438 replies to this topic

[Otaru]

Kishimoto choosing it to be the "loving" gesture Sasuke expressed to Sakura skewed the meaning it had had up to that point.  Except for the fact that Sakura is obviously not Sasuke's priority, and that he isn't willing to spend any time with her until his important work is done -- whatever that might be.

 
Personally, I interpreted the use of the forehead poke between Sasuke and Sakura at the end of the manga to be a cover for the fact that Sakura's forehead had been sacred to Naruto.  Since it was decided that Naruto would be stuck with the deadly dull Hinata, there had to be a way of making it seem as if Sakura's forehead issues and all that foreshadowing were retconned by Sasuke's gesture.

 
THIS.
 

...

Yes, exactly. Kishimoto is still writing the same old story he's been writing for 699 chapters. That's why this story is such crazy mixed messaging. He can't let NS go, yet he's not going to go all out and have a consensual mutually-affirming SS lovefest either.  
 
And hello? The panel with Naruto saying "Let's go save your mom!" - Wha??!? Shouldn't this be Sasuke's line? Why is Naruto the one saying it? 
 
The whole thing is a mess. I think ultimately, NH had to be the ending to satisfy the higher powers, that's why it's such a no-show in the manga. It's an SP-driven ship, made by the anime and brought to fulfillment in the movie. But Kishimoto never wanted it.
 
Which leaves the real manga ending NS or SS? And that's why the Gaiden is such mixed messaging. Kishimoto doesn't want to disrespect his main character, who has always chased after Sakura. It's Naruto's whole identity. So he can't show a fully-realized SS. Showing SS in a mutually loving relationship means that Naruto lost (even though he's with Hinata, the one he never wanted) and makes Naruto less of a hero.
 
HOWEVER, Sasuke is Kishimoto's favorite, so he is the one who is awarded Sakura and her long-suffering love of still waiting at home for the cool drifter guy. But any kind of affection between the two is never ever shown, and now their child might not actually even be theirs.
 
Affection between them would make one the clear winner over the other. And honestly, Sakura was one of Naruto's main goals. Making Sasuke and Sakura have a full-on romance makes Naruto irrelevant.
 
So Sakura looks like Kushina (the manga's high bar of what a loving wife/mother should look like), gets unconditional support from Naruto (who has his hero's identity wrapped up in loving her his whole life), and maintains an unromantic marriage to Sasuke (who is the author's favorite) so that Naruto stays relevant.
 
That's why the relationship messaging is such a mess. Even though the story's over, Kishimoto still can't commit. This weirdo ship-heavy ending — where NH is noticeably absent, there are panels that pre-699 would have been overtly NS, and we're seeing more positive scenes of Sakura than we did the whole last half of the manga — instead of a ninja-related plot is a perfect example of how Kishimoto can't commit to the ships he's slated for the end. 
 
He's ok with Sakura being with Sasuke (because Sasuke was his favorite) but NH falls just as flat in writing/drawing as it does for everyone else who's been following the manga. That's why he's not covering it. 
 
So yeah, I'm taking the long way around, but I completely agree with you - Kishimoto is still writing for NS. And in fact, even in the manga he never stopped. He just tacked on the NH ending. But in this ship-heavy Part 3, Naruto is still coming across as NS to me. Not NH. 
 
 
The forehead poke is a stand-in for real love. And yeah, it's a subtle ret-conning of Naruto's connection with Sakura. So stupid.
 
I agree with everything you've said. I feel like we will get some SS scene, or perhaps him saving her at the last moment, with Naruto looking on smilingly like Hinata after the Pain defeat in Part 2. Something like him being happy to see his two friends together. But nothing more SS than something sweet like a look or even a hug. I don't think Kishi will commit to a kiss. I don't think SS will crash and burn, even though I'd like it to.
 
On another note, if this level of shipping confusion had gone on before the ending, a lot more people would have been in Sakura's camp. If you had Naruto supporting Sakura in words, and Sasuke occasionally putting forth a little effort/action to support her, while Sakura was stuck in the middle, leaning on herself for support in a bad situation, I think there would have been a lot more sympathy for Sakura in choosing the one that loved her completely and unconditionally.
 
Unfortunately, in the manga, every two steps forward she took were immediately followed by three steps back. Either by thinking of Sasuke or crying, or by having it paired with some crap with Hinata doing the same thing. 
 
But if this type of shipping ambiguity happened in the manga — with Naruto and Sasuke having to rescue a strong Sakura — I think fans would have reacted better to her. Instead having doe-eyed Hinata inserted at every opportune moment undermined anything Sakura brought to the story.

 
THIS. SO MUCH THIS.
 

Why do I have the feeling that the April 4 SP/SJ interview with the VAs said about Naruto and Sakura's bonds are more stronger than husband and wife. Sakura is more like Kushina than any other female cast. And Naruto and Hinata's relashionship cannot work without Sakura so that the three of them can have a happy family in the end might actually be legit instead of a mere jest

 
I have this feeling too. The seiryus had this feeling and they were totally immersed in Naruto's world. We're not wrong to feel that way. Everyone that have a brain feels that way.
Also, considering the fact that in Japan, marriage is most a "contract" than love, it could be true.

Edited by Otaru, 19 June 2015 - 10:55 PM.

[tricksie]

What I think about this chapter...

I'm just UTTERLY, STRONGLY shocked because Sakura is so damn OOC to a point it's painful to watch.

That moment between her and Sarada, that moment when she's pocking Sarada's head it's just.... Completely out of it. I'm sorry. That thing hurt me and shocked me a lot. It's like Kishimoto is grasping to branches because he lost the forehead kiss that was his real love back-story since the beginning of the manga. How could that forehead poke became such a big thing ? How that forehead poke that was ONLY between Itachi and Sasuke have spread to Sasuke and Sakura, and then to Sakura and Sarada ? Please ugh... I'm sure Kishimoto will make Sasuke poke Sarada's head at some point now. It's so cheap... I can't even...

Naruto was supposed to kiss Sakura on her forehead. THAT was supposed to be the real love back-story of the manga. THAT was the real thing that was spreading since the beginning. We even had Tsunade and Dan play in it.

He sets everything up in the beginning to have Naruto kiss Sakura's forehead, and he foreshadowed it all along. That was a very classic theme that you can find in a lot of manga stories. Girl is in love with the "cool" guy, good guy is watching and good guy is actually what the girl really wants but she can't see it yet.

Even those moment when Kishimoto paralleled her (again) with Kushina were OOC for Sakura because she never had that kind of behaviour. Sakura is more foolish. She never had that kind of almost shy reaction. What happened to her lust and her foolishness ? She became a woman and a mother OKAYYY... but it's not her. She's not really exactly like that. Her putting her finger under her mouth like that, it's not like her. And her loling while she's touching her head... it's a Naruto thing. It's not Sakura's. I can't even recognize her with this behaviour.
Yes she was like Kushina in the manga, but she never was the exact same copy. She was always herself.  She was just giving a Kushina vibe that's all. This is not Sakura.

I'm sorry but it's exactly like Kishimoto IS FORCING HER RESEMBLANCE WITH KUSHINA to make her look even more like her. To make her look even more like the girl that was like Kushina. Or else he's just so short of ideas and so lost that he just recycled what he already wrote... I don't know he already wrote that kind of exchange between Naruto and Kushina so it would be easy just to reuse it. But he's not that dumb right ? What does he want to show ? Really ? I think it's all on purpose.

Also, why did Sakura look sad when thinking about a kiss with Sasuke ? Did they never even kiss ? Really ? Why is Kishimoto doing this ?

 

Also, how it's possible that a girl as young as Sarada at that moment would say to her mother " you're nasty " and think that her mother was thinking about sex ? Really ?? It's an adult response not a child's !!

Why that 'Karin is the mother thing' is still here ? Why Naruto is still saying to Sarada that it's not really important ? It's like Kishimoto is setting us up. Is Karin really the biological mother of Sarada ? I can't make my mind to accept that a SHÔNEN MANGAKA would write that. I mean really ? He already went too far. It's a shônen ! Why doing all this ? Is this a rebellion ? Are the editors really OK with this ? Maybe they don't care... after all, they just wanted to know that poor Hinata was able to be impaled on Naruto's kitten, so they can fap on the idea of it.


AND THEN

PAGE 8 came.

I'm sorry, I'm now SURE AS HELL that Kishimoto is sending a message.

 

" Cold hard truths, facts, none of that matters " 

The fact that's it's Naruto saying it is while talking about love and about Sakura... makes it even more stronger.

" As long as deep down inside you want to help her... "

" That's what's make it the real thing! "

This is Kishimoto telling us that canon doesn't matter. Only feelings that are buried deep down inside are real. Canon is not real. Canon (hard facts) can't change the feelings that were in the past. If you love someone, well then you love that someone, no matter what happens.

PS : and I was right, Kishimoto really used that lame excuse that we were talking about for Sasuke's weakness : jumping dimension. And he let Naruto with no excuse, still looking like a total looser. The Hokage.
 

 

Yes! Naruto's words also reminded me of what Yamamoto told Sakura, about how it's not how big or small her actions are, it's the feelings that are behind them.

 

Again another mixed message, twisting what was a supportive NS sentiment (from Sakura to Naruto) into a familial statement coming from Naruto indirectly to Sakura. The love and support is still there, now it's just being redelivered in the guise of something else.

 

Like Kishimoto mixing up his parallels all over the place, I feel like he's doing the same here. He's taking what was a romantic line and repackaging it as a family one, confusing what made it so powerful in the first place. 

 

Shouldn't these lines becoming from Sasuke? (Including the 'Lets go save your mom!') Since when did Naruto become an expert on feelings and parenting, when Sarada knows that Bolt hates him? (And we know that Naruto spends no time with his own kids and family.) Naruto has apparently nothing to do with Sakura and Sarada's lives, so why should she even listen to him?

 

This whole chapter is a mess. From Sakura's sad look and the implication that they don't have a physical (i.e. real) relationship, as Sarada is rightly suspecting all along. To Naruto's lines of love and support for Sarada and thus Sakura. To Sasuke's absolute lack of concern about Sakura and formal treatment of their relationship. 

 

I loved seeing Sakura drawn so beautifully and showing her characteristic empathy, which we all know she has but doesn't often get in the spotlight. It's nice to see Kishimoto finally treating her character the way he always should have done all along, and not undermining her actions at every turn. 

[Apollo]

 

Yes! Naruto's words also reminded me of what Yamamoto told Sakura, about how it's not how big or small her actions are, it's the feelings that are behind them.

 

Again another mixed message, twisting what was a supportive NS sentiment (from Sakura to Naruto) into a familial statement coming from Naruto indirectly to Sakura. The love and support is still there, now it's just being redelivered in the guise of something else.

 

Like Kishimoto mixing up his parallels all over the place, I feel like he's doing the same here. He's taking what was a romantic line and repackaging it as a family one, confusing what made it so powerful in the first place. 

 

Shouldn't these lines becoming from Sasuke? (Including the 'Lets go save your mom!') Since when did Naruto become an expert on feelings and parenting, when Sarada knows that Bolt hates him? (And we know that Naruto spends no time with his own kids and family.) Naruto has apparently nothing to do with Sakura and Sarada's lives, so why should she even listen to him?

 

This whole chapter is a mess. From Sakura's sad look and the implication that they don't have a physical (i.e. real) relationship, as Sarada is rightly suspecting all along. To Naruto's lines of love and support for Sarada and thus Sakura. To Sasuke's absolute lack of concern about Sakura and formal treatment of their relationship. 

 

I loved seeing Sakura drawn so beautifully and showing her characteristic empathy, which we all know she has but doesn't often get in the spotlight. It's nice to see Kishimoto finally treating her character the way he always should have done all along, and not undermining her actions at every turn. 

 

I think you meant Yamato     Glorious Yama-ji perished at the hands of the Quincy King. Let him stay dead, no point dragging him into this mess 

[Konoha'sCrimsonFox]

Depends. Do you want that tsundere to be a murderer?

  that sounds like Something Karin would do

Can i see an actual source for this? The only thing i heard is that sasuke is based off of his brother but i never heard of that both sasuke and sakura were based on his wife and brother.

Kishi never said that. Sakura's character was based off of Kushina's anger that is mirrored off of Kishi's wife, meaning Kushina anger is the same as his wife. That's what Kishi said when he used the Minato GF comment to Naruto and how Sakura is like Kushina to be a mislead to NS fans. And you put the two together.

[Nar123]

A question:

 

Do you guys really think Sakura was drawn beautifully in this chapter? 

I think Kishi lost his hand with her ( and a lot of other characters) 

Sakura looked kinda manly..

 

 

 

 

Can you be any more condescending?

 

What? You know it's the truth m8

Logic has no place in the Nardo series

[Nicholas Wolfwood]

It happened before she found the picture. Right when she asked Sakura if Sasuke wore glasses

My favorite part about that was that when asked, Sakura said she couldn't remember if Sasuke ever wore glasses. Really? Can't remember if the guy you've been infatuated with since grade school ever wore glasses? She couldn't come up with a better answer than that?

 

 

Tell me about it. Was on comicvine the other day arguing with a dude who was convinced that Sasuke, even without the susanoo or any other kind of jutsu protection, is nigh invulnerable to the point that bullets would bounce off his body even if he were sleeping.

With the way Kishi write's Sasuke's character, there might be some validity to that.

 

Doesn't matter if Sakura and Naruto are acting like the parents for Sarada, because I can guarantee you that Sasuke will be forgiven for not being around for Sarada or Sakura all these years and he'll be welcomed back like nothing happened.

 

By the end of this, Sarada will look up to Sasuke as her father, even though he was never around, and Kishi will make him out to be a model parent no matter what Sasuke does. Because the fact of the matter is in this series Sasuke cannot do any harm, it's always someone else's fault.

Not only will he be made to look like the model parent, he'll be the hero of the village for his sacrifice in protecting it from some ambiguous, nebulous danger that hasn't been explained in any satisfactory way. The same village that sanctioned the annihilation of his clan. Is there no end to the goodness of Sasuke-sama's heart?!

 

I think this chapter is a nice exercise in what not to do as a writer:

Show don't Tell: This chapter is good crash course in this rule. It's like Kishimoto has been going out of his way to have Sakura and Sasuke call each other husband and wife. In addition, Sasuke's eye powers have diminished for some unknown reason only to come back when it's time to save his wife. Geez whiz, could they be more transparent?

It's a giant billboard saying they love and care for each other despite the author never really showing it one screen, well, ever. Because it's not obvious at all that they do based on their interactions, history etc. (it actually looks the opposite), he has to constantly tell the audience they care. It's contrived. It's terrible. We only know because he tells us not because he shows us.

All the observable behavior makes everyone looks like a giant turd, but it's okay because they really all care because the author says so. The problem with telling and not showing is on parade here.

It's made all the worse because why he is absentee is vague and poorly explained. Why Naruto doesn't know until lately? Dunno. Why they never tell Sarada and then lie about when the finds out? Dunno. Why Sasuke never so much as visits. Mission, but so non-specific they might as well have ignored it.

Sakura's reaction is bizarre and can only lead to the conclusion that no, they haven't kissed. Again, telling, not showing.


The sequel: There is no rule or anything, but I feel some stories allow for sequels while others don't. Save the world epics typically don't allow for good ones because there is not a lot left to explore, at least in a way that doesn't basically undo the previous story.

Gaiden feels like the later. Rocci and I had a brief discussion about why they are ninja. He said because it's a ninja manga. And that's basically true. This would be fine if ninja had some place, but they don't and so the whole generation becomes one just because. This is a sign that maybe this Gaiden shouldn't have been written as is the fact that so many people come across as flaming jackasses. As bad as the ending was, this has made everyone look so much worse.

The continued existence of a class of trained killers in an age of unprecedented peace is questionable. They could be used as a policing rather than military force but it seems overkill. I guess everyone wants to be prepared for when the cooperation between villages collapses and war resumes. But in the meantime, with all the peace, why does everybody seem so miserable?

 

A question:

 

Do you guys really think Sakura was drawn beautifully in this chapter? 

I think Kishi lost his hand with her ( and a lot of other characters) 

Sakura looked kinda manly..

In my opinion she looks horrible in most of the panels in every chapter of Gaiden. Kishi turned Oro into a woman and Sakura into a man. I don't know what's going on with the way he draws her. Maybe he just doesn't care.

[TouKen4Life3g]

A question:

 

Do you guys really think Sakura was drawn beautifully in this chapter? 

I think Kishi lost his hand with her ( and a lot of other characters) 

Sakura looked kinda manly..

I haven't read it or seen it, but my thoughts is on Hinami. *whistles*

[Nar123]

 

 

In my opinion she looks horrible in most of the panels in every chapter of Gaiden. Kishi turned Oro into a woman and Sakura into a man. I don't know what's going on with the way he draws her. Maybe he just doesn't care.

 

That's basically what I was thinking too, the Naruto's characters didn't age very well to say the least.

 

 

 

I haven't read it or seen it, but my thoughts is on Hinami. *whistles*

 

Yep, she has really grown, really left that loli phase behind her

[TouKen4Life3g]

 

Yep, she has really grown, really left that loli phase behind her

She got out in the right time. Maybe if it was other series, she would be.

[tricksie]

 

I think you meant Yamato     Glorious Yama-ji perished at the hands of the Quincy King. Let him stay dead, no point dragging him into this mess 

Oops - yes, I meant Yamato!

[rocci]

@Nar123
I don't read, but kishi changestyle on his art only hurt his artwork in general IMO.

Anyway, since oda triumph both japa and the world, kishi must have sleep well right

[tricksie]

Let's even consider that SasuSaku do have the off-screen marriage that "my wife" and "my husband" imply. Why would Sakura not say that they've kissed? That is the strangest aversion to a child's question, which is continuously a problem Sakura has when talking about her marriage. If they are husband and wife for what reason does she have to dodge questions with Sarada? I understand that if Sarada is not her biological daughter, she might fumble with explaining the circumstances of her birth such as why there'd be no baby pictures... but questions about Sasuke and their relationship?

 

Didn't Sasuke and Sakura, I don't know... date? In the gaiden with Kiba we saw Naruto and Hinata walking together; did Sasuke and Sakura do something similar? That they'd have gotten married and had a marriage without kissing, or intimacy, is really difficult to imagine and then be called 'happily married'. There is a reason why Sarada asked about 'kissing' because even she at a young age knows that it's what people in love do. Forehead pokes are not exclusively for people in a romantic relationship, otherwise Sarada would not have received one. She wanted to know about her parents in love.

 

I think in a way we're like Sarada when it comes to this pairing; we're asking for love, we're asking for the reasonable things expected out of a pairing, but what we're getting is ambiguity while still being assured that they're "husband and wife". We know that Sasuke has been gone for twelve years, so there's a big part of their marriage that's missing, but something had to come before it. There had to be a reason why they're together... but every time a question gets dodged that's becoming less and less clear... because there should be no reason why there isn't a clear answer unless that answer is an awkward "No, we never kissed,"

 

So if they are together and truly in love... why hide it? If they're not together, then why lie? It's so confusing. I hope something clears up in the next two chapters. 

Completely agree. Where is the sappy romance of NH? Where is the build-up? Or was it that one forehead poke before he left the village? 

 

Did it communicate all his feelings at the tip of his finger? Was it the tap heard round the world? 

 

At what point did they decide that Sakura was going to stay in Sasuke's home, don his Uchiha fan, take his last name (apparently) and decide to live as man and wife? Was it romantic, or was it just a platonic agreement, like a partnership.

 

There is obviously some feeling of Sakura being 'chosen' above all others. She seems please with her life, proud to be an Uchiha and protective of him and Sarada, i.e. Sasuke's dream of continuing his clan. However there is nothing in here that makes it look romantic. 

 

Everything Sakura is conveying to Sarada is familial in nature, between the three of them. Not romantic in nature between her and Sasuke. 

 

So it's either there for complete drama (and will be shown to be a complete ruse in the next two chapters), or they have a marriage for the sake of Sasuke's clan and nothing else.

 

 

Sidenote:

Naruto never mentions anything like "but Sakura was pregnant how could this be?!" meaning that he wasn't around for the nine months that would have been telling, or for the birth of his two best friends' first child. How detached was he from their lives? The only thing I could imagine was that Sasuke and Sakura were gone away from the village for a long time, and then came back with a baby like yup this is ours. We had her out there, in the big wide world...
 

SasuSaku has to be the most confusing pairing to become canon. 

Naruto's behavior is just as confusing and mixed up as everyone else's. The only excuse I can come up with for him not having at least a comfortable relationship with Sarada and for not knowing a thing about Sakura's life is that he's really not a part of it.

 

The whole thing is a mess. The only up side is that we don't have NH thrown in the mix too.

[James S Cassidy]

I loved seeing Sakura drawn so beautifully and showing her characteristic empathy, which we all know she has but doesn't often get in the spotlight. It's nice to see Kishimoto finally treating her character the way he always should have done all along, and not undermining her actions at every turn. 

Sorry, but for me all I can say is "Too Little, too late."

[TouKen4Life3g]

Sorry, but for me all I can say is "Too Little, too late."

Try anything in this Gaiden.

[Nar123]

@Nar123
I don't read, but kishi changestyle on his art only hurt his artwork in general IMO.

Anyway, since oda triumph both japa and the world, kishi must have sleep well right

Yeah I mean, look at his artwork in early part 2 and late part 1? It was expressive and it just fit right in with the story

He changed his style for this more simple one and it was such a bad idea IMO
Salad and Sakura figures look so manly in some panels and the designs of other characters don't help

[rocci]

Yeah I mean, look at his artwork in early part 2 and late part 1? It was expressive and it just fit right in with the story

He changed his style for this more simple one and it was such a bad idea IMO
Salad and Sakura figures look so manly in some panels and the designs of other characters don't help

I always have a feeling that in war arc, sakura look like suigetsu.

For salad, that because she's female version of sasuke.

Edited by rocci, 20 June 2015 - 04:49 AM.

[Namaenash]

 

Like Kishimoto mixing up his parallels all over the place, I feel like he's doing the same here. He's taking what was a romantic line and repackaging it as a family one, confusing what made it so powerful in the first place. 

 

Shouldn't these lines becoming from Sasuke? (Including the 'Lets go save your mom!') Since when did Naruto become an expert on feelings and parenting, when Sarada knows that Bolt hates him? (And we know that Naruto spends no time with his own kids and family.) Naruto has apparently nothing to do with Sakura and Sarada's lives, so why should she even listen to him?

 

 

I skimmed through the discussion as usual :) When a line or an act was re-delivered into something else in a different context, it made it less powerful in the current context, and it made the original meaning of it less important. Literally ruining both moments altogether.

 

What made Itachi's forehead poke was powerful in the first place (the original) was the build up of few hundreds chapters and few years of the making. And it should be kept only between Sasuke and Itachi (as I remember in their final encounter, edo-tensei Itachi didn't poke Sasuke's forehead to bid farewell, rather, he bumped his forehead, signifying a closure between them). By then, we all thought about how the symbolism were really powerful... but now, seeing how the story went, any symbolism, parallel or even TNJ surfacing in the manga is really meant for nothing.

 

It becomes meaningless ever since the manga turned to discuss about who married who, and who is the real parents of the-supposed-to-be main characters.

 

For those who read the manga, can you feel sympathy with Naruto's line to Salad (which somehow mimics Yamato's line to Sakura)? I doubt so. Does your heart skip a beat when Sasuke called Sakura 'his wife'? I doubt so too. For a husband to keep it casual while his wife is abducted, you can hardly feel any affection between them... up till the point Naruto bring up "Let's go save Sakura-chan"... Shouldn't that come from Sasuke?

 

...And the story is even more ridiculous, such that a child thought about dirty things about what was the most significant memory about her mother's other half. I'm a mother and a wife myself, let me tell you a common significant memory that every other women will remember for the rest of their lives:

1. When we met our children for the first time after the birth/delivery.

2. When our significant other proposed us, and/or when we get married (specifically, when our husband made the vow)

 

All other memories are beautiful and unforgettable, but those two are the strongest above all. It's not when we first met our significant others, it's not the first date, it's not "the forehead poke" lol....

 

Anyways, the more we see the story went by, the more we know it seems to be patched here and there, hence the inconsistencies.. Didn't they put Bolt's image very large in the first poster? Where did he go now? What's his role in this series? (except just to be a delivery bento boy)....

 

For a mini-series promising to promote the new generation, the amount of old generation appearing in the panel is too much... so much so that the new generation feels like a satellite characters around their parents. Every bits of their important appearance requires the old generation to be present. Some more, not enough build up to sympathize with them, or their parents in the first place....

 

If you're new to the series, I doubt you'll get hooked up to it. It's neither action-packed nor decent-drama centered... it's rushed and patched, you can see it clearly from the inconsistencies and minimum build up.

 

... and the focus solely only for SS fandom (no NH is being shown, no other characters are being told), really tell us one thing: that the one left financing this story is only them (probably they realized NH fandom only barks without giving them significant fortune). So, expect a happy family SS reunion and a romantic moment between SS at the end. The story is made exclusively for them in the first place.

 

The scary thought for SP/Kishi is... what if part of those "large amount" of SS fans and NH fans are made up from the same group of people wearing two different hats, just to make sure NS didn't happen? Yikes. What a big mistake that tarnished his credibility as an author.

[TouKen4Life3g]

 
 
I skimmed through the discussion as usual :) When a line or an act was re-delivered into something else in a different context, it made it less powerful in the current context, and it made the original meaning of it less important. Literally ruining both moments altogether.
 
What made Itachi's forehead poke was powerful in the first place (the original) was the build up of few hundreds chapters and few years of the making. And it should be kept only between Sasuke and Itachi (as I remember in their final encounter, edo-tensei Itachi didn't poke Sasuke's forehead to bid farewell, rather, he bumped his forehead, signifying a closure between them). By then, we all thought about how the symbolism were really powerful... but now, seeing how the story went, any symbolism, parallel or even TNJ surfacing in the manga is really meant for nothing.
 
It becomes meaningless ever since the manga turned to discuss about who married who, and who is the real parents of the-supposed-to-be main characters.
 
For those who read the manga, can you feel sympathy with Naruto's line to Salad (which somehow mimics Yamato's line to Sakura)? I doubt so. Does your heart skip a beat when Sasuke called Sakura 'his wife'? I doubt so too. For a husband to keep it casual while his wife is abducted, you can hardly feel any affection between them... up till the point Naruto bring up "Let's go save Sakura-chan"... Shouldn't that come from Sasuke?
 
...And the story is even more ridiculous, such that a child thought about dirty things about what was the most significant memory about her mother's other half. I'm a mother and a wife myself, let me tell you a common significant memory that every other women will remember for the rest of their lives:
1. When we met our children for the first time after the birth/delivery.
2. When our significant other proposed us, and/or when we get married (specifically, when our husband made the vow)
 
All other memories are beautiful and unforgettable, but those two are the strongest above all. It's not when we first met our significant others, it's not the first date, it's not "the forehead poke" lol....
 
Anyways, the more we see the story went by, the more we know it seems to be patched here and there, hence the inconsistencies.. Didn't they put Bolt's image very large in the first poster? Where did he go now? What's his role in this series? (except just to be a delivery bento boy)....
 
For a mini-series promising to promote the new generation, the amount of old generation appearing in the panel is too much... so much so that the new generation feels like a satellite characters around their parents. Every bits of their important appearance requires the old generation to be present. Some more, not enough build up to sympathize with them, or their parents in the first place....
 
If you're new to the series, I doubt you'll get hooked up to it. It's neither action-packed nor decent-drama centered... it's rushed and patched, you can see it clearly from the inconsistencies and minimum build up.
 
... and the focus solely only for SS fandom (no NH is being shown, no other characters are being told), really tell us one thing: that the one left financing this story is only them (probably they realized NH fandom only barks without giving them significant fortune). So, expect a happy family SS reunion and a romantic moment between SS at the end. The story is made exclusively for them in the first place.
 
The scary thought for SP/Kishi is... what if part of those "large amount" of SS fans and NH fans are made up from the same group of people wearing two different hats, just to make sure NS didn't happen? Yikes. What a big mistake that tarnished his credibility as an author.

This.

[Yyubie]

I hope sarada tell/ask sakura after they rescue her

-Why the seventh called you sakura-chan?

-Hes the one that want me to rescue you the most

-Why papa try to stab me with his sword when we meet didn't her recognize me?

-I did DNA test and the result is match with the girl in this picture who is she?

 

I hope its not gonna be just family reunion, hug, cry, then everything forgotten and they go home like that.. mehh.....hope theres a "LOGICAL" explanations to all plot hole he create at least just in this gaiden.

[TouKen4Life3g]

Are we forgetting about the villain?