Naruto Chapter 571 – Bijuu Mode! Review / Thoughts

After the disappointing chapter last week, I was fearing the worst for this one since I knew yet again it would be focusing almost entirely on Naruto. Thankfully though, my fears were misplaced as this week proved that even chapters just about Naruto can turn out great.

 

As you can tell from both the title and the picture, in the latest chapter we see Naruto enter Bijuu mode for the first time. I was looking forward to seeing how Naruto would use the power given to him by Kurama, and this week we were able to see for ourselves. I for one feel that Naruto’s new look is badass and awesome. He bears quite a resemblance to Rikudou Sennin in this form, which again hints at the fact he is indeed the child of prophecy. But back to the chapter itself, at the time of Naruto first activating this new mode, both Kakashi and Guy were in serious trouble against the other tailed beasts. Guy was going to open the 8 inner gates which would have killed him, and Kakashi was going to try a massive Kamui to warp them all away (which would have probably exhausted all of his Chakra and resulted in his death too).

Luckily for them, a new powered up Naruto appeared like a flash and deflected the other Bijuu’s multiple Bijuu Dama attack that was aimed right for Guy and Kakashi. Where it happened so fast, both Kakashi and Guy were caught off guard, with Kakashi momentarily wondering if the blinding flash that had just saved their lives was his old sensei (and Naruto’s father) – “The Yellow Flash”  Minato Namikaze.  Obviously they were both left surprised when they realised that it was in fact Naruto in his new form, who then proceeded to sense out the location of the chakra rods embedded in to the Jinchuriki so that they can be removed.

Kurama did warn Naruto that he only had 5 minutes worth of time in the new mode since it’s the first time he has ever used it, but Naruto wasn’t worried and claimed he could have things done by then anyway. Perhaps most interesting is that this new development never even phazed Tobi, who in fact thought to himself that now he could kill both Bee and Naruto if he wanted to, though of course doing so was out of the question.

 

So this chapter was just to show off Naruto’s new form and him working together with Kurama at long last, and what I was worried about being a poor chapter instead turned out to be very enjoyable. How much you enjoy it will depend on how impressed you are with the new form, as there is little else to speak of for this week, but most people will probably be glad to see just how Naruto is using this new powerup.

Naruto Chapter 570 – Kurama – Review / Thoughts

So, another week brings another chapter of Naruto, but after the disappointment of last week, did this chapter make up for it? Not really.

Of course for those following the current predicament of Naruto and Bee’s battle with the other tailed beasts and Tobi, last week was annoying for the fact that after being made to wait for ages to see some progress in that battle made, instead it was filled with flashbacks. Really what this chapter is should have been the one put out last week while the other was scrapped, as this does continue more on with actual plot relevance.  This chapter did have some flashbacks again, though thankfully they were far fewer than the previous chapter and weren’t used as a cheap trick to pad out a huge portion of the chapter.

Anyway, less about that and more on the content of this actual chapter. It starts off as expected with Naruto removing the black rod from the Yonbi, who still isn’t all too trusting of Naruto’s claims about wanting to help. Also, since Naruto exhausted most of his Chakra during the fight he is pretty much at Tobi’s mercy one on one (though of course with Bee, Kakashi and Guy around that’s not the case).  Despite this, Naruto keeps his typical never say die attitude up as the Kyuubi (Or Kurama as he is now known) continued to watch and listen to his actions. Things were beginning to look even worse when Tobi (Finally) summoned the Gezo Mado statue proclaiming that he has no intentions of going easy on them, and that they still have two things that belong to him. Of course ir’s not that simple, and the chapter ended with Naruto and Kurama agreeing to work together fully as a team for the first time, with Naruto telling Kurama that he is no longer a demon fox, but instead someone he considers to be a fellow Konoha comrade.

 

Ok then, let that sink in for a moment – the Kyuubi, supposedly pretty much the embodiment of hatred made possible by the massive Chakra it carries, a creature who for as long as the world has existed wreaked terrible chaos across nations – and now he willingly agrees to help a 15-16 year old teenager……yeah.

We all knew it was going to happen sooner or later, and there is a part of me excited by the prospect of them working together just to see how insane a power up it is and how Naruto will use it. (though this being Naruto, probably more shadow clones and Rasengan variants). However, as someone who liked the Kyuubi for what it was – a badass demon who only cared for itself and was immune to TnJ – this new side of it disappoints and annoys me. I always knew Naruto would find a way of doing it, that much was obvious, but it still doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. Most likely now Naruto and Bee are going to just smash through the other tailed beasts with no problems, and that again is going to be annoying (and also predictable).

Even going away from that annoyance, the whole chapter suffered from the same flaw – horribly predictable outcomes. Naruto was always going to tame the Kyuubi and free Yonbi from the chakra rod, and where it added nothing else noteworthy it almost seemed like a waste of time. Tobi summoning Gedo Mazo was the only part I enjoyed / was worth reading, and that hardly even got to do anything in this chapter (besides the fact of course Tobi was a moron for not just summoning the statue right at the start).

 

So yes, overall an average at best chapter. Some annoyances (however inevitable) that only serve to better set up the next chapter. I think next week will be better since it will be more about the battle again hopefully instead of more TnJ by Naruto which is an instant improvement, and maybe even Tobi will actually be allowed to do something for once too.

 

Naruto Chapter 567 – The Jinchuriki of Konoha Review / Thoughts

Last week we were given a brilliant end to the chapter that promised us an awful lot, and although not perfect (but then again when is anything perfect?) I feel the latest chapter did not disappoint.

As you can see from that lovely picture above, Sasuke was in this chapter, albeit only briefly. That said, I was just glad to see him again and also that he was what the chapter started with so recieved the colour page treatment.

Anyway, aside from Sasuke, we go back to Tobi and his Edo Jinchuriki vs Naruto, Bee, Kakashi and Guy. One of the things that disappointed me slightly with this chapter is that instead of facing Tobi, Guy and Kakashi instead only helped fight the Jinchuriki. While normally this wouldn’t be a bad thing, I can’t help but think it’s a waste of Tobi who for the most part stands still and doesn’t get involved. It was interesting to see one of the tailed beasts turn against Tobi, though he could easily stop it and not recieve any damage, with the Tailed Beasts apparently disliking the fact one of their own kind were suffering, at least that’s what the 8 tails claimed.

While it was nice enough seeing Bee, Naruto, Guy and Kakashi against the Jinchuriki, I was ideally hoping to see Tobi fight properly for the first time in his current form. However, with Sasuke’s appearance and Tobi’s lack of action, it does make me think that my earlier prediction in my last post about Sasuke soon facing Tobi will be correct, and that in itself will be fantastic. Don’t get me wrong though, while it’s true most of this post has been pointing out the negatives, there were also positives too and the Jinchuriki fights were good in their own right, I guess I was just expecting a different kind of chapter than what Kishi had in mind.

Overall it was a fine chapter packed with action, and the end was done nicely in that it hints we may see either the Kyuubi cooperating fully with Naruto at last, or else we will finally find out what “that” jutsu is referring to.