Is anyone becoming bored with Naruto?

[folf]

Perhaps its the ups and downs you experience with various activities over an extended period of time.

but the series seems to be at a stand still at the moment, and I'm not sure if it is because I'm waiting for something in particular to end, so that the series can continue without such things in the air, or what. I'm not sure.

[Assertn]

nope.....i still look forward to new chapters

[Uchiha Barles]

Bored has never been the way to describe the negative feelings I've had towards Naruto. Maybe if I had watched the fillers in the anime, but no. Frustration is more like it. Naruto the main character was once my favorite and was developing nicely, up until after the gaara fight. Afterwards, every time he would go into action, I'd be filled with hope and aniticipation, but be left dissappointed by the end. Right now Naruto himself is the single most disappointing character I can recall, but I'm a forgiving person. I'm still giving the series a shot because its being hinted that Naruto has developed along the lines of what the first 80 episodes made me expect. I don't care so much about the other characters, but if I did, every last one of them would be less of a disappointment and less frustrating to watch. But dissapointment and frustration are not feelings experienced by one who's bored. So no, not bored with it.

[mage]

yes, even the manga is extremely boring. it seems like it's just being strung out to make more money now..

[Ero-Fan]

I agree with Assertn, but that might be because I only recently got into the manga because of how the anime is going with the filler bullshit. I like reading the new chapters. I hate having to be careful in the Naruto section, though.

[Dionysos]

well i think naruto will develope more, because of sai and sasuke, im looking forward to some really cool chapter, but that will take a while i guess

[Honoko]

to me, the manga lately have been lacking in the twists/"oooh" department. for some reason, i'm not all THAT intrigued by the root faction in konoha.. yet. we'll see though. i've invested so much time into this manga now so quitting would be retarded at this point.

[Stoopider]

I'm with folf on this most recent arc.

Mostly it bores down to Sai. Honestly, I couldn't be arsed about someone name Sai or who he is, what he does, and who his brother is.

I would have preferred Kishimoto continually build on the existing characters (the old genin teams).

Roots organisation somewhat interest me though, I don't mind hearing more about the 'darker' side of the Konoha. But Sai, I just hope Kishimoto kills him off soon.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Hopefully this arc will pick up soon, it sure has been dragging ass for the past few chapters.

[Winged Dancer]

Sometimes I don't undrestand you guys.

When Kishimoto takes his time to develop characters via making them interact with each other or takes a few weeks to build up plot then the manga is slow and boring.

When we have long fights in which most panels are people kicking or dodging then its dragged out and boring.

So what, should the manga be a compilation of three-chapter long fights one after another?

I'm liking this arc. Sure, it hasn't offered any plot twists so far but it introduced three new characters, all a little bit more interesting than the ones we've seen lately. As it was discussed in another thread this could at the very least bring some plotical tension to the plot and perhaps treason at some time or other... but new characters means there are many elements to introduce to the plot, new mechanics to explore, etc.

Of course its frustrating when you have to wait an entire week, but at least for me it's not boring... I'm enjoying the manga's pace, or at least I enjoyed the past few chapters. It should pick up soon anyway, I don't think they'll be able to meet with the messenger and not fight him at least a little.

[Divinity]

Naruto will never be boring! It's one of the best animes ever. Being about ninjas also gives it bonus points.

I always get excited when Naruto or Sasuke fights. Other characters are interesting as well, but mainly Naruto and Sasuke because it's cool when Naruto goes berserk with kyuubi and Sasuke uses his Sharingan.

Even with the fillers right now, they are ok for the most part, but I don't completely hate them.

Naruto is filled with humorous and getting serious elements which makes it fun to watch.

[Assertn]

Originally posted by: Winged Dancer
Sometimes I don't undrestand you guys.

When Kishimoto takes his time to develop characters via making them interact with each other or takes a few weeks to build up plot then the manga is slow and boring.

When we have long fights in which most panels are people kicking or dodging then its dragged out and boring.

So what, should the manga be a compilation of three-chapter long fights one after another?

I'm liking this arc. Sure, it hasn't offered any plot twists so far but it introduced three new characters, all a little bit more interesting than the ones we've seen lately. As it was discussed in another thread this could at the very least bring some plotical tension to the plot and perhaps treason at some time or other... but new characters means there are many elements to introduce to the plot, new mechanics to explore, etc.

Of course its frustrating when you have to wait an entire week, but at least for me it's not boring... I'm enjoying the manga's pace, or at least I enjoyed the past few chapters. It should pick up soon anyway, I don't think they'll be able to meet with the messenger and not fight him at least a little.

What I learned today: Naruto Manga readers = hypocrisy

[The Heretic Azazel]

Excuse me for being tired of Yamato building houses and shit.

[Edort4]

You are excused i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif I'm not bored at all with naruto, its a good manga and now we have new characters organizations and plots, wich is always cool. Plots don't need to be closed in the same order they were exposed, that only makes things previsible and the story poor.

The thing is that a lot of ppl what really want is to see fights, new moves, ninjutsu continuously (I admit that they are espectacular but a manga with only fights is like a van damme film). The thing is that if you get the manga in chapters there is no time enough to make both the plots and the fights, so that makes 3-4 chapters with conversations etc and then fight chapters. I'm sure that if we would get the manga in volumes no1 would be bored.

Now the story has gotten very interesting with uber guys and we all want to see the uber fights that are to come, but these fights need a background. If ppl have to wait 1 month to see those fights just shut up and wait quietly, you will get your dose of violence in anyway (better if its violence with sense isnt it?). Let other ppl enjoy the development of the plots, the motivations of the characters and organizations and their reasons to be like they are, the very reasons for those fights ppl want to see. I agree that yamato building houses isn't very interesting but is just 1 page! and it lets you see new ninjutsu (just what you really want, dont be ashamed to say it! violence and action rulez! lol) and that he is quite powerful.

[Assertn]

Originally posted by: The Heretic Azazel
Excuse me for being tired of Yamato building houses and shit.

What I learned today sequel: The Heretic Azazel gets his jollies off mangas where ninjas use pup tents instead of houses.

[folf]

As far as Sasuke and Itachi are concerned, I prefer watching them using sharakens over their sharingans..
I said things felt like they were at a standstill, a fight or two wouldn't change this. Introducing new characters, allowing old characters to go on some mission with naruto, or having cameos of various people will not change this. The filler episodes in the Anime can be fun, they allow further development of characters the manga might overlook, but it can also a delay, and this delay can seem obvious. Perhaps more so for the manga readers.
Uchiha barles mentioned something about the Gaara fight and feelings after this... I think I can relate, but felt the manga came to a stop around the time the puppet guy turned into a puppet himself, making it fairly obvious they were killing him off, and then what? nothing.. This current arc will probably produce a fight, maybe with sai, though I think killing off sai would be a bore, amounting to little(maybe if he dies from tripping over a pebble, I could have a laugh)
Its not the twists that attracts me to Naruto, and if this is all this arc is is setting up another twist, I wish they would get it over with, and maybe then I can watch an episode or two about him dealing with it..
eh..

[Uchiha Barles]

I think this arc should move things along, rather nicely. You said a few fights won't change anything new characters won't change anything, etc. So then what you're looking for is anything that will advance the main story? This should be an arc that does that. They're on a mission to find a spy who should have information about Orochimaru and Akatsuki. Sasuke is with Orochimaru. At the very least, this arc will set up another arc in which Sasuke can be reintroduced. Perhaps we'll also get more information about Akatsuki's goals. This should advance things in the way I think you want them to.

[Stoopider]

Originally posted by: AssertnFailure

What I learned today: Naruto Manga readers = hypocrisy

Uh.. not really.. Different strokes for different folks. i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif

Some like the fights, some like the story.

[Raven]

Originally posted by: Winged Dancer
Sometimes I don't undrestand you guys.

When Kishimoto takes his time to develop characters via making them interact with each other or takes a few weeks to build up plot then the manga is slow and boring.

When we have long fights in which most panels are people kicking or dodging then its dragged out and boring.

So what, should the manga be a compilation of three-chapter long fights one after another?

I'm liking this arc. Sure, it hasn't offered any plot twists so far but it introduced three new characters, all a little bit more interesting than the ones we've seen lately. As it was discussed in another thread this could at the very least bring some plotical tension to the plot and perhaps treason at some time or other... but new characters means there are many elements to introduce to the plot, new mechanics to explore, etc.

Of course its frustrating when you have to wait an entire week, but at least for me it's not boring... I'm enjoying the manga's pace, or at least I enjoyed the past few chapters. It should pick up soon anyway, I don't think they'll be able to meet with the messenger and not fight him at least a little.
Well said. I agree. People just don't know what they want.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the main problem is that we only get one chapter a week; you get your tiny little fix, you get annoyed because it's over so quickly for another week and you bitch about how things are 'too dragged out' or what have you. If we had every chapter right now I'd say 90% of the complaints would disappear.

[Terracosmo]

Originally posted by: AssertnFailure


Originally posted by: Winged Dancer
Sometimes I don't undrestand you guys.

When Kishimoto takes his time to develop characters via making them interact with each other or takes a few weeks to build up plot then the manga is slow and boring.

When we have long fights in which most panels are people kicking or dodging then its dragged out and boring.

So what, should the manga be a compilation of three-chapter long fights one after another?

I'm liking this arc. Sure, it hasn't offered any plot twists so far but it introduced three new characters, all a little bit more interesting than the ones we've seen lately. As it was discussed in another thread this could at the very least bring some plotical tension to the plot and perhaps treason at some time or other... but new characters means there are many elements to introduce to the plot, new mechanics to explore, etc.

Of course its frustrating when you have to wait an entire week, but at least for me it's not boring... I'm enjoying the manga's pace, or at least I enjoyed the past few chapters. It should pick up soon anyway, I don't think they'll be able to meet with the messenger and not fight him at least a little.

What I learned today: Naruto Manga readers = hypocrisy

You learned that today? Where the heck have you been the last months...ehrm, years. i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif

As for the topic: No, not bored, but it's been a damn long time since I felt that I really really really wanted my fix.

[Honoko]

Originally posted by: Winged Dancer
Of course its frustrating when you have to wait an entire week, but at least for me it's not boring... I'm enjoying the manga's pace, or at least I enjoyed the past few chapters. It should pick up soon anyway, I don't think they'll be able to meet with the messenger and not fight him at least a little.
that's probably a good point. i remember reading parts of the sakura/sasori fight in bulk and thinking, "hey, you know what? this fight's not that bad" mainly b/c i was reading 3 or 4 chapters in a row w/o that one-week wait-o-torture.

but i still stand by my current position on the manga from my previous post. and i'm in the habit now of downloading 3 or 4 naruto chapters at a time. which is why i've practically stopped posting in the naruto boards here in gotwoot.

[heero]

yes its boring. what else is there to do? watch/read bleach!

[Winged Dancer]

Informative and utomst cooperative post such as the one above are what convince me not to read Bleach. And leave that unaswered please, I'll read it once I'm done reading other much more worth-while things.

[folf]

I think this arc should move things along, rather nicely. You said a few fights won't change anything new characters won't change anything, etc. So then what you're looking for is anything that will advance the main story? This should be an arc that does that. They're on a mission to find a spy who should have information about Orochimaru and Akatsuki. Sasuke is with Orochimaru. At the very least, this arc will set up another arc in which Sasuke can be reintroduced. Perhaps we'll also get more information about Akatsuki's goals. This should advance things in the way I think you want them to.


You're right. This arc is necessary, and I think it will be pretty good. I haven't felt like downloading it lately, which isa change, which is probably delaying me picking up more interest Perhaps I'll be more into it in a week or so. It could be I'm just distracted with other things right now.
Bleach is pretty good for what I've seen. I haven't read the mangas. One Piece is a lot of fun. Maybe when I finish watching one piece, I'll go back to Naruto. I should have a good stretch of animes and mangas to enjoy by then. Right now though, I think I'll have a shower and go for a slurpee or something..

[Assertn]

If the spy is kabuto, I'm gonna shit my pants.

[Lucied]

Best way to keep any manga from getting boring is to wait until an entire volume is released or until you have a stock pile of chapters to read. In my opinion most manga's seem to drag more reading one chapter a week then reading alot of chapters back to back.

[Carnage]

Originally posted by: heero
yes its boring. what else is there to do? watch/read bleach!

AMEN! Yes, im a little bored, and until Naruto becomes uber interesting again im gonna read the chapters by 10.

[LobsterMagnet]

Waiting for 10 chapters and reading them all at once is probably the smartest thing to do to get your naruto fix. But dammit If can get it now as opposed to latter I'll fricking take it! I'm an impatient son of a bitch and I'd rather get something sooner as opposed to waiting for it.

[mage]

if you wait a few weeks to read chapters by the tens, you just end up missing out on all the discussions, which IMO are funner than reading the manga.

[Hakeem_21]

It goes up and down for me and lately its down. Not cause the story is taking time to build up,it just that the new characters arent anything special I dont even think about Naruto anymore,i download it when i see it in baka-updates manga trying to download other mangas.

The last great chapter was when the fight beteween Naruto and Sasuke ended.

[Death BOO Z]

wow, an entire topic dedicated to bitching about naruto, it's ought to be fun...

anyway, though i've been saying this almost since i've joined the forum three years ago, i think the series is going down..
now, it might be that during the time since i've started reading naruto (one of my first mangas) up to this day my standarts have changed, but i still enjoy (to somewhat level) the earlier parts of the manga, but so far, it seems that it has become so cliched,,,
we've seen all the genin teams (not genins) appearing exactly in the same structure as we left them, only older. some people might say that he is reintroducing old charecters, and i agree, but that's all he's done, just gave them a reason to power up so they could gang up on some 'run-of-the-mill' mini-boss and clear the way for naruto to fight. we haven't seen a single real change in them. it isn't progress, it's a standstill.

as for the new charecters, as much as i like yamato, i know that as a charecter, he completly stinks, just a meat bag with no real flavour to support him. and lets not even start talking about Sai, last time saying penis was funny was when i graduated from elementry school.. besides, a charecter with no real personna? been there, done that, the whole bisho-fucks trend should have ended with Haku, give me a charecter with real attachments to life, not some pussy who cries about his missing brother/mother/heart/feelings/facial expression...

oh, crap, no matter how much I try to explain, mere descripetions cannot compare to saying something as simple as :"I've grown fucking tired of Naruto, I don't really take much intrest in it anymore"


1 life, 2 short, 3 years, 4 what?

[Hotsuma]

This will make Naruto fun again, guys.

http://home.comcast.net/~i_d/kabuto-oro.jpg

As for myself, I stopped reading and watching Naruto altogether months ago. And even during that period of time, I felt myself losing more and more interest. Especially after he grew up. Still, I like to stop by here every so often and give you stuff like above pic.

[LobsterMagnet]

Have to wonder if the whole sai penis thing is some sort of misguided attempt to make naruto edgy. Just watch, all of you cynics! Just watch! When the sasori fight is animated you'll all come graveling back begging for more once the anime team redeems themselves threefold by not only bringing to life a kick-ass fight that'll put the rock lee fight to shame but also adding in Sasori's much needed backstory that kishimoto kinda forgot about. Then again that's what I tried to tell myself during the first filler arc with the stupid super zombie composed of dead filler characters. Then I think a bit of me died inside when I saw Tiger mizuki with the increadible stupid brothers. But hey it could happen, right, maybe? The anime team might be able to redeem itself.

Eh who am I kidding alot of the things that made me ove naruto in the first place seem to have been forgotten. Especially in the whole time jump. It opened so strongly too with the whole kidnapping of Garra but I'm in too deep now. I'll keep reading and watching mostly out of habit. After spending so much time on the naruto ride probably not getting off until I see where it all ends.

[shinta|hikari]

im just really disappointed so far as to how weak naruto still is. after 3 years of training, youd think from his previous pattern of learning skills at a genius level of speed, hed be like a hokage level ninja by now, at least tsunades hokage level, which seems quite low.

[Psyke]

Haha! That pic rocks. For me, I'm still pretty much excited by new Naruto episodes. Although it isn't nearly as interesting as the first few episodes where it introduces the characters and the setting, it's still full of surprizes as well as interesting moves/jutsus. No big complaints for me as far as the manga is concerned. As for the fillers, I'd rather forget about them asap.

[TwisT]

Well i think it has been boring now for a while. At least in comparison with how it used to be. But it's still good enough to read. But it ain't like before when i wanted the raw when it was just released or aired. Now i can wait. Often i get it several days after the translation has been released. The anime is being ruined by all the fillers and the manga but stuff that i hate. For example, Sasori getting beat by Sakura and the old woman. If those two could beat up Sasori, Naruto & Co be able to beat up Oro and Kabuto with ease.

I hope they bring in some more of that Akutski-action again. But this time make it harder. Have at least a whole team fight one of them. And i want to see some pawnage from Akutski. That is what makes them so badass.

Instead i feel Bleach and One Piece has taken over completely. Bleach has a great pace with action and One Piece also has much action and tons of comedy. One Piece can even have comedy in there main fights. I really hope Naruto can get as intresting as it was before.

[dantheman62]

nooo waaay. How the fuck can you guys be sick of Naruto?I mean i can take a break and watch OP,...but C'MON! People need to see something more in this anime and even if you don't........who THE FUCK CAARES!?! When my friend introduced me to it, i asked him what is it about? he replied "ninjas flipping out and killing people with powers", and thats all i needed to know. From that point on i've loved it and the only one i really like even close is OP(one piece) and for the guy who said i'm getting sick of Yamato building houses and hotels...dude thats a huuge burn on my part bc the Shodaime was my favorite hokage...like ever. And he's strong, real strong and the team finally got a new leader with a real cool guy who knows what he's doing. BE HAPPY! ENJOY! thats all i have to say thankyou AssertNFailure.

[Terracosmo]

Originally posted by: TwisT
Well i think it has been boring now for a while. At least in comparison with how it used to be. But it's still good enough to read. But it ain't like before when i wanted the raw when it was just released or aired. Now i can wait. Often i get it several days after the translation has been released. The anime is being ruined by all the fillers and the manga but stuff that i hate. For example, Sasori getting beat by Sakura and the old woman. If those two could beat up Sasori, Naruto & Co be able to beat up Oro and Kabuto with ease.

I agree fully with this.

However, the prospect of seeing Deidara animated is keeping my Naruto interest high. Even though there's 3 months to go...

[Jaredster]

I'm just tired of these breaks Kishimoto takes. It's been 2 weeks already.

[dantheman62]

i love how you guys just keep burning and putting Kishimoto down for not giving it to us on time. I think this next chapter will be great no matter what. I mean orochimaru is back people cmon. We all know that when he comes back its going to be great.

[ruasonid]

My big concern with Naruto is the story pacing. Since the start of the series, how many arcs have there been? Zabusa, Chuunin exams, Akatsuki shows up, Tsunade becomes Hokage, and Sasuke runs away - that's part one. And that's 240 chapters. Between Sasuke getting the curse seal and him deciding that he was going to join Orochimaru we've probably got about a two year span in publishing. Plot-wise, in that time, we had Sasuke learn Chidori, Jiraiya be introduced and teach Naruto to summon frogs and about Kyuubi, Orochimaru fight the Third, Naruto fight Gaara, Akatsuki be introduced, Tsunade be introduced, Naruto learn Rasengan, Orochimaru try to get his arms healed, and Sasuke and Naruto decide to fight. Half of that is incidental details to the plot that could've been done easily otherwise (i.e., Chidori, Rasengan, and the frogs are simply techniques, Gaara's craziness was just an excuse for him to become Naruto's friend, and Orochimaru's loss of his arms and subsequent healing was just an excuse to introduce Tsunade). The first major plot arc laid out was the Sasuke revenge arc, and in terms of direct action on that we've had one encounter between Sasuke and Itachi. We're currently on Orochimaru's fourth significant appearance (curse seal, Hokage fight, getting his arms healed, and now this fight against Kyuubi Naruto, and there'll be at least one more unless Sasuke pops up out of nowhere here). We've still got a good deal more of Sasuke and Itachi to deal with, a lot more Orochimaru to deal with (with Konoha, Sasuke, Naruto, and Akatsuki), Kyuubi taking over Naruto, Itachi vs. Naruto, various other members of Akatsuki including the superiors of the group (of which all the members we've seen so far seem to merely be subordinates of), Tobi, Kakashi's Mangekyo (possibly Gaiden 2, which we can expect since the first gaiden was numbered), and now Sai and Roots (along with any possible stories involving Konoha ninjas). But with all this, the whole first part (around five years of plot) can be summed up in three sentences:

Naruto was a runt with hidden powers, and he learns of these and grows, making friends on his way.
Sasuke wants revenge against his brother Itachi, and leaves Konoha for Orochimaru in order to obtain it, much to everyone else's chagrin, but especially Naruto's.
Itachi is part of a secret organisation that wants Naruto's power, which will be relevant later.

At this pace, it's really a bit of a pain to see new story elements be added, because it'll be at least another ten years before the whole thing finishes anyway, unless they've got the guts to accelerate the Sasuke/Orochimaru story so that Sasuke splits from him and goes after his brother, Naruto goes after Sasuke, Akatsuki goes after Naruto, and Orochimaru tries to out-manipulate them, re-joins Akatsuki (unlikely) or dies (really, Orochimaru dying would simplify the plot a whole lot - he's been presented as the big bad guy of the series, but so has Akatsuki, which causes problems for all that time we spent building up to Orochimaru being the big bad guy because him being defeated before the end will be a let-down no matter what, but so will cutting out Akatsuki from that, and since Akatsuki as a whole has been set up as having several times Orochimaru's power, having them be defeated first would simply be obnoxious). Roots needs to be forgotten in order for the story to not spin ridiculously out of control. If they try to tie up Roots, then add in at least another year of useless side plot, unless Roots ends up being related to Akatsuki, which might make it interesting.

Or they can cut the damn fight scenes down so that one battle doesn't take two months at minimum, and work on the story more. Then maybe it'll be finished in ten years even with all the extra plotlines (though I still expect a part 3 no matter what).

[oni roh]

i completely stopped watching the episodes because of the rediculous fillers. And slowly but surely losing hope for the story, period. Now i pretty much just read the manga out of pure habit. I've read so much of it i can't just stop and wonder what the hells gonna happen next.

I marked the downfall of the series with curse seal level 2. What originally hooked me onto naruto was that i had never seen an anime like it and the story line and action in the begining caught me. But after reading it so much everything is just repatitive and boring.

[Carnage]

Actually, I think things just started to get interesting right after we met Sai. I have more hope for the series than before. I also have a feeling something really interesting is about to happen right after this battle.

[darkmetal505]

Originally posted by: ruasonid
My big concern with Naruto is the story pacing. Since the start of the series, how many arcs have there been? Zabusa, Chuunin exams, Akatsuki shows up, Tsunade becomes Hokage, and Sasuke runs away - that's part one. And that's 240 chapters. Between Sasuke getting the curse seal and him deciding that he was going to join Orochimaru we've probably got about a two year span in publishing. Plot-wise, in that time, we had Sasuke learn Chidori, Jiraiya be introduced and teach Naruto to summon frogs and about Kyuubi, Orochimaru fight the Third, Naruto fight Gaara, Akatsuki be introduced, Tsunade be introduced, Naruto learn Rasengan, Orochimaru try to get his arms healed, and Sasuke and Naruto decide to fight. Half of that is incidental details to the plot that could've been done easily otherwise (i.e., Chidori, Rasengan, and the frogs are simply techniques, Gaara's craziness was just an excuse for him to become Naruto's friend, and Orochimaru's loss of his arms and subsequent healing was just an excuse to introduce Tsunade). The first major plot arc laid out was the Sasuke revenge arc, and in terms of direct action on that we've had one encounter between Sasuke and Itachi. We're currently on Orochimaru's fourth significant appearance (curse seal, Hokage fight, getting his arms healed, and now this fight against Kyuubi Naruto, and there'll be at least one more unless Sasuke pops up out of nowhere here). We've still got a good deal more of Sasuke and Itachi to deal with, a lot more Orochimaru to deal with (with Konoha, Sasuke, Naruto, and Akatsuki), Kyuubi taking over Naruto, Itachi vs. Naruto, various other members of Akatsuki including the superiors of the group (of which all the members we've seen so far seem to merely be subordinates of), Tobi, Kakashi's Mangekyo (possibly Gaiden 2, which we can expect since the first gaiden was numbered), and now Sai and Roots (along with any possible stories involving Konoha ninjas). But with all this, the whole first part (around five years of plot) can be summed up in three sentences:

Naruto was a runt with hidden powers, and he learns of these and grows, making friends on his way.
Sasuke wants revenge against his brother Itachi, and leaves Konoha for Orochimaru in order to obtain it, much to everyone else's chagrin, but especially Naruto's.
Itachi is part of a secret organisation that wants Naruto's power, which will be relevant later.

At this pace, it's really a bit of a pain to see new story elements be added, because it'll be at least another ten years before the whole thing finishes anyway, unless they've got the guts to accelerate the Sasuke/Orochimaru story so that Sasuke splits from him and goes after his brother, Naruto goes after Sasuke, Akatsuki goes after Naruto, and Orochimaru tries to out-manipulate them, re-joins Akatsuki (unlikely) or dies (really, Orochimaru dying would simplify the plot a whole lot - he's been presented as the big bad guy of the series, but so has Akatsuki, which causes problems for all that time we spent building up to Orochimaru being the big bad guy because him being defeated before the end will be a let-down no matter what, but so will cutting out Akatsuki from that, and since Akatsuki as a whole has been set up as having several times Orochimaru's power, having them be defeated first would simply be obnoxious). Roots needs to be forgotten in order for the story to not spin ridiculously out of control. If they try to tie up Roots, then add in at least another year of useless side plot, unless Roots ends up being related to Akatsuki, which might make it interesting.

Or they can cut the damn fight scenes down so that one battle doesn't take two months at minimum, and work on the story more. Then maybe it'll be finished in ten years even with all the extra plotlines (though I still expect a part 3 no matter what).

thats what makes anime fun, too much craziness going around!

Unless it becomes dbz style, where even when loose ends were tied, you still didnt get it (or at least I didnt)

[ChaosK]

bored? nah....the manga keeps me interested...the fillers however...haha.

[MASTA-OF-DISASTA]

Bored? Nah.... the manga is freaking good lately... The fillers however, make me wanna commit suicide.... cry

[ruasonid]

Originally posted by: darkmetal505

thats what makes anime fun, too much craziness going around!

Unless it becomes dbz style, where even when loose ends were tied, you still didnt get it (or at least I didnt)

It's not that I object to a complicated storyline; I like having lots of subplots and twists and tangents. My point was more that there's lots of strands to the plot, none of which has advanced exceptionally far individually and all of which have a lot to go before being finished, they've taken a long time to get this far, and, knowing the writing style, they're going to add on more complications over the next while rather than simplifiying it. Unless Sasuke miraculously shows up in this arc and fights Naruto and that progresses beyond "hey, catch-up time" (without six months of Naruto fighting Sasuke), we're still at the beginning of the middle of the story, and by the time it reaches the final part's climax we'll have an incredibly tense moment where 40 characters are locked together, all trying to kill each other whilst talking about how their fates are all twined together like a bad harem story. That fight will take two years to publish.

Then Naruto and Sakura will get married, and everyone ever mentioned in the story will show up for the ceremony, including the bad guys. I can't wait for that shot of Orochimaru and Itachi eating cake, with Lee drunk on champagne in the background, kicking everyone's ass. Gai, of course, would be in the dust cloud, having vainly attempted to stop his student. It would be very touching, I'm sure.

[Assertn]

I too noticed that after all these years, not a whole lot has really happened if you break it down into the arcs shown so far.
1) Introductory saga
2) chuunin exam
3) oro kills 3rd
4) sannins fight
5) sasuke chase
6) akatsuki fights

But really, you can't complain unless you're in a hurry to get the series over with.

[dragon608608]

honestly, i think the manga is getting a lot more interest than before. i can't even wait to get the next chapter. The anime ;however, bore a real deal out of me especially the last few episode. Few week ago, i still tried to tell me to endure these filter episodes, but until today, i don't even care any more, I mean look at the newest episode, they just take the old sceen for the old episode, edit it, and put it to the new one in the obvious manner. The story for these last few episodes is .... I don't know.... suck!!!! It is so ....weak.. and uninterest. Therefore, I completely give up with the anime, and concentrate on reading this manga.

[MFauli]

Well, after all, you could say that everything till now is just the beginning of the series.
The end of the Sasuke chase-arch marked, imo, the change from prologue to chapter number one.
At that point, Sasuke´personality and goals have been exposed completely.
Also, the Akatsuki have been declared as the real enemies, being told to Naruto by Jiraiya.
And now, at the point of the Naruto vs. Orochimaru battle, i see the beginning of Naruto´s real story.
That fight has to deliver something important story-wise to us (and imo, Naruto will loose the Kyuubi, but we´ll see about that).

And i wont complain about Naruto taking a lot of time before getting finished, because i love long series.
That´s why i loved Dragonball, that´s why i loved Hunter X Hunter, and that´s why i love Eureka Seven (although that´s not a so long series, unfortunately).

[Strike Freedom]

Not sure if anyone mentioned anything I'm about to type. Here it goes. I noticed something about the new ending in Naruto, showing a leaf falling and Naruto walking away from Sakura while she catches the leaf. And at the end, the sparkling material of the leaf are spread around Sakura. As they are forming in the end, you can vaguely make it out but it appears to be Naruto holding out his hand to her. I will post an image of it when I can. Just some food for thought. This just further confirmed what just happened in the new manga chapter 297 regarding Sakura's feelings towards Naruto. She really is in love with Naruto, that's a given. Yet, I think that Naruto will not respond in the same way. I think that he cares about her only as a friend now. But boy do I hope they end up together, they're just meant to be with knowing each other and being together for so long. Mark my words, something will happen in the future where Sakura let's Naruto discover that she loves him and it will be in some life/death situation battle where Naruto goes all out for her or she might even save him.

Now, regarding another issue. I know that many of us are highly disappointed that we have not seen ANY of Naruto's new jutsu. However, it makes sense if u look at it in the long run. What's the point of showing us all his jutsu so early on, we'll just get accustomed to it like the Shadow Replication Technique. Instead, I believe that he will show off some of his moves when he takes the Chunnin exam and passes it in a breeze without becoming a fox.

Well, those are two things that I forsee happening in the near future.

[The Heretic Azazel]

It looks to me that Naruto's current priorities overshadow something silly in comparison like a Chuunin exam, and it also seems these priorities are going to occupy him for awhile.

[IFHTT]

Indeed. I think the priority of getting sasuke back is going to consume most of naruto's time and thought, He doesn't even seem to care about getting people to think better of him anymore, just getting sasuke back, and not necessarily just because of sakura either

[Assertn]

I think you guys are looking too much into it. She probably loves him like a brother

[dantheman62]

no dude she's got loves jones for the Uchiha cock

[The Heretic Azazel]

Originally posted by: AssertnFailure
I think you guys are looking too much into it. She probably loves him like a brother

Sakura, you must really................love him like a brother

Yeah right!

[Strike Freedom]

Ok, Ok, perhaps not like a brother, but what about a mother??? Eh? In all seriousness, Sakura will or does love Naruto as a woman. I mean, let's be honest with one another. Sakura has spent most of her time with Naruto. Naruto has slowly creeped his way into her heart without her knowing it, but she's let it happen. Naruto has just been himself. But Sakura never new that Naruto. She has seen his kind, caring, determined, ambitious, and all around character. The thing about her getting to know Naruto is that she was surprised to discover all these different facets of Naruto. Now, in a way, Sakura has slowly been swept off her feet by Naruto.

See, this is the difference with Sasuke. She had a crush on Sasuke, not true love as she believed. She never knew anything about Sasuke. Sasuke never opened up to her and finds her to be really annoying. I HIGHLY doubt that opinion of his will change, it would seem to corny for him to suddenly fall in love with her (out of character actually). Sakura had a puppy love for Sasuke, but that does not mean she does not care for him. I mean, she was on the same team with him for some time.

She still does not know that she truly loves Naruto and just cares about Sasuke's well being. She is starting to realize it more and more. I love the way Kishi has done this. It is a very real situation that happens a lot in life. Sakura has fallen in true love because with Naruto it is not just the physical attraction, it goes beyond that. She loves Naruto's character/personality.

[IFHTT]

Originally posted by: Strike Freedom
Ok, Ok, perhaps not like a brother, but what about a mother??? Eh? In all seriousness, Sakura will or does love Naruto as a woman. I mean, let's be honest with one another. Sakura has spent most of her time with Naruto. Naruto has slowly creeped his way into her heart without her knowing it, but she's let it happen. Naruto has just been himself. But Sakura never new that Naruto. She has seen his kind, caring, determined, ambitious, and all around character. The thing about her getting to know Naruto is that she was surprised to discover all these different facets of Naruto. Now, in a way, Sakura has slowly been swept off her feet by Naruto.

See, this is the difference with Sasuke. She had a crush on Sasuke, not true love as she believed. She never knew anything about Sasuke. Sasuke never opened up to her and finds her to be really annoying. I HIGHLY doubt that opinion of his will change, it would seem to corny for him to suddenly fall in love with her (out of character actually). Sakura had a puppy love for Sasuke, but that does not mean she does not care for him. I mean, she was on the same team with him for some time.

She still does not know that she truly loves Naruto and just cares about Sasuke's well being. She is starting to realize it more and more. I love the way Kishi has done this. It is a very real situation that happens a lot in life. Sakura has fallen in true love because with Naruto it is not just the physical attraction, it goes beyond that. She loves Naruto's character/personality.

While I'd like it to be this way, it seems to me that the case is more the fact that sakura is realizing how much naruto is putting himself through just for her and she realizes that for all that he does for her she never has the oppurtunity to return favors of equal magnitude. Not so much that she loves him, but that she cares for him like a brother thats always there for her.

[Strike Freedom]

While I'd like it to be this way, it seems to me that the case is more the fact that sakura is realizing how much naruto is putting himself through just for her and she realizes that for all that he does for her she never has the oppurtunity to return favors of equal magnitude. Not so much that she loves him, but that she cares for him like a brother thats always there for her.

Granted this is the obvious from the Manga in 297, but that is why Yamato says exactly what he does: "In reality, you...."

She feels like the way that you say she does. She says it. She thinks that it is only a caring feeling but that is why Yamato is trying to make her see that she actually loves him. I stress this again, just because she loves him does not mean they are going to hit the sack and get straight to baking a batch of kyubi babies. She may love him and never formalize a relationship with him.

I agree with your statement, but it is clear that Yamato was going to make Sakura realize her real feelings towards Naruto are more than just "brotherly" love

[Uchiha Barles]

Unless you're talking about romantic love, there really isn't much difference between "brotherly love" and the love you're mentioning. I love my brothers, and I'd die for them, but I wouldn't fuck them, not even to save their lives. See what I mean?

[Sariachan]

The premise of what I'm going to say are:
1) Sakura really loved (and maybe still loves) Sasuke, and that it wasn't a childish crush (Ino's was, you can see the difference by yourselves).
Instead, Sakura kept chasing Sasuke even while and after his betrayal, to the point to confess her love to him! If that was only a crush, then the only real pairing in Naruto is TsunadexDan... Even Sasuke himslef was a little less cold than usual at that point, and said thanks to Sakura, since he understood that she really loved him.
2) Naruto never really loved Sakura in a romantic way, and was attracted by her only because she was the first girl he could interact with and that caught his attention. Someone pointed out to me that Naruto, when was henged like Sasuke, talking with Sakura thought that he really liked her because she searched aknowledgment like him, but I think boys mature later than girls, and that that was a bit childish from Naruto's side... love is a bit more complex, isn't it?
If he really loved Sakura, he would have been, if not be less willing to take Sasuke's back for her, at least sadder, and shed a tear or two. Even more since we saw in plenty occasions that Naruto is really emotional. His reaction to Sakura embracing Sasuke in the hospital was sad, but his reaction a bit more fast for someone really loving someone else.
Who says that "true love is giving without asking nothing in return" is wrong imho, since that could only come from a grow up person with much more romantic experience than a 12-13 years old boy (I love Naruto, actually he's my favourite character, but that is expecting a bit too much, or to say it better, too early from him).
Of course, Naruto still really cares about Sakura, but he really cares about Sasuke and many other people as well.
3) I'm a great NaruHina fan. I think that, for their personalities and life experiences, they would be perfect together. I don't care about the fact that a relation between them seems strange at this point of the manga, since it isn't ended yet and many things can happen. Furthermore, they are still 15! How many people found the true love of their life at a such early age? Furthermore, Kishimoto left so many hints about NaruHina throughout the manga, that something more between them MUST happen.
Kishimoto left many NaruSaku hints too, but spending time on the development of the relationship between two main characters is quite normal, isn't it? But saying that because they are in the same team they can know each other so well to develop romantic feelings is too much... boring, too. NaruSaku is like falling in love with your childhood friend. Sometimes it happens, but usaully one searchs for people outside his/her family/close friends for the "other half"... that shows maturity too, since one can't live forever in the same place or with the same people, not for me, at least.


After these premises, I think Yamato was going to tell something like: "In reality, you already do a lot for Naruto only being beside him", nothing more.
I think Sakura's feelings for Naruto are ones of deep affection, but not romantic love. If you see Sakura's tastes, she always was more attracted by dark, calm and cool-looking guys, and Naruto is the completely opposite of that.
Think about when she saw Naruto the first time after the time skip, she said something like "he looks so cool/mature now" or something like that, then Naruto ruined her expections with his perverted jutsu! Sakura's herself said that his beahaviour shattered all the beautiful feelings she was having for him.

She can love some sides of Naruto's personality, that's true, but she still searchs for another type of boy for romanic love, in my opinion.
If not, why she was never attracted by Lee even if he was similar to Naruto sometimes, and he showed to care about her as much as Naruto, protecting her when he was around her?

If not Sasuke himself, I can only see Neji or even better Gaara (since imho he has the sides of Naruto's personality that Sakura loves, but in a cooler and less loud way) in a pairing involving Sakura (personality-wise, at least, plot-wise both Neji or Gaara hardly will become Sakura's boyfriend).

Sakura + Naruto is like having two loud and emotionals types together... a mess in my opinion. O__O
Romantic love is more about seeking what we lack, it's instinctive, but they shares a lot if you really see their personalities.
Instead, Hinata is still a caring person, like Sakura, but she is much more calm, she isn't the type to easily cry like Naruto or Sakura do. She is the type to soothe people with words, while Naruto usually run head on like a maelstrom into others' lives, and Sakura is like a double knife with even a malicious side when she talks (do you remember like she managed to punch Sai?).

I know a thare are people who thinks that Hinata, in a romantic pairing with Naruto, would be overshadowed by him. Actually, the word "hinata" means "illuminated"... foreshadowing by Kishimoto? Naruto isn't the type to overshadow people, he's the one ignored for most of the time, and he's the type to "give light" anyway.
Even in the scenario of Naruto becoming Holkage and Hinata becoming his wife, what is the problem?
She never expressed the desire to lead the Hyuuga family and she could do both of the things anyway.
Finally, I think there are two types of people: the ones who want/need the others to aknowledge them (like Naruto or Gaara), and the ones who only want to become a little stronger, but more to prove to themselves that they can if they really try, than to the others (like Hinata or Neji). Both these types of people can become interesting and great, in their own ways.
The moon isn't less beautiful than the sun. ;)



P.S. If it wasn't clear, I'm not bored with Naruto, not at all, or I wouldn't spend my time to write post like this one. :p

[Divinity]

I'm not sure about the tradition and culture in Japan, but I think Kishi went too far about showing love and affection between Sakura and Sasuke.

THEY ARE ONLY 12! They haven't even hit puberty yet.

[darkmetal505]

I'm not sure about the tradition and culture in Japan, but I think Kishi went too far about showing love and affection between Sakura and Sasuke.

THEY ARE ONLY 12! They haven't even hit puberty yet.

didnt you ever have a crush, and they are about 15 now. Its classic in japanese anime and manga.

however, I agree that it is a little awkward

[Divinity]

didnt you ever have a crush, and they are about 15 now. Its classic in japanese anime and manga.

however, I agree that it is a little awkward

Yeah, but what do 12 year olds know about love?

Anyways, yeah now they are 15 it's more believable.

[Terracosmo]

12 year olds know just about as much regarding love as Kishimoto cares about the age of his characters.

And by the way, Sariachan, your post scares me.

[Stoopider]

I thought 12 year olds are having sex already in Japan? Those craaazy Azianz

[Terracosmo]

HAY GUYZ isnt jpn that country wher mums giv their childs blowjobs wen they get good grades lol

[Death BOO Z]

Terra, those things happen everywhere, but newspapers tend to portray Japan as the 'weird child' of the world...

Sariachan, thumbs up on what you said, not straight to the point, more like shooting a plasma on a needle, a complete overkill on the subject.
Just allow me to put in my two cents on the NaruHina case before I set myself on bitching mode.

in addition to what you've said, there's also the point that Naruto strives to be accepted by becoming strong, and it seems that it is working for him, people depend and relate to him becuase he showed them that he is strong and succesful, but like any superhero (yes, I'm counting him as a superhero), that's just the case of the person being overshadowed by his altar ago, the only way that he gets to experince friendship and respect is when he does something right (AKA - beats the baddies), but what happens when he fails?

and this is Hinata comes in, she liked him even before he became all strong and powerful, she liked him simply for trying, and even when he failed and everyone didn't want anything to do with him, she still cheered him own. And that counts for alot.


now, Enter Bitching mode.

I've just read about 15 chapters of the manga in succession, and still, i'm not one bit excited, not about what happened, and not really about what's about to happen.
we've seen Sai switching sides once every three chapters, and we've seen Yamato showing yet another ridicoulos power and deciding on something completly useless again.
and then we see Kabuto playing the necromancer summoner, and Orochimaru showed us yet again that he's evil. Oh, and Sasuke wants to kill Itachi. suprise.

seriously, was there a point to anything that happened? did Sai really do anything meanningfull? is Roots a threat anymore? did they ever truely do anything? does anyone care?
and what's up with all these clones? - Kabuto slashed Yamato? don't worry, it's a puppet. Naruto bit Orochimaru's head off? it's ok, it was simply mud. Orochimaru killed Sai? save your breathe, it's only one of Kabuto dead bodies. Yamato fell into hell? cool your jets, it was only a stone clone. Am I the only one who thinks that Naruto is becoming the new 'Clone wars'?

and why even call it a ninja story? when was the last time we've seen tactic fights? half the fight is summoning/transforming into monsters, and the 2nd half is shooting elemental projectiles. oh. I'm sorry, I forgot the 'super speed' tactic. can't forget the super speed.


all in all, I'd much rather have a new Gun-gi chapter of HxH than a fighting chapter of Naruto.


heck, I'm out of my bitching shape, it's becuase of the army.
the army sucks.

[Stoopider]

The formula to what "Had" made Naruto great...

Is getting old. Kishi needs some new style ASAP.

[Konohamaru]

No way, the anime show fillers are what bore me and seeing last weeks one, now thats a FILLER of fillers. Pure Crap it was. I can't wait until the anime gets back on track. But no, I ain't bored of Naruto's manga, I like reading it and suprisingly no matter how boring it was, I still look forward to the next chapter.

[ChaosK]

and what's up with all these clones? - Kabuto slashed Yamato? don't worry, it's a puppet. Naruto bit Orochimaru's head off? it's ok, it was simply mud. Orochimaru killed Sai? save your breathe, it's only one of Kabuto dead bodies. Yamato fell into hell? cool your jets, it was only a stone clone. Am I the only one who thinks that Naruto is becoming the new 'Clone wars'?


Rofl. By the way Yamato has wood clones, not stone clones.

"Clone wars" very creative.:p

[Zidarri the Exile]

I'm not bored, really, I just think this chasing after Orochimaru and Sasuke arc is getting way to old.

It started what, 80 chapters back?

They either have to;

A) Finish it, get Sasuke back or kill him.
B) Finish it, kill Orochimaru, ending Sasukes training.
C) Move on for now, and come back to it later.

Otherwise, it will start losing my attention, and probably many others.

Now, thay have about 6 months before Orochimaru will take Sasuke's body.

If they can end within the next 10 chapters, it will be okay, I think. But not another 20+.