
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Naruto is one of the more popular manga series over here in the Western world. And I’m sad to say that after running for nearly 15 years, the story seems to be drawing to a close. The main villain has been defeated and as far as I can tell…that’s it folks. And I can’t help but feel severely under whelmed.
I’ve been following Naruto for about six years now, so it’s safe to say that I’ve become extremely attached to this blonde ninja with whiskers with a penchant for wearing bright orange clothes. I’ve become attached to all the characters actually, even the one’s I hate *glares at Sasuke*, so I always knew that when the manga finally came to a close I would feel kind of upset. But I expected it to be a satisfied sort of feeling of sadness. I expected to close the final volume of the manga with a teary smile, knowing that the characters I had come to love had gotten the story they deserved. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be what’s happening as of lately.

All those predictions have been flushed down the toilet, to put it politely.
Characters that have formerly been labeled as pretty much the root of all evil (cough, cough Orochimaru you fiend) have suddenly sashayed over to the protagonist’s side with no convincing reasoning as to why exactly they’ve made this transition apart from, “well I felt like it”.
Now, I’m a proud Sasuke hater. I’ve been a Sasuke hater ever since the little twerp called Sakura useless and left Konoha. If you ask me about every manga character in the history of every manga ever, Sasuke Uchiha will be top of the “Characters I Hate With Every Fiber of My Being” list. So yes, I will admit that I may be a tiny bit bias with my treatment of Sasuke here. but, (a very big but), I cannot be the only one who thinks the little traitor has gotten off lightly?
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Sasuke even happily proclaimed “I’m going to be Hokage” not too long ago. Instead of his words being met with scoffs of derision, like my own, his former companions just laughed it off and some even appeared to seriously consider his outburst. As if this character hadn’t tried to kill them several times in the past. Hello? Guys? Didn’t Danzo teach you anything about criminal Hokages?

The latest chapter saw Naruto finally beating that pesky Obito. If you were expecting a huge battle that showcased Naruto’s god like ninja skills, you will be sorely disappointed. There’s a bit of fighting. Naruto and Sasuke pair up, often aided by Minato, and do admittedly kick some ass. But there’s a lot of talking. The talking often overshadows the actual badass fighting, leaving you feeling like nothing is actually happening. All in all, Obito isn’t beaten by a Rasengan or Chidori or any other kind of overpowered jutsu. Unless Lecture-no-Jutsu exists and I’ve somehow overlooked it.
Having said that, there are aspects of this final arc that have been magnificent. I’m talking specifically about Gaara’s emotional battle with his father, or Sakura actually getting to fight with Naruto and Sasuke and not be portrayed as weaker than them. The look of awe and admiration on both Naruto and Sasuke’s faces after she pulls off a particularly badass move made me smile for ages - even though it was short lived. This is arc did a fabulous job of letting characters shine that otherwise wouldn’t get the chance. I loved seeing Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji battling Asuma, it was emotional and compelling and didn’t feel like a total cop out when the battle ended.
Unfortunately, the good moments are heavily overshadowed by the not so good moments. The final arc of such a popular manga should be nothing short of brilliant. Especially when it’s coming after arc after arc of utter awesomeness.
However, there’s still some hope; in the next few chapters both Sasuke and Orochimaru could yell “bwahahaha this was part of our evil plan all along!” and I can get my brutal battle to the death. If following Naruto for years has taught me anything, it’s that it’s one hell of an unpredictable manga.
Fingers crossed.