eh.. not sure how thrilled i am at the idea of 7 new kids with demons in them. unfortunately, kishi has big probs using his limited 19 pages per week wisely. as much i love to see naruto, kakashi and sakura leave the leaf to travel into the woods, i feel like it's a scene that's been done time and time again and having some odd 4 pages (~25%) of a weeks manga devoted to it.. *snoooooooore*. in my opinion, if the series is going to take a more adult turn with the more adult characters, there needs to be a little more development and explanation going on. as it sounds now, the series continues to be one continual tease with (usually) disappointing results. i hate to say it, but i can almost FEEL that naruto's new jutsu is going to be hinted at for weeks and weeks before it's revealed to be some sort of brainless power-increase attack.

ah naruto.. what happened to the creativity you used to exhibit in battle scenes and dialogue.. (naruto hiding under the shuriken in the wave country arc? i haven't seen a character turn into something besides a clone of themselves in forever)