Naruto Shippuden 81 Ramble: Akatsuki's Ambitions Revealed

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

Naruto Shippuden 81: Akatsuki's Ambitions Revealed

Another Ramble

By Zapenstap

Thanks, Naruto shippuden 81!

So here’s where anime can reveal insights the manga does not.

Naruto manga chapter 329 "Ambitions Revealed" explains the end-goal of Akatsuki as a group. Naruto anime Shippuden episode 81 does the same, but it ALSO reveals the individual motivation of each Akatsuki member.

Naruto Shippuden 81 Ramble on my LJ


When pestered by Hidan, the newest recruit other than Tobi (har), Pain takes a moment to discuss the true motivation of Akatsuki. This was always an important chapter because it’s where Pain talks about how Akatsuki is going to take over the world by driving/creating and then monopolizing an already war-dependent economy. Pain explains that the reasons people fight don’t matter. It can be because of "religion, ideals, resources, land, grudges, love, or just because." The point is that there will always be fighting and that Akatsuki stands to achieve a place of superior power by capitalizing on it.

I cackled my way through a first reading of this chapter because 1.) It is such a bad guy cliché, 2.) It is awfully reminiscent of the ideological conflicts in Gundam Wing and 3.) Pain’s philosophy is unforgivably short-sighted (though not incorrect to common human thinking, which is significant).

The initial idea here is dastardly in the sense that Akatsuki plans to secretly create limitless human suffering and then gouge horrendous profit from it by "solving" the same problems they cause. This is like if a privately owned pharmaceutical company purposely breeds horrific disease and then profits from it by "treating" (for those who can afford it) with a ultra premium-priced medicine only they can distribute (like in V for Vendetta).

The philosophy that "people always get sick anyway so we might as well profit by making diseases" is no different than Pain’s idea that "people always fight so we might as well make war". (Of course, as we learn later Pain’s "true" goal isn’t to breed war. What he really wants is to lord over the world as a god and end the fighting he proposed to support…through massive destruction that the world has never seen. Pain’s aim is idealistic and monstrous on another level, but I’ve covered this in another essay, although I may have different opinion now).

It might be interesting to note that the concern for the future of ninja is a legitimate one. When war tapers off, there is less need for fighters. That’s just how economy works (supply and demand). And it IS sometimes true that industries that see their market share drying up can become desperate. In times of economic turmoil, people/businesses can sometimes resort to (illegally) creating problems just so they can continue scraping a living out of solving them in traditional ways. For ninjas to resort to this is an indication of seriously desperate times on the horizon.

Historically, of course, ninja DID disappear. So did samurai. They disappeared as a result of firearms making their skills obsolete (which is why there are no firearms in Naruto). If they had lasted longer, they would have ultimately died out after World War II, the Hiroshima bombing, and Japan’s surrender of its military force (after which, Japan reinvented itself and its workforce as a technology giant). Incidentally, Japan’s modern history is often a factor in why themes of war, peace, weapons of mass destruction, etc figure prominently in Japanese literature, including manga.

This is another reason why Naruto will make a good Hokage. Naruto isn’t much of traditionalist and he thrives on innovation. This side of Naruto is actually highlighted in this same chapter (Naruto manga 329 and Shippuden 81) that Akatsuki shows itself to be chasing the past. When Naruto figures that he can’t mold chakra and wind element simultaneously, he decides to do it separately (with clones) and combine them. Speculation: What "unpredictable" solution (one that is less costly and more innovative than Pain’s) will Naruto come up with to save the ninja world as it loses ground in a changing economy? This is yet to be revealed.

Anyway, getting back to the point, this chapter/episode ALSO reveals the individual goals of each Akatsuki member—but it didn’t become apparent until the anime.

Before his long spiel to Hidan regarding Akatsuki’s ultimate purpose, Pain explains that the reasons people fight can be because of "religion, ideals, resources, land, grudges, love, or just because."

Here’s the scene from the manga, chapter title "Ambitions Revealed"



These apparently aren’t generic reasons. In the anime, the screen pans over a different Akatsuki member for the reasons "religion, ideals, resources, land, grudges, love, or just because."

Hidan fights for religion


At least one half of Zetsu and Itachi fight for ideals


Kakuzu fights for resources


Zetsu (perhaps the other half) fights for land (what does this mean?)


Kisame fights because of spite, or a grudge (against who?)


Konan fights for love (for who?)


Deidaira fights "just because" (perhaps also for art—the fighting itself interests him)


From what we know of these characters now, I can understand easily how this is true. The recent Naruto databook 3 supposedly reveals even more (though I do not have the full translation). Hidan became a zealot of death in order to cope with death. Itachi believed in the ideals of Konoha and fought to save it; he was too gentle (yes, gentle; it actually does make sense) to know how to resist what other told him he must do. Kakuzu has been around a long time and discovered that money (which derives from resources) is the root of all evil—and anything else a person could want to have or avoid. Zetsu is a plant with two faces; maybe he’s also an environmentalist. Kisame is apparently holding a grudge. Konon loves someone enough to kill for them (Pein? Nagato? Yahiko?). Deidara just liked blowing things up.

This is HUGE. Understanding the philosophy for these characters sheds light on the decisions they have made in the past as well as what they’re going to do next. It tells us more about who they are, whether they are really strong, convicted, happy, or stable. It also gives an idea as to whether or not they can be reasoned with persuaded to take a different path. Maybe it will also suggest ways in which they might be stopped.

I've rambled enough. Your turn to sound off.

And yes I am keeping up with the manga. Other things are just more important than commenting on the fighting (I care more about the philosophy and character development). I have to go back to writing my book... and that Naruto essay... and Naruto fanfic

Comments

[demondreams.livejournal.com]

very interesting! "Deidara just liked blowing things up." *snickers

I cackled my way through a first reading of this chapter because 1.) It is such a bad guy cliché, 2.) It is awfully reminiscent of the ideological conflicts in Gundam Wing
so what we learn is that Pain is in fact Zero System Quatre Winner! It all makes so much sense now! get all the people who fight together then kill them all and no more war ^_^ (till you accidentally blow up your boyfriend's mech....with him inside it >_> )

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

heh.

Nope! Zero System would make ninja obsolete (same reason Treize didn't like it)

And Pain is actually of the same ideology of Miliardo Peacecraft... the half-deranged one at the end who thought blowing up the Earth would teach people not to fight anymore. (Heero convinces him he's being retarded, cause all of humanity is weak, not strong, which can't be fixed with pain. That's the real problem)

[demondreams.livejournal.com]

true true, on all accounts. Of course Pain does have one advantage, apparent immortality. He strikes me as a "big brother is watching and step one foot out of line and brig brother will beak his foot off in your ass" type. which NORMALLY has a chance of working until someone comes along and kills Big Brother or until he grows old and dies, but because Pain seems to be able to change bodies at will....

"the half-deranged one at the end who thought blowing up the Earth would teach people not to fight anymore"
LMAO best paraphrasing I've heard in a long time

[senbonzakura77.livejournal.com]

This is really quite interesting, thank you for posting it~!

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading! ^^

[rasenth.livejournal.com]

Haven't read chuunin posts in awhile, but this is very insightful! I remember when that chapter came out. Sooo long ago! @_@

AHAHHA THAT IS SO DEIDARA. "just because". XD Okay, I need to watch the anime now.

[hieronymousb.livejournal.com]

Really fascinating post. Thanks for that. I'm not entirely sure that I agree with everything, but it's great food for thought. Hope to reply more in depth later. Cheers for sharing.

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

You're welcome ^^ What's to disagree with? I didn't do much analysis...

[hieronymousb.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not sure that some of those conclusions (such as Zetsu fighting for land) will prove to be true. It's a good theory, but there's also the possibility that showing each member as Pein spoke might have just been a coincidence. I allow that some of them seemed like they could (or certainly do) fit, but there's also the chance that the animators just went with that because some of them did fit, without the others necessarily doing so.

Like, sure, showing Hidan when Pein talks about religion? Well, that's a given. Makes perfect sense. Others may have been a bit more embellished or incidental. My point is just because one thing fits doesn't mean the whole is a perfect chain. But we will see. Plus, I'm not always sure I trust the anime, in general, to be a good authority. I guess I tend to view the manga as a bit more "canon", so who knows if the animators were really hinting at Kishi's intentions with this? They may have just tried to make the ones that definitely do fit to fit and filled in some blanks with the others.

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

well i never take anime as canon, but in this case, i think it hold up well. no scenes were added. nothing in the script was adjusted. Pain gave seven reasons for war and addressed seven members of Akatsuki (not including Tobi). It could just be coincidence, or embellishment from the animators, but when over half the reasons match very well with what we learn of the Akatsuki members they pan with, the theory becomes stronger. Obviously, we won't know about Kisame and Zetsu until we learn more about them, but I can see Kisame having a grudge (he already has a little one against Gai) and Zetsu IS a plant.

But yeah, it still could be unfounded.

[hieronymousb.livejournal.com]

The theory does become stronger from that, I agree, but the human mind is also conditioned to seek out patterns -- to actively seek them, so I think it also doesn't hurt to remain cautiously skeptical with regards to theories which address so many characters at once.

And what I mean about seeking patterns: if, for instance, the camera had shown Deidara when Pein mentioned "grudges", you could just as easily say Deidara was acting largely because of his grudge against Itachi. Actually, quite a few Akatsuki members harbour grudges of some kind. Sasori may be dead, but he had a pretty big one against Orochimaru, as I recall. Different reasons could be made to fit. Like, Kakuzu doesn't specifically seek resources. He seeks money. I'd define those two a bit differently, since it's just as possible to spend money on pleasure pursuits, not resources.

So I'm not saying your theory is unfounded, or that it's wrong. Like I said, it's a good theory. I'm just saying I don't think it hurts to examine these things critically, either.

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

not gonna argue that! I applaud critical thinking and skepticism. Make me work for it (lol).

For Sasori... On first thought, I would say he fought for perfection and/or control (not quite the same as power) over everything he considered to be inferior (including humans), which is also part of superiority, elitism, or condescension complex that is driven by the opposite (fear, loneliness, a sense of weakness), which fits in more with his idolation of puppetry, symetry, and pursuit of the sublime (art).

For Kakuzu, it's not that money is spent on resources. It's that money COMES from resources. Currency in essentially worthless. It is what currency represents that is "money", and it almost always comes from division of resources (which can be defined as anything of value--land, people, skills, minerals, vegetables, animals, etc). However, I think Kakuzu had lousy business sense, which is a great irony not too difference from pretty much every other member in Akatsuki.

[ekstatic.livejournal.com]

Oh I saw this already! The thing with Kakashi and Naruto was soo funny! xD

[uchihalol.livejournal.com]

I always love reading your stuff. You bring so much insight to everything you write about. I wasn't really paying attention when I was watching the episode (not like I would have caught it anyway) and I would never have noticed that they practically spelled out the goals for each member. Thanks for sharing this. (And can't wait til the next chapter of White Rain!)

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

Thank you!!!! Did you review White Rain? I seriously don't know what to make of that fic in terms of reception (I know I like it, but I can't tell what other people think...the stats are wonky).

[uchihalol.livejournal.com]

I reviewed the last chapter you posted as Tyr I think. I know, I've read some of the reviews it's gotten and it seems like people either love it or hate it (I think it has a lot to do with the original characters. People can't seem to trust a fic if there are OCs). Don't listen to the negative reviews though, the plot is absolutely gripping and it's not something I've seen before. And after reading so much juvenile stuff that other writers post, yours is really really refreshing. Plot and excellent characterization for the win!

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

Yes. Actually, though, the gentle comment comes directly from the third databook. People had conniptions over it but I think it makes sense (even though it goes totally against what I used to think--to Kishimoto's credit).

Deidara...yah.

^_^

[senior-witch.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your analysis! I must admit that I agree with hieronymousb on that I think that the anime is not real canon. My impression is that the animators have a tendency to make thinks a bit more explicite when they are still ambiguous in the manga, and I am not sure whether they always ask Kishimoto before they do this.

I reread chapter 329 (thanks for giving the number) and you are right, striving for world domination is really a bad guy cliché (though I liked it when I read it; it is what I want from an adventure story.) I just wondered about all this when I read this - the big ninjas countries' economies relying mainly on their ninja villages? I mean, ultimately people need food, housing, clothes, health care, education, art and some kind of entertainment. If some people live mainly on fighting and earning money by fighting, it means that they have to sell their fighting skills to others, who will provide for food, clothes, houses etc. It makes sense that the ninja villages protect the country, while the rest of the country pays for them and provides for their other needs. I have difficulties however seeing a whole country's economy relying on their ninja village, if they don't export to other countries - but this will only work if these other countries are helpless.

About Naruto: I think that he will continue what the First Hokage began, try to make the world more peaceful, which may also mean that ninjas lose importance.

(Returns to RL and tries to understand what happened in the banking crisis.)

[ylmik-wisty.livejournal.com]

Thanks for writing that. I haven't been keeping up with the anime, so that they attributed those reasons Pain listed to each character is interesting. Also your commentary made me lol, some parts probably not intentional -> "Zetsu is a plant with two faces; maybe he's also an environmentalist."
Haaaaaaa~hahaha . Ah. <3 Anyway, this was interesting. :)

[utahimelorelei.livejournal.com]

Very well written.

A thought about Konan: Her fight for 'love' -- I would want to wonder if it stems back to her childhood with Nagato and Yahiko (whose body is now among Pain's six --as the Deva path); and growing up in Amegakure where they had lost virtually everything but themselves--maybe she fights so this will never happen again (or she will not lose anything else).

Also, it may be her devotion and almost worshipful status toward Pain; revering him like a God, and believing herself his Angel, meting out the commands "God" has given.


Deidara -- It makes sense, for as the flashbacks while he's fighting Sasuke show us, he was a terrorist. Also, his love of chaos seems like it would also be a reason that he'd just do this "because he can".

Art needs no more reason than that.


Again, a really insightful read; it brought up a chapter I hadn't really thought much about since I read it almost 2 years ago, and go read it again--considering all the points.