The tide of battle ebbs and flows and the fragile difference between survival and defeat my rest upon luck as well as individuals throwing off their self imposed limitations and finding their true inner strength.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Translation/Adaptation: Mari Morimoto
What They Say
Naruto and the Allied Shinobi Forces battle Kabuto’s hordes of reanimated ninja soldiers. In the process, they come face-to-face with old friends brought back from the dead… plus enemies and weapons more fearsome than any they could have imagined!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The fourth shinobi war is in full swing as the Zetsu clones clash with the ranks of shinobi that have been assembled from all of the villages. Adding to the clone army’s strength are the resurrected legends that are being used by Kabuto to supplement the Akatsuki’s divisions’ fighting prowess. With the battles raging the commanders of each of the shinobi division will find their mettle put to the test as they will have to face off against insanely powerful reanimated fighters as their troops battle the Zetsu clones. In some cases the leaders may find that they find themselves opposite some fighters whose emotional attachments that were left behind may substitute for shear strength and which makes them even more dangerous a matchup.
In the midst of this conflict the early chapters of the story focus on Darui as his squad confronts a pair of monstrously strong brothers (Kinkaku and Ginkaku) who were powerful enough to challenge both the Second Raikage and Second Hokage- and they nearly killed the Second Hokage in the process. As Darui faces the pair along with his teammates Samui and Atsui they attempt to use the knowledge of the two reanimated fighters and the five treasure tools they posses which has been handed down since the brother’s original defeat to gain the upper hand.
Unfortunately for the group the brothers are masters of shinobi arts which include both jutsu as well as possessing more cunning knowledge of how to maneuver their opponents into their trap through cunning. The two brothers use the fact that the knowledge that has been passed down about them and their tools isn’t complete in its scope to their advantage. When some members of Darui’s team start to fall will the survivors be able to stand against the pair when the secret to the brother’s seemingly unlimited chakra is revealed?
While that battle is playing out there are other conflicts that are flaring up and the elder council that is striving to keep abreast of events and manage it accordingly in their command headquarters is discovering once again that the age old military axiom that “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy” applies here as well. As they attempt to scramble to move their forces into place to deal with the Akatsuki’s maneuvers, the appearance of some unforeseen formidable opponents may lead to the leaders having to break from the council and head to the battle ground themselves if there is any hope of victory.
But even these events pale in light compared to what will be the feature bout of this particular volume for fans of the franchise. Kishimoto telegraphed a couple volumes earlier that he was going to play up the painful consequences of what happens when the dead fight the living they left behind and now the time has come. Shikimaru and his teammates arrive on the field in time to confront their now no longer fallen leader Asuma at the same time that Mifune encounters an old opponent which creates a rich and varied tapestry of responses from the various figures to these people from their past. During these battles emotions will get strained to their limits as the fighters will rely equally on fighting ability and psyche as the resolve of the combatants is pushed to- and sometimes beyond- what some individuals believe to be their limits. When seemingly outmatched will the result end in death for those opposing the Akatsuki or is it possible for adversity to be the ultimate anvil on which warriors will be honed?
The continuation of the fourth shinobi war heats up and brings in some rather strong elements to play as characters that the fans of the franchise have grow to be at the very least familiar with face off against some seemingly impossible to beat figures- or worse some of the individuals they just can’t bring themselves to defeat. For this collection of chapters Kishimoto really brings in the action to play as he utilizes some of the quirks and shortcomings he has built into his characters in a rather interesting way that their adversaries look to exploit. To add to this Kishimoto not only uses some incredible fighting illustrations but he also pulls in both some really interesting intellectual solutions to the dilemmas at hand while he pulls at the emotion strings he spent so much time creating between his characters. To top it off, Kishimoto spends most of his time with the combatants as he sets them up and it appears he finally is comfortable enough with this setup to sideline his titular protagonist for most of the volume while he lets the events carry themselves with these other characters.
It isn’t all gravy in this volume though as the flaws that were present in the previous volume still manage to seep through here to some extent along with a new one. Initially the newest flaw that is present is found in Kishimoto’s use of some new antagonists that are pretty much out of the blue- a problem which Kishimoto attempts to salvage by basing them off characters from Journey to the West and who have been adapted into so many anime stories over the years that even those not familiar with the original story will find that they get a déjà vu feeling from and which papers over the flaw a little.
In some ways this is kind of a plus/minus situation but their introduction and back story have elements that feel like they were just introduced for other reasons to play out down the road and so their impact is lessened, though they do bring with them a rather ominous level of danger. Along with the down the road idea of their introduction, there are a number of pages that look like they are foreshadowing the upcoming events but which aren’t terribly cohesive in their own right nor do they really come across as anything much greater than a quick (and somewhat blatant) plot element drop for the future when they appear here.
The biggest complaint I have here though is in what feels like the main event of the book as Asuma and his former students face off. What should have been one of those situations which left the audience feeling overwhelmed by the emotional impact feels truncated as the battle is far too brief for the characters to fully have the chance to express themselves. While reading through this part of the arc it felt like a decision had been made as to what was going to happen in the future and so much of the story revolved around one particular member of the group when it feels like there was so much room to explore beyond that one member in particular and briefly giving some others minor reaction moments.
In Summary
The action and emotional aspects of the story arc remain high as the focus of the story zooms in on some other characters who have been previously introduced to the reader throughout the series run and who are now facing incredible odds. While it feels like some of the events are somewhat shorted in their duration and depth in order to move the story along there is something to be said for not finishing everything on the table as opposed to being in a position where there wasn’t enough there to begin with. The current volume brings brand new perils to familiar faces and it comes off rather well as a whole, if slightly unpolished in some areas. Still, a flawed or unpolished gem is still a gem and Kishimoto is showing off his masterpiece in a rather spectacular way in the current arc and this is a collection of encounters that really steps forward in bringing in both heart and action in abundance.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: Digital Review
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
MSRP: $9.99
