I'm convinced that this story was written on the fly with no end planned until the last hour when it was halted.
It reads like a "What happened next?" game the staffers at Shonen Jump just made up.
If you put it together, the pieces don't fit. Sakura getting nervous over Sara asking if she is even married with "I'm sure he feels the same way" to Shizune saying Karin "was a long time ago". It's worse then a lame (and obvious) red-harring. It's completely spontaneous. First we have what seems like Shisui coming back because he misses Itachi. Then he is an experiment from Orochimaru who is obsessed with Itachi for no reason whatsoever. Not to mention he was a retcon because Danzo got his arm from the senju cell experiments Kabuto told Team 7 Yamato survived. Another retcon is Sasuke leaving the village on his own, this time he's not on his own but next to Naruto who tells Sasuke "I'll go with you".
Most of all, I refuse to believe Sakura would be that cold as to cover up Sarada's own doting godmother's existence. It makes her look superiorly manipulative and selfish.
And I even wrote a rant after chapter 5 before not reading 6th chapter only to read chapter 7 because Karin is in it. I love Karin to bits. Glad she is one of the few characters that remained herself and was not destroyed.
Adding these:
At the end, Gaiden feels so empty
I expected this, but I feel so empty about this ending.
Yes, what I wanted to happen most did happen - Karin is Sara's godmother and has a bond with Sakura that is very very strong.
But that's all I got. Just that. Just Karin being her awesome self that was probably the only character not ruined completely by the series.
Naruto redeemed himself to me when he comforted Sara in chapter 9 and how he let the shins live.
All the other characters I love just crumbled. Don't get me started on Sasuke. Sakura is worth nothing but Sasuke's wife. Many other characters were basically in the background.
Most importantly, the entire 10 chapters is equivalent to Dora the Explorer asking "Here is Mama, Papa, and Baby Uchiha. Who is Baby's Mama? Mama Uchiha" instead of giving us actual SasuSaku material, we get "they are married by a thread and nothing but a thread". We could have gotten Sarada getting stronger. We could have had an Uzumaki chronicle of Kushina, Mito, or Karin and Naruto working together on something. We could have had so many things but all we get is a waste of time.
Karin was the only good thing about this series, and the only reason I continued to read it.
I did not even bother reading chapter 6.
Call me when Karin returns because I know she is not going to be in Boruto.
Oh, I also want to see Uchiha Sarada Hokage.
Till then,
Peace
Goodbye, Naruto
Naruto Gaiden 5
it feels like this chapter spit on every character I love. Sasuke is a kitten dad and learned nothing and is not a representation of PTSD survivor like he use to, but a neatly placed character next to Naruto (and other things, I could go on with how far he has fallen). You take away all the relatability of a character when they are broken for years and then just do a 360 out of nowhere and they are fine. Karin is not even a character. She is only a red-herring plot device. Yahiko created the Akatsuki with Konan and Nagato, not Obito or any other zetsu-like entity no matter what they claim. Naruto already died being a liar in the previous chapter. Even Danzo is ripped off and I actually liked Danzo as corrupt and delusional as that coward was.
So Sasuke and Naruto continue to cover up things that people should know, even though they are ninja that endure. What a ridiculous half-assed excuse for everything.
All you can learn from Naruto is if you want to get power, be popular. Psychological torture makes for a good mate. And - Genocide is heroic because it's ordered by your good government, as a good guy.
I'm so done and I'm so mad and I'd rather be a Game of Thrones fan where my favorite character dies then change constantly for plot stretch connivence and Dragonball Z power scaling continuation.
On to Vagabond and other good manga...
Currently watching Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
Edited by Sarahmint, 07 July 2015 - 03:47 AM.