The titular character is going to join the fight- even if he has to beat some of his most powerful friends and allies to do so.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Masashi Kishimoto
Translation/Adaptation: Mari Morimoto/Joel Enos
What They Say
Madara of the Akatsuki joins the fray on the battlefield. His powerful attacks and a secret plan take their toll on the Allied Shinobi Forces. Naruto and Bee rush to help their friends, but the leader of the Cloud Village will do anything to stop Naruto from risking his life – even if he has to fight Naruto to do it!
Content: (please note that content portions of review may contain spoilers):
As the Fourth Great Shinobi War rages Naruto has finally come to recognize that he is being lied to in order to keep him out of the battle as his friends risk their lives in order to try to keep the Akatsuki from gaining access to Nine Tails which resides within him and he isn’t pleased that Master Bee (keeper of the Eight Tails) has been in on this plot while training Naruto since they arrived on the island either. When Naruto senses the Nine Tail chakra that the brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku posses his attempt to find the source results in the charade that had been constructed to fool him ending and Naruto discovering that to advance to the battle field he is going to have to go through some elite shinobi including his beloved Master Iruka…but with so many fighting around him he just isn’t going to allow himself to be stopped.
Given that Naruto is at the center of Tobi’s ambition the leaders of the Shinobi Council are prepared to go all out to stop Naruto- which in this case means that Naruto will find himself facing not just the Raikage but also the Hokage Tsunade as well who attempt to stop him in his tracks. Meanwhile as the warriors clash both physically and with words that demonstrate their determination, Tobi launches a new and deadly attack, first using the giant statue that houses all the tailed creatures that have been captured to help turn the tide of battle but also then unleashing a hidden attack that is determined to take out the Shinobi forces medical corps that is the backbone of his enemies forces, a move which will almost assure victory to his side during a period of quiet that falls over both camps during the night. Is Naruto going to be able to demonstrate enough strength to convince the leaders of the combined Shinobi forces to let him join in the fight for his own survival or will he be a causality of expedience in pursuit of a “greater good”- and even if he does manage to make it to the battlefield will the time it takes to do so allow Tobi’s plan to succeed and cost Naruto the lives of some of his most cherished friends?
When Naruto debuted its main character was a loud mouthed, impulsive and impatient brat who was easily goaded into fights and whose need for acceptance sometimes leads him to do some rash things as he had decided that protecting his newly found friends was worth any risk. So it is with particular pleasure that one gets to see just how much those days along with the time that he spent training with Master Jiraiya have laid the ground work for the current story arc. While Naruto is still a bit clueless at times as evidenced by the ease with which he was tricked into going into seclusion by the Shinobi leaders the determination he shows in following his path once he figures out what is going on is a pretty amazing step as rather than just fight things out as he has in the past or rely on his (somewhat simple) belief in himself he demonstrates has actually been learning from every encounter, particularly from the ones he managed to have with his parents.
In the beginning of the series if Naruto were challenged the way he is by his elders in this book he might have simply declared he was going to win because of his ninja code he developed for himself, but instead of repeating that philosophy here one gets to peak into the heart of a character who has known triumph and tragedy and who recognizes just how hard it will be to accomplish what he is setting out to do but who has taken in the lessons and sacrifices that have brought him to where he is as he displays a bit of maturity beyond his years that his suffering and sheer determination to keep moving have forged for him. With each of the last few books it feels more and more like Naruto is progressing past his earliest days which made him not always the most likeable characters as he is moving to become the kind of dependable person that will have the ability to survive even the darkest days ahead as he has not only a faith in himself but also faith in those who helped him to get to where he is and it is a treat to see that realization reflected in the eyes of those who have known him for so long but who have kind of missed his growth because of their familiarity.
That isn’t to say the book is without flaws however as it seems not to want to give up its shonen roots and the staples that come with the genre completely as a flash back that is used to bring Sasuke into the book from a trial they had while still in ninja school comes across as a bit of a pander to Sasuke fans as he has been noticeably absent of late and, given he often leads the book’s (Japanese) popularity polls, it appears the author wanted to fit him in somewhere, even if the flashback wound up adding little to the current stream of events. In addition the book devotes a good portion of a couple of chapters to the relationship of the Raikage and Master Bee which also feels like it disrupts the (much better and more important to current events) flow with a very stereotypically shonen tale of how the two stood in relation to each other in the past as well as how that colors the way at least one of them views the other now, even if the reality of the growth of that person should have caused a readjustment to that view- a readjustment that will now have to happen through actions rather than words. It isn’t that these two parts are bad in themselves that is the issue as they actually aren’t as such, it is just with so much exemplary storytelling going on around these events it felt like the book was being weighed down by merely “fine to good” material because of how impressive much of the rest of the material is, which is a pretty incredible thing in all honesty.
In Summary
The days of Naruto being kept in the dark about his friends and fellow shinobi fighting to keep him from the Akatsuki are over and using all the skills that he has learned so far Naruto is determined to take the battle field himself to stop the Akatsuki’s plan. Standing in his way though will be two of his dearest friends, but even that won’t be enough to stop him as he attempts to join his comrades to end this latest war- but will everything Naruto has experienced be able to help him when he faces off against the leader of the Cloud Village even as the Akatsuki’s secret plan threatens to wipe out the combined Shinobi Army’s support core from within? With a mix of action and pathos the journey that Konaha’s most unpredictable ninja has been builds to a zenith as he looks to be about to grasp onto the one thing that may surprise those who knew him as a youth most- a maturity that goes beyond his relatively young years- as he looks to stop being protected and move into the role of protector himself.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: Digital Review
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: VizManga.com
Release Date: July 10th, 2012 (Print)
MSRP: $9.99 Print / $4.99 Digital
