Machinations are the entrée of this meal but there is a chance for some forgiveness on the side which may be more filling.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Translation/Adaptation: Mari Morimoto/Joel Enos
What They Say
Kabuto’s hold over his army of undead minions tightens as he senses that he’s losing power over the stronger members of his Immortal Corps, including Nagato Pain. Sasuke’s brother, Itachi, may have the best chance of breaking Kabuto’s hold, but he’s still not completely in control of his actions, which means Naruto may have to take him down once and for all.
Content: (please note that content portions of review may contain spoilers):
The chess match that lies behind the fourth great shinobi war comes to a head when Tobi’s plan to force Naruto out into the open is reveled as Naruto alone possesses the skills necessary to be able to discern the traitors that Tobi has successfully managed to implant into the combined shinobi forces. Of course there is a world of difference between getting the ninja onto the field and capturing him as Naruto uses the abilities he has gained to cut through many of the pretenders with astonishing ease which might have Tobi regretting his tactic (though the orange clad ninja had already managed to burst onto the scene before anyone figured out only he could see them making the machination a bit of a unnecessary exertion in retrospect).
As Naruto is rushing onto the field and sending out shadow clones to various locations to take care of the pretenders in the army’s midst, Gara has his own fight to win as he comes up against one of the previous holders of the title of Kazekage whose power over Gara is incredible and lifelong- Gara’s father. The confrontation may not exactly go the way that the Akatsuki may like though as that power that Gara’s father holds may turn out to be more beneficial than harmful for the young leader as his surprise at his son’s current status may lead him healing some of the wounds Gara has carried for much of his life.
Meanwhile on another battlefield plans are unraveling for the Akatsuki as Naruto and Master Bee encounter Itachi and Nagato which creates an opening for Kabuto to exercise a hidden plan to seize control of the reanimated fighters and make off with the last two possessors of tailed beasts that are needed to cement the Akatsuki’s plans putting him in the driver’s seat. Kabuto finds himself in for a surprise though as Itachi had laid plans of his own when he last encountered Naruto, plans which may allow him to break Kabuto’s power and act for his own purposes once again. With so many fighters on the field and so many different long term plans coming to fruition is the impetuous Naruto going to find himself surrounded or will it turn out that he and his friend’s flexibility hold the keys to unraveling many of these challenges?
Series that fall under the general classification of “shonen” tend to find that they have some built in expectations as very often they are expected to have some rather large- perhaps grandiose at times- drama elements as the characters attempt to go about their lives, very often through fights that are meant to stand in as a manly display of emotions where fists convey emotions and words unsaid in a much more (from a genre point of view) manly and honest way than if conveyed through conversation. This can be a burden for a title though as expectations can be set by the audience as to what they want and it can also be used as a crutch by a creator to cover for elements they either aren’t terribly skilled at writing or to sneak in things they think the audience might otherwise reject but as long as there is action involved it seems to make the message more palatable, and in no small measure Naruto has used this to effect in the past as well.
Recently though there has been a change in the presentation as there has been less use of communicating through fists that was part and parcel of the early volumes of the series as the characters seemed to have reached a point where talking actually takes the place of fighting for large portions of the book (not that the fighting vanishes though) when the characters clash. It is in these moments that the title seems to really be working to build itself up to something larger than just a stereotype of the genre as the volume presents some very long held grudges and grievances as it offers the chance for redemption and the series characters to come to terms with some of their struggles. Of course this isn’t entirely perfect as the set ups at times feel a bit forced as well as truncated at times and the confrontations often have melodrama flowing from them like alcohol at an open bar, but even when the boarder on their most manipulative or cheesy moments there is a heart to them that is all but impossible to not get a warm fuzzy feeling from.
Oddly the points where the volume fall flat are in some of the other staples of shonen series as the fights here can have panels where the action becomes muddled and hard to follow but worse may be the fact that in always trying to come up with some new and more impressive series of attacks to draw the reader in some of the action is starting to approach a point where, even for a series where people split themselves into doppelgangers, walk on water and fight giant animals of immense powers, things are pushing credibility and the ability to relate to what is happening too far. One of the vital areas when it comes to storytelling is to create a sense of danger for the characters where a slip up means severe injury or death but the constant escalation of powers is placing that sense farther and farther out of reach which can serve to seriously undercut the drama at key moments as it becomes more and more difficult to tell just what is a real danger and what will be negated easily by the use of some other hereto unforeseen application of a character’s power.
In addition to this problem which has been building steadily for some time the volume throws out a number of character’s various machinations and counter plans which seriously disrupts the ability for the tension to get a chance to grow and makes one feel like they are sitting in some sort of almost silly theoretical debate that has no consequences or grounding in reality (or what passes for it in the series structure anyway) rather than an sort of life or death struggle for the characters. Despite this the characters and their pathos carry the day but one can’t help but wonder if maybe author Kishimoto has reached a point with writing his story where his destination for the characters and their plights is no longer served by the initial set up of the manga and now there is a war going on with the material itself to vie for prominence rather than working together to pull off the greatest impact possible.
In Summary
With the army of the dead on a role a number of characters will find themselves confronting faces from the past and having to deal not only with the abilities the fallen bring with them but the emotional baggage that is carried along as well. Unfortunately though for the Akatsuki their less that iron hold on their puppets may lead to strengthening their opponents rather than crushing them…as long as the living survive the encounter anyway as the opponents have been carefully chosen for their devastating abilities and the conundrum the Akatsuki hope they bring to their foes. With former friends and foes in their way and a shadow force in their midst the shinobi army is going to have to fight to keep the Akatsuki from gaining control of the last two tailed beasts and gaining an unrivaled power while those who are no longer among the living may prove they have a surprise or two in store for those who would try to be their masters as secrets long hidden are finally dragged out into the light.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: VizManga.com
Release Date: September 4th, 2012 (Print)
MSRP: $9.99 Print / $4.99 Digital
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