [qimg]http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/5941/shoryuken.jpg[/qimg]
! "Hi ho, hi ho, your face now has a hole."
! Now then, moving on past all the other stuff to Gaara and Naruto. Gaara is currently morphing into the Shukaku, and Naruto is faced with saving his teammates. There's a little bit of enlightenment here - Naruto understands and sympathizes with Gaara, for the fact he (generally) experienced the same sort of loneliness and loathing as a child. Then there's the standard 'fighting to protect something' jibe that writers can't seem to get away from, and we get to Gamabunta being Gamabunta in a way which reminds you how more people are trying to experiment with somewhat more organic versions of giant robots.
! [qimg]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9324/giantfrogobattles.jpg[/qimg]
! We also learn that the Shukaku host tends to be a tad loony due to a lack of sleep, resulting from a fear of being overtaken by the oversized sand-badger within. After an intervention with Orochimaru and the Third, we come back to see that the fight is finished. Both are exhausted, and Naruto has a few things to say to Gaara.
! [qimg]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/778/defensey.jpg[/qimg]
! [qimg]http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6932/gratitude.jpg[/qimg]
! (Yeah, the scanning sucks, but fuck it. You get the point.)
! While he does feel pity and relates to Gaara, he's also made it clear he isn't willing to let him go rampant and get away with murdering others, especially those closest to him. This is out of gratitude he feels towards them, the people who recognized him, as something other than a vessel for death and terror. He fought Gaara to save the lives of these others, who gave him a chance at life. If that wasn't obvious enough, of course.
! So we end with the Sandaime's funeral, featuring 'the nature of life', 'dying for a cause', 'pointless killing', all that. Next up is the last arc of part 1, and then the absolutely, 100% best arc of the series bar none.[qimg]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9277/siftingovermyskin.jpg[/qimg]
"Every Emo's Nightmare."
Only good thing to come out of the Naruto thread in quite some time.
Keep it coming.
! Alright then, where was I? Oh yes…
! [qimg]http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/7670/narutouzumaki.jpg[/qimg]
! Time to continue character examination, part 2 of part 1.
! >! We get the Waves arc about 'protecting what's precious to you', and how it would be the last one to hold any semblance of ninjas going around doing things in this manga. Then there's the exam arc, where Naruto makes it clear that he isn't going to pussy, while under extreme pressure. Afterward, everyone passes because Naruto bothered to answer the 10th question with his resolution, and Ibiki has this to say:
! [qimg]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/491/toughenup.jpg[/qimg]
! I can't wait to see Naruto's future as a ninja. Can you?
! Then it's Forest, Sakura shit, Orochimaru stuff, Kiba fight, Lee stuff, AND THEN WE GET TO THIS:
! [qimg]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/876/ohboyherewego.jpg[/qimg]
! Yep. Fourth Hokage if you didn't notice by the spiky hair, bangs, and lean face. You look pretty different when your face isn't just chiseled rock on a mountainside, huh? While this doesn't have anything to do with Naruto growing as a character, at the same time, it has everything to do with Naruto as a character. It was at this point that we all should have started worrying about the author drawing him for the first time right under a panel of an exhausted Naruto being carried away.
! This training arc shows off a few things about Naruto. He has a determination that continues on despite constant failure, has loads of chakra (now who could've guessed?), and is still the energetic doofus as ever, despite any events during the Wave arc. Now, a part of this training was due to Neji's dickish behavior towards Hinata. Speaking of which:
! [qimg]http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/7224/nobacksies.jpg[/qimg]
! Yeah, more of that whole 'promise' thing. When you live in a world of black and white, it's impossible to tell that this should come around to bite you in the ass. More than once.
! Then we get to Neji who, because of his upbringing, has nothing but coldness in his beliefs that destiny dictates the victor. This is where we get a major theme of part 1, where adversity can be overcome by drive and tenacity, and is not bound to the shackles of genetics and class. Again, this is a story element that plays into the character of our orange-clad fool. To say that this should affect his growth as a person is an understatement, which was clear since the first chapter of the manga.
! As irony would have it, Lee still got his ass beat. In any event, Naruto proves Neji wrong.
! [qimg]http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3858/hopeandchange.jpg[/qimg]
! After tapping into the secret demon power only he has.
! [qimg]http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/5941/shoryuken.jpg[/qimg]
! "Hi ho, hi ho, your face now has a hole."
! Now then, moving on past all the other stuff to Gaara and Naruto. Gaara is currently morphing into the Shukaku, and Naruto is faced with saving his teammates. There's a little bit of enlightenment here - Naruto understands and sympathizes with Gaara, for the fact he (generally) experienced the same sort of loneliness and loathing as a child. Then there's the standard 'fighting to protect something' jibe that writers can't seem to get away from, and we get to Gamabunta being Gamabunta in a way which reminds you how more people are trying to experiment with somewhat more organic versions of giant robots.
! [qimg]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9324/giantfrogobattles.jpg[/qimg]
! We also learn that the Shukaku host tends to be a tad loony due to a lack of sleep, resulting from a fear of being overtaken by the oversized sand-badger within. After an intervention with Orochimaru and the Third, we come back to see that the fight is finished. Both are exhausted, and Naruto has a few things to say to Gaara.
! [qimg]http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/778/defensey.jpg[/qimg]
! [qimg]http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6932/gratitude.jpg[/qimg]
! (Yeah, the scanning sucks, but fuck it. You get the point.)
! While he does feel pity and relates to Gaara, he's also made it clear he isn't willing to let him go rampant and get away with murdering others, especially those closest to him. This is out of gratitude he feels towards them, the people who recognized him, as something other than a vessel for death and terror. He fought Gaara to save the lives of these others, who gave him a chance at life. If that wasn't obvious enough, of course.
! So we end with the Sandaime's funeral, featuring 'the nature of life', 'dying for a cause', 'pointless killing', all that. Next up is the last arc of part 1, and then the absolutely, 100% best arc of the series bar none.
! [qimg]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9277/siftingovermyskin.jpg[/qimg]
! "Every Emo's Nightmare."
For the most part I agree with your two part characterization of the ninja in 'Naruto' except right here.
"It also shows how he's a disrespectful little brat, with no reason for defacing monuments other than to prove that he'd wind up better than them in the future."
He was a disrespectful little brat, true, but his reason for defacing the Hokage Mountain was not only to reflect his intentions of surpassing the previous Hokage, but he was seeking much desired long overdue attention.
! He was treated, ignored, and labled as a monster, a pariah, so he knows how to act no other way. I'm guessing you're still building up the base for your characterization and will soon show where Kishi went wrong? From sounds of it he's still on track from your first 2 parts.
@ultimateclima:
! I'm just curious. Why did you not like those episodes? I ended up watching them due to sheer boredom so I'd like to hear your thoughts.
! Honestly, I liked it. These episodes to me are like if I watched the episode where Team 7 tries to remove Kakashi's mask. It's for the laughs, not the action or for the emotion.
It's a shame that the anime writers seem to understand that Shippuden has been lacking in this and pulled this out of nowhere for ratings.
! I'm putting my thoughts of those episodes here in spoilers not because I'm afraid of spoiling people, but just because I wanna vent and I doubt most if not all want to read this. I just wanna put my thoughts here. I went into these episodes not expecting anything good and enjoyed it just for the sake of enjoying it. I also don't remember a lot about pre-timeskip Naruto so I didn't really care about continuity issues for the most part.! Plot
The plot is based around Naruto trying to look for the 4th's "legacy" since he heard Jiraiya mutter it before he passes out. It was cringing to see him ask the Third about it and he got no answer, but it's filler and Naruto did seem to be asking about it like the 4th was hiding some secret weapon of technique somewhere. The only thing that really bothered me, but it's filler so really it doesn't matter at all in my mind.
! The 4th legacy involved Kakashi and Guy trolling Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino. Guy sends them on this "quest" to look for "the legacy" but he was really just testing their abilities. Tests didn't really test anything at all and seemed like a huge waste of time. Now that I'm writing it, I think this would be a pretty boring and wasteful plot, but I watched just to see Naruto like it was before the timeskip, and it delivered on that aspect.
! Fight scenes
! This didn't have any cool battles. There was never a time when they seemed to be in danger, even when they were in danger.
! The tests were stupid. Really stupid.
Though at one point there was this parrot that called Naruto stupid. I instantly flashed to the Kakashi mask filler with the crow going "aho", soo it was funnier than it really was.
! Stupid rain losers were stupid and lame, but they did let Shikamaru look awesome so I liked that.
! The fight scenes were fun. I was probably wearing nostalgia glasses but the two scenes with actions were pretty cool.
Shikamaru saving Naruto was nicely handled. It reminded me of when I first started to like Shikamaru.
Sasuke was still testing his Chidori and it was kinda boring, but it wasn't bad. It was him knocking out filler without the "drama". At least it wasn't Sharigan hax.
! The Ninjas: pre-timeskip nostalgia, there was a lot here.
(emphasis on use of ninja to point out how ninja like the characters felt)
! First off: Guy dressed up as an old sage as part of his effort to troll. If that wasn't funny enough, Naruto was the only one of the five to not recognize him throughout this filler. It was hilarious to me.
! No team Kurenai at all. No Tenten. No Neji.
! Cool cameos in order of awesome: Anko, The Third, those two guys(I don't know their names), Iruka, Gaara and co.
Anko especially. Her brief appearance was pretty sweet, being her usual cool self.
! I did like how all the kids interacted. They weren't close friends and nobody really did anything out of place, even the ninja stuff reminded me of pre-timeskip Naruto.
! The ramen scene was sweet because Naruto left Choji with the bill. It was funny because they didn't act close like they did in the post-Rescue Sasuke filler.
! Inner Sakura makes an appearance. She only helps Naruto so she could give the 4th's legacy to Sasuke. And Sakura did nothing, but at this point she was useless so I was fine with that.
! Ino was useless. She even fainted at one point, but there wasn't a need for her special skills so it didn't bother me.
! Ino and Sakura were arguing a lot. In retrospect I think they were friendlier at this point but nostalgia glasses got the best of me.
! The final thing I really liked was how Asuma's team only did this for Shikamaru's sake to get stronger. Choji and Ino even had kunais at Naruto and Sakura's throat at one point just so Shikamaru can get the McGuffin. It definitely helps that this seemed like the ninja thing to do, even if Shikamaru decided to let them go.
! I didn't like that Shikamaru wasn't lazy, but like I said he acted like how I always wanted him to act pre-timeskip Naruto, aloof but efficient. He noticed the ambush of the stupid filler Rain losers and went to stop it on his own sure Naruto was there but Shikamaru didn't ask for Naruto's help, plus Shikamaru ended up saving Naruto and that was cool, especially since he didn't tell the others and brushed it off like it was nothing.
! Finally there's the way Naruto acted. Anybody that misses the goofball that didn't whine about Sasuke would like Naruto in these episodes. He was rash. He was stupid. I wouldn't call him incompetent, but he didn't "shine" in this filler. I wouldn't use the term underdog, but I do miss the old Naruto and how he was back in the day. There weren't even any moments where everybody thought Naruto did something cool because there weren't any moments like that…but I still liked Naruto in this filler
I'll just make a short list.
1. The filler placement was terrible. Right in the middle of Nagato and Naruto's confrontation. Right before Nagato's flashback and the worst part is there was no need to throw this filler in. The manga is well enough ahead for the animators to keep on going with material from the manga. Let me show you why they did throw this filler in though…
2. Shameless advertisement for the next Naruto movie installment.
! The next Naruto movie will involve Naruto going back in time where he meets his dad, the 4th Hokage. Is it just coincidence the name of the filler is 'The 4th's Legacy' and do you remember the poster Gai "dropped" with the 4th's face on it? More advertisement more the movie. That was the hidden, and not really so hidden, focus of this filler.
3. Comdey. It was…childish at best. I really didn't find anything strikingly funny or humorous. All the jokes were way to forced for me.
4. Animation was alright, reminiscent of Naruto Part 1.
5. Characters. I didn't think it was in Ino or Chouji's character to hold knives to Sakura and Naruto's necks like that, even back then. I still don't understand that part even if they were doing it for Shikamaru's sake, it's not like Naruto and Sakura were trying to kill him. Not to mention the fact I didn't really care for Ino and Chouji in this filler. The only ones who interested me were Naruto, Shikamaruo, and Sasuke.
6. Speaking of Sasuke he provided the only real action in the filler, and I'm not speaking as Sasuke fan here. This is just true. The filler seriously lacked in action besides Sasuke's chidori and Naruto kicking the spider summoning which was bland at best.
7. Plot. It was alright. A bit goofy and not much creative but it's a filler so I'll give it some slack. They could've done worse...but really you can say that for just about anything.
Well, that's it in a nutshell. I'm a bit bias against fillers at any point but if they can impress me (6 tails filler) I'll gladly admit my liking to it.