Masashi Kishimoto

Finishing this volume gave me the chills. True, deep, creepy chills and it even brought some tears to my eyes. Of course, I know Sasuke isn't *really* dead, and I know that Haku is not truly what he seems, but the combination of events and the set-up is pretty damn brilliant.

That being said, I know that the whole side story if Inari is important, but on additional readings, I'm pretty much blah about it. I just wanted to get to the good stuff again.

The awakenings. *shiver* Great stuff.

This volume is easily one of my favorites in the series. Naruto, having mastered Sage mode, takes on Pain, who singlehandedly brought down the entire village. It brought shivers to my spine and I felt all the awe of all the villagers as they see this old fuck-up surpass everyone including the legendary ero-senin.

I know greater shit happens later in the series, but at this point in time, Naruto has become truly awesome, and it affects me as only a true underdog story can.

Brilliant.

Five books into Naruto, and I'm finally a fan. The first four books already solidified my opinion of the series as one of those perpetual 3 1/2 star series, like Fullmetal Alchemist, that earns its mainstream popularity and balances several different story tones for the widest appeal.

What book five does so well is take the reader through an entire test of the journeyman ninja exam via multiple characters' cheating strategies and an excellent challenge of willpower, ending with the show more introduction of a Battle Royale/Hunger Games-esque test to take place in book six. The challenge with evaluating manga volumes, especially serialized series, is that they rarely encapsulate one self-contained story arc. However, this one shows such creativity among its growing cast that it stands above the volumes that came before.

...it also helps that, unlike previous volumes where the only female presence is Sakura pining for Sasuke and doing little else, this one highlights three capable female characters: Sakura, who handily aces her written exam and is willing to delay her own graduation to help teammate Naruto*; Ino, a crafty astral-projector and rival to Sakura; and Anko, an elite ninja and test proctor with great strength and a brash personality similar to Naruto's.

*This may sound worse than it is. Trust me, based on Sakura/Naruto/Sasuke testing as a trio and the circumstances of their test, Sakura's willingness to stay back with Naruto is more compassionate than self-sacrificing. show less

Explosion of rage!

And then the story arc takes a truly dark and disturbing turn, turning what has begun as a half-joke ninja comic with a few serious moments into a desperate gamble with truly pathos-inducing moments.

Did I cry again? Yes, I'm afraid I did, and I cried at all the precisely planned-out moments, as if I was a puppet on a string.

Kishimoto lined them all up and knocked them all down perfectly. I cried at Haku's dream of being useful, no matter what the cost. I cried at his show more sacrifice. I got amazingly pissed off at Zabuza, and then I watched in amazement when the amazing failure of Naruto managed to shame the demon.

And then I laughed with great bloodlust as Zabuza did his thing and redeemed himself. Just Wow. I've always loved that scene.

The rest of the volume is meh, just setting up for the chunin exams which is fine and all, but forgettable except for the introduction of all the new players I'll get to grow and love all over again. show less