Forum

Well I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been reading the Naruto manga (I got sick of the damn filler and it was nice seeing it finally go somewhere again). Anyway I was wondering what people thought about it. Personally I like how everyone has changed pretty drastically in appearance to reflect their age (especially Chouji and Akamaru). There's one thing I can't get out of my mind though, exactly how much longer is the manga planned to run for (I know this is a series that could go on forever). The main reason I'm asking is because while it was nice seeing some Akatsuki members there's still no real word on Sasuke (I wonder if he looks more like Itachi now). This got me wondering if Mr. Kishimoto is stretching things out because he doesn't know how he wants to handle that part of the story. To me it felt like this last completed arc just sort of stopped and now we're in the midst of a new one (in other words I feel slightly jerked around). So does anyone else have the same sentiments or does anyone know if Kishimoto has a plan for his characters? Anyone have any ideas on where he's going to take these characters?

I dont know how far exactly you've read, but the latest arc is all about getting closer to Sasuke's whereabouts.
And the previous one started off as an unrelated arc, but since it was Akatsuki who kidnapped Gaara you get the link between Akatsuki and Orochimaru (former Akatsuki). In this mission Sakura also learns new information that is vital to starting of the next arc.

IMO — it looks like the mangaka knows exactly what is going to happen and it looks like he has planned out atleast the general plot for the next 2 years.

everything that has happened in the book so far looks like it was tightly plotted and written. it has felt to me to be a very natural progression from event to event.

i also disagree with you about the "filler" comment. if they did not get to know each other as a group and become friends, why would either naruto or sakura even give a rat's heiny about sasuke? the answer is: they wouldn't.

also, to me — almost every character is more interesting than naruto and sasuke. for instance, shikamaru kicks ass. hyuga family is fascinating. kekkaishi is fasincating, as well as tsunade.

I AM NOT EVEN A HARDCORE NARUTO FAN! i'm a One Piece lover!

apple pro wrote:

i also disagree with you about the "filler" comment. if they did not get to know each other as a group and become friends, why would either naruto or sakura even give a rat's heiny about sasuke? the answer is: they wouldn't.

By filler I was referring to the series and not the manga. I started to read the manga because I was tired of the filler arc in the anime. I'm confident that Mr. Kishimoto has a plan, it's just that when the most recent arc finished I felt like it just sort of stopped so it made me wonder. I know the arcs have a point but I would have liked to have seen things continue as opposed to them just going back and starting over.

As far as what I think would be a neat angle (there's a small chance of it happening but I think it would be an awesome direction for the story), I would like to see Sasuke kill Orochimaru just before Orochimaru tried to take over his body. All Sasuke knows is that Orochimaru will give him power and I don't think he is aware that he would essentially die once the body transfer is complete. Because of that I think Orochimaru would have his guard down it would be an excellent moment for Sasuke to strike. It probably won't happen because Orochimaru is too vital as a character for a number of reasons but I think it would be an interesting direction for the story.

Side Note: I wonder how Gaara will fight now or if we're going to see him fight again. Since Shukaku was extracted from him he's basically lost his entire fighting style.

apple pro wrote:

I AM NOT EVEN A HARDCORE NARUTO FAN! i'm a One Piece lover!

weird.. is there some reason why one piece lovers can't be naruto fans? =/

it's just i sounded like a hardcore naruto fanboy when in fact i am a one piece fanboy, i happen to like naruto but not even close to as much as i like one piece.

apple pro wrote:

i happen to like naruto but not even close to as much as i like one piece.

I feel the same way about chocolate and peanut butter. Don't really like chocolate, but for stupid reason, it's always getting in my peanut butter. Confused