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elementalheroOkay, so I've been catching up to Naruto by reading the scanlations.
.......Remind me I said this tomorrow. I may not believe you otherwise.
I just read all the way from the Tsunade arc up to Sasuke leaving.
I cried.
I never thought I'd actually think these words, much less admit to them, but in terms of character development, I think Naruto actually beats out Bleach. See, in Bleach, the characters kind of come pre-developed. We don't get to actually witness them grow; we just come in in the middle, are tricked into making an erroneous assumption about their character, and are then proven wrong with dialogue and flashbacks. I think the only actual series-long consistent character development we've seen in Bleach is Orihime, Renji, and Ichigo. And those are small, baby steps. Whereas in Naruto, we come in, get glimpses of their characters, eventually have a general picture of what they're like, and then we get to see them change their viewpoints on things and actually learn and grow. I mean, look at Shikamaru! (My favorite character.) LOOK AT SHIKAMARU, BITCHES.NO, I DON'T MEAN AT HIS HOT COLLARBONES AND SMEXY BOOTY.
And, I mean, come on! That scene in the Valley of the End, when Naruto admits to Sasuke that he sees him as a brother that he never had, just made me weep. Streaming tears, the whole she-bang. And...I'm still a fan of Sasuke. Yes, I know he's completely socially stunted. Yes, I know he's a complete bastard because of it. Yes, I know he's being an arrogant moron. And yet....I can't not love him for it. When he flashed back to his relationship with Itachi, I just bled for him and swore at his stupidity all at the same time. You know what? I'm glad he's flawed. I'm glad he's irreparably broken. Because it's tragic. It's tragic, dammit. There's always the stock angsty, sensitive character whose antisocialness and tragic past cause him/her to go off and ally him/herself with darkness, only to realize his/her mistake and return to the light, stronger for it, complete with melodramatic prose and dialogue.
Sasuke is not that character.
Sasuke can never go back to who he was. Ever. He irreparably, irrevocably changed his destiny when he chose the path of vengeance over his loved ones. Maybe he's so scarred that he doesn't even know how to love anymore. And as much as shounen will always make sure his archetype gets redeemed, I'm secretly hoping he doesn't, just to see where his character goes.
[Beware this paragraph if you're a really good guesser] Before I really started to care, I went ahead and spoiled myself past chapter 400. Now I regret it and am glad for it at the same time, as it's allowing me to see a lot of things in the flashbacks and the dialogue that I wouldn't have. But the part I love is that I can see how it's so futile, so utterly, traitorously meaningless and empty. A lot of people think that what Kishimoto did was hackneyed and stupid and pointless, and it ruins a perfectly good character, but I love it. Because, if you think about it, it's so cruel. So utterly sadistic. Now he can't go back, and for what? All that drive, wasted. I LOVE IT. Plus, it adds about nine layers to a character who was otherwise somewhat two-dimensional. I'm trying to be vague and failing. Steering this thread elsewhere! [You can look now.]
Basically, I'm saying that the actual narrative depth in Naruto is often overlooked. Just because the fight scenes are long and ridiculous... (Unfortunately, the animation in Naruto beats Bleach as well.BUT BLEACH CAN MAKE ME LULZ.) If you can withstand the testosterone, you'll get a good story out of it.
I cried.
I never thought I'd actually think these words, much less admit to them, but in terms of character development, I think Naruto actually beats out Bleach. See, in Bleach, the characters kind of come pre-developed. We don't get to actually witness them grow; we just come in in the middle, are tricked into making an erroneous assumption about their character, and are then proven wrong with dialogue and flashbacks. I think the only actual series-long consistent character development we've seen in Bleach is Orihime, Renji, and Ichigo. And those are small, baby steps. Whereas in Naruto, we come in, get glimpses of their characters, eventually have a general picture of what they're like, and then we get to see them change their viewpoints on things and actually learn and grow. I mean, look at Shikamaru! (My favorite character.) LOOK AT SHIKAMARU, BITCHES.
Sasuke is not that character.
Sasuke can never go back to who he was. Ever. He irreparably, irrevocably changed his destiny when he chose the path of vengeance over his loved ones. Maybe he's so scarred that he doesn't even know how to love anymore. And as much as shounen will always make sure his archetype gets redeemed, I'm secretly hoping he doesn't, just to see where his character goes.
[Beware this paragraph if you're a really good guesser] Before I really started to care, I went ahead and spoiled myself past chapter 400. Now I regret it and am glad for it at the same time, as it's allowing me to see a lot of things in the flashbacks and the dialogue that I wouldn't have. But the part I love is that I can see how it's so futile, so utterly, traitorously meaningless and empty. A lot of people think that what Kishimoto did was hackneyed and stupid and pointless, and it ruins a perfectly good character, but I love it. Because, if you think about it, it's so cruel. So utterly sadistic. Now he can't go back, and for what? All that drive, wasted. I LOVE IT. Plus, it adds about nine layers to a character who was otherwise somewhat two-dimensional. I'm trying to be vague and failing. Steering this thread elsewhere! [You can look now.]
Basically, I'm saying that the actual narrative depth in Naruto is often overlooked. Just because the fight scenes are long and ridiculous... (Unfortunately, the animation in Naruto beats Bleach as well.
.......Remind me I said this tomorrow. I may not believe you otherwise.
