It seems our good friend Masashi Kishimoto has recently revealed to us that he doesn't understand good storytelling. Thus, as a tribute to wasting my time for 10 years, I'm going to help him out. This thread neither confirms nor denies recent spoilers.
Lesson #1. Show, don't tell. If, for example, you want to say "Sakura loves Sasuke", you shouldn't repeatedly beat this over our heads, Mr. Kishimoto. If Sakura loves Sakura, you should demonstrate that she loves Sasuke. At the end of the day, what do we know about Sakura's love for Sasuke? Absolutely nothing. She loves him because she's always loved him. I understand you had Kakashi point out that one doesn't need a reason to love, but from a literary standpoint, that just doesn't fly. We need to understand your characters, Mr. Kishimoto. Otherwise, why should we care about them?
Lesson #2. Themes should serve a purpose. The parallel is an excellent literary technique. It helps to reinforce an idea that you're attempting to get across. If for instance you repeatedly provide parallels based on Minato and Kushina, Obito and Rin or Jiraiya and Tsunade, these should serve a purpose. They should convey a message of some sort. Simply disregarding all of this at the last minute and not telling us what message these parallels coneyed is not good writing, Mr. Kishimoto. To readers not easily impressed by mindless senslationism, it comes off to them as if you wasted their time.
Lesson #3. Character development. If you're going to have characters do something that goes against the character you've established so far throughout the story, the characters should be properly developed. For example, if you were, for some reason, to decide that Sasuke should return Sakura's feelings or that Naruto should lose interest in Sakura and get involved with Hinata, we would need reasons for this make sense. You would have to develop your characters to the point where they could logically make these decisions. Having characters make these decisions out of nowhere is bad writing, Mr. Kishimoto.
Lesson #4. Don't sell out. If you've been perpetuating an idea you're clearly fond of, Mr. Kishimoto, you should stick to it. A good story does not amount to entertaining every single whim of your readers. A good story is cohesive and put together. Stick to what you intended, especially when you've reached the last minute in your story. Writing simply to make a quick buck is not good writing, Mr. Kishimoto.
In light of these lessons, I feel obligated to inform you that your series, Naruto, does not receive a passing grade. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Kishimoto. Despite the faults it had throughout its second half, it had great potential. However, that potential has all vanished in one fail swoop. As such, I give you an F and would advise you redo your work or move on to a different project.
Have a nice day.
Edited by ThroughWithLove, 05 November 2014 - 04:23 PM.
