*dead* members

[Himura_san]

I am convinced that Chouji is did unless the butterfly analogy was meaningless.
I mean you see him drop and a butterfly rise? Is'nt this a death symbology in Japanese or
am I clueless here?

[PSJ]

ye but wasnt a bird flying when neji dropped to the ground? since birds are a symbol for freedaom apperantly wouldnt he also be dead since a branch house hyuga only gets free when he dies.

[Sidnne]

Neji didn't die. His seal was still on his forehead. That seal can only be taken out, by death. That means Neji is still alive.

This seems to be stated alot here about the seal still being on Neji's forehead. But going back to the manga, the seal was on his forehead while he was still standing. The last we saw of him was when he fell to the ground and the bird's feather landed in his hand. However, he fell face down so after he fell we didn't see his face or his forehead. There is no way for us to know if the seal was still on his head or not.
I am inclined to agree with Pervert-sennin about the bird symbolizing the freedom from the seal through death.

I like Neji and would like to see him live. But at the same time, it would be rather rediculous if he did live after the wounds he had sustained. It would be another typical "good-guys don't die" type of thing, which has been done to death. One of the things that I love about the Naruto series is that they do develope characters and then kill them off. It keeps the story fresh and always interesting.

I couldn't care less about Chouji though.

[Knives122]

But to kill a character like that who has a really deep and sad story in the series would be like firing a really good player on a B-Ball/Football team, and then it would suck, and he made a promise to himself that he wouldnt die, in situations like that, pure determination and will can overcome injury(We've seen this in a bunch of animes:Flame of Recca, DBZ, you name it, its happened in it) and just because a feather fell doesnt mean hes dead, it can also mean that the person has been reborn. Thats my defense on why Neji didnt die.

not doing chouji

[Sidnne]

(We've seen this in a bunch of animes:Flame of Recca, DBZ, you name it, its happened in it)

Thats one reason why I don't want to see him live, because we have seen it too much.

But I do agree with you that Neji does have a deep story that he adds and it would be a sad loss to the series.
However, perhaps Kishimoto wasn't able to come up with a direction for the Hyuuga angle or figured that he had too many storylines involved and decided to scrap it by killing off Neji. Or another twist could be that the news of Neji's death finally induces Hinata to step up and realize her full potential and become the true heir to the Hyuuga Clan.

[Himura_san]

Originally posted by: Knives122
But to kill a character like that who has a really deep and sad story in the series would be like firing a really good player on a B-Ball/Football team, and then it would suck, and he made a promise to himself that he wouldnt die, in situations like that, pure determination and will can overcome injury(We've seen this in a bunch of animes:Flame of Recca, DBZ, you name it, its happened in it) and just because a feather fell doesnt mean hes dead, it can also mean that the person has been reborn. Thats my defense on why Neji didnt die.

not doing chouji

Deep and sad story??

I guess we all forgot about Haku, he had a very deep background and when he died alot of people were sad, but that is what makes Naruto the story that it is.
Zaku was another character that had a sad past until Oro helped him out, in fact we barely got into his early years, of course we all know what happened to him in the end.
Kishimoto has a great ability of creating and destroying great characters. It would not surprise if either or both of those guys are dead. I do not mind a character dying b/c it keeps the story more interesting and you start to care for the characters alot more.

[Terracosmo]

I don't think his ability to build and destroy great characters is that good. If you want a series where such an ability exists, check out JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. When it comes to Zaku, he had no real past at all. The past he was given was "filler" (though I guess you can see it as a final cut) and it does not differ much from anyone else's. I'll admit he's definately the deepest and best sound ninja so far but still he was not that major of a character and I doubt all that many went "WHOA SHIT" after his defeat. Haku was the same, sad past (and a name that rhymes with Zaku, hehu!) but comparing to Neji at this point is a bit unfair since Neji is an established character which has been a part of the story for 20 volumes and counting. Haku's purpose was to teach Naruto and the at that point more inexperienced ninja squad how cruel life can be and et cetera. I hope you see my point.

[Snidely]

Originally posted by: Moriarte
Chouji is (was) Shikamoru's(sp?) best friend. For Chouji to die on Shika's first mission as a Chuunin, while Chouji giving his life for his comrades so that they could rescue a turned Sasuke would create a LOT of animosity and anger within Shika towards Sasuke. This could easily lead into a confrontation between the two...(snip)

I can't see Chouji's death affecting Shika like that. Shika just isn't geared that way, the guy's obviously never thrown a tantrum in his life (too tiresome (: ). The most extreme reaction he'd show to Sasuke is probably spite, but not anger.

As for whether Neji lives...I guess it depends whether the author wants to go into his storyline any more. If he lives, it'll probably have to be brought up again, and that might slow down the story too much.

I like both Chouji and Neji as characters, and will be sad to see them go, but I won't be annoyed if they don't survive.

[syllaw]

cant orochi bring back the dead? im not really worried about the leafs.. im sure the 5th will come and save them, or some other incredible to believe act may happen... im more interested in orochi's sasuke recovering team heh heh... sure they lost to a bunch of rookies (even if the leafs fought to the death) with the level 2 seals on.. now sasuke could have beaten all of those kids from the leaf himself all throughout his life, now he has the level2 himself... he should realize that the power boost doesnt do much for the user... in other words sasuke is an idiot

~GS

[Assertn]

dont forget that apprentice of tsunade's (shizune, was it?) was nearby....it could be VERY likely that she came across chouji and/or neji

[Death BOO Z]

Originally posted by: AssertnFailure
dont forget that apprentice of tsunade's (shizune, was it?) was nearby....it could be VERY likely that she came across chouji and/or neji

That SO didn't happen...
why the hell would she go chasing the sound nins if she has two critically injured perssonal in her crew? you're forgetting that they fought before the leaf genins, so they're closer to the village, meanning they won't just run into chouji or neji, unless they activily go search for him, which would be stupid of them to do, since they needed to get those two medical treatment..

I'm not saying that it's immpossible that she was sent after she got to the village, but it would be quite far fetched to believe so, since Tsunde didn't want to send a jounin team to help, and i don't think they had that much time to do everything while the time in the fight area's seems to slow down...

anyway, i think that Chouji should defintaly kick the bucket (no Sasuke pun intended, even though they should have kicked the damn bucket), becuase he said taking the red pill would kill him, and if he surives, it would be a real let down... I also want Kiba to die, and i think that he should have, but apparntly that won't happen (unless Kankaru gets mad on him).... and about Neji? i really think he should live on, he gave off a good fight and deserves to live, and besides, he said that he'll live, so who am I to call otherwise...


one last thing, does anyone else think that it's weird how people who perform the suicide jutsu have a higher chance of survival than their targets?

[jing]

i say Neji lives, but becomes crippled as rock lee. and its rock lee's turn to shine!! but chouji dies. but cuz of this shikamaru goes crazy and becomes a powerfull mofo.

[Assertn]

even if she did go straight back to konoha after raido and genma were beaten up, we didnt see her in the hospital with them, so it couldve been very possible that tsunade told her to go check up on the genins that she sent out to get sasuke

[Nara Tonymaru]

It is possible that Shizune could've been sent out to help the genins yes, but I'm sure Chouji is dead, well, that's actually more like hope, not because I dislike him, but if Chouji were bought back at this point, it would cheapen what he did in his fight with Jiroubu, before that, Chouji has done nothing but eat and lose, so if he has to go out, it should be the way he did, with a bang, and gaining the respect of every reader in the process. As for Neji, there's still a chance for him, I would like to see more of him, it would suck if he died after becoming a err... a... a Un-prick?

[Knives122]

that was pretty hot what Chouji did though with the wings of chakra and transfering it to his hand and punching the hell out of that retarted guy

[Nara Tonymaru]

Hell yeah, and he looked pretty cool all slim like that, if he dies, I wonder how his dad will take it, nothin' worse than watching your kids die... I'M NOT CRYING!! SHUT UP!!

[Mut]

chouji's fight was so gay. coolest fights so far: neji vs kidoumaru and kimimaro vs gaara.

[Shin_Naruto]

Neji vs Kimimaro would have been awesome.

Both are Taijutsu so it would be an awesome close fight. Kimimaro is as fast as Rock Lee so we coulda seen Neji go all out. Neji might of been able to hit the Tenketsu' on Kimimaro even with the 'bone armor'.


That woulda been a great fight =)

[Assertn]

i dunno.....if neji couldnt hit through kidoumaru's web armor stuff, then i dont think he could through kimimaro's bone armor....its best not to get too close to kimimaro, he could skewer neji before he even get close enough to hit a tenketsu

[Mut]

personally i think neji is better than lee. but i don't think neji would've stood any better chance against kimimaro. and also, just like what assertn said... if neji couldn't get through kidoumaru's web armor, i don't think neji will have any effect on kimimaro's bone armor either.