Naruto 518 - The ambush squads clash!

[3headed.livejournal.com]

It's out on mangastream

Who else finds the shoop-da-whoop-panel in this chapter? XD

Comments

[3headed.livejournal.com]

Btw try saying the title three times fast...

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

Is that really all we'll see of Sai's backstory? Damn, that was fast. :/

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

I haven't paid attention to this manga in months and was expecting epicness involving my favourite character but alas, Kishimoto fails to deliver once again. :(

[sunlight-kisses.livejournal.com]

I really really really want to see some GIRLS kicking ass. I know it's Kishi but .... a fellow girl can hope, right?

[wind-hover.livejournal.com]

But knowing Kishi, heck, we'll be lucky if they get any paneltime at all.... 'Cept for Sakura. 'Cause apparently she's the exception to his rule.

Considering the way he treats Sakura sometimes, I would rather he not make her the exception to his rule.

[musogato.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, go Kankurou!
Also, OH SNAP SAI. Badass mode activate. But then, awww~.

Really liked this chapter, haha. Great to see these two (and also Omoi!) in the forefront.

Am I the only one who thinks...

[akapiratequeen.livejournal.com]

...Kankarou totally brings the HAWT this chapter?

Re: Am I the only one who thinks...

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

Kankurou has always been bringing HAWT. He is the definition of HAWT.

[shinigami002.livejournal.com]

That was fast. I get the sinking feeling that this war isn't the beginning of the end of the series :/

[alloveryou.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I thought. If all the battles are this fast, then this war is going to be shorter than I thought. *blinks*

[senior-witch.livejournal.com]

We'll first have the war, and then we'll head to the final confrontation between Sasuke and Naruto who both stay out of the war because it does not have any relevance to the real problems.

[midgetnazgul.livejournal.com]

Excellent chapter. This is setting the mood for what looks like will be an epic arc towards Naruto's final hurrah.

<3 Kankuro. He just gets cooler.

[bjorkubus.livejournal.com]

Goddamn I love Sasori. I imagined all his lines in Sakurai's voice and it's just.. ohh. sexy. And I love Kankurou too. Maybe Kankurou's words will penetrate Sasori and he'll crumble away, but Sasori's hardened his heart for so long I doubt it. If Chiyo couldn't help him, I doubt Kankurou would change his heart. But then again, Chiyo didn't have a penis, and in order to make some sort of impact in this series you have to have one.

Sai, I want to give you the biggest hug ever. But your anger face is going down in the record books as one of the creepiest.

If the rest of the divisions end up showing awesome teamwork like the Ambush division did I'm going to be so freakin' happy for the next several month.

[tryxkittie.livejournal.com]

lazy chapter. "I guess me finally getting to see your drawing freed my soul from its binds" Y HELLO THERE AWKWARD EXPOSITION

let's hope the other fights are a bit meatier.

[mochalatt3.livejournal.com]

lol +1

[3headed.livejournal.com]

Itachi: Hey Sasuke, what a nice pair of eyes you have there! How's everything going in Konoha? Oh wait...

[sunlight-kisses.livejournal.com]

LOOOOOOOL

[0mega19x.livejournal.com]

I actually thought the end of this one was rather touching - and I'm wondering what has to be done to free the rest of the souls from their binds. I think that's far more interesting than ninja battle scenes.

[wind-hover.livejournal.com]

I agree! Especially Kankuro's words - I hope that he'll free Sasori from his binds too!
That raises the question what keeps souls behind. I presume Sai's brother would not be able to be brought back by Kabutomaru even if he tried, but which souls pass on, and which don't?

[0mega19x.livejournal.com]

I suppose souls with unfinished business or baggage they still carried at death are ones that Kabuchimaru can resurrect that way...

But if breaking their binds is how to defeat them, think of all the others that were resurrected - Dan. Itachi. Zabuza. etc. What will break their binds? And can some even be broken? Like Deidara. He seems pretty content with his situation, even though being immortal in that sense is the exact opposite of fleeting, explosive art.

Makes me quite eager for future chapters.

[braver.livejournal.com]

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaai~~~~~

I haven't watched the anime in ages, but I think I might just watch again when the war breaks out.

[subieko.livejournal.com]

Hmm...some pros, some cons for me.

Pros: Sai facing off against his brother was actually pretty tragic. When his brother explodes and Deidara is like 'darn, they stopped the bomb' and Sai just goes '..."the bomb"...' and it just seems like he's going to just scream NO THAT WAS MY BROTHER. And his angryface...!

BUT...cons: this chapter felt kinda rushed to me...and it seemed like after making the enemies seem so dangerous, Kankurou and co. fought them off REALLY easily. No losses, everyone will be fine, none of Deidara or Sasori's big attacks even HIT anything. Two unnamed minor characters got a bit scuffed up but are getting healed, that's it. It just seemed WAY too easy for opponents that a) were super-powerful in their first appearances and b) were presented as a credible threat.

Also, the resolution of Sai vs. his brother...it felt REALLY rushed. I mean...the entire thing is just this chapter. It felt like Kishimoto was just quickly tying up a loose end, which is sad because I thought what was there was pretty good. I know, every characters gets a flashback before they die, it's silly, but...I coulda used some flashbacks! I liked the soul-freeing concept, but it seemed like it was REALLY easy, even trivial...which undercut the emotional impact a bit.

So...tl;dr I liked the concept of the Sai vs. his brother thing and the resolution, but it felt rushed and the battle felt way too easy for the protagonists.

[rootoftheoracle.livejournal.com]

I get the feeling why they can fight them off easily, because it really does make sense... Forcing the soul back on earth fighting again and against their will (majority of them, like the good guys), even if their mind and strategy is the same, isn't powerful as to their counterpart in life.
It like a ZOMBIE.. Zombies = rotting, decay, corpse, weak, souless (just opposite in Naruto), and puppets.

Not only that, I can understand why Kankuro can easily defeat Sasori (not only because he is in a shell). When was the last time Kankuro fought Sasori? That was like few years ago during the early timeskip arc and Kankuro was totally outmatched. I'm sure right now Kankuro have been training for years before he is back in the picture. He should be at the same level as Sasori's counterpart now.

[subieko.livejournal.com]

Forcing the soul back on earth fighting again and against their will (majority of them, like the good guys), even if their mind and strategy is the same, isn't powerful as to their counterpart in life.

But then what's the point of having all the zombies? From the writer's perspective, I mean--if they're not very strong, they don't make good enemies for the big climactic ninja war going on here. Especially since almost ALL of the enemies are zombies right now. Doesn't make for a lot of dramatic tension if they're just a bunch of mooks to knock down.

But Kankuro wasn't at the SAME level as Sasori, he seemed much stronger. He completely shut down Sasori's attacks. It makes sense that Kankuro would put up a much better fight now, and I don't have a problem with him defeating Sasori, it just seemed so easy that it wasn't as interesting/dramatic.

To me it feels like bringing Sasori and Deidara back hasn't been that interesting so far, so if they're defeated so easily, I have to wonder...what was the purpose of writing them back into the plot?

[bjorkubus.livejournal.com]

what was the purpose of writing them back into the plot?

Fanservice. Especially for Sasori, for me anyway. Any reason to bring Takahiro Sakurai back into the show is a good reason to me. *shameless Sakurai fangirl*

[3headed.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I don't feel like nagging again, but if the rest goes down smoothly like this, how's this war gonna be a problem? I'm kinda dissappointed in the zombies. Just set their souls free (like in some ghost movie) and that's it. Okay, maybe I could be fine with the concept, but the resolution felt really fast.

Maybe Madara has some nice surprises in store because otherwise Naruto can chill out on turtle island a little bit longer.

Liked Sai showing emotions, though. And their smart teamwork.

[subieko.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of setting the souls free, I just feel like it would've had more dramatic impact if it had been more difficult. I mean it just seemed SO easy. No fighting to regain his consciousness or whatever, just show him a picture book.

Yeah, Naruto still has no idea what's going on...I wonder when he'll be back in the plot again...?

Sai's angryface was terrifying. And awesome.

[freijya.livejournal.com]

Deidera: "You wanna stem up to the plate, even though you're just a weakling who wasn't even good enough to replace Sasuke?"

Ugh. Poor Sai.

[wind-hover.livejournal.com]

I agree. I winced at that too.

[moldycookies.livejournal.com]

time to do some trolling...

[moldycookies.livejournal.com]

Warning, thar be SPOILERS ahead: if you haven't read/seen the new HP movie yet, I recommend not reading this.

1. Um, why can't 'Brother' have a name, yet? I mean, he's mentioned enough. JUST GIVE HIM A NAME.
2. Screw Naruto, Omoi is where it's at.
3. Sasori is impressed while Deidara despairs.
4. Kankuro brings the AWESOMENESS!
5. Did anyone else lol at Sasori falling? XD
6. Hedwig looks dead, which is kinda appropriate, but I'm still sad about that. HOW COULD YOU KILL HEDWIG? AND GEORGE'S EAR?
7. Sakura Sai's brother dances his way through life.
8. Once again, Kankuro brings the awesome back with his mysterious technique.
9. Um, never mind, I don't care about his technique anymore. I want my money back.
10. And Sasori rambles on about how Puppet!Sasori is pointless. Seriously, I thought the good guys were SUPPOSED to win.
11. Ohmigosh! Clay in his stomach! Oh noes! Ohmig - gah, this is lame.
12. Enough talking, more fighting!
13. ... thank you.
14. Upp, he died. Again. Kinda.
15. Meanwhile, in the boondocks, the Hulk some large guy must crush enemies! dun, dun, dun!
16. Deidara's evil laugh.
17. Well that... is disturbing... Sai's brother should probably get the whole lack of organs thing checked out.
18. Oh great, more crap about Danzo and lameness and root and anyone want some jerky?
19. OHMIGOSH, SAI WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL HIS BROTHER. WHY AM I SURPRISED ABOUT THIS? THIS HAPPENED, LIKE, FOUR TIMES ALREADY.
20. Page 13. Ohmigosh.
21. Ino Deidara is shocked about lightning. How this difuses bombs, does not make sense, then again, it is Naruto. A place where brothers kill each other for their eyes and crows fit down people's throats.
22. LOOP-HOLE! Once Asuma sees his baby, all will be well. Once Itachi sees what Sasuke's done, he'll bitch slap him and die. Once Neji's daddy sees Neji, all will be well. BITCH, YES. This sappy loophole rocks.
23. This is too much emotion from Sai to be normal. I think he's having a seizure.
24. Ohmygod. Kankuro is using Naruto's speech-no-jutsu. Speech-no-jutsu is going save us all. Ohmygod. This is lame. Lame. LAME.
25. The end. Seriously.

[moldycookies.livejournal.com]

Why thank you. :3

[alloveryou.livejournal.com]

I waited until after I saw HP 7 just to read this. It was well worth it. *nods*

[moldycookies.livejournal.com]

ah, that movie was so good.

[genbu-no-miko24.livejournal.com]

I liked that chapter a little rushed, but eh I liked it. I can't hate on Kishi

[karkashan.livejournal.com]

I like this chapter. Very fast paced, to be sure, but it hit all the notes, gave plenty of panel time to fights, and provided plenty of story.

I am noticing, though, how Kishi is using less spreads and more individual panels in order to cram in as much as possible. (reminds me of the early days, it does)

[gonrie.livejournal.com]

I know maybe a lot of people won't probably like this chapter, but I think this was every interesting!
And FINALLY, Sai showed real anger and he ROCKED.
I think it'll be really interesting to see how (probably Naruto with everything at the end) will managed to get everyone out of the 'bind' that ties them in the world. Though it'll also be a one by one.
Then there will probably be the Madara VS Naruto (+ Sasuke maybe?)
Anyway, pretty satisfied this week! Can't wait to see more coming ^^

PLOTHOLE

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

I thought Sai lost his picture book back in Orochimaru's lair. :|

Re: PLOTHOLE

[rutoko.livejournal.com]

Many chapters ago, Sakura found Sai's picture book. Next few chapters, she gave it to Sai. ^_^;

Re: PLOTHOLE

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

You're totally right! I'd forgotten that, thanks. :)

Re: PLOTHOLE

[moldycookies.livejournal.com]

AND THEN HE FINISHED IT AND GAVE BIRTH TO THAT SMILE.

Yeah, guys thanks. Going back to the golden days of when Sai was a robot. Sniffle. He grows up so fast. Now he's even laughing at Kiba! Wail.

Re: PLOTHOLE

[ultrasushi.livejournal.com]

I know right? I kind of liked him more when we still didn't know if he was good or not. He's an interesting character and has lots of potential but somehow I feel like Kishimoto is just going to either rush or completely skip his development. Argh. :(