Paperman

I too like babies. :) Welcome to the forum!

(Some) responses with not as much bias in this thread:

 

http://www.escapistm...all-these-years

 

Well to be honest, the damage was FAR beyond repair already, so I expected no miracles here. And honestly, it was nice seeing Sasuke come around, even just for him to realize what a colossal a-hole he had been and finally stopping being such an emo. Plus the monologue kinda reminded me of the beginning of Naruto where it still had focus, so it was nice to realize that the lonely kid from the beginning of the series had finally managed to befriend the boy he wanted to help so much. It was warm and mushy enough.

As for the final chapter... I honestly didn't expect it to end any other way and was overall satisfied. But it's funny how little impact these revelations after the timeskip have, since Naruto and Sasuke trying to be all BFF has been the strongest character interaction in the entire series. I mean I REALLY like NaruHina, but there was NO chemistry between the two. Well, there was, but it was all one-sided. It's neat that they're in a relationship now, but how happy could I be about that, when I don't know what that relationship is worth? Doesn't joy usually come from accomplishing something, overcoming obstacles? I could not see this relationship begin and develop, so how could I be joyful about it succeeding?

Most of the other pairings were either predictable and equally plain or bizarre. I mean what's up with Choji? She marries a minor character instead of, I don't know, Ino who's the girl he's had the closest relationship with?

Also, I've seen people complaining about Gai. As far as I can see, he might have his leg busted, so the wheelchair might just be temporary. And I got no problem seeing Oonoki still kicking, I mean the guy fought Madara just a decade ago!

And then there's Sakura... Oh boy...

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. One of the three main characters, a student of the Sannin Tsunade, user of the Strength of a Hundred Seal, ends the series by... cleaning the house. SERIOUSLY?! COME ON! And to top it all off she also goes through the obvious but borderline psychotic romance with Sasuke and gives birth to his child. Who, according to my calculations, must've been conceived before Sasuke left the village at the end, so I'm sure their relationship got like SUPER DEEP during that time. It better had, since before that Sasuke's main interactions with Sakura had been either a) Telling her to flock off or B) Kicking the crap out of her.

I mean we're talking about a character who DID THIS! And her journey's end is becoming a housewife? Come on...

Also, Sasuke "I'm too busy with my spiritual journey to be eternally alone and cool to be with my wife and daughter" Uchiha will now officially receive an award for my #1 hated anime character of all time.

If I see screenshots on badass Sakura I'll pobably watch. But forget it if there's anything about Sasuke-kun. Or if they somehow extend Hinata-sama's bit.

I love Sakura's character she was my favorite character in the series.....but goddamnit that one line in 699 had to literally go and ruin everything.

You have a character come all that way.. and then have her ask the bad-guy-turned-good if she'd like to travel the world with him despite all the suffering and pain he caused to everyone around her. Never mind that said character tried to injure her multiple times even when not in his 'I-must-kill-Konoha' state. Forget that he has influenced some of her more negative traits. Ignore that all their interactions are demeaning to her character and are hardly ever positive. Sideline the idea that she should ever get the slightest bit of respect from him.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the incedible developmnent of SasuSaku!

An honest opinion? It will never truly end. Even though Naruto is technically 'over' there's going to be multiple spinoffs, video games etc. Naruto is too popular unfortunately. This would guarantee it fans who would always be willing to pour their pockets into this mess. That's the whole reason it's not going to die out, at least for the time being. Part 3 with the cheap Naruto lookalike will still have people reading it only because it is somewhat reminescent of Naruto. Who knows, though. I'm hoping that the negative reactions to the Last would one down some of the popularity but it saddens me that new generations of kids will be trapped in this nightmare. That's the whole purpose of the Last after all.

Naruto will be the new Spongebob. Never ending and nerve-grating.