Jenskott

Fist of North Star is a bloody martial arts manga. Still it could give Kishimoto several lessons regarding romantic plots. How is that?

- Kenshiro is the soft-hearted, compassionate, gentle main character. Yuria fell for him. She did NOT fall for any of the cool-looking, morally defective martial artists around her.

- Kenshiro was deeply in love with Yuria. He never, ever, EVER moved on. And he did not return the feelings of a woman that he barely knew.

- When Kenshiro's best friend turned evil, kidnapped Yuria and became a monster, Kenshiro hunted him down and killed him, even though it saddened him. And it happened in the second volume! FOTN's creators took two volumes to solve in a logical, coherent way a subplot that Kishimoto solved in an awful way after nearly fifty volumes. And when Kenshiro found out who had screwed Shin up and caused his turn to darkness, he found that person and killed him. Kenshiro believes that responsibility and accountability exist!

- Lynne and Bat were kind of Kenshiro's sidekicks. Lynne had a crush on Kenshiro since she was a little child, but he never reciprocated, and he thought that she would be better off with Bat, since Bat had always been there for Lynne.

Thank you for creating this community. I am not a frequent poster, but I assure you that it is a very special place for me.

Honestly, I would like asking everyone who is planning leaving... please, don't leave.

I know that it is hard right now, that you want to have nothing to do with Naruto, that you need time for healing... but we NS fans need sticking together, especially now.

I have seen this kind of thing happening before. The next two or three years the Naruto fans will turn on each other and the shipping wars will get more virulent. Then things will calm down, and several years from now most Naruto sites will be dead, the fandom will be dead, and it will be controlled by people that hates canon (although it may be a good thing in this case).

We need a safe haven in the middle of the storm. And we need more fanfic and fanart to satiate our NS hunger.

And even if you do not want to keep reading Naruto, we can still talk about other mangas, videogames, cartoons, films... Naruto is not the only manga out there. And it was never the best. I am planning revamping the Classic manga/anime thread that I foolishly abandoned, so that plepople can find something new and different that reading.

Please, don't leave. Please, do not erase your fanworks.

Please, stay.

 

 

Yes, chapter 700 was an anomaly in 15 years of development. I think Kishimoto changed the storyline to continue the series. And I think one day it will be revealed that it was intended to end there, with Naruto with Sakura. So I don't have a problem continuing to ship the only pairing that's gotten any development. And this site will remain a haven for those of a like mind!!

I also hope so, Tricksie.

And you are right. It is so... weird. It is like if he ignored all hundreds of past chapters.

You know, I have not visited the fanfiction thread for a long time. Maybe I shall change that soon...

 

 

Now that we have that idiotic ending out of the way, I hope the negativity that plagued this site recently will follow suit.

From your keayboard to God's ears.

On one hand I am afraid that there will be more fights due to the members feeling very upset. On the other hand, now we will not be fighting because some members think that it is crap. Although on the -cough!- other hand, I am afraid that this site will become too quiet...

 

 

Wow hating years of Kishimoto's work just because your pairing didnt become canon? Just wow. Kishimoto never took pairing as his main focus in this manga. If you watched this series JUST because of NarutoSakura then you are just weird. 

I am not burning something, but I think that I'll sell my collection. It hurts staring now at some scenes.

Maybe in the future I'll download the series up to the chapter 450 and I will pretend that the next arcs do not exist, but right now I am too upset.

Look, after the Kakuzu and Hidan arc I started seeing people complaining constantly in this site and other places. After the Pain arc people complained every or almost every issue. During the War Arc people trashed EVERY issue. And I did not join because some complains seemed unfair and exaggerated to me, and I did not want to feel what I was jumping on a bandwagon. However I could not help to feel that the series was getting progressively worse.

However I told myself "It sounds weird, but wait and see. Maybe things will eventually make sense." And I persevered.

I was a fool.

Looking back, after the first Part II arcs, all of it has been a looooong string of asspulls. Nonetheless I carried on because I am a NS fan and I wanted at least seeing Naruto and Sakura getting together.

And it has been denied me.

I had already lost most of my interest, the world -that seemed so interesting and full of adventure and drama back in Part I- has been gutted and lost its appeal, and maybe the only thing that I still liked has been ruined. So why should I keep my books?

 

 

Might be easier to say than do, but there's no need to act like your life depended on how it would end.

Of course. After all it is only a fictional pairing of a ficional series. I shall move on. But it will take a while.

Honestly my headcanon will be that episode 450 was the last Naruto chapter.

Most of what happened afterwards has been bad.

Anyway I do not blame Sakura. She keeps being one of my favorite characters of the series. I blame the author. I do not understand why he did what he did.

So whatever Naruto does or does not, he does not deserve being blamed for anything, but Sakura always MUST be blamed for everything.

Got it.

I am not blaming Naruto, anyway. Neither I blame Sakura. I blame their creator. This -and I mean the chapter- is ridiculous.

Anyway I do not remember having seen someone blaming Naruto. I have seen people blaming the creator or even Sakura... but Naruto? Who is blaming him?

 

In the real world, a good portion of the stuff that occurred...wouldn't have. However, this manga is not the real world. Stories are never real world material and at best have to be more about story progression.

If you can't even keep a real progression of cause and effect, then you lose your audience entirely.

Look at what happened to Digimon. Ever mess up so hard that even the studios didn't see it coming?

 

I agree. This is not the real world. This is a story. Things do not need to make sense according the real world. But they NEED to make sense according the rules of the own world.

"Better a plausible impossibility than an implausible possibility,"

- Aristotle.

And in this manga the boy who never gave up on his assholish "friend" and finally brought him back gives up on his love even though he had said no long ago that she was kind of his girlfriend.

 

 

Uh the matrix did infact get 2 sequals its reloaded and revolution.

I was being sarcastic. It is a way to tell: "I hate the sequels so I pretend that they do not exist."

 

 

That's what Jenskott meant by "headcanon."  Maybe someone wrote and produced two purported sequels, but as far as headcanon is concerned there isn't one.  (it took me ten long years, but I finally developed enough headcanon to enjoy the Harry Potter series, again... though a shame it ended after book 5.  I was hoping for some resolution, there)

Yes, a pity that we never found out how Voldemort was defeated. Or how Harry and Hermione hooked up...

I still want to keep a glimmer of hope and hoping that we are being trolled, but it is becoming increasingly hard.

I want to keep myself busy and move on, but I think that it will not happen until I put my thoughts in order. I guess that you can tell what writing this is my catharsis.

Firstly, I refuse make personal insults. My opinion on Kishimoto's storytelling skills is very low right now, but honestly I think that shouting "F*** you" and similar stuff is rude and uncalled for. When you are a fan and you are feeling upset, it is easy forgetting that the creator is a real person with feelings, and bashing him/her for perceived poor decisions. It is also easy forgetting that the creator was NOT attempting screwing with us. He did what he thought best, but he is also a human being, and errare humanum est.

I am... upset. And sad. I am sadder than I thought that I would be and sadder than I think that I should be because ultimately this is fiction.

However I am not angry. The only thing that I can think is... "I do not understand."

If he was plotting a NH/SS ending, why did he wrote in the DB that Naruto loved Sakura and Sakura's feelings had changed? Why he called Sakura his girlfriend in front of his father? Why he insisted on Sakura not trusting Sasuke anymore? Why all parallelisms?

And that is only the recent stuff! Why did he not develop NH further? Why Hinata never got a more important role or spent significant panel time with Naruto? Why he wrote Sasuke trying to kill Sakura FIVE times? Why Sasuke never showed feelings towards Sakura and actually he showed that he did not care for her?

Of course, I can go on and on and on and on...

Often when I found a fan whose pairing has sunk (a Zutaran, a Ranma/Akane-hater, a Shinji/Rei fan...) and I heard him telling that "There was never a single hint in the story" I shook my head and I thought "There were hints. You just refused seeing them". However, in this instance, I genuinely think that if NH/SS was always the intended endgame, Kishimoto made a lousy job hinting it.

And I can not help to wonder if he was pressed by his editors. Takahashi (Ranma and Inu-Yasha author) was pressed by her editor when she was writing Urusei Yatsura, and she got forced to change the main pairing (although she did it early on). Or he was trying to subvert our expectations and surprising us? Well, if that is the case I prefer to be NICELY surprised.

I wish asking him if NH was his intention all along, but I doubt that I would have a straight answer from him.

Sigh. I guess that NS will join my list of favorite fictional couples that were ultimately gutted by meddlesome editors, trolling creators, lousy storytellers, sell-outs or self-proclaimed geniuses with cravings for shaking thins up unnecessarily: Peter/MJ (Spider-Man), Scott/Jean and Warren/Betsy (X-Men), Asuka/Shinji (Evangelion), Ataru/Shinobu (Urusei Yatsura)...

It is sad, but I am considering selling my Naruto collection. I know, I know. You must think "Wow, what a fanboy! He is getting rid of a manga that he lived because his favorite couple did not become canon? He only read the series for NS?” I know what I sound like it, but I am so disappointed that I am not sure of being capable to keep drawing enjoyment from reading my old volumes of Naruto. Actually it has been a while since I purchased and read a volume.

If NH and SS had been developed properly I would have been capable to keep reading, even though I did not like the pairings. But it did not happen.

I guess that I am also upset because the bunch of rude, obnoxious fans that trolled us, insulted us, called us delusional, bashed Sakura (funny how Naruto must not end up with Sakura because she hit him but Sakura must end up with the guy that tried to kill her several times)… will now feel vindicated and right all along.

Oh, well. Fanboys will be fanboys. Anyway, this is my only Naruto board and it will keep being. I am NOT stepping out of here. The crapstorm is beginning, and it will last long, and I am too old to tolerate fanboys and their arguments about nothing and their bashing and hating rants. So I will remain in the NS board that does not tolerate trolls and disrespectful brats.

I guess that I will always have fanfiction. And most importantly, I have a ton of classic, WELL-WRITTEN manga/anime shows with WELL-WRITTEN couples and no ass-pulls and to keep myself amused with. Whenever I am sorry about NS I will read City Hunter and I will pretend that Ryo and Kaori are Naruto and Sakura with a PROPER, asspull-free resolution that made sense.

Even if those spoilers were true... why would Smiter want to close this site? The existence of this site is not dependent on the canonicity of NS.

Anyway, emotions are tense right now, and I am afraid that this thread may cause more arguments, although that was not your intent. I think that a mod should shut it down.

I also pledge.

I still think that many people is overreacting to some weird and suspicious spoilers... but whatever.

(Honestly, if they are true I will feel more weirded out than sad... because they sound quite fishy. I guess that we will find out later this week one or other way. Anyhow I am not throwing the towel or trusting those spoilers until reading the actual chapters)

I am and shall be a NS shipper. That will not change.

 

 

So it is going to be an open ending.

I said that If it happens, I'll laugh.

Hence, I shall laugh. If I had both the inclination and the time to waste, I would lurk in Naruto forums and I would laugh, chuckle, chortle, cackle, guffaw, snicker, snigger, titter, giggle, roar, howl and cachinnate (yes, I consulted an online thesaurus and I looked synonyms up. Wow, I have learnt two words today) upon reading the reactions of fanboys/girls. The glorious flaming wars would be hot enough to keep myself warm in Winter!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

 

America: 

Astro Boy->Speed Racer->DBZ->Naruto->???

I think that it is more like this:

Astro Boy->Speed Racer->Battle of the Planets->Robotech->Voltron->DBZ->Sailor Moon->Pokemon->Naruto->???

Anyway, yes, I think that manga and anime in America will go in decline after Naruto ends (and it has actually declined since the nineties if you ask me. And it has also been declining for a while in Japan. Surely, some series like One Piece sells a lot, but sales levels have dropped in general), and it will do so until the next mega-popular series renews interest in Japanese entertainment.

The thing is... I am not sure of how long it will be until a new series with mass appeal shows up. Right now manga and anime industry in Japan is focused on the otaku target (i. e., people who are already fans) and not on crafting gateway series or shows with popular appeal. And you need a series with popular appeal for this (like someone has already said, if you want to get your children into games you put in their hands a Mario game, not Dark Souls).

I foresee someone protesting "But Attack on the Titan, Fairy Tail...". And my answer is: Those series are popular IN THE ANIME FANDOM. But how many people in the mainstream knows about them or has got interested in anime after watching them? I do not know what it is like in America, but in my country you ask random people what Attack on the Titan, Fairy Tail or Bleach are and NOBODY knows them. However you ask people in their thirties and forties what Mazinger-Z, Alps no Shojo Heidi and Battle of the Planets are and everybody remember them (and even younger people knows who Kouji Kabuto or Heidi are). You ask who Goku is and EVERYBODY know him.

Therefore, it needs being a series with popular appeal that becomes mainstream instead merely being popular between anime geeks such like us.

I do not imagine what that series will be like, but if I think about it, series that become mainstream use to be shonen manga/anime, aimed at teens or young kids, and they tend to be idealistic with some darker stuff thrown in.

 

 

 A lot of people choose not to explore other titles it seems. 

I agree and sometimes it frustrates me. There are SO MUCH good stuff in anime and manga to discover, but most anime fans are young kids or teens that only are interested in reading whatever is popular right now or they are not interested in delving into their hobby at all.

But you can not force someone to develop a deeper interest in something, so that the only thing that you can do is shrugging read/watch whatever you like.

It still boggles my mind that people -especially board members- still pays attention to anything that Sawyer -is it correctly spelled?- says or thinks.

Honestly... Has that person ever had something worthwhile to say? No? Then why do you listen to or talk about him/her?

You should not give him/her any attention.

Rukia is the heroine as far as I know, yes. Orihime is rather an important but secondary character.

Although I have not read Bleach in years, so I have no idea of what is happening right now in that manga.

Anyway... "Old" manga? Well, it is thirteen-years old for now, but still... it is not what I would call "old".

Jesus Christ, now I am feeling old.

 

 

I think both sides are looking too much into this scarf business.

I am not looking too much into it. Naruto is a Kamen Rider fan! Instead of a transforming belt he uses a transforming bandana! When Iruka gave him his bandana in reality he was secretly passing on him the Rider title!

I AM TELLING YOU! THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!

Now, seriously. For a long while in Japan entertainment the scarf was the equivalent to the cape in Western entertainment. If you check sixties and seventies' tokusatsu and super-hero anime shows,  you will see that a lot of heroes wore scarves.

Cyborg 009

Denjiman

Getter Robot

Zambot-3

Kouji Kabuto from Mazinger-Z also was going to wear a scarf, but Kamen Rider premiered before Mazinger-Z so that Go Nagai scrapped the idea.

And you can find characters of current shows such like Mikasa -mentioned above- wearing a scarf.

The point is... what is the big deal with the scarf? He will it because he is cold or in order to look cool  pretending being Kamen Rider . God Almight, Why EVERYTHING has to be related to pairings?